NCAA Basketball: 25 most mesmerizing players of all time
. . Trajan Langdon. . player. 434.
During the vaunted history of Duke basketball, few players were able to captivate an audience quite like sharpshooter Trajan Langdon. The three-point specialist’s ability from behind the arc was only outdone by his fantastic nickname: The Alaskan Assassin.
His career at Duke coincided with the height of ESPN commentator Dick Vitale’s popularity, and Vitale was absolutely in love with Langdon and had zero issues driving that train.
Langdon’s exploits are sometimes, unfairly, overshadowed by J.J. Redick‘s own ridiculous shooting prowess while attending Duke. However, for most of his time in Durham, Langdon was one of the most feared players in the entire country.
He had unlimited range and turned the catch and shoot off of the curl into an art form. His 7.1 triple attempts per game were an incredible rate for a player in the mid to late 90’s. Basketball was simply a different game back then. He was a three-time All-ACC performer and a consensus All American second team member in 1999.
Dating back to 1992-93, Langdon is the only player in Duke history to attempt at least 600 triples and shoot 42% or better. His stroke from behind the arc led to him being selected 11th overall in the 2000 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the first player to ever be drafted into the NBA that hailed from Alaska.
His skills never quite translated to the NBA level, playing his final NBA game in 2002. However, he was able to carve out a very successful career overseas winning two EuroLeague championships and being named Russian League Player of the Year in 2008.