Duke’s Best Centers: The Brotherhood has produced some really imposing big men over the years.
Duke has an interesting history of big men. Vic Bubas had a few but only one who makes this list. Mike Krzyzewski tended to value athleticism more than size and often went with undersized post players like Jay Bilas, Robert Brickey, or John Smith.
Jon Scheyer, by contrast, puts more of an emphasis on interior size.
Here’s our list of the best big men to come out of Duke. We only go back as far as Mike Lewis because he was the best post player of the Bubas era. These are in no particular order, but you can rank them in the poll below!
Mike Lewis – a great example of Vic Bubas’s revolutionary recruiting policies, Lewis came from then-remote Montana and was just 6-8, but he was powerful and an excellent rebounder. Finding him in Montana, when there was no video, no AAU circuit and no recruiting gurus, was a great example of how Bubas essentially invented modern recruiting.
Mike Gminski – G-Man came to Duke as a 16-year-old prodigy and also a full-grown man. He could do almost anything on the court a center was expected to do during the 1970’s. Plus he hardly ever fouled.
Christian Laettner – Strictly speaking, Laettner wasn’t really a center, but with a starting lineup of 6-0, 6-4, 6-7 and 6-8, he was the closest thing to a center Duke had. His competitive fire, his superb skills, make him, as Coach K recently said, the most accomplished player in Duke history. A brilliant athlete.
Elton Brand – At a burly 6-8 and 240, Brand was deceptively nimble but he could bowl you over if needed. He had a nice bundle of skills for a man that size. No one messed with Big E.
Dereck Lively – Injuries slowed him a bit at Duke but he emerged as a talented shot blocker and a team-oriented player who was dedicated to winning.
Mark Williams – Williams played with Paolo Banchero and for a guy who was 7-1, he didn’t necessarily rely simply on his size. He was a very talented and smart basketball player. One of two Williams to play at Duke as his sister, Elizabeth, starred for the women’s team.
Khaman Maluach – Also 7-1, Maluach is just scratching the surface. He is an imposing defender who is deadly with the lob. Watching him develop is going to be exciting.
Mason Plumlee – One of the three Plumlee brothers, Mason was not the most talented – Miles was – but he was the best of the three. He had a remarkable knack for dunking backwards. On a side note, can you imagine having three 7-0 teenagers and how much it would cost to feed them? Sending them to the Christ School was a good idea.
Cherokee Parks – Following Laettner was impossible but Parks was a solid big man who unfortunately was never fully happy as a basketball player. Raised by hippy parents, Parks secretly longed to be a square and work 9-5. He’s gotten his wish, which is great.
Sheldon Williams – Pay your rent! Williams was a superb shot blocker who gradually refined his offense at Duke. The Landlord turned out to be Duke’s second great shot blocker, after Gminski.
Jahlil Okafor – only three other big men on this list can claim national championships. Okafor was a superbly skilled big guy who once stunned us by catching a ball in the air much like you’d catch a baseball. He mastered post moves just as basketball was becoming much more of a perimeter game.
