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The High Court |
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Deep Thinkers Only... |
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Judicial Review...The Best of Rupp |
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It’s another installment of Judicial Review, as The Chief and The Wig sit down to discuss The Wig’s Thrilling Thirty of Rupp Arena. Find out which picks were toughest and how The Wig was able to narrow down the field.
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November 1, 2005
The Chief: Well...here we go...it's the official Judicial Review of the Rupp Arena era's Thrilling Thirty, as prepared by our own Powdered Wig. It's confirmation time, Wig...and since Harriet Miers didn't show up, you are on the clock...
The first team has a couple of dead-solid locks in Jack Givens and Kyle Macy. Tony Delk could raise some eyebrows as a first teamer (over King Rex). You can tell us about that pick, but here's what we really want to know...How did you pick between Sky-Walker and the Monster Mash?
The Wig: Let me start by saying the selection process was thorough and often gut-wrenching, yet the arguments are sure to follow and understandably so. As much as I loved Rex, T.D. outdid him by sticking around for four years and by leading the Cats to a national title. But on to the feature debate...
Kenny Walker gets the 1st team honor over Jamal Mashburn by the slightest of margins. Most people can agree that each of these players were dominating forces while playing power forward with different styles. Walker was a primarily a low-post option, while Mashburn benefited from the 3 point shot and Pitino's high-scoring style. Despite their obvious differences, Walker's three years as a starter produced stats virtually identical to the career numbers of Mashburn who started all three of his UK seasons.
Then consider the following details:
Each player was on 1 Final Four team. Mashburn was named to the 1993 All-Final Four team. Walker played on 2 Elite Eight teams, Mashburn one. Walker was on 3 SEC Championship teams, Mashburn one. Each player won 2 SEC Tournament Titles. Walker was named All-American 2 times, Mashburn one. Each player was UK's leading scorer 2 times. Each player was UK's leading rebounder 2 times. Mashburn was named All-SEC 3 times, Walker twice. Each player was named to the NCAA All-Regional Team twice. Mashburn's team won 83% of their games; Walker's 78%. Each player averaged double figures in 3 seasons. Walker ranks 2nd on the all-time scoring list; Mashburn is 6th. Mashburn averaged 18.8 PPG; Walker averaged 15.8 PPG Mashburn averaged 7.8 RPG; Walker averaged 7.1 RPG Walker blocked 122 shots, Mashburn 53. Mashburn collected 153 steals, Walker 118. Walker shot 57% from the field, Mashburn 52% Walker shot 75% at the FT line, Mashburn 70%
Get the idea? It's a pretty close race. So I devised a comprehensive formula for determining which one of them ended up on the 1st team.
I flipped a coin. Walker won 4 of 7, and got the nod. No other formula gave me a definitive answer.
You've got the facts. Decide for yourself.
The Chief: I know you were aware of the tough decisions in front of you when you started this process. But as we began to work through our choices for the top thirty, and then even the top fifty, it was just ridiculous trying to separate some of these great players. The top eight to ten were probably the most clear-cut, although you could put them in almost any order. Macy was the icon of our childhood and Chapman was the hero of our adolescence. Yet, as you clearly detailed, Delk was the proper choice to join Macy in the first-team backcourt. In the Thrilling Thirty, you talk about taking Bowie at center over Turpin based on all-around play, and I couldn’t agree more. We both knew that Givens was a lock at small forward (especially since you slotted Mashburn at his primary position, power forward). But this Walker-Mashburn battle...well...WOW! But I have to say, I am with you all the way on that selection. Mashburn may well have been the best player of the Rupp Arena era, but Walker carried Kentucky basketball on his back for two years, and during that time he was arguably the best player in the country. I think that is good enough to earn him the first-team nod.
With an amazing number of terrific point guards in the Rupp Arena Era, what impressed you about Wayne Turner that lifted him all the way to the second team? Your selection of Anthony Epps is extremely enlightened...as he may be the most underrated player of the Rupp Arena Era...but does he deserve the sixth team nod over the likes of Roger Harden (the all-time single season record holder for assists) and Sean Woods (all-time leader in assists per game)? And isn't fair to say that Woods has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle over the past 13 years?
The Wig: Turner stands out from the crowded point guard assembly by virtue of his 87% winning percentage, three Final Fours, 2 National Titles and an Elite Eight appearance. The Cats have had a run on point guards that were great defenders, good passers and adequate scorers (Minniefield, Woods, Epps, Turner, Hawkins, etc.), but Turner stands above them all due to his overall body of work as a winner.
I have fond memories of Harden's great 85-86 season, but I also still recall the horror of many of his appearances in his first three seasons with the Big Blue. For a season, he was as good as any PG we've had, but not overall for a career. He was only an adequate defender, and was only a moderate scoring threat.
Woods is also an underrated performer who would likely be remembered more affectionately had it not been for Christian Laett...I can't finish that. But you know what I mean. Woods was often maligned in his three seasons for his inability to shoot the 3, but he clearly was the engine that propelled the Wildcats back into the limelight from the darkness of probation. Epps got the 6th spot due to team winning percentage and his knack for making big shots throughout his career. Shuffling back and forth between PG and SG at times, Epps never allowed Pitino to replace him no matter who he recruited to do just that. The four years of winning makes the difference for me.
It is remarkably difficult to argue with the things Wayne Turner helped accomplish while in a Wildcat uniform. The third team point guard, Ed Davender, was a better scorer, but Eddie D. was more of a combo guard than a true point. And as you pointed out, none of the other great Kentucky point guards were any better all-around than Turner, and nobody played or won more often.
It still pains me a bit to see Harden miss the list. But when you look at the choices, it is easier to see him outside the top six. I won’t be forgetting the half-court alley oops and behind-the-back passes that led to Kenny Walker highlight-reel dunks any time soon. And it seemed like every night he was hitting a game-winning shot during his senior season. Plus, we went to his camp man…I can’t believe you bailed on him…
On a serious note, though, you said it perfectly regarding Epps. There was always a high-profile talent waiting to push him to the bench. And it never happened. His numbers may not be spectacular (although they are quite solid), but Epps made the Wildcats better every minute he was on the floor. For that reason, I can only applaud your decision to include him in the Thrilling Thirty…even at Roger’s expense.
As for Mr. Woods…I can’t help feeling that between the singular brilliance of Mashburn and the beloved trio of Kentuckians (Farmer, Feldhaus, and Pelphrey), Woods was destined to be lost in the shadows. But I believe that with the possible exception of Mashburn, no one player was more responsible for Kentucky’s rebirth on the national scene. For my money, he would knock the up-and-down Minniefield out of the top six squads. But I’m just here to give The Wig a tough time…so don’t pay any attention to me…
I can't help noticing that you have two-year wonder Ron Mercer and transfer Derek Anderson in front of two of your all-time favorites, John Pelphrey. Talk about that decision, and also let us in on how you weighted your selections. How important was completing a four-year career? Did individual brilliance, no matter how brief, get strong consideration? And how important was team success during a player's tenure (wins, conference titles, national championships, etc.)?
The Wig: It is a tough balancing act when you try to weigh the statistics for guys that only played two or three seasons. In the cases of Mercer and Anderson, the team successes helped them offset the lower individual numbers in comparison to players like Pelphrey. Clearly Mercer and Anderson were key components of the '96 title team, and Mercer shouldered a huge load in '97 as the Cats fell just short of repeating with Anderson sidelined. Prior to the season-ending knee injury in his second and senior season, Anderson was on his way to two of the finest all-around years of personal and team success the UK program had ever seen. All of these were factored in to provide a lift over the solid four-year numbers of some other players.
I admit to having some bias toward the four year career and the overall team accomplishments. So, in order to offset a four-year career, players that played 2-3 seasons needed to do some very special individual things while still being a key contributor to team success. Projecting numbers are not really fair or accurate, so I tried to take their career numbers as a whole, while considering how good their teams were, and how big a factor they were in team success. All of that is ultimately subjective - and I wouldn't expect people to agree totally with me. And that's OK. As Stuart Scott would say, "Let the debating begin:"
The Chief: After giving you a tough time on Woods earlier, I want to make it clear that I believe that you have done a fabulous job balancing the issue of four-year guys versus those who stayed a shorter period of time. I think each group has been fairly represented, and it is important for folks to remember that this is about who was best as a Wildcat, not about who was eventually a better pro. If we were basing this on that issue, clearly Mashburn would have been an easy call over Kenny Walker. And so would Antoine Walker. But this is about what was done wearing the blue and white. That said, it was of utmost importance that a player’s contribution to a winning program be accounted for. The Kentucky program is built on excellence, and we would have been foolish to overlook the success any individual’s teams enjoyed while he was wearing the Kentucky uniform. And even if you don’t say it…I know it killed you to put anybody in front of Pelphrey…and Feldhaus…
You have already mentioned what a gut-wrenching process this was. So tell me…what were the five toughest calls on the list? And was Dickey Beal #51 on the list of 50?
The Wig: Wow, you really don't know when to stop working a guy over do you? As I have mentioned to you off the record this whole process has been equal parts trick and treat. There is NO good, fair, honest, correct way to rank players even within a 30 year time frame. That said, here were the 5 toughest calls I had to make in ranking the players...
1. Kenny Walker over Jamal Mashburn for 1st Team PF
I would have to agree the point guard was the most crowded field. Players we have mentioned like Harden, Woods, and Hawkins were very good, as was the overshadowed Dickey Beal and the much-oppressed Saul Smith. Beal was good, but I don't have any desire to start at 51 and keep going. I'll just say players like Beal, LaVon Williams, Truman Claytor, James Blackmon, Rob Lock (yeah, I typed that), Allen Edwards and Saul would be at the top of the best of the rest.
I didn't even delve into the area of talented players that left on bad terms such as Dwight Anderson, LeRon Ellis, Chris Mills (hush my mouth), Eric Manuel, Michael Bradley, and Roderick Rhodes (who did make the Top 50). Had things turned out differently for these fellas, there is a very good chance they would have all made the Top 30.
OK, enough with this analyzing. I've got to save my strength for angry emailers.
The Chief: You are getting worked over for mentioning Stuart Scott on this site…you know we are anti-ESPN here…but I forgive you because you were willing to say ‘Chris Mills’ before I had to…duck and cover. I want our readers to know that you covered this project with painstaking diligence, and that we do take ranking these guys quite seriously. Probably too seriously, truth be known. To close, we also want to acknowledge the difficulty of weighing players from different eras: Joe Hall’s players played without the impact of the three-point shot. It is scary to think how many points a Kyle Macy would have rung up with the arc in play. The Hall era was also one largely dominated by interior play. His teams rarely played with a true small forward (Givens and Derrick Hord the notable exceptions), instead often featuring the Twin Towers of Robey and Phillips and Bowie and Turpin. From Rick Pitino’s era forward, we have seen the game evolve into a perimeter-dominated affair, with small forwards joining shooting guards on the wing in what are basically three-guard sets. Even power forwards like Mashburn have become all-court players. It is a much different time, and the numbers are skewed accordingly. So again, hats off to The Powdered Wig for a job well done. We hope that you enjoy the work, and don’t hesitate to let us know what you think.
To return to The Powdered Wig’s Thrilling Thirty, click here…
To return to the breakdown of Rupp’s Finest Fifty, click here…
You can contact The Powdered Wig at powderedwig@thehighcourtofsports.com. You can contact The Chief Justice at chiefjustice@thehighcourtofsports.com.
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