NCAA Basketball: Mount Rushmores for the top 25 programs of all-time

Duke Basketball Mount Rushmore: Mike Krzyzewski, Christian Laettner, J.J. Redick, Jay Williams

Mike Krzyzewski

Mike Krzyzewski is Duke Blue Devils basketball. Prior to him taking the job in 1980, the Blue Devils had only been to four Final Fours and had not won a national championship. Since he took over, Duke has won five national titles, made 12 Final Fours and won 25 conference titles.

Krzyzewski is the sport’s all-time wins leader with 1,132, only 73 of which came at Army before he took the Duke job. He also served as the head coach of Team USA from 2006 to 2016, winning three Olympic gold medals. A member of both the Basketball Hall of Fame (2001) and College Basketball Hall of Fame (2006), Coach K is perhaps the sport’s most iconic figure.

Christian Laettner

Perhaps no player embodies everything that is Duke quite like Christian Laettner. He’s the most hated player in college basketball history (I mean, ESPN made a documentary about how much he was hated), but also is one of its most accomplished.

Laettner is still the only player to start in four consecutive Final Fours and won two national titles with the Blue Devils – the first two in program history. He was also the consensus National Player of the Year in 1992, beating out Shaquille O’Neal.

J.J. Redick

If it wasn’t for Laettner, J.J. Redick might be the most hated player in college basketball history (sensing a theme with Duke players?).

One of the best 3-point shooters of all time, Redick left college as the sport’s leader in career threes made and as the ACC’s career scoring leader with 2,769 points – though he has since been surpassed in both areas. He won the Adolph Rupp Trophy as National Player of the Year in 2005 before being the consensus National Player of the Year in 2006, when he averaged 26.8 points per game.

The only flaw in Redick’s resume is a *relative* lack of NCAA Tournament success compared to expectations. Duke made the Final Four in 2004 when Redick was a sophomore, but that was his only appearance despite being among the national championship favorites every year.

Jay Williams

Another Duke player to win National Player of the Year awards in multiple seasons, Jay Williams led Duke to the 2001 National Championship in his sophomore season. He averaged 19.3 points, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game for his career and recorded a number of memorable moments, though none more so than the Miracle Minute.

A motorcycle accident ended Williams’ NBA career prematurely, but his collegiate career remains one of the best ever.