True story. The finals in 1992 were in Minneapolis/St. Paul & the St. Paul Insurance Company was a major sponsor. The St. Paul assigned an agent to each of the 64 teams based on territory and volume of business with them. The final 4 agents would win an all expenses, first class trip for the weekend. When Laettner made "the shot", my young boys and I were on our knees wearing our Duke hats & shirts. What a memory.
I am not a Duke fan - A FATHER OF UNC CHAPEL HILL STUDENT - so cannot pull for Christian all these years ... however, HIS BEING HATED by others in College is absurd ..... he was a great player and owes no one an apology for being better than his adversaries ! Good for you, Christian - God bless, jj
Watching those Duke games in the early 90s are some of my most memorable moments as a basketball fan. He was def one of the top college players I ever remember seeing. Miss those days.
Want to hate him, but all the interviews and willingness to laugh about the hate from Kentucky fans won’t let me. When he came to Lexington and participated in a charity game, then sat at a table and signed every “I still hate Laettner” shirt until the last fan was gone, that’s when the tide turned for me. I just can’t hate him anymore
I was a fan when you hit the shot and an even bigger fan today. Love your honesty about your playing days and how you feel about the college game today.
He wasn't a bust in the NBA but a bit of a disappointment considering his legendary status in college. Having said that, he definitely still should be in the HoF.
I hated Christian every year. He was a big shot maker and he played for Duke. That's just how it was then. If he was on UCONN I would of loved him. What a great, great player who played the best when the tension was the highest..
Duke fan here. Loved how coach K carried himself. Wasn’t a fan of some of the players though😂 (Grayson Allen, JJ reddick, sometimes Laettner😬). But boy was basketball as a whole a better overall team game. Those days were just amazing. Great great great basketball. Players stayed 3-4 years in college. So most of the teams were extremely established and had incredibly high chemistry. I can vividly see that shot against Kentucky. Hands was sweating. Christian will always be an absolute LEGEND in college basketball history. Arguably the 2nd greatest college player behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Miss those days maaaan🙏🏼❤️😔
I only started watching NBA basketball in '92 and never college so I only know Laetrner from the dream team and then in NBA a little bit. What I great guy when I see him now in these interviews. I get his point about not having the NIL in college. Apart from the obvious point for lhese kids to be able to monetize there skills there is a lot to be said for installing the hard work ethic that comes from grinding every single day. It really sets you up for life.
5 or 10 best college players? I'm a die hard UNC fan and i will admit he is easlly top 1 to 3 in college. Lets not also forget, he would be a straight problem in todays game.
Laettner should be in the HoF by merit : Olympics achievements, career at Duke, longevity in the NBA, & had ice in his veins when he played. (I'm not gonna say he was a good guy on the court.)
He's exactly right, don't expand the tournament and get rid of NIL and the transfer portal. I couldn't stand this guy back in the day, but love him now!
@@20Schmidt not all that many people watch the tourney compared to the past. Honestly, I can go without it. I have no idea who any of these players are. When Laettner played, you knew virtually the whole team, and when they lost to UNLV in 1990, you knew they'd get their chance again in 1991. Nowadays, who the f/k cares? I don't know one player on UConn's team.
The poise to do that pivot and fake before one of the all-time memorable shots in NCAA history is out of this world. Crazy how the guy from Kentucky made a heroic shot seconds earlier that would have gone down in history, but as it goes, I cannot remember the guy's name.
@@007ndc He doesn't drink beer. He's a Muslim. He can hold Laettner's beer because he was the greater college player. Kareem had the great NBA career.
Best college player of my lifetime. 4 final 4’s. 2 elite 8 buzzer beaters to go to the final four. 2 championships. The perfect game against Kentucky. Kicking the fab 5’s asses twice in one season. Dominating Shaq in 2 games. Being the most hated player in college and rising above it all.
You can't take away NIL man. It came too late as it is. Kyle Field expanded to over 100k seats when Johnny Manziel was there and the guy was selling autographs to make money. Schools are making hundreds of millions now.
@@markd.5471 I'm all for better rules but it will never be a universal system where Michigan will have the same limit as coastal Carolina. SEC BIG10 make the most and they'll pay the most.
GOD I wish more sports talkers (Jim Rome: attention please!) were as good at doing an interview as Dan is! Sports interviews are inherently boring as hell because they’re all the same! Dan actually comes up with interesting questions, like asking Michael Phelps if he could beat him in a lap if he gave Dan a head start, or asking Coach K how long it took him as a kid to learn how to spell his own name. I LOVE stuff like that! And I’m sure the sports figures he interviews love it too.
There’s a reason you’re seeing every former Duke player right now mentioning how much they enjoy hard coaching.. **cough cough** take notes Jon Scheyer **cough cough**
They should have at least used their resources to interview more candidates. Hiring a guy with no experience that isnt proven as anything other than a recruiter just because he's a Coach K disciple was an act of pure hubris. Brad Stevens has an executive job in the NBA. Aint no way he's leaving that job to get back into the wonderful world of recruiting and traveling that is coaching college basketball in 2024. I personally would have liked if they reached out to Quinn Snyder.
He's not in because he's white! He is without argument one of the greatest college players ever and he schooled Shaq when Duke beat LSU. He deserved to be on the Dream Team because he was the best college player in the country but the dreamers wanted their bro Shaq.
I'm with Christian. This new transfer portal and NIL is awful. It's killing college basketball 😞. Most college age kids can't handle that kind of pressure and money involved too.
Sorry for the double post but I didn’t want to sound negative towards Christian personally. While I didn’t like him when he played and thought he was arrogant etc he was nonetheless one of thee great college players ever. And post career his honesty and mature perspective he adds a lot to any discussion or event he’s involved with. Respect. And on NIL and transfer portal totally agree. Some things shouldn’t be about greed/money. NBA and NCAA charge obscene prices for tickets and too much to watch on tv. Working Americans should have these enjoyments without being gouged. Then NBA and NCAA would be making small millions and not mega millions and billions. Then there’s no hypocrisy with NIL etc. ultra high money does corrupt as it was once said Money(greed) is the root of all evil. Truth.
Arnold Schwarzenegger discusses detainment with awkward jokes about sex, prostitution. Arnold Schwarzenegger has shocked his fans with his bastard son from his Spanish housemade .😊
CL seems likable but he's f.o.s. if he was a Freshman and someone said you can take 2 million ... please. maybe he's from a wealthy family, but it's absurd to suggest universities can make millions without giving anything but an 'education' give me a break.
That's right that's why he was so hated, his rich kid perception. The opposite is in fact the truth, pretty sure his family was blue collar. I remember watching a story specifically about this
Easy for the Silver Spoon Dukie to criticize college kids from poor backgrounds making money and having the opportunity to move to another school. This guy is a jerk and always has been a jerk. Easily the worst player on the Dream Team as well.
Why should players who had so so NBA careers be in the (NBA)Basketball HOF? Shouldn’t the NCAA have their own basketball HOF? I mean it’s all about money the inclusiveness of sentimental favorites and bringing everybody in but it just dilutes the whole meaning of the HOF and kind of makes it meaningless. I’ll give you a recent example Toni Kukoc. Now Toni was a tremendous player when it comes competitiveness, clutch shooting and unique skills. But you look at his numbers and personal accomplishments I’d say no not a HOFer. And more and more guys are going in that are like just no. We can enjoy you and your career without having to stamp HOF on you.
@@4frmhat If you want a combined HOF that's you. I don't. I never used to hear about NCAA players in the HOF for their college careers only pros. I just like them separate because they are separate. Same with "tributes" to Euros like Toni K who were good but don't have the numbers or accolades to be pros. But whatever things change and times change. I really don't care that much either way just a preference.
For the record and into perpetuity and like the documentary suggests, I hate Christian Laettner....but, he seems like a good guy. Otherwise, fv¢# Duke basketball.
It’s nauseating how much simping Dan does for Caitlin Clark. She’s not even better than Breanna Stewart or Candace Parker and he’s comparing her to Redick and Curry 😂
Man Christian was so wrong, bc his rant is showing how privileged he still is.. There is not a single player in the history of the game who has ever made $50M per year. The kids who go to Duke are so well off they wouldn’t NEED NIL. Christian can say it’s wrong because his family wasn’t ever going to need the money. I love Duke basketball but that’s such a tone-deaf answer. The way he gets excited about verbally abusing kids is scary. I know he was that way in college but get real man, that’s not how you motivate KIDS. What an awful interview. Other than the comment about being on the Dream Team.
You are misinformed. Christian wasn’t referring to NIL when he mentioned 50 million dollars. He was referring to the dozens of NBA players that earn that amount. Secondly, it’s a common misconception that he grew up wealthy. He’s from Buffalo, his parents were lower class and he needed a scholarship to attend a private high school.
Your view is morally depraved. NIL should exist because free people should be able to voluntarily trade with each other and a quasi-government monopoly like the NCAA shouldn't restrict voluntary trade. Need and privilege should have no impact whatsoever on the discussion either for against its existence. This isn't Cuba.
