Beyond the Arc : Greatest ever

Send the greatest ever good thoughts

Mike Miller — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:06:00 GMT

If you haven’t already, take a moment to send good thoughts Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s way. The greatest player college basketball’s ever seen announced yesterday that he has cancer.

Kareem’s prognosis for his rare form of leukemia is good. Doctors told the 62-year-old legend that he has “a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle.”

And that’s good news. To echo this post from Bruins Nation, get better big fella.

You can see Abdul-Jabbar talk about his cancer in the video below.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

A peek at college hoops' last Rebel team

Mike Miller — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:48:00 GMT

Perhaps no team captured our attention the last 25 years like the 1990 Runnin’ Rebs. Maybe the Fab Five or a handful of others come close.

But for sheer larger-than-life value, I go with Tark’s team.

Maybe that’s why I got a little tingle reading this story from the Las Vegas Sun’s Ryan Greene about the Rebels’ reunion.

Eric Risberg/AP

Larry Johnson was a beast for UNLV.

Everyone except Stacey Augmon (who’s working as an NBA assistant) was on hand. Player of the year Larry Johnson. Massive rebounders David Butler and Moses Scurry. Gunner Anderson Hunt. Brainy floor general Greg Anthony. And, of course, coach Jerry Tarkanian.

It sounds as though the current UNLV squad enjoyed it as much as the rest of us would have. I mean, this was the team that destroyed a damn fine Duke team by 30 points in the NCAA championship game. These guys seemed like they could anything. I always remember them as an up-tempo offensive juggernaut, but they were even better on defense.

"Physically dominating, defensively they were great, rebounding the ball they were great. They dictated on both ends of the floor every night out," said current Rebels coach Lon Kruger.

And, like every great team, it had stars and role players, someone for everything. This quote from Butler sums it up perfectly. The part about Johnson kills me.

"No one man is more important than the team," he said. "Everyone on our team had a role to play. Myself rebounding, Moses rebounding, Larry (Johnson) scoring a bunch of points. Greg (Anthony) just controlling the team and Anderson Hunt was one of the greatest shooters of all-time in my opinion."

There have been other great teams – ’96 Kentucky, ’92 Duke, ’07 Florida, among others – but do any of ‘em seem like they had as much fun as the Rebs? That’s the kind of college team I’m not sure we’ll ever see again.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Jordan's great motivator was ... himself?

Mike Miller — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:31:00 GMT

The best part about Michael Jordan’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is everyone wants to reflect on Jordan’s career. And as a guy who can’t get enough hoops history and topics to argue about, it’s a dream.

He’s inarguably one of the 5 best NBA players ever (the best, in my book), but his college career is far more interesting because he wasn’t Air Jordan yet. Just really, really good. Really good.

OK, he was friggin’ great. He’s just out of the all-time college Top 10, OK? And that’s not just me.

Robert Willett/AP

ANYWAY, back to the genuflecting. The Raleigh News & Observer has been doing blowout coverage of Jordan’s North Carolina days (as they should).

A slideshow, his Top 10 college moments and a glowing tribute from Dean Smith are to be expected.

There’s also the requisite “shot that started it all” story, which covers his game-winning shot against Georgetown in the 1982 title game. Current UNC coach Roy Williams maintains that even if Jordan wouldn’t have sunk it against the Hoyas, it would’ve happened another time.

"He was just destined to do something special, and it was going to come, and when it came, he was going to use it to take him to another level,” he said.

More interesting is this tidbit from “Jordan’s will to win came early.” Everyone knows about the legend MJ being cut from his high school team. Great motivation, right?

Never happened. At least, not that way.

"Back then, [most] 10th-graders played JV; that's just the way it was. Nobody ever 'cut' Michael Jordan," Sutton, who still teaches physical education, said earlier this month, shaking her head as she retold the story for at least the 100th time.

"Him not making the varsity that year was not his motivator -- he was motivated well before that. He just always wanted to be the best."

Whoa. Does that mean Leroy Smith’s motivational game is just a farce? It’s like my entire world view just shifted…

Dunker's dream: 'Skywalker' introducing MJ

Mike Miller — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:54:00 GMT

Michael Jordan being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame surprises no one. In fact, the announcement was months ago.

But MJ selecting David Thompson, the original ACC high flyer and dunk king, was a surprise. Jordan, the former North Carolina star, could’ve gone with Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen or his college coach, Dean Smith -- Smith seemed like the odds-on favorite – not the greatest player in N.C. State history.

But his Airness did just that. And when you read Marc Spears’ Y! story, it makes perfect sense. After all, Jordan is a guy with a sense of history.

“I got a call from the Hall of Fame and they asked me if I was willing to be a presenter for someone,” Thompson recently told Yahoo! Sports. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t know who it was. … They said Michael Jordan. I was like, ‘Wow.’ He told them that he was a big fan of mine and I was the one that really inspired him. Being that there was so many North Carolina people he could’ve chose, I was honored.

“I was kind of surprised, and also was really flattered that he chose me over Coach Smith. You know how important he is?”

Sounds like Thompson also has a sense of history. The ACC’s greatest player introduces the greatest NBA player. Sounds about right.

The rest of the story does what it’s supposed to do: Make me want to watch highlights from Thompson’s and Jordan’s college careers. (Pro highlights for Thompson and Jordan)

Maybe I’ll spend the rest of the day idly dreaming about the prospective dunk contest these two could’ve had if they were both in their primes. “Skywalker” vs. “Air Jordan”? Two of the greatest athletes, leapers and dunkers we’ve ever seen, throwing it down?

(Shudders in sheer joy.)

Maybe I’ll throw in Dr. J for kicks.

Could more active coaches be the greatest?

Mike Miller — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:51:00 GMT

Everyone knows John Wooden is the greatest coach who ever lived. But Sporting News made it official.

UCLA’s legendary coach was honored during a luncheon Tuesday, where a packed room toasted him – and that mind-boggling run of 10 NCAA tournament titles in 12 seasons (still the most remarkable run in all of sports).

Wooden, of course, kept his remarks humble. What else would he do?

AP file

Wooden celebrates his final NCAA title

“No one can really honestly be the very best, no one ... (but) these youngsters that have spoken — and some of them aren’t so young anymore — they’re the ones that make the coaches.”

The rest of Sporting News’ list of the 50 greatest coaches – selected by a panel of 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches and other experts – was kind to college hoops as well. Nine more coaches (two women’s coaches) were honored, most of the people you’d expect:

Dean Smith (No. 8), Pat Summitt (11), Bob Knight (16), Mike Krzyzewski (19), Adolph Rupp (21), Pete Newell (31), Geno Auriemma (42) and Hank Iba (47).

Not bad. Krzyzewski’s the only active men’s coach on the list, while Summitt and Auriemma are still busy duking it out for annual bragging rights in the women’s game.

So who’s most likely to eventually break into this list? To my mind, there are three who could eventually make the cut – Roy Williams, Billy Donovan and Jim Calhoun.

All three have two NCAA titles. Williams wins games at a higher rate than nearly any coach in history. Donovan and Coach K are the only coaches who’ve won back-to-back titles in the last 35 years. Calhoun’s racked up wins while building UConn into a national powerhouse.

But any of ‘em probably needs another title (or two) to make that 50 list.

UPDATE: Caulton Tudor of the Raleigh News & Observer says Williams was No. 51 on this list. Give it five more years, and Roy's a shoe-in.

Hansbrough's legacy tied to this Final Four

Mike Miller — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:29:00 GMT

The next few days will ultimately determine Tyler Hansbrough’s college basketball legacy.

Accolades aren’t the issue for the North Carolina senior. Few players can match being national and ACC player of the year, a consensus first-team All-American three times (and second-team as a freshman) and the career scoring leader at UNC and in the ACC.

Hansbrough’s been the face of college basketball for nearly three years, as the best player on one of the sport’s most storied programs. He’s led the Heels in scoring and rebounding for four years, the only player to ever do so. UNC’s won nearly 85 percent of its games – 122-22 in the last four years – a mark only a few players in NCAA history can surpass.

"People talk about legends," UNC senior guard Bobby Frasor told the Raleigh News & Observer. "I think [Tyler] is going to have a legend quality about him. The stories are going to build up and build up. People talk about [him eating] sushi now; in 20 years, it's going to be Tyler ate a live cow or something."

Paul Sancya/AP

Tyler Hansbrough

He’ll surely go down as one of the best players of his era, perhaps even of the last decade. But without an NCAA tournament title, will Hansbrough’s legacy be remembered as really good, but not elite?

Does Hansbrough need a trophy to be considered an all-time great?

"His career is bigger than that," Dave Odom, the former coach at Wake Forest and South Carolina, told ESPN before the tournament. "There's always one more thing he can accomplish ... but if [his career ended] today he's one of the greats in all ACC history. He plays every possession as if it was his last and conducted himself as the ultimate student-athlete."

Odom’s view takes into account the larger picture regarding Hansbrough.

Today’s athletes rarely live up to the massive expectations heaped upon them, whether by the media or by fans. It was true of Tim Duncan, a national player of the year who never could take Odom’s Demon Deacons into the Final Four during four stellar seasons.

In that sense, Hansbrough’s already surpassed some of the greats who finished their college careers without winning it all.

Pete Maravich was a scorer nonpareil and three-time All-American, but never even played in the NCA tournament. Wayman Tisdale was a force for Oklahoma in the ‘80s, garnering All-America honors three times, but couldn’t get to a Final Four.

Others dominating players like Jerry West, Elvin Hayes, Wilt Chamberlain and Ralph Sampson all reached the Final Four, but fell short of a title. They’re considered among the game’s all-time greats.

Would Hansbrough ever be considered among their class? Perhaps.

"He stands for what's good about college basketball," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said before the tournament. "He didn't run and take the money. He's good for athletics, period. It's how hard you work and how hard you focus, and that's what he stands for in college basketball. That's why he'll be remembered as one of the greatest players to ever play [in college]."

Of course, Williams may be a little biased. Hansbrough’s a rare breed in today’s game – an star player who stays all four years, stays out of trouble, wins games, all that good stuff.

Still, Williams probably isn’t alone in that regard. People’s reasons for choosing their best player of all-time usually vary, and it doesn’t always include winning a title. These Sports Illustrated writers didn’t pick the best scorer (Maravich) or the guys who won the most (Alcindor, Walton and the rest of John Wooden’s unstoppable Bruins), but focused on other aspects.

Perhaps they were supremely gifted players overwhelming opponents (David Robinson), or got the most out of limited abilities (Chris Mullin) or were simply … cool (Jimmy Walker).

Surely Hansbrough, a player lauded for his unceasing effort and ferocious style down low, would be lauded one day as a great.

If a guy like Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin – the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft and the player likely to prevent Hansbrough from winning a second straight national player of the year award – can give Hansbrough some props, how long until opinion sways in favor of the UNC star?

“He seems like he never gives up and he's always ready to go," Griffin said. "And just also the consistency he's played with over four years. I don't know how many he's averaged over his career, but obviously if he's the ACC-leading scorer, he's done a great job."

Don’t ask Hansbrough what he thinks of all this. He’s always been a humble star, reluctant to offer sweeping opinions on topics, let alone his place in the game’s history. He hasn’t even thought about life after the NCAA tournament, let alone out of school.

“I’m not gonna let that affect me right now. I’ll think about it in a couple weeks when I’m done,” Hansbrough said this week.

“I guess I’ve prepared myself mentally to leave, but I still think when you’re gone you’re gonna miss the silly things being in the locker and things like that.”

A trickier question: If the Tar Heels do cut down the nets Monday, yet Hansbrough is largely ineffective, what then?

He took just four shots and finished with eight points in Sunday’s showdown with Griffin. If it’s Ty Lawson or Wayne Ellington or another Heel who makes the big plays in Detroit, what then? Will Hansbrough’s legacy be hurt because he wasn’t the driving force behind a championship?

Maybe. But it’s doubtful Hansbrough would care – especially since he’s crucial to Carolina’s success.

If he’s on the court, opposing defenses’ primary concern is stopping Hansbrough. If his presence creates opportunities for teammates, then he’s one of the reasons behind a victory. If he carries the load and the Heels win, even better.

Williams has coached plenty of stars during his 21 seasons, including Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, Scott May and Kirk Hinrich. But Hansbrough may be better than all of them.

“He’s a unique young man. That’s the best way I can describe him. To me when something is really unique, that means you can’t find many of them. And I don’t think you can find many Tyler Hansbroughs,” Williams said. “I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, I’ve been awfully lucky.”

Perhaps we’re the lucky ones. It’s not every day you get to watch an all-time great.

Who's the best? Let's rank 'em!

Mike Miller — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:26:00 GMT

Everyone loves rankings. Whether it’s the AP, coaches, the nation’s top colleges, weekend box office results or the best Donkey Kong player ever, people love ‘em.

Especially when it comes to sports rankings.

People want to see how their favorite team or player compares to everyone else. They want to argue about placement, ranking methodology or how they could change. They’ll commiserate about a perceived bias or revel in a result.

And, after 15 installments of ranking the greatest college basketball programs, it was awesome to see ESPN’s Prestige Rankings this week.

For those that haven’t seen it, the simple version is that ESPN weighted 21 categories of hoops success – and failure – and ranked the top 300 teams in what they termed the “modern era,” or when the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams for the 1984-85 season.

(There’s far more involved than just that when it comes to breaking everything down, so click here for more.)

Anyway, the results had some surprises – it was a small surprise to see Michigan State out of the top 10 and seeing St. John’s still in the top 40 – but after culling all the numbers for my rankings, not a lot.

As for everyone else on the net, the reaction was mostly small grumblings, but not much more.

The biggest gripe – not surprisingly – was Duke at No. 1. There was mention of ESPN just wanting to focus attention on their TV coverage or hype up Duke and Carolina.

But that’s just the nature of rankings. People take issue with your methodology or the parameters (in ESPN’s case, the era involved) and cut loose.

Still, that’s the point, right? Get people reading and talking about it? That’s the best part of rankings, no matter how they might fall.

Greatest players lists may never change

Mike Miller — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:50:00 GMT

Now that ESPN announced Oscar Robertson as No. 2 on their 25 Greatest Players in College Basketball, there’s no doubt Lew Alcindor’s No 1.

Was there ever any doubt?

Their final list was different from mine (with a slightly different order while Bill Bradley and Jerry West replacing Scott May and Danny Manning), but overall there’s not much to disagree about. Alcindor and Bill Walton, for both their individual accomplishments and NCAA Tournament dominance, will always be regarded as two of the game’s best. The on-court brilliance of Robertson and Pistol Pete also make them top 5 locks.

And while I’ll disagree with their final list a bit (as do others, particularly when it comes to omitting players from the south and the heartland), it seems strange to think that no player from the last 20 years was higher than 12 on ESPN’s list. There were only five from the last 25.

The college game hasn’t produced a recent player who could be considered among the all-time greats? Really? The modern game lacks any elite players?

We may bemoan today’s game because the best players rarely stay four years or they rely only on their athleticism, but someone – even if it’s Christian Laettner, perhaps the most reviled player of the last 20 years – has to rate.

(I had Laettner behind Manning on my list, but even the Laettner haters have to give the guy his due. Winning back-to-back titles is a rare feat and he was the game’s best all-around player his junior and senior seasons. Hate him if you like, but respect the game.)

It makes me wonder if someone like Tyler Hansbrough – already a two-time All-American and headed for his third honor this season – stays all four seasons at North Carolina and wins an NCAA Tournament could make us re-think our rankings. Time would burnish Hansbrough’s accomplishments and reputation, which would boost him up lists like these, possibly into the top 15.

I’m probably dreaming. Even if Hansbrough did get that high, it’d be the rare exception in a game where the best players stay one or two years, then bolt for the NBA.

Players like Glenn Robinson, Elton Brand or Kevin Durant don’t leave a lasting legacy like the ones in ESPN’s top 25. Those guys all left before their junior seasons and would’ve been likely candidates to etch their names in our collective memory.

That’s what three straight titles or an 88-game win streak will do. After all, who could one ever top those?

The greatest college basketball players

Mike Miller — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:53:00 GMT

This one’s the ideal post for arguing among hoops fans. Except when you get to the top – then there’s little room for debate.

Just like in football, ESPN is counting down the 25 greatest players in college basketball history. (Click here for videos.) And it’s a loaded list.

Counting down from 25, they’ve hit George Mikan (DePaul), David Robinson (Navy), Calvin Murphy (Niagara), Austin Carr (Notre Dame) and Tim Duncan (Wake Forest). The top 20 starts with Bob Kurland (Oklahoma A&M, now State) Elgin Baylor (Seattle U), Ralph Sampson (Virginia), Tom Gola (La Salle) and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown).

Nice start. All of those players except Murphy were unanimous choices for the All-America team, while some – Mikan, Sampson – were unanimous choices for three seasons. Some might disagree with the order (I think Kurland’s too high), but they’re all worthy.

The fun part about these lists is everyone has their version.

A few seasons ago, SI.com had nearly 30 writers write essays on their picks for the greatest college player of all time. Check out each one when you have time. They’re thoughtful, impassioned pieces that sum up why the college game is so dammed great.

Here’s another list for the top 100 players, but it only has arguments made for the top 20. The rest is a list.

Also worth reading are these two items from ESPN on their “Mount Rushmore” of college hoops. (Click here for the second version.) Paired with those are: the most dominant individual college seasons, and the best Big Dance performances.

So who will be in the top 15 of ESPN’s list? Here’s how I’d rank ‘em.

(Note: The list likely won’t include Ralph Beard, a three-time All-American at Kentucky. His role in a point-shaving scandal is a no-no for something like this. After all, they left O.J. off the football list.)

15. Scott May, Indiana. If not for a broken arm in 1975, May would’ve had two NCAA titles to his résumé, instead of only having that perfect 1976 season.

14. Elvin Hayes, Houston. Another dominator down low, Hayes’ 1968 season – 36.8 ppg, 18.9 rebounds – is impressive. More so? That win against Lew Alcindor and UCLA, one of the few times Alcindor’s team ever stumbled.

13. Jerry Lucas, Ohio State. Lucas never ended a season without playing in an NCAA title game. Also a unanimous three-time All-American, who averaged 24.3 ppg and 17.2 rpg for his career.

12. Michael Jordan, North Carolina. His NBA career surely influences this pick, but MJ also dominated during his junior season, was a two-time unanimous All-American and there’s that famous shot as a freshman.

11. Magic Johnson, Michigan State. Left after just two seasons, but was arguably the best college point guard we’ve ever seen.

10. Wilt Chamberlain, Kansas. The Stilt could probably be higher – he was a two-time All-American and averaged 29.9 ppg and 18.3 rebounds in two seasons – but I wish he would’ve stuck around longer.

9. Christian Laettner, Duke. Hate him or love him, there’s not denying Laettner as one of the game’s greatest players. He played in four Final Fours, won two of ‘em and was the player behind one of the sport’s greatest upsets (UNLV in ’91) and its greatest game (Kentucky in ’92).

8. Larry Bird, Indiana State. I wish he and Bob Knight could’ve made it work. But I’ll take the three brilliant years as a Sycamore, where he willed a true mid-major to the title game and snagged Player of the Year – over Magic – in the process.

7. Danny Manning, Kansas. My pick – over Laettner – for the best player in the modern era. Manning, a unanimous All-American in ’87 and ’88, could score, rebound, defend … you get the idea. Danny and the Miracles had no business beating Oklahoma for the 1988 title.

6. Bill Russell, San Francisco. Centers dominated college hoops during the 40s and 50s, and Russell was the best of the lot. His Dons rarely lost (71-8 in three seasons, 57-1 in the final two) and he averaged nearly as many rebounds (20.3) as points (20.7) for his career.

5. Pete Maravich, LSU. The game’s greatest scorer. He had a permanent green light and he used it, averaging 44.4 ppg for his career. Put it this way: He has 400 more career points than the guy in 2^nd place, Freeman Williams, who went for more than 30 a game himself.

4. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati. Put simply, the game’s best all-around player. The Big O is one of two players to have a Final Four triple-double, but somehow never won a title himself.

3. Bill Walton, UCLA. Will always be the second-best center in UCLA history, but that’s no dig. Walton’s Bruins once won 88 straight games, he once made 21-of-22 field-goal attempts in the 1973 Final Four and was an ~~paralleled~~ unparalleled passer out of the low post. Why isn’t he No. 2? Because he lost to my guy at No. 2.

No. 2 David Thompson, N.C. State. Thompson’s mystique (he snagged a quarter off the top backboard!) and on-court ability are enough to cement his place in the game’s lore, but when the 1974 Wolfpack team beat UCLA – after beating Maryland in the ACC Tournament – it vaulted him into legendary status.

No. 1 Lew Alcindor, UCLA. The perfect college player. He had an unstoppable shot, was an underrated defender and the greatest winner we’ve seen in the college game. UCLA was 88-2 in his three seasons, won three NCAA titles and – because of Alcindor – set the standard for all college dynasties.

There's my list. What's yours?