Fab 5: Can't Wait For This

Finally a film about the greatest recruiting class in college sports history. It also happens to be my favorite team ever. You can thank these guys for the baggy shorts, black socks, and bald heads.

It will be interesting to watch this documentary as the team's star player, Chris Webber, who was the #1 high school player in the country in 1991, the #1 pick in the '93 NBA Draft, and the one with the most attention, on and off the court (1st team All-American, 5-time NBA All-Star, the timeout in the title game, accepting benefits leading to the Michigan scandal that stripped them of their banners) all of that stuff... he did not participate in the making of the movie.

Jalen Rose was one of the producers of the film, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson all were on board and so was head coach and now San Diego State head man Steve Fisher. They all helped the move get made except C-Webb. We'll see on Sunday how much of a factor that has on it.

I, for one, am just thrilled this movie is coming out. I have been waiting years for this. I loved the Mitch Albom book and always will, but this film is a unique take from the players and coaches involved with the ability to look back 20 years and put it all in perspective.

-Keefe

Who is the best College Basketball player of the last 20 years?

The AP announced their All-American teams yesterday. A pair of freshmen made the 1st team, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins from Kentucky as well as Ohio State's do-everything man Evan Turner. Wall or Turner will take home player of the year, and both had good seasons. I believe they will both make good pros, likely going 1-2 in June's Draft. But did either guy make you say, wow he might be the best college basketball player I have ever seen? No.

So who is the best college basketball player of the last, say, 20 years? Let's look at all the Naismith Award Winners since 1991.

91- Larry Johnson, UNLV
92- Christian Laettner, Duke

93- Calbert Cheaney, Indiana

94- Glenn Robinson, Purdue

95- Joe Smith, Maryland
96- Marcus Camby, UMass

97- Tim Duncan, Wake Forest

98- Antawn Jamison, North Carolina

99- Elton Brand, Duke

00- Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati

01- Shane Battier, Duke

02- Jason Williams, Duke

03- T.J. Ford, Texas

04- Jameer Nelson, St. Joe's

05- Andrew Bogut, Utah

06- J.J. Redick, Duke

07- Kevin Durant, Texas

08- Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

09- Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

10- ? (Wall or Turner likely)

Quick observations from the list; from 99-02 Duke had 3 different players win the Naismith, still can't believe Carmelo Anthony (2003) and Emeka Okafor (2004) did not win this award, and hey remember Blake Griffin?

I mention Melo and Okafor, neither guy won this award, but both probably should have and both took home National Titles. What is the most important thing to you when determining the "best" college player.

Is it best season, (Larry Johnson, Chris Webber, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant), is it best 2-3 year run (which eliminates Melo, Durant, even a Michael Beasley), and obviously how do you take into account career numbers. Guys like Laettner, Redick, and Hansbrough are going to have much better career numbers (individuals stats as well as Final 4s, etc.) than the 1 and done or 2 and out players.

That is why it's such a great argument. Laettner won 2 titles and played in a ridiculous 4 Final 4's while at Duke. Is that more impressive than what Carmelo did in his 1 year at Syracuse? Laettner averaged 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for his career; Melo meanwhile slapped up a 22.1-10 in his only season which was capped off by Most Outstanding Player award. And in the semi-finals he torched Texas (and Naismith winner T.J. Ford) for a freshmen tourny record 33 points.

Coach Jim Boeheim, obviously biased, but still, referred to Anthony as "by far" the best player in college basketball and it "wasn't even close." I, unlike the Naismith voters, agreed. That may have been the most impressive college basketball season I have ever seen.

However, Duke PG Jason Williams, later known as "Jay" or motorcycle man, had an incredible 3 year run. He was freshmen of the year, then led his team to consecutive championship game appearances, cutting the nets down as a sophomore. He was better than Shane Battier, his teammate who won the Naismith. I remember watching Williams play, and saying the words, "that is not fair."

To me the answer(s) to the question are Larry Johnson, Carmelo Anthony, and Jason Williams. Combining incredible individual seasons with the ultimate team goal of capturing a championship. Webber, Camby, Duncan, Jamison, and Durant were all amazing players, but when so many great seasons have happened in the past 20 years, I believe the title is the tie breaker. If that is the case, then I think you narrow the list down to L. Johnson, Laettner, Jason Williams, and Carmelo Anthony; I eliminate Laettner, because a side from my hatred for him, he may have been the best winner (minus Alcindor and Walton), but on a team with Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill and others, he was great, don't get me wrong, but not the best player in the last 20 years.

I know Larry Johnson and Jason Williams also played with great teammates, but their numbers were superior to Laettners. Johnson played only 2 years at UNLV (after starting at Odessa College), he made 2 Final 4's, won a national title, and went 69-6, while putting up 21.6 points and 11.2 rebounds. Jay Williams was 19.3 points 6 assists in 3 years, including 21+ his final 2 seasons.

So you do you think is the best college basketball player of the last 20 years?

-Keefe

C-Webb: Baggy Shorts and Much More

-Keefe


One of my all-time favorite basketball players is set to announce his retirement today. Chris Webber revolutionized the game, and if you don’t think so watch an ESPN Classic game in the 80’s or earlier and check out the shorts, socks, shoes, and hair cuts. Yes, it’s safe to say C-Webb, along with the greatest freshmen class in college basketball history with Jalen Rose, Juwon Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, changed the game. But more than just looks and trends Webber became one of the very best players the last generation.

Webber played the majority of his career in the Western Conference that was just a breeding ground for the best power forwards in basketball. Six of his first ten years (before the knee injury) he played in the West, as a rookie with Golden State and then most successfully with the Sacramento Kings. Night in and night out he put up monster numbers while facing off against the likes of Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, and on and on. Webber was right at the top of that list with those current and future Hall of Famers. This poses the question.

Is Chris Webber a Hall of Famer?

I am a huge stat guy. Maybe I take them into account more than I should, but some numbers simply can’t be ignored. You’ve all seen this before by now as any article about Webber is mentioning it. He is one of just 6 players in NBA history to average 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, along with Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, Larry Bird, (all in the Hall of Fame), and current star Kevin Garnett.

Career averages: 20.7 pts., 9.8 reb., 4.2 asts.

How incredible is that? Look at the company he’s sharing. Only 4 players have finished their careers with those kinds of numbers. Does it get a whole lot more exclusive than that? If you weren’t sure whether C-Webb should be in Springfield, those numbers are pretty convincing. Some would argue about team success, and how truly great players make everyone else around them that much better. Webber turned around 3 franchises in a row. Golden State had 34 wins the year before trading on draft day for Webber, then had 50 in his rookie year, returning to the playoffs. In fact his rookie year, 93-94 was the last time the team hit the 50 win plateau. The Washington Bullets were in the mist of a long playoff drought, but in his 3rd season with the team (96-97) he led the team in points and rebounds (over 20 & 10) and back to the post season for the first time since 1987-1988. Then perhaps his greatest turn around was with the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings had made the playoffs once from 86-87 to 97-98. Immediately the deal to send Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe to Washington for Webber paid dividends. The team made the playoffs in the West each and every year he was in the state capitol. Although he never advanced to the NBA Finals he did lead the Kings to a franchise record 61 wins in 2001-2002 where they lost in 7 to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers squad. The Kings had a 3-2 lead in the series just to see it slip away. I’ll give them the title had they gotten by LA seeing as how the Lakers walked past the Nets in a clean sweep. That was the closest Webber ever got to winning the championship in the NBA.

Getting close to winning a title in college, however, takes on a whole new meaning. Obviously Webber is famous for calling time out his sophomore year against Eric Montross (former Celtics 1st round pick), and UNC when they didn’t have any left in the NCAA Championship game. Michigan was down 73-71 at the time, in fact he traveled first and there was no call, then he called the time out they did not have. Clearly a mistake, but there is no guarantee they win the game if he does not take the TO. It’s a misnomer that the Wolverines cut the nets down if C-Webb knows how many fulls and 30s they have left, they were still down 2. I’m not making excuses for him, that’s just a fact.

Despite not winning a ring, I say Chris Webber has done enough to make the Hall of Fame. Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton all played their entire careers without winning a title. It’s not a prerequisite for making the Hall. Take a look at some of the accomplishments by Webber in his storied basketball career, and tell me what you think.

Highlights/ Honors/ Awards:

National High School Player of the Year
1st Team All American 1993
Led Michigan to back-to-back National Championship Games
NCAA All Tournament 1st Team 1992, 1993
Averaged a double-double both years at Michigan
1st overall pick in 1993 draft
NBA Rookie of the Year 1993-1994
All-Rookie Team 1993-1994
15 seasons in the league
10 seasons averaging 20+ points per game
5 time NBA All-Star
All-NBA 1st Team (2000-2001)
All-NBA 2nd Team (98-99, 01-02, 02-03)
All-NBA 3rd Team (1999-2000)
Top 10 in MVP vote 5 times
Led NBA in Rebounds per game (1998-1999)
Dated Tyra Banks