Well, since everyone and their uncle is doing an end-of-the-(fill in the blank) list, I thought I'd do one too. Presented for your amusement are my top ten Duke basketball players of the decade,  all annotated in the usual long-winded Clough fashion, of course. 

Top Ten Basketball Players of the Decade:

10. Steve Wojciechowski, 1995-98. #6 assists, #5 steals, #5 threes. 2nd team All-ACC 1997, 3rd team All-ACC 1998. A gutsy player who was the heart and soul of his teams. Fought his way from the end of the bench to difference-maker thanks to his physical defensive style and excellent balance. Great leader was an underrated shooter.

9. Shane Battier, 1998-2001. #5 blocks, #1 charges taken. 3rd team All-ACC1999. Fairly modest numbers thus far offensively, but that will change. What gets him on the list is that he's Duke's best defensive player this decade, and I'm not just talking about taking charges. His shotblocking skills are excellent, often able to simply grab the ball out of the air. He's a master of pressuring the wings. He's one of Duke's finest rebounders. With the way his offense is now opening up, he'll be certain to gather All-America attention.

8. Chris Carrawell, 1997-2000. 3rd team All-ACC 1999. Chris may be my favorite player, because he's done everything asked of him, and done it well. Guard Tim Duncan? OK, and I'll go ahead and make the biggest defensive playof the game by pinning Tony Rutland's shot to the backboard. Guard Steve Francis? No problem, I'll lock him up twice and outscore him for good measure. Run the team in overtime? Pressure? You call this pressure? I'll just take it to the hole for a slam. Now you want me to be the leading scorer? Just let me dust off my jumper... He'll play in pain, he'll play 40 minutes, whatever it takes. A true warrior who knows how the game should be played.

7. Roshown McLeod, 1997-98. All-America, 1998. First team All-ACC 1998. An all-too-brief career for a great shooter, good rebounder and intense competitor. After resurrecting his game in 98 after falling behind half the team, he became the leader when Elton Brand went down. He improved his defense, his shooting and his rebounding and put on the famous "Roshown Scowl" when things were really getting serious. If only he had been around in '95 and '96...

6. Thomas Hill, 1990-93. #19 scoring, #10 threes, #7 steals. Third team All-ACC 1991-93. The epitome of underrated, "T" was a perfect Duke perimeter player: athletic enough to throw down dunks, quick enough to overplay and get steals, strong enough to get rebounds, and smooth enough to hit jumpers. A vital part of the title teams.

5. Elton Brand, 1998-99. #5 blocks, #1 FG%. 1st team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, 1st team All-ACC, National Player of the Year, 1999. All too briefly a Duke player, his amazing talent made Coach K change the offense to suit him better. Incredible agile and quick for his size, he was known to steal the ball and lead the break himself. Devastating rebounder with great hands who possessed a soft touch around the basket. Always worked to get better.

4. Trajan Langdon, 1995-99. #9 scoring, #1 threes, #1 FT%. All-America 1998-99. 1st team All-ACC 1997-99. There has never been a classier representative of Duke University than Trajan Shaka Langdon. One of the deadliest shooters in ACC history, his poise made him dangerous against any opponent, anywhere. Hit dozens of momentum-killing daggers in his career. Also a better defender than people think.

3. Bobby Hurley, 1990-93. #1 assists, #6 steals, #2 threes. All-America 1992-93. Third team All-ACC 1991, 2nd team All-ACC 1992, 1st team All-ACC 1993. All-time NCAA recordholder of assists. The leader of the title teams. The master of the assist. Overcame early immaturity as a player to become a poised team leader. Saw the floor like no one else and increased his scoring output as a senior.

2. Grant Hill, 1991-94. #10 scoring, #7 assists, #4 blocks, #4 steals. All-America 1992-94. ACC Player of the Year, 1994. 2nd team All-ACC 1992. 1st team All-ACC 1993-94. Perhaps the greatest athlete in Duke history, Grant was also one of Duke's smartest players. More than any of his high-flying dunks, his most impressive plays came when he stopped a four-on-one break by himself, or seemed to defy the laws of physics to grab a steal or a rebound. Made himself into a solid shooter as a senior and led an inexperienced team to the NCAA finals, nearly singlehandedly. The ultimate catalyts who made his teammates better.

And Duke's player of the decade is...........

1. Christian Laettner, 1989-92. #2 points, #3 FG%, #1 3FG%, #1 FT, #4 FT%, #2 rebounding, #3 blocks, #4 steals. All-America 1990-92. National Player of the Year, 1992. ACC Player of the Year, 1992. 2nd team All-ACC 1990. 1st team All-ACC, 1991-92. NCAA tournament scoring record. Not much suspense in this choice, was there? No one won like he did. No one did it with as much swagger, confidence and arrogance. Coach K said that one of Christian's many important roles was playing the villain, someone that road teams could hate and focus their attention on, so that the other players were free to do their own thing. He thrived on this sort of attention in his storied career. Each year had its own trademark: the domination of Alonzo Mourning as a frosh, the game-winner against UConn as a soph, the free throws against Vegas as a junior, and the Kentucky shot as a senior. Skilled and tough, Duke has never had a more intense competitor.

Honorable Mention: Brian Davis, Cherokee Parks, Will Avery, Jeff Capel, Chris Collins

Top Twenty Duke Games of the Decade

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu