Did you shove your socks all the way down when you played ball to emulate Maravich like I did?
Posted on 01/19/2008 3:06:05 PM PST by Mr. Mulliner
• Lew Alcindor, UCLA, 1966-67 -- This was as dominant a season as you'll find. In a win over Washington State, Alcindor scored 61 points and made 26 baskets. He scored 870 points (29 per game) and made 346 field goals and 274 free throws that season, helping the Bruins to a 30-0 record.
• Larry Bird, Indiana State, 1978-79 -- He led the Sycamores to an unprecedented 33-1 record and an epic title game against Michigan State that ultimately changed the sport. Bird was the national college player of the year and essentially carried ISU to the title game. He had plenty of magical moments, like scoring 49 points in a win over Wichita State.
• Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1964-65 -- It's hard to single out just one season in a stellar career. But Bradley was superb in 1964-65. He scored 58 points in a win over Wichita State and 51 in a league win over Harvard. Bradley averaged 35.4 points in five NCAA Tournament games and led the Tigers to the Final Four.
• Kevin Durant, Texas, 2006-07 -- Durant was absolutely sensational in 2006-07, averaging 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds, and at times carrying the Longhorns by himself to the NCAA Tournament and on the verge of a Big 12 title. Durant was a stellar big-game performer. Just go back and watch the tape of his game at Oklahoma State and you'll see how special he was. Durant swept every player of the year award -- as a freshman.
• Clyde Lovellette, Kansas, 1951-52 -- Lovellette, who was from Terre Haute, Ind., was one of the top big men to play. Lovellette helped lead KU to the title, and he led the nation in scoring with 28.3 points per game. He was the only player to lead the nation in scoring and win a title in the same season. Lovellette averaged 35.3 points in four NCAA Tournament games, scoring 33 points and grabbing 17 boards in the title win over St. John's.
• Pete Maravich, LSU, 1969-70 -- Watch the fluidity of his ballhandling, the way he glided on the court and his ability to score, and you can begin to appreciate his mastery of the basketball. Maravich was a savant at LSU that season, scoring 44.5 points per game. That bested his averages as a junior (44.2 points) and sophomore (43.8). No player has approached any of those marks since.
• Shaquille O'Neal, LSU, 1990-91 -- Shaq looked like a man among boys when he played at LSU. Shaq led the nation in rebounding with 14.7 a game. He was the AP Player of the Year as a sophomore. He blocked 140 shots. He scored 27.6 points a game and shot 62.8 percent from the field. He set a Maravich Center record at the time with 53 points and 17-of-21 free-throw shooting against Arkansas State.
• Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati, 1957-58 -- In his first season playing college basketball, the Big O averaged 35.1 points and 15.2 rebounds. And if you talk to those who saw him play, they will tell you he may have been one of the most complete players ever.
• David Robinson Navy, 1986-87 -- It's safe to say there may never be a player like Robinson, at Navy or any of the other service academies. Robinson was the national player of the year in 1986-87, scoring 28.2 points per game for the Midshipmen.
• Bill Russell, San Francisco, 1955-56 -- The stats are shaky from this season, but the results aren't -- Russell led the Dons to their second consecutive title. Try and find a more dominating defensive presence in the post.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
No real beefs with this list except that I might have put Maravich a little higher (his scoring stats are phenomenal) and was surprised to see Bill Walton (one of the worst commentators ever!) completely left off the list.
What's your take?
This was at the end of a streak where UCLA went about 88-0. I'm doing all this from memory, and some of these stats may include and asterick for a senior moment...
I think UCLA’s 88-game winning streak is one of those sports records that will never be broken.
Obviously Walton had a good supporting cast, but he was definitely the key player on those great teams, just like Alcindor was on the great UCLA teams a few years earlier.
No Chamberlain?
Yeah, WTH no Chamberlain? Heck I would even argue that Manning belongs on the list as well. I am not even a KU fan but they have had some legendary players.
Bird is the only guy who almost single handedly won an NCAA title.
You can’t help but wonder how many points Maravich would have averaged if he had a 3-point line. You have to figure it would be atleast 50.
Walton\\\’s UCLA lost to Notre Dame. The bookends of the UCLA streak. He says he remembers that more than any triumph.
Let us not forget Elvin Hayes.
Check my tagline. I believe when he was a Freshman freshmen were not allowed to play varsity basketball. His team went 30-0 during his Solp. and Jr. years. In his Senior year he lost to Notre Dame 34 years ago today. Then later in the season they lost to Oregon & Oregon State on the same weekend. They made the final four but then they lost to N.C. State is double OT.
Did you shove your socks all the way down when you played ball to emulate Maravich like I did?
On January 20, 1968, the Big E and the Houston Cougars faced Lew and the UCLA Bruins in the first-ever nationally televised regular season college basketball game. In front of a record 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome, Hayes scored 39 points and had 15 rebounds while limiting Alcindor to just 15 points as Houston beat UCLA 71-69 to snap the Bruins 47-game winning streak in what has been called the "Game of the Century". That game helped earned Hayes The Sporting News College Basketball Player Of The Year.Over 52,000 at a non-tournament game? Unbelievable!
When I was a kid the player I liked the most was Walt Frazier. Liked to steal the ball like he did. Although I lived in Atlanta for the first few years of Pete's career and enjoyed watching him.
Michael Jordan was never allowed by Coach Smith to do all he could do in college - Smith does not favor individual “stardom” of his players - did not.
But, who can possibly disagree: Michael Jordan was the best basketball player of all time.....
I read a really funny comment years ago - maybe in SI - about Jordan. It went something like “The only defensive scheme ever capable of stopping Michael Jordan was Dean Smith’s offense.”
I’m no college basketball history scholar, but the best college players I have ever seen are Alcinder, Maravich and Walton.
They dominated like no one else since.
ROFL - exactly.
Mr. Clutch, Jerry West’s senior year...In West’s final collegiate season, 1960, West put up the best performances of his career. He scored a career-high 29.3 points per game and a career-high 134 assists on the season. He also set a career-high of 16.5 rebounds per game. He shot 50.4% from the field and a career-high of 76.6% from the free throw line. West was again a consensus All-American selection, first-team all-Southern Conference, and Southern Conference Tournament MVP (for the third consecutive season). West’s best performance of the season was a 40-point and 16-rebound game against Virginia. West’s 908 points on the season is the most points scored in a season by a Mountaineer while his 510 rebounds on the season is also a school record. His 30 double-doubles on the season is also a Mountaineer record while his 15 30-point games is also a record.
I thought Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson from Purdue should be on that list. I don’t buy Durant being included, he had a great season but not one of the ten best.
And it made him a much better NBA player in the end, he made the guys around him better, unlike Kobe.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.