From: radkel@canctr.mc.duke.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Re: Laettner selfish?
Date: 6 Jan 93 22:56:03 GMT
Reply-To: radkel@canctr.mc.duke.edu
Organization: Duke U. Med. Ctr., Durham, NC

In article <C0Fzyq.6rM@babbage.ece.uc.edu>, rbd@flash.ece.uc.edu (Bobby Davis) writes:

>When I first heard this story and found out it was Chuck Person doing the
>griping, I just considered the source (CHUCK PERSON calling someone else
>selfish???) and ignored it.  Then I was watching the Oklahoma-Duke game the
>other night and Dick Vitale was saying how most of the Duke players are glad
>Laettner is gone.  Evidently no one there liked him very much either, and
>they are enjoying practices and road trips a lot more with him gone.


 Laettner's only real friend on that team was Brian Davis.  He abused Hurley
and Parks, who disliked him.  The others just understood that his obnoxiousness
during practice was his way of trying to improve the team, to try and get them
to challenge him.  Even if people didn't like him, they still went to him for
the big shot at the end of the game, because they knew he'd deliver.  
  Classic Laettner is-an-assh*le story:
   Wake Forest player Rodney Rogers often played with the Duke players over
the summer.  He and Grant Hill are close friends.  Grant at that time had a
minor hand injury, and he and Rodney were sitting on the bench talking, when
Laettner came over, pushed Grant (almost onto his injured hand) and said,
"Stop faking it."  Rodney was about to tear CL's head off before Grant said,
"Hey, that's just the way he is."  I get the feeling the more secure players
just ignored him or laughed him off.

>Can anyone elaborate on this?  Is Vitale just foaming at the mouth again?
>I thought they were some fairly strong statements, considering the way he
>normally worships anything that has to do with Duke (disclaimer: I like Duke
>but feel that most press coverage is clearly biased in their favor).  Or is

Can you say media darlings?  I get weary of people calling Duke the perfect
program.  It's not corrupt, but let's just say Phil Henderson went to German
class even less than I did.  There are lots of other great programs that are
clean and that win that don't get that kind of recognition.  Frankly, I think
that kind of press sets up a false, impossibly high standard that no one can
really live up to.  Morever, they media will then circle in like sharks if
there are any small problems that crop up. (Like the Laettner Diarygate thing).
  
>Laettner really this much of a jerk?  Pretty sad to be a major part of two
>national championships and still be disliked by your teammates.

Such is life.

>Of course, even if he is a jerk I would still rather have him on my team than
> Chuck Person.
 
I agree.  CL is still hitting 50% of his shots, 81% of his free throws, and is
leading the team in points and rebounds.  He's only had a couple of really 
bad shooting games (Golden State being the worst), and he's being forced to
play a lot of center.  If the Wolves had some more players who took good shots,
maybe they'd score more too.  If they had a point guard who thought like a 
point guard, maybe the rest of the team would score more.  If they didn't have
a player named Chuck "The ball from anywhere on the floor" Person, maybe they'd
win more games.  There's a lot more wrong in Minnesota than Christian Laettner.
  

--Rob Clough
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro