Coach K and Christian Laettner transformed Duke from underdog to dynasty | Four Decades In Durham

Laetner and his class went to 4 straight final 4s and that is incredible in its own right.

The haters are the very reason, Laettner is my favorite Duke player.

I still love Laettner so much. Such a waste that he didnt find the right coach to exploit his talent in NBA. But with coach K those four college years were magical. March 28 1992 is a date written is basketball memory forever

That Kentucky game pretty much summed up Laettner as a college basketball player. You could call him an arrogant, dirty player as much as you like, but no one could deny he was one hack of a basketball player with skills, intelligent, an iron will to win, and one of the best clutch players of all time. That buzzer beater winning shot was Hollywood stuff!

Bobby Hurley was such a perfect point guard for that team. An excellent 3 point shooter that always looked to dish the ball first, but also able to score if Laettner or Hill had an off game. Let's not forget that Brian Davis would give you 10 - 15 a game.

I wish there was some way to have the different eras of Duke teams play each other. Laettner, Hurley and Hill from the early 90s, Battier, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and Trajan Langdon from the '99 squad. Then the early 2000s teams with an older Battier leading Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Then you have the JJ Reddick, Shelden Williams, Luol Deng teams of the mid 2000s. The title team would be the '14-'15 team with Jahlil Okafor, Justice Winslow, Tyus Jones, a young Grayson Allen. People forget how good Okafor was in college. The other title team of 2010 with Scheyer, Singler and Plumlee is definitely a step down from the others but they were still great enough to win a title. Then it's the start of the one and dones in earnest in the 2010s. Early in the decade you had Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers and Jabari Parker roll through; lots of talent. Later you had the The '18-'19 squad with Zion, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish which was pretty stacked. Imagine if some of these one and done guys like Tatum, Zion etc stayed around. Which is the best? I think the early to mid 2010s could've been amazing had players stayed more than a year. Imagine a senior and junior laden team with Kyrie, Parker, Rivers with young guys like Okafor and Winslow. Then again, if Luol Deng stayed more than a year you could've had a senior Reddick and Shelden Williams with a experienced junior Deng. And of course if Elton Brand and Maggette had hung around they would've teamed up with Jay Williams, Boozer and Dunleavy. Imagine a starting five of Brand, Battier, Williams, Dunleavy, Maggette with Boozer and Duhon coming off the bench! That would been the best team. Sadly we never got those teams.

I loved watching him play along with his teammates that won the two national titles. I think you could even make a case that Christian was college basketballs best player but the team that made Coach K a winner was the class of 86 with Dawkins, Alarie and Bilas. Those guys along with their teammates turn the program into a force to be reckoned with.

Gonna miss you coach Hope you enjoy retirement you deserve it

Coach K was a good recruiter. He was pretty tough taskmaster in driving his players to continued excellence. Laettner was also a tough taskmaster with his teammates. And Coach K relentlessly harshed out the referees and pushed them to make calls in Duke's favor. Don't forget, under the prior coach, Bill Foster, Duke made it to the finals of the NCAA tournament in 1978 and went deep into the tournament in other years. So Coach K added that something extra to get make them champions.

Duke was my team when they were trash in the mid 80s w Danny Ferry, so glad to ride this full wave! Been so lucky and Blessed

Not an alum of Duke nor have been their fan. It probably is the era when the one-and-done didn't exist, but them sticking to Duke program for all four years, especially for Laettner who went to Final Four in all four years winning the last two with Hurley and Hill, made Duke (Coach K) dynasty happen. A dynasty could still happen but when star players leave after one year, we may not see a dynasty caliber of Duke soon. But congrats to Coach K for his illustrious career.

When I heard grant made 7 NBA all start games. I was like only?! But only if he didn't have that injury. Also used to tell people I was named after Christian.

Grant Hill was the real MVP!

Duke basketball is the best private school sports program in the history of all private schools.

Ever hear of Mike Gminski, Jeff Spanarkel and Gene Banks?

GHill is still the quickest 6'8" and up player I've seen.

Hey, you ! I want you to get up and take a little step 🚶🏽. I know I may feel impossible, I need you to work hard, trust the process, and have faith 🙏🏽❤️‍🔥

Laettner is definitely top 3 college player ever if #1

I love wearing my Laettner jersey out. It pisses so many people off!!! What a great team!!! Love that Duke team!! Blue Devils forever!!!!!!

I'm not a fan of Duke but that team in 91 and 92 was a great team. They beat the running rebels and the fab five