54 replies to this topic

[glenn__davis]

He did not make 2nd team all ACC.

 

You'll have to take that up with Mackus

 

If he is available I'll certainly take him over Smith.  I still think Smith complements Len better, but Wilcox's much higher talent level can't be ignored.

[JeremyStrain]

Just got an I'm getting old feeling reading Roy Devyn Marble's name. I can remember watching his Dad, Roy Marble star at Iowa in the mid 80's. Marble was selected in the first round by the Hawks in 89' but mostly played in the CBA until his retirement in 94'.

 

Funny you said this, I went into the office today and my boss (who is not a sports fan in the least) was telling me how he went to school with Roy at Iowa, and has gone back to the area and hung out with the younger one the past two summers.

[bnickle]

If WIlcox didn't make 2nd team All ACC then he is easily 1 of the 2. The other one I have to think about.

 

 

Im not saying I would use Stokes or Hayes but its one of those things where if we are using an individual season I would use Hayes's senior year. He was a much improved player his final year vs his first 3. For a career Stokes was consistently better.

 

 

Jones should get dtrong consideration just because he was a terrific shooter. he would have helped open up the lane for Len as much as anybody with his shooting. Still, there is a good argument that a pure PG would be best.

[Mackus]

May have had a bad link on Wilcox.  The question's intent was to find two non-stars to add to this team.  So I'll eliminate 1st round draft picks as well, so no Wilcox!

[glenn__davis]

Just because I never had I went back and looked up Joe Smith's numbers.  Holy crap.  I remembered him being great (so great that I voted for him as Gary's top terp over Dixon in the Testudo Times poll they ran) but didn't realize just how good his numbers were.  Averaged a double-double as a freshman and sophomore, including 19 and 21 PPG respectively.  Added 3 blocks/game as a sophomore as well.  I regret that I was just a wee bit too young to really appreciate how good he was.  I was about 12/13 and just getting into college basketball.

[glenn__davis]

Back on topic, the reason I don't take Jones is because he seemed to resemble a lot of this years team - lots of physical talent, not a whole lot of smarts.  Also had very little handle.  Now his one good skill was certainly sorely needed on this team, but I really think what this team needed more than anything were smart, mentally tough basketball players who knew how to perform in important situations.  To that point, I think Stokes and Jamar Smith both fill those needs, and do so at positions where we were lacking anyway.

[Mackus]

Just because I never had I went back and looked up Joe Smith's numbers.  Holy crap.  I remembered him being great (so great that I voted for him as Gary's top terp over Dixon in the Testudo Times poll they ran) but didn't realize just how good his numbers were.  Averaged a double-double as a freshman and sophomore, including 19 and 21 PPG respectively.  Added 3 blocks/game as a sophomore as well.  I regret that I was just a wee bit too young to really appreciate how good he was.  I was about 12/13 and just getting into college basketball.

 

Same for me.  I think I may be a couple years younger than you, I was about 10-11 I think during Joe's years and was just getting into college basketball.  I remember my Dad letting me go to bed at like 6 or 7pm for a couple hours so that I could wake up and watch (I think) the UMass game in the NCAA tournament that started at 10pm.  I remember some but not all of the next season with Joe as a sophomore.  Huge games against UNC with Wallace and Stackhouse.  By the start of the next year, I was a full-fledged die hard, watching ever single game.  I think I used to even keep box scores on paper myself.  I loved keeping score of baseball games, still do when I get the chance, and wanted to transfer the experience to basketball.  That was when the supporting cast had to do things themselves, with Simpkins, Rhodes, Hipp, and Booth.  For some reason I can't remember, my favorite player was Mario Lucas.

[JeremyStrain]

Same for me.  I think I may be a couple years younger than you, I was about 10-11 I think during Joe's years and was just getting into college basketball.  I remember my Dad letting me go to bed at like 6 or 7pm for a couple hours so that I could wake up and watch (I think) the UMass game in the NCAA tournament that started at 10pm.  I remember some but not all of the next season with Joe as a sophomore.  Huge games against UNC with Wallace and Stackhouse.  By the start of the next year, I was a full-fledged die hard, watching ever single game.  I think I used to even keep box scores on paper myself.  I loved keeping score of baseball games, still do when I get the chance, and wanted to transfer the experience to basketball.  That was when the supporting cast had to do things themselves, with Simpkins, Rhodes, Hipp, and Booth.  For some reason I can't remember, my favorite player was Mario Lucas.

 

I'm just a couple years older than you guys, so I got into things when Walt Williams was there, before Joe showed up. Had a Terps alumni teacher in HS so she would play the games on TV in class for the tourney when Joe was there.

 

Walt was redic his senior year, I think it was like 92, I know I was in 6th or 7th grade. He averaged like 27 points a game.

[Mackus]

Had a Terps alumni teacher in HS so she would play the games on TV in class for the tourney when Joe was there.

 I had a teacher who would do the same thing.  ACC tourney and NCAA.  He also would play in the pool that I ran, back when you had to do it all with pen & paper.

 

He taught engineering and calculus...shocking that I ended up becoming an engineer!  Maybe if the English teachers had let us watch basketball I'd know how to properly use the word 'whom' or understand whatever the hell a gerund is.

[JeremyStrain]

 I had a teacher who would do the same thing.  ACC tourney and NCAA.  He also would play in the pool that I ran, back when you had to do it all with pen & paper.

 

He taught engineering and calculus...shocking that I ended up becoming an engineer!  Maybe if the English teachers had let us watch basketball I'd know how to properly use the word 'whom' or understand whatever the hell a gerund is.

Yeah looking back, I had a teacher 2 back to back periods that played every USA hockey game in class too. It's funny how the little influences that shape us we don't notice for years.

[mweb08]

If Wilcox is not an option, I'll go with Gilchrist in his sophomore year and Mike Jones as a senior to drop 3's. 

 

The team would no longer have a 3 point shooting issue at all, nor would they have a PG issue. Plus, they would be very athletic and I would expect Len's production to go up with a real PG and with much better outside shooting to spread out the D.

[Mackus]

I agree that I'd focus on a true PG (Gilchrist, Hayes, and Stokes are all good options for varying reasons, I go with Hayes) and a lights out shooter (Jones or Jasikevicius would be my choice) over adding another solid big man.  Definitely agree that adding a PG and a shooter (or two if the PG can also shoot) would have solved a lot of the problems this team had.  Len would get a lot better shots and have more space to operate.

 

Not sure if I mentioned it, but I also intended that you got the player at his level when he left Maryland.  So you do get all of the improvement from guys like Hayes and Jones over the years, but in Gilchrist's particular case (or with someone like Mosley or Morris if he were eligible) you got the frustrating, regressed, potentially hazardous performance of their final season.  Don't mean to be constantly moving the goal posts on this, just didn't do a great job of explaining at the outset.

[mweb08]

You're killing me Mac.

 

Well these added restrictions are forcing me to go with the same two players you picked. I hope you're happy. 

[Mackus]

You're killing me Mac.

 

Well these added restrictions are forcing me to go with the same two players you picked. I hope you're happy. 

 

Gotta do whatever it takes to make myself look smart!

[bnickle]

Joe SMith was the man. He was there my freshman and sophomore years of High School. Just a remarkable college basketball player. Still remember getting home from a school trip to DC and wathcing the last 5 min of the game against Duke his sophomore year. He put in 40 points and won the game with the tip at the buzzard. Billy Hahn was coaching as Gary was suffering from pnemonia. The other game against Duke that year we won when Joe blocked Parks game tying shot at the buzzard. I remember a number of those games much better than I remember games from last year.