Uk didn’t really have a lot of “great” players in the 80s and 90s to be honest. Magloire was the best. Chapman and Dell were probably next in line.
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Cooper Flagg
- Thread starter IUNorth
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Uk didn’t really have a lot of “great” players in the 80s and 90s to be honest. Magloire was the best. Chapman and Dell were probably next in line.
OKC is a well run franchise and Sam Presti an outstanding GM and talent evaluator. I am not an OKC fan but give the devil his due.
My favorite story was during Bird's freshman year at ISU where he had to sit out because of eligibility rules... Bird consistently led the backups to whooping the starters. Head Coach asked him to go easier so as not to break the confidence of the starters. Bird told coach to just let the starters take the whippings like a man.
When “dad” calls the shots, anything is possible. ~ Press Maravich, Darien DeVries
He probably could have beaten them one on five.
I imagine Coach K would have played CL at the point if Hurley wasn't around. Hurley was the best point in the country. So, if he was needed to, I'm sure he would have been fine at the one position.
Good lord...he would not have. Laettner wasn't a guard, in any way, shape or form. This could be a generational thing...I suppose. Why would Laettner have ever considered bringing the ball up the floor back then? Lots of nuances to this topic.
I remember watching “Johnny Reb” Neuman play for Ole Miss, 1969-‘71. He averaged 40.1 pts/gm his sophomore season.
I don’t want to. I still get to watch the “shot” all March and April. But the dude was pretty awesome in college. He was incredibly clutch. Flagg choked away two games early in the season. No big deal but top 10 is a high standard.
There is that. For sure. Good point. By any account...prior to Duke, Flagg has the "clutch gene"...but that's for sure a check mark in Laettners column, at this point.
I need to see if his games are available on video. I agree about the shot but otherwise I must be missing something.
Oscar Robertson was amazing in college. He held the college scoring record until Maravich broke it. He was also a great rebounder and was a great passer, but they didn’t keep accurate assist records in those days.
www.sports-reference.com
Oscar Robertson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Oscar Robertson - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more
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Thus far AD is the only freshman to win the Wooden Trophy and a national championship. He was also MVP of the final four. Quite a remarkable freshman season.
I shudder to post this, but Glenn Robinson in 94 was incredible. I remember (maybe falsely) that Knight threw a box-and-1 on him at some point (maybe in 94, maybe earlier) to slow him down and even straight up zone.
I would add Oscar Robertson to that list. Oscar could handle and pass a ball like nobody else at that time, but was big enough and strong enough to take almost any Defender down low and work inside. Flagg is almost the reverse. Taller Forward body to play inside, but handles the ball outside and passes the ball like a point guard. I would compare Him to Larry Bird in terms of his Court presence, game instincts, and match up problems He causes.
He didn't have to be a guard, as Hurley was the point during most of CL's college career. He wasn't a guard, but was capable of doing it and did do it occasionally. CL isn't as good as Flagg in that category, as you mentioned, but still capable.
I have had one real girlfriend in the last 15 years. I have commitment issues and like sleeping around.
That team had a lot of talent and they shot 53% from the field as a team. Isiah was the straw that stirred the drink and averaged 16 pts a game. I would put him on the toughest minded guards ever in college basketball but he excelled as part of a really good team.
Ewing, Weber, Akeem, LJ, Sampson, Shaq, BRussell, TDuncan, JWest, DRobinson all deserve consideration.
I saw a vid just yesterday about how Chris Mullin was the three time Big East POY before the three point line was introduced in the heyday of the Big East.
A guy like him in today's game could have averaged 50%+ from 3 on 12-15 attempts a game.
Consider how ridiculous a cover that would have looked like.
A guy like him in today's game could have averaged 50%+ from 3 on 12-15 attempts a game.
Consider how ridiculous a cover that would have looked like.
he was a monster. Could have been a 6 foot 9 Jordan in the NBA.
I use his example to my kids as a reference to what drugs can do to a young person. Very sad story.
I was really looking forward to him playing on the Celtics with Bird. I remember I heard that he died on a radio sports program and was profoundly shocked.
I always defend Sampson against the cited reasons for his termination. But, I saw Eric Gordon quoted as saying the team problems were due to drug use. No problem for me until it gets in the way of doing what you need to do then it’s a problem. I really can’t defend Sampson for the out of control behavior of some guys on the team and drug use that compromised the team as noted by Gordon.
No idea if this is the case or not...but it seemed like that was a group that could only be held together, maybe "protected", by Sampson himself. And when he was removed, there was no longer the guy they'd all listen more to, keep their transgressions under wraps a bit, etc...
I think most people understand that a bigger factor in what led to the IU dumpster fire, was some of the types of kids Sampson brought in to the program...not how he was trying to get them in the first place.
When Larry Bird's name comes up as a guy that people a little older than me use as someone better than Flagg... I know I'm probably on to something.
VanHorn...bro? What? Again... VERY good college player, played both inside and a little around the perimeter...but was not a 6-9 Guard/Wing/Post hybrid like Flagg...and like Bird was...
Pete Maravich's view on defense was if you outscored your guy you were playing dee. LOL Or at least there's a youtube interview where he commented on being accused of no defense, and said his answer was "I scored 40, my guy scored 20, who was defending who?"
I liked listening to him talk on the game though. He was very focused from a young age. Said after going to bed he'd lay there practicing his follow through by shooting up to the ceiling saying or thinking 'backspin, follow through, finger tip control' as he did it.
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