NBA- OU players and general (this thread only)

[WichitaSooner]

Originally Posted by WaymanFan

No doubt, but the Naismith Basketball HOF is different than the other pro sports in that one's college stats are also factored in (which explains why those like P Maravich, B Walton and R Sampson made the HOF so easily). As such, Blake's monster 2009 season will come into play when determining his credentials.

OU does have one representative in the Naismith HOF. Without looking it up, does anyone know who that is?

Alex Spaulding?

[BanjoCharley]

Alvin

Spelling?

[skyvue]

I think we can safely rule out Nick Thompson.

[WaymanFan]

The answer might surprise a few - Bruce Drake. He was inducted dure to his innovative offensive style of basketball. There will be a writeup on him in the HOF website as they have with all the inductees.

I'm staying on record as saying Blake Griffin will be inducted within five years of once he becomes eligible. The HOF gives more weight to guys who were GREAT players when they were healthy (think R Sampson, Yao Ming) as opposed to guys who were really good for a long period of time (think Louis Dampeer and Jo Jo White - both in, but it took a long, long time).

[61sooner]

What about Wayman, Alvan Adams or Paul Courtney for inclusion in the HOF?

[WaymanFan]

Originally Posted by 61sooner

What about Wayman, Alvan Adams or Paul Courtney for inclusion in the HOF?

I don't know who Paul Courtney is, but have a fair amount of knowledge about the other two :-). Alvan Adams career started out like gangbusters. He was an All-Star in his rookie season which cascaded into a classic Suns-Celtics NBA Finals series which included a triple-overtime game. The thing is, that was Adams best season. He certainly had a distinguished NBA career and is still considered the best Center in Suns history...but he was not a HOF caliber player. Wayman had a couple of 20+ PPG seasons...even had a game which he made 14 straight buckets...but he spent the offseason working more on being a great jazz guitarist than an All-Star caliber player. He averaged 15+ PPG over 12 seasons...had a good NBA career, but he was never great beyond college.

Blake Griffin had 6 truly healthy seasons and made the All-Star team all six of those years. For those who don't think he is HOF deserving, I'd like to know why you think Ralph Sampson was deserving (since he is in). That would be a good comp.

[WichitaSooner]

Originally Posted by WaymanFan

I don't know who Paul Courtney is, but have a fair amount of knowledge about the other two :-). Alvan Adams career started out like gangbusters. He was an All-Star in his rookie season which cascaded into a classic Suns-Celtics NBA Finals series which included a triple-overtime game. The thing is, that was Adams best season. He certainly had a distinguished NBA career and is still considered the best Center in Suns history...but he was not a HOF caliber player. Wayman had a couple of 20+ PPG seasons...even had a game which he made 14 straight buckets...but he spent the offseason working more on being a great jazz guitarist than an All-Star caliber player. He averaged 15+ PPG over 12 seasons...had a good NBA career, but he was never great beyond college.

Blake Griffin had 6 truly healthy seasons and made the All-Star team all six of those years. For those who don't think he is HOF deserving, I'd like to know why you think Ralph Sampson was deserving (since he is in). That would be a good comp.

I've not see anyone here argue against Blake. But Sampson was a three-time national player of the year in college. That's mind-blowing. If Blake had returned for two more years and followed up by winning his second and third national POY awards, his case would obviously be that much stronger. Sampson played in an era when more guys stuck around for four years, but that still is one difference in their college careers.

I hope Blake gets in. I really only pay attention to the MLB HOF because other sports induct way too many people for my liking. But Blake was more or less unstoppable when healthy, and he obviously worked very hard to develop a complete game after people spent the first couple years (falsely) claiming that all he could do was dunk and overpower people.

[Eielson]

Originally Posted by WaymanFan

The answer might surprise a few - Bruce Drake. He was inducted dure to his innovative offensive style of basketball. There will be a writeup on him in the HOF website as they have with all the inductees.

We apparently have two! The 1960 US Olympic basketball team was elected to the HOF in 2010, which includes Lester Lane. This was tricky to uncover even with Google.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U...asketball_team
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Lane

[61sooner]

I just threw in Paul Courty in the mix. No, he doesn't rate HOF status.
Was All Big 7 & 8 3 seasons.
Lead OU in scoring the year they lost to Holy Cross in the NCAA tourney.
3rd team and HM AA.
Ended playing for the Phillips 66ers.

[WaymanFan]

Originally Posted by WichitaSooner

If Blake had returned for two more years and followed up by winning his second and third national POY awards, his case would obviously be that much stronger. Sampson played in an era when more guys stuck around for four years, but that still is one difference in their college careers.

No doubt Sampson was a better college player...but he also played in two less NBA All-Star games than Blake, so that evens things up a bit. He simply wasn't as good as Blake in the NBA. Bill Walton only played in two NBA All-Star games, but was another amazing college player, and he did lead his team to an NBA title. My point is, being elite for a short period of time is a positive quality for consideration into the pro basketball HOF as opposed to baseball where longer careers of consistency seem to be more of an advantage.

[WaymanFan]

Originally Posted by Eielson

We apparently have two! The 1960 US Olympic basketball team was elected to the HOF in 2010, which includes Lester Lane. This was tricky to uncover even with Google.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U...asketball_team
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Lane

You got me there, Eielson :-). Lester Lane...died way too young. I always wondered if he would have been the head coach to push OU basketball to greatness...he obviously had a great building block with Alvan Adams.

[Sooner04]

Originally Posted by WaymanFan

You got me there, Eielson :-). Lester Lane...died way too young. I always wondered if he would have been the head coach to push OU basketball to greatness...he obviously had a great building block with Alvan Adams.

Fell over dead after playing pick-up hoops in the Fieldhouse. Starting PG for the 1960 Olympic team in Rome. You can drive on "Lester Lane" if you ever feel like hopping off the highway in Purcell, America.

PS: I knew it was Bruce Drake. There's a plaque dedicated to him in the practice gym. Spent many an afternoon trying to decipher Lon's unique way of communicating. Told this board one day that Cousins was playing a ton of point guard and was nearly run out of town by a torch-wielding mob.

[jmizzy4ou]

Originally Posted by Sooner04

Fell over dead after playing pick-up hoops in the Fieldhouse. Starting PG for the 1960 Olympic team in Rome. You can drive on "Lester Lane" if you ever feel like hopping off the highway in Purcell, America.

PS: I knew it was Bruce Drake. There's a plaque dedicated to him in the practice gym. Spent many an afternoon trying to decipher Lon's unique way of communicating. Told this board one day that Cousins was playing a ton of point guard and was nearly run out of town by a torch-wielding mob.

The heck you say??!! No way that happened around here.

[61sooner]

Just saw some pics of Trae Young getting married to long time girlfriend an ex OU cheerleader. They have a son who's almost to cute for words.
Best of luck to the happy couple.
Trae has always been a true Sooner and doesn't deserve the flack many have aimed at him while he was here as a player.

[BoulderSooner]

this is really really cool

Embedded Tweet

[OhioBornSoonerBred]

Reaves on a podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWFbjPDrc2o

[red recluse]

that’s a loss today if it weren’t for reaves crushing spain’s momentum swing in the 3rd quarter.

[CoachTalk]

Originally Posted by OhioBornSoonerBred

Reaves on a podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWFbjPDrc2o

Good listen.

Interviews were a tad unprepared it seemed but I think it said it was a spontaneous one.


Austin a good dude!

[CoachTalk]

Originally Posted by 61sooner

Just saw some pics of Trae Young getting married to long time girlfriend an ex OU cheerleader. They have a son who's almost to cute for words.
Best of luck to the happy couple.
Trae has always been a true Sooner and doesn't deserve the flack many have aimed at him while he was here as a player.

He’s matured a ton. He deserved it when he was here. I guarantee it.

[BoulderSooner]

paywalled but great stuff on AR

https://theathletic.com/4778859/2023...-usa-contract/

[skyvue]

Originally Posted by BoulderSooner

paywalled but great stuff on AR

https://theathletic.com/4778859/2023...-usa-contract/

An excellent story. One tidbit I learned from it (for those who can't access it): AR was planning to play for Team Germany until the call from Team USA came. He's of German heritage and his brothers play there.

[red recluse]

the thrilla in vanilla. austin has quite a few fans in manila. good win, but i would feel better if they would make more open 3s.

[WaymanFan]

Originally Posted by red recluse

the thrilla in vanilla. austin has quite a few fans in manila. good win, but i would feel better if they would make more open 3s.

And a nice writeup on Austin on ESPN's website...

https://www.espn.com/olympics/basket...rld-cup-opener

[red recluse]

dude is cold blooded. that late 3 he hit with montenegro closing in…there is no fear in that man.

[NickZepp]

Buddy is about to be traded.

https://theathletic.com/4883535/2023...-pacers-talks/