During his time there, Carlos was IMHO the most underrated college big man...
Ok, this is one of my favorite matchups of the first round. Two modern legends facing off. They came very close to being teammates, but Boozer arrived as Langdon left. Both were quiet guys who mostly led by example-- and what an example it was!!
Our #14 seed, Carlos Boozer versus the #19 seed Trajan Langdon... vote away!!
-Jason "inside banger versus outside touch" Evans
During his time there, Carlos was IMHO the most underrated college big man...
Boozer had the best rebound outlet pass for a fast break I've ever seen.
Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!
Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
9F 9F 9F
https://ecogreen.greentechaffiliate.com
Alaska vs. Alaska! I gotta go with Trajan.
Although Boozer would sometimes get burned on defense, he was a great offensive low post talent. Deadly on the pick and roll. I loved Langdon, but he never developed a good handle on the ball or a complete repertoire. Not that JJ was perfect, but they looked so similar as freshman, but JJ just developed so much more. Got to go with the big man.
in the battle of Alaska, gotta go with the Assassin
maybe my toughest call of the 1st round, but I had to go Boozer.
This was a very tough call. I loved Carlos and agree he was a little underrated in college. The clincher for me was the fact that Trajan was such a huge part of rebuilding the team after the 94-95 season. I believe he and Wojo were the only players on the 94-95 team that were significant contributors in 97-98 or 98-99.
Very torn over this one, but I'll go with the Booze.
Carlos might win "most underrated" of our recent stars, and that attitude followed him into the draft and the later contract negotiations.
Maybe it was because he didn't smile as much as some of our guys, so that he didn't seem to be enjoying himself. Or maybe because he didn't immediately unpack his bags. Or maybe because his in-the-paint dirty work was less obvious than wing dirty work. Even now, as he works towards making something positive out of his child's illness, he doesn't get (and didn't quickly ask for) as much press as he might.
At the same time, I imagine we'd be pretty stoked if a Carlos equivalent suddenly appeared on our team.
Aside from JJ Redick, Trajan Langdon is the player who most deserved a national championship, but never got one.
He endured years of injury, the 94-95 season and a rocky recovery from both while always keeping his head up and having the heart of a champion.
That's why he gets my vote.
Trajan traveled, Boozer was fouled. Verdict: Boozer.
But... I had to go with Trajan. Obviously the Booz is a better NBA player -- and has shown himself to be a FORCE. However, watched every college game of both these guys, I have to say that IMO, Trajan was the better (?), more needed, more help with rebuilding player. Love them both!!
Ultimately, I went with the son of an anthropologist.
Go Trajan!
Cheers,
Lavabe
At first glace, I too misread Mapei's post. What he meant was that Boozer played with 2 players of the year AND with Dun and Duhon. He did not mean that Dun and Du were the POYs.
It is easy to misunderstand what he wrote but the point was that with Battier, JWill, Dun, and Duhon on the team with him, it is not all that surprising that Carlos went underappreciated.
--Jason "I have not voted yet and am really torn in this one" Evans
Trajan hit the shot in 1997 that ended the Heels' string of dominance over Duke and started Duke's dominance over the Heels. It also resulted in the loudest moment I've ever heard in Cameron.
I loved the way that Carlos just went out and got it done, but Trajan gets my vote here.
After pouring it over in my head so many times, I have finally made my voting decision based on this...
Back in 1999 I took a cruise to Alaska and we stopped in Juneau. While there, I took a helicopter ride to the Mendenhall Glacier. One of the women working for the helicopter company was Carlos' sister and she was really nice to me and she dished a little bit about Carlos' recruitment and the such. He had recently committed to Duke and she had some amusing stories to tell about what some of the other schools had done to try to entice him to come there.
Anyway, she was really cool and so I am voting for Carlos. Seems like a strange rationale, but that is what I am going with
--Jason "as an aside, you gotta see this thing before you die!! ---> " Evans
Only a 16 vote difference in these guys. I will close this poll at 9am or so on Monday morning. If you want to vote... do it now!!
--Jason "the battle of the Alaskans is a good one!" Evans