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  1. #1

    Best College Basketball Player (formerly in the recruiting thread)

    Note from Jason Evans:
    The content of this thread originally started in the 2019 recruiting thread, which may make it seem out of left field at times. It was moved to a new thread as it ventures far afield from the purpose of the recruiting thread.

    -Jason E.



    Quote Originally Posted by Steven43 View Post
    Do we have a Grant Hill on the roster right now that will return for next year or is one on the way? BTW, I didn’t know Grant Hill was the PG for Duke in 1994. I guess I don’t remember the details of that roster as well as I should.
    He was PG and guarded the opponent’s best player every game whether he was a guard or a power forward. Which reminds me that Vitale said Jordan was among the 4 best college players of his broasting career which made me yell out loud (yol??). Ewing and Sampson were the others. I’m sure there are plenty of obvious choices over Jordan but Grant Hill, Shane Battier and Danny Ferry are no brainers. Bobby Hurley, JJ Redick, and Jason Williams are contenders and that’s just the Dukies. As much as I hate to admit it, Hansborough was a better college player than Jordan. I’m on team Jordan for NBA GOAT but not college.
    Last edited by JasonEvans; 12-31-2018 at 11:51 AM.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by lotusland View Post
    He was PG and guarded the opponent’s best player every game whether he was a guard or a power forward. Which reminds me that Vitale said Jordan was among the 4 best college players of his broasting career which made me yell out loud (yol??). Ewing and Sampson were the others. I’m sure there are plenty of obvious choices over Jordan but Grant Hill, Shane Battier and Danny Ferry are no brainers. Bobby Hurley, JJ Redick, and Jason Williams are contenders and that’s just the Dukies. As much as I hate to admit it, Hansborough was a better college player than Jordan. I’m on team Jordan for NBA GOAT but not college.
    Laettner.

    EOM

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by curtis325 View Post
    Laettner.

    EOM
    Vitale included Laettner in his top 4 - Laettner, Ewing, Sampson and Jordan.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by lotusland View Post
    Vitale included Laettner in his top 4 - Laettner, Ewing, Sampson and Jordan.
    Maybe he is not so stupid. Can't say the same for me.

  5. #5
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    I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
    Quote Originally Posted by lotusland View Post
    Vitale included Laettner in his top 4 - Laettner, Ewing, Sampson and Jordan.
    Laettner, Ewing, Sampson, Thompson, and Olajuwon for me. Jordan was very good, but NO ONE saw his NBA career coming. Not like that. No. As for unc, I would put Ford, Worthy and Davis among others mentioned ahead of Jordan in college.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by Reddevil View Post
    Laettner, Ewing, Sampson, Thompson, and Olajuwon for me. Jordan was very good, but NO ONE saw his NBA career coming. Not like that. No. As for unc, I would put Ford, Worthy and Davis among others mentioned ahead of Jordan in college.
    I dunno, Reddevil. He was a very exciting player at UNC. I remember seeing Jordan play at the ACC's in the early '80s. If he had a breakaway, the ACC crowd would stand and start screaming as he reached mid-court, knowing how fast he was and how athletic the dunk was gonna be. The crowd didn't do that for anyone else.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    I dunno, Reddevil. He was a very exciting player at UNC. I remember seeing Jordan play at the ACC's in the early '80s. If he had a breakaway, the ACC crowd would stand and start screaming as he reached mid-court, knowing how fast he was and how athletic the dunk was gonna be. The crowd didn't do that for anyone else.
    I’m in 100% agreement, Sage. Of all the college basketball players I’ve ever seen, Jordan was the most electrifying. I didn’t see David Thompson play, only highlights. But Michael Jordan was must-see-tv like no one else. I was a huge fan of his, though not his school.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Steven43 View Post
    I’m in 100% agreement, Sage. Of all the college basketball players I’ve ever seen, Jordan was the most electrifying. I didn’t see David Thompson play, only highlights. But Michael Jordan was must-see-tv like no one else. I was a huge fan of his, though not his school.
    Thompson was a better college player than Jordan IMO, though his pro career was nothing like Jordan's. There were no dunks allowed while DT played in college, and yet, he and Monte Towe virtually created the alley oop. Part of the confusing Jordan college career is that his biggest moment came with the jumper against GTown in the finals...but Jordan was not top dog on that team. He was third fiddle after Worthy and Perkins that season. The next two years he clearly was the man for the Cheats...and they had early exits in both NCAA tournaments...one of which was won by NC State and Jimmy V.

    This is in contrast to how Laettner and David Thompson finished their college careers. They were both the recognized stars on national championship teams. Jordan never was that (but he was that a ton in the pros of course). No one was a better NCAAT player than Laettner - (maybe Alcindor).

  9. #9
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    Feb 2007
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    Washington, D.C.

    Thompson

    Thompsn’s NBA career would have been pretty amazing, but drugs really derailed it, sadly.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by MChambers View Post
    Thompsn’s NBA career would have been pretty amazing, but drugs really derailed it, sadly.
    DT # 1 Christian #1a. They were the two best college basketball players these blue eyes saw. Jordan was a very good college player that went on to become what most NBA fans claim to be the best pro player. As MChambers posted, drugs derailed Thompson's pro career. I would have loved to have seen just how good he would have been. GoDuke!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by HereBeforeCoachK View Post
    TThis is in contrast to how Laettner and David Thompson finished their college careers. They were both the recognized stars on national championship teams. Jordan never was that (but he was that a ton in the pros of course). No one was a better NCAAT player than Laettner - (maybe Alcindor).
    Thompson was the best player in ACC history by a clear margin, IMO.

    But he did not finish his college career on top. Great individual season, to be sure. National POY. But Maryland finished first in the 1975 ACC regular season, while UNC defeated State in the ACCT title game. Bothered by leg cramps, DT ended his college career with a 14-point performance in a loss.

    Not much different that Jordan v. Indiana.

    Only two teams per conference went to the NCAAS in those days. UNC got the automatic bid, Maryland the at-large.

    State was invited to the NIT right after the UNC loss and the seniors-Thompson, Towe, Tim Stoddard, Mo Rivers, Mark Moeller--told Norm Sloan they weren't interested.

    So, Sloan turned down the bid.

    The seniors reconsidered and went to Sloan the next day and told him they wanted to play. Sloan told them it didn't work that way; the slot had been filled by someone else.

    NCAAs? Alcindor/Jabbar not only never lost in the NCAAs, he never came close to losing. A handful of players had better pro careers. But as a college player, he was unrivaled. Again, IMO.

  12. #12
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    I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    I dunno, Reddevil. He was a very exciting player at UNC. I remember seeing Jordan play at the ACC's in the early '80s. If he had a breakaway, the ACC crowd would stand and start screaming as he reached mid-court, knowing how fast he was and how athletic the dunk was gonna be. The crowd didn't do that for anyone else.
    To me Jordan was much like Westbrook in college. He was very good, but no one saw a player that could dominate in the NBA. The college game has seen many very good players, but when talking about all time greats I didn't see it, and I watched all of it. He was a very good player on a very good team, nothing more. David Thompson on the other hand was extraordinary. I think even Jordan said as much. A 44" verticle was unheard of then. NBA careers have to be blocked out when judging the college game.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Reddevil View Post
    Laettner, Ewing, Sampson, Thompson, and Olajuwon for me. Jordan was very good, but NO ONE saw his NBA career coming. Not like that. No. As for unc, I would put Ford, Worthy and Davis among others mentioned ahead of Jordan in college.
    Vitale’s top 4 were taken from his 40-years broadcasting college games on espn. He said David Thompson was before his time. Obviously Magic, Bird, Lew Alcinder, etc. also wouldn’t qualify.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by lotusland View Post
    Vitale included Laettner in his top 4 - Laettner, Ewing, Sampson and Jordan.
    No love for Len Bias? He was amazing, maybe the best college player I have seen

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by howardlander View Post
    No love for Len Bias? He was amazing, maybe the best college player I have seen
    You took the words right out of my mouth. Bias had a full skill set and was playing at an NBA level in college when that was rare. He had less talent around him than Jordan, which may have facilitated his dominance. He has to be in any conversation of top 5 players of the era.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by howardlander View Post
    No love for Len Bias? He was amazing, maybe the best college player I have seen
    Oh, we all know the greatness of Len Bias, one of the very best college basketball players in history. And he was almost as exciting to watch as the incomparable Michael Jordan. That being said, in my eyes the greatest college basketball player of all time was the legendary Larry Bird. He was spectacular at virtually EVERYTHING — outside shooting, inside shooting, FT shooting, steals, rebounding, passing, and leadership. You name it and Larry Bird could do it.

    The fact that he took an otherwise below average team, Indiana State, with a below average coach, all the way to the very pinnacle of college basketball — the NCAA Championship game — is an achievement that has never been matched in the modern era of the sport. In my fantasy all-time greatest team I start with Larry Bird.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steven43 View Post
    Oh, we all know the greatness of Len Bias, one of the very best college basketball players in history. And he was almost as exciting to watch as the incomparable Michael Jordan. That being said, in my eyes the greatest college basketball player of all time was the legendary Larry Bird. He was spectacular at virtually EVERYTHING — outside shooting, inside shooting, FT shooting, steals, rebounding, passing, and leadership. You name it and Larry Bird could do it.

    The fact that he took an otherwise below average team, Indiana State, with a below average coach, all the way to the very pinnacle of college basketball — the NCAA Championship game — is an achievement that has never been matched in the modern era of the sport. In my fantasy all-time greatest team I start with Larry Bird.
    Carmelo Anthony says hello. Except for the below average coaching part.
    “Coach said no 3s.” - Zion on The Block

  18. #18
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    A lot of this depends on age. I imprinted on guys like Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Jerry Lucas in college and this rank them high.

    If I were a decade older, I likely would more highly value the college careers of someone like Bill Russell, Bob Cousy or Tom Gola.

    If were two decades older, George Mikan or Bob Kurland.

    Maravich? Great players make their teammates better. Maravich never made his teammates better.

    Bird made his teammates better. Magic made his teammates better.

    Speaking of Bird elevating ISU to a title game, in 1958 Elgin Baylor averaged 32.5 points and 19.3 rebounds per game, leading Seattle to the NCAA title game, where they lost to Kentucky.

    Seattle in the NCAA title game is at least as unlikely as Indiana State in the title game.

    I suspect those days are gone. Cinderella's can make the Final Four, as happened with Loyola last year. But the power conferences seem to have the titles wrapped up. We have to go back to UNLV in 1990 to find a champion from a minor conference.

    As for Anthony Davis or Carmelo Anthony, I'm not sure how we can rank a one-and-done over a comparable three-or-four-year player in evaluating a career rather than a season.

  19. #19

    Lightbulb

    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post

    Maravich? Great players make their teammates better. Maravich never made his teammates better.

    Bird made his teammates better. Magic made his teammates better.


    .
    I was a todler during Maravich’s college career but became a big fan after reading a book about him in my elementary school library. You can argue about where Maravich ranks on the list of great college basketball players but it would be a pretty weak argument to say that he is not among the best considering he holds the all time scoring record.

    Pete averaged 44.2 points per game over three seasons for LSU and holds the NCAA Division I scoring record with 3,667 points. He accomplished that when Freshmen were not allowed to play, there was no 3 point line and no shot clock. Dale Brown charted his shots and concluded Maravich would have averaged 57PPG had the 3-point shot existed. Maravich was not known as a good defender but he was a great ball handler, passer and shooter. He definitely made his teammates better. LSU was 3-21 when he arrived and hadn’t played in a post season tournament for 16 years but they finished 4th in the NIT his Senior year. His teammates honestly weren’t very good but Maravich still averaged more than 5 assists per game at LSU.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by lotusland View Post
    I was a todler during Maravich’s college career but became a big fan after reading a book about him in my elementary school library. You can argue about where Maravich ranks on the list of great college basketball players but it would be a pretty weak argument to say that he is not among the best considering he holds the all time scoring record.

    Pete averaged 44.2 points per game over three seasons for LSU and holds the NCAA Division I scoring record with 3,667 points. He accomplished that when Freshmen were not allowed to play, there was no 3 point line and no shot clock. Dale Brown charted his shots and concluded Maravich would have averaged 57PPG had the 3-point shot existed. Maravich was not known as a good defender but he was a great ball handler, passer and shooter. He definitely made his teammates better. LSU was 3-21 when he arrived and hadn’t played in a post season tournament for 16 years but they finished 4th in the NIT his Senior year. His teammates honestly weren’t very good but Maravich still averaged more than 5 assists per game at LSU.
    Pistol Pete had one college stat that sticks out for me. His points/game of 44.2 was actually higher than his FG shooting % of 43.8. Must be a record that no one will ever approach.

    I wonder if any college coach other than his father Press would have allowed him to take 38 shots/game.

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