The 10 Greatest IU Players of the Last 30 years
by hoosierdaddynow on Nov 4, 2011 1:44 PM EDT
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I see that Chuck Klosterman has published his list of the top 50 college players of all time. For what it's worth: Scott May is #35 and Steve Alford is #18. These lists are just fodder for people to yell at each other over the internet. But what the heck.
I have been actively following IU for about 30 years now. So I'll cut it off there. I know what I know about Quinn Buckner, Scott May and Kent Benson from what my dad has told me. I am just going to stick to what I know. And, I should be working instead of posting this (and it probably blows a hole in Thunderpup's afternoon, too), so I am just going to keep this to 10. Using the the theme of this afternoon -- speculative stuff without facts or statistics (h/t, AJ) -- and to get the juices flowing for the start tonight, here goes:
10. Jay Edwards. A disaster off the court, but he was just sick on it. Had legitimate range of 25 feet.
9. Damon Bailey. His legacy is so clouded by the expectations placed on him, fairly or not. We all expected him to be the #1 player of all time. He was still pretty good, though.
8. Brian Evans. Deserves recognition for being the only guy under Knight to lead the conference in scoring. He was also tough, and had a flat top that you could set your watch by.
7. DJ White. I have always appreciated the work and effort that DJ put into his game. He was a somewhat-heralded prospect who came here skinny but determined. He worked through injuries and coaching turmoil to make himself a very, very good college player.
6. Eric Gordon. Only one year, but man, what a year it was. In just about every game he played while at IU, he was the best player on the court. Without any real argument.
5. Jared Jeffries. My vision of what I hope Trey Lyles becomes. Good defender, if my memory serves correctly, too.
4. Alan Henderson. Henderson was a complete package: great defense; blocked shots; played with his back to the basket; had range facing the basket to about 18 feet.
3. Isaiah Thomas. If you get a chance, check out the results from the 1981 tourney. IU went in somewhat lightly regarded (having lost 9 games, but won the conference). They absolutely destroyed everyone they faced. And the reason was Thomas.
2. Steve Alford. Thinking back on that 87 team, I marvel at Coach Knight. Alford was a truly great player. Everyone else was "meh" at best. That's on the coach.
1. Calbert Cheaney. He was great for his entire career, and absolutely unstoppable (and National POY) his senior season.
OK, flame away.
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I read the Klosterman list and by its own terms, it is strange. He limits it (with a couple of obvious exceptions) to guys whose pro careers didn’t live up to their college careers (hey, hard to believe there were only two IU players on the list). So, for instance, Isiah wouldn’t have been eligible for his list. His criteria were 1) talent; 2) college career more meaningful than pro career; 3) unorthodox game; 4) something vaguely collegiate about his persona; 5) age bias (he’s 39); and 6) and dead favored over living.
Based on his criteria, I’m not sure how Calbert Cheaney didn’t make it. 1) is obvious. As you note, he was an absolute beast on some really good teams. Although his pro career wasn’t great, he stuck around for 13 seasons and 825 games. 2) Despite a respectable pro career, obviously his collegiate accomplishments are more significant. 3) He was a 6-7 lefty who looked could play down low but also could shoot. He was what we wish Christian Watford were. 4) The Fab Five used to make fun of him for his poor trash-talking ability. Sounds like a collegiate persona for me. 5) almost the exact same age as Klosterman. 6) alive, but so are most on the list.
As for your list, it’s hard to argue. The main guys who jump to mind as possible additions are Randy Wittman and AJ Guyton, but I’m not sure who I would eliminate. Bailey, maybe, who was a very good player but probably never the best player on his team. And Alan Henderson is a guy I seriously underappreciated when he was at IU. I know this is a feelings over stats list, but his numbers are amazing.
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by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Nov 4, 2011 4:27 PM EDT reply actions
An argument could be made for Wittman, Kitchel, Haston and definitely Guyton. I think that Guyton would be the next guy on the list. And you are right (below) about Isaiah. Math has never been my strongest subject.
by hoosierdaddynow on Nov 4, 2011 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, and I hate to mention it, but 30 full seasons have transpire since the end of Isiah’s IU career.
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by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Nov 4, 2011 4:28 PM EDT reply actions
From a purely fan-favorite standpoint
I nominate AJ Moye. God damn did everyone love that sumbitch.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Nov 4, 2011 8:40 PM EDT reply actions
Top 10 Fan Favorites
An almost completely different list. And I’m sure I’ll miss someone.
10. Brian Sloan
9. Erreck Suhr
8. Hulls
7. Coverdale
6. Guyton
5. Fife
4. Alford
3. Cheaney
2. Moye
1. Tijan
by hoosierdaddynow on Nov 4, 2011 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Keith Smart is surely #1
The guy put Indiana on his back down the stretch in the ’87 title game. I am certain he has never had to pay for a beer in any Indiana bar.
the love for Tijan still boggles me
but damn it if I didn’t buy into it to. I love me some Tijan Jobe.
-Contributing Writer at The Crimson Quarry.
I don't get it and I never bought into it.
Now the love for Oladipo, THAT I understand.
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Nov 6, 2011 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
Top Ten Most Hated by Fans:
1. Bracey Wright
2. Bracey Wright
3. Bracey Wright
4. Bracey Wright
5. Bracey Wright
6. Bracey Wright
7. Bracey Wright
8. Bracey Wright
9. Bracey Wright
10.Bracey Wright
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Nov 5, 2011 10:03 AM EDT reply actions
You could definitely put him on the list if you wanted to.
I know quite a few people who despise Reed, but I’m not one of them. Sure, I love Bobby as much as anyone and I’ll never not love Bobby but he was gonna get himself fired sooner or later. Kinda wish it was a few years further down the road so I could’ve been in school while he was still there, but what’re ya gonna do?
"It's an easy game, man. Easy game."
~Edgerrin James
by 87 Rides A Surfboard on Nov 6, 2011 10:30 PM EST up reply actions
Bracey could have been great under other circumstances. The late 1990s guy who gets under my skin is Richard Mandeville. He stuck around for five years, never did much, and then blasted Knight during the Neil Reed fiasco, saying he wished he had left after his freshman year. You and me both, Dickie.
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Nov 8, 2011 2:44 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yes on Mandeville
He was a stiff. I disagree with you on Wright, though. He was a shoot-first ball hog who did not play good defense and did nothing to make his teammates better. I am not sure under what circumstances he becomes great or even less loathed. He’s probably hated as much as he is because of the context in which he played, the season in which the program hit a lull at the end of the Davis era. He is also rightly or wrongly credited with being the guy who stole the mojo for the 2002-2003, post Final Four team.
Also, 87’s list is missing: Luke Recker, at #5. If you want to leave, fine. But, (i) don’t steal Michael Lewis’s girlfriend, and (ii) don’t end up at Iowa.
by hoosierdaddynow on Nov 8, 2011 3:44 PM EST up reply actions
Oh, mos def Luke Recker!!
I can’t staaaand that MFer! So he goes out to Arizona, gets into a car accident that also puts his girlfriend in a wheelchair, and dumps her so that he can abscond “cleanly” to Iowa. As a man in a wheelchair thanks to a car accident myself, it makes me all grrrr…
I’d add Andre Patterson to that list somewhere, too.
I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us. ~Walt Whitman
Embrace your anger, Chop
It makes you complete. Patterson is definitely on the list of biggest disappointments over that period of time. In fact, he’s probably top 5 on that list.
by hoosierdaddynow on Nov 9, 2011 7:52 AM EST up reply actions
Andrae was frustrating, but he was too nice to hate. He may well have been too nice, period. Even Knight couldn’t seem to get all that angry at Andrae, even though he had the ability, no exaggeration, to be #1 on the above list. Any IU fan who remembers the 1996-1997 season could take a vivid walk down memory lane with just a five work conversation:
Fan 1: “Andrae Patterson.”
Fan 2: “The Duke game.”
The Crimson Quarry, SB Nation's Indiana Hoosiers blog
by John M (The Crimson Quarry) on Nov 9, 2011 8:47 AM EST up reply actions
I think this would look way different if it was the last 40 years
Benson, Buckner, May, Wilkerson and George McGinnis would replace 5,7,8,9,10 in my opinion.
"The number 2" Projected Colts wins and number of students from Tennessee attending Vanderbilt.
That makes for a very interesting discussion
You probably have them too low, with the possible exception of Wilkerson. All of them are before the time that I can actually remember following the team. I am told that, as a 3 year old, I was a big fan of Quinn Buckner for some reason.
Questions that I don’t know the answer to: Was Thomas > Buckner? Was McGinnis basically Eric Gordon, 1.0 (i.e., far and away the best player on the court every game)? Was May > Henderson? For that matter, was Steve Downing > Henderson? If you go back to the 70’s, do you have to include Mike Woodson? Have we short-changed Ray Tolbert?
by hoosierdaddynow on Nov 9, 2011 7:58 AM EST up reply actions
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