All time SEC team
- Thread starter Pizza Slice
- Start date
There's just more of em' now than then. :sunglasses:
I'm still trying to figure out the love for Charles Barkley in this thread by some posters. His best year at Auburn was the 83-84 season where he averaged 15.1ppg and 9.5rpg and was named 3rd team All-American by one publication (NABC). Chuck Person averaged 22ppg and 8.9rpg the following season for Auburn.
Kenny Walker was hands down a much better college basketball player than Barkley. 3 Time 1st team All SEC, 2 time SEC POY, Consensus 2nd Team AA in 1985 and Consensus 1st Team AA in 1986 on a team that finished 32-4.
Kenny Walker was hands down a much better college basketball player than Barkley. 3 Time 1st team All SEC, 2 time SEC POY, Consensus 2nd Team AA in 1985 and Consensus 1st Team AA in 1986 on a team that finished 32-4.
Person and Walker were on my candidate list. And Walker is one of my 4 favorite Wildcats of all time (w/ Mashburn, Hayes & Ulis). But you had to see Barkley to appreciate him. He had no interior help on that team (Person was mostly a shooter), was double & triple teamed in the post, and was still a rebounding machine. In 84 the 6'5 Barkley was going against our twin towers (7'1 Bowie & 6'11 Turpin).
Don't know if he's been mentioned yet, but Johnny Neumann from Ole Miss averaged 40 ppg in his sophmore season. He was an all-american, SEC POTY, who played '69-'71. He's gotta be in the mix.
I'll throw a different perspective into all this. Take a look at this team composed of SEC players in 1992:
Starters
C - Shaquille O'Neal (Junior)
F - Jamal Mashburn (Sophomore)
F - Latrell Sprewell (Senior)
G - Alan Houston (Junior)
G - Lee Mayberry (Senior)
Bench
G - Todd Day (Senior)
G - James Robinson (Junior)
G - Wesley Person (Junior)
G - Litterial Green (Senior)
F - Robert Horry (Senior)
F - Stacey Poole (Junior)
C - Oliver Miller (Senior)
Damn, I miss those days of SEC basketball
Starters
C - Shaquille O'Neal (Junior)
F - Jamal Mashburn (Sophomore)
F - Latrell Sprewell (Senior)
G - Alan Houston (Junior)
G - Lee Mayberry (Senior)
Bench
G - Todd Day (Senior)
G - James Robinson (Junior)
G - Wesley Person (Junior)
G - Litterial Green (Senior)
F - Robert Horry (Senior)
F - Stacey Poole (Junior)
C - Oliver Miller (Senior)
Damn, I miss those days of SEC basketball
There are certainly MORE athletic guys now days for sure but that doesn't mean there were some really good one back then too. Chamberlain was a freak and Russell played just like Bagley only more aggressive. Those guys just looked a less athletic because of HOW they played back then. Everybody looked stiff and a little awkward then because the looseness of the game hadn't evolved yet.
I've always maintained that the game changed completely when they loosened the way you were allowed to handle the ball. Back then it was hand on top only so there was no crossover, spin moves, and the range of motion was very limited with the ball. As soon as they were allowed to start cupping the ball that opened up everything and the game got faster and completely freed up the use of athleticism on the floor to make unlimited moves on the move.
You can go back to just the 1980's and look at the Houston team with Drexler and Hakeem and Co. and they looked a little goofey sometimes but there hasn't to this day been a better collection of pure crazy good athletes on one team that those guys. If you had a dunk contest today and brought them back in their prime to compete in it they'd take the top 5 spots.
Today's big men are so fundamentally unsound, that big men like Dan Issel & Kevin McHale would fake them out so bad that they would have their jockstraps wrapped around their ears before the 1st tv timeout. I'm not saying that Issel & McHale could guard them. I'm just saying that Issel & McHale with their style would give today's big men fits.
There isn't a big man in the game today, that could guard McHale on the block. He was unstoppable one on one.
Yep and behind the back dribble would be a carry because you have to cup it to bring it around without stopping. Today you can line dance and clog during the time it takes for one hesitation dribble. Sure makes things a whole lot easier to shake a defender.
Anybody remember Larry Johnson when he played here and how he handled the ball. We all thought he was the most revolutionary ball handler of his time and funky as heck because he'd go behind his back and threw his legs. We used to think all that was just a guy showing off but today it's standard and fundamental. The between the legs dribble is still the best way to change direction while protecting the ball form close defender.