Art Chansky has a column up asking if the former
UNC stars in the NBA could win a title if they were all on the same team.
It's a formidable list of talent.
The question reminds us of George Karl's taunting question about Duke players
in the NBA: why aren't there more of them?
Well, largely because up until recently Duke wasn't always getting as high a
level of talent as UNC traditionally got. Duke had Ferry, who was a superb
player. UNC had Reid, whose athleticism a (though not his overall
game) was vastly superior. Duke ran a 6-5 center at one point in
Robert Brickey. Jay Bilas was a 6-8 inside player. John Smith, too.
Chansky's point is interesting, and here are the players he names:
- Wallace
- Stackhouse
- Carter
- Jamison
- McInnis
- Fox
- Lynch
- Perkins
- Williams
To that we might add these players for the sake of a list:
- Worthy
- Jordan
- Kenny Smith
- Scott
- Ford
- Davis
- Kupchak
There are others, but you get the point. The question we wanted to ask George
Karl was simple and reversed: with that much talent, clearly world-class talent,
why hasn't UNC won more titles?
And the answer to his question is that Duke is seeking players who can play
together and work as a group rather than players who seek an apprenticeship.