Duke fans.

[millwalldavey]

That was right when i started to get into b-ball... i was in grade 6, same age i teach now. Amazing the shock then, then kids wouldnt bat an eye to it now.

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by millwalldavey

I guess its hard to make an argument for the best ever unless you saw them play. Kareem is a good candidate for the title, based on everything mentioned above. One thing to kinda put the UCLA years in some perspective (not to slight them... believe me) is that in those days, there were simply not as many good programs (and the best of the best seemed to end up at UCLA). In Thompsons 1970's there were emerging programs that are prominent today, but you still couldn't field 64 (let alone 32 then) where half of them had a legit shot to win it all each year.

My argument for Battier is based on his performance and the times he played in. So many good programs, so many good players.

Think about some of the grat players who never get to college or the pros!

Good points, but here's something else to consider - there were no high schoolers or college underclassmen allowed into the NBA in Kareem's college days. The best players in the NCAA now are usually gone for the NBA before their junior year rolls around, which in effect dilutes the talent at the college level and gives many more programs a chance to compete. Back then you either played in college through your senior year or you sat out (in Wilt Chamberlain's case, for example, he played for the Harlem Globetrotters instead of playing his senior year at Kansas). I also have a feeling Kareem would be an All-American now just as he was then.

[millwalldavey]

Originally Posted by fansince'76

I also have a feeling Kareem would be an All-American now just as he was then.

As do I. Did not want to slight him at all. Good points about the early departures as well.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by millwalldavey

That was right when i started to get into b-ball... i was in grade 6, same age i teach now. Amazing the shock then, then kids wouldnt bat an eye to it now.

that incident set the celtics and terps back years. i hate the celtics, but i was really looking forward to see bias on the court with byrd.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by MasterOfPuppets

like len bias........

Agreed - just an incredible talent and tragic end

[millwalldavey]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Dan

Agreed - just an incredible talent and tragic end

It almost seems certain it was his first time trying cocaine from what Ive always seen... who knows. Not an issue, its still a shame.

[SteelCityMan786]

Originally Posted by millwalldavey

geeze... i shoullda compiled all thes responses into one!

this is kinda fun!

At least we all agree on the Steelers!

Gotta have some debate every once in awhile.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Originally Posted by millwalldavey

It almost seems certain it was his first time trying cocaine from what Ive always seen... who knows. Not an issue, its still a shame.

yeah it certainly was, then to top it off ,his younger brother was murdered a few years later. he attended community college here in my town. ....
Yesterday, 4 1/2 years after his brother died a cocaine-induced death, Jay Bias, 20, was shot and killed in the parking lot at Prince George's Plaza following an argument at a jewelry store in the mall. Last night, Jerry Samuel Taylor, 24, surrendered at the Oxon Hill police station, was charged with first-degree murder and was being held without bond.

And the mourning started all over again.

"First Len, now Jay. This is a bad dream," said Clinton Venable, one of Jay Bias's best friends who played basketball alongside him at Northwestern High School and Allegany Commnunity College in Cumberland, Md., and is now a senior playing at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. "I sure didn't want to hear anything like this."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...launch/jay.htm

i also found this nugget.....

Bias was rated by some draft publications as the most complete forward ever to come out of college.[citation needed] Bias was compared by some with Michael Jordan,[1] even though Jordan himself was only in his second professional season at the time Bias was drafted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Bias