Favorite basketball player of all time

#101
#101
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Yes, he would step outside at TN. I don't think that anybody could have ever expected him to become the best three point shooter in the history of the NBA.
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I have no idea if he was recruited as a talented back-court player or front-court player, but I guess necessity determines positional coverage. Much like Bradshaw having to fill in at the four - thought I would have a stroke when he had to switch and guard Oden one time.
 
#102
#102
David Moss. He was my first autograph ever. You will never be forgotten my friend.

Edit: James Ratiff is my #2
 
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#104
#104
MphsBlues said:
I have no idea if he was recruited as a talented back-court player or front-court player, but I guess necessity determines positional coverage. Much like Bradshaw having to fill in at the four - thought I would have a stroke when he had to switch and guard Oden one time.
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I don't know for sure, but probably recruited more as an inside player. Most with his size in the 1970s weren't usually recruited to play as guards. Devoe did take it to an extreme putting him in the paint. Even though Ellis might have been playing low post for Devoe, I do remember him facing the basket a lot. He hit a boatload of 12-15 foot baseline jumpers as a Vol. Very good rebounder too. Minus the three point line, there really wasn't a big need for him taking the 17' or deeper outside shot while at TN. I'd love to see a shot chart on him since the memory certainly has faded in 30+ years.
 
#105
#105
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I always heard that Moss could jump up and touch the backboard. The TOP of the backboard.
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Not sure about Moss. Ratiff maybe he was a freak. Unfortunately Moss career and life was cut short and I didn't get to see him play much. His impact on me was as a man not a basketball player.
 
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#108
#108
buzz4tennessee said:
What was UT's record during the Allan Houston years? Seems like the cats beat us 101-40 in the SEC tourney one time and the overall record one year was 5-22. Was he a team player?
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Houston was a great player. Problem is he was the ONlY player we had.
 
#109
#109
1985Vols said:
Houston was a great player. Problem is he was the ONlY player we had.
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Maybe if early on had Wade not been so obvious that the team was going to be all about Allan rather than having Allan being a member of the team, he could have recruited a cast around him and had some success. I had heard that sometimes Wade wasn't even running practices but instead Allan was.
 
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#110
#110
Thunder Good-Oil said:
You might be confusing King and Ellis. King posted up more in college, but at both levels his mid range jump shot was deadly. His best move was blowing by the defense for shots near the basket.

Ellis played inside for Tennessee and outside in the NBA.
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That may be so, but he didn't have the long shot or the handles he had when he played in the NBA. Out of the mouth of Ernie Grunfield who played with him here and the NBA.
 
#111
#111
iKrager said:
That may be so, but he didn't have the long shot or the handles he had when he played in the NBA. Out of the mouth of Ernie Grunfield who played with him here and the NBA.
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Mike Jackson was the outside threat. Grunfeld and King were usually attacking defenses in and around the paint and dribble-driving from the wings. They were both very good foul shooters as well. There wasn't a compelling reason for either to take a lot of deep shots when they were able to get better looks closer to the basket. Either one would knock down 15-20 foot shots if left unguarded. King really didn't need to because he was so good at blowing by a defender. Even with a defender right in front if him, King had such an incredibly quick release, he was all but unstoppable. In the NBA he probably did need to work more on the perimeter because of his knee injuries and the huge centers that most teams employed in the 1980s.
 
#113
#113
Ernie Grunfeld
Bernard King
Tony White
Lang Wiseman
Allan Houston
Chris Lofton
Gannon Goodson
C.J. Watson
Jarnell Stokes
Dale Ellis
Ron Slay
Tyrone Beaman
 
#114
#114
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Ellis was gone before the college three pointer. Devoe usually had him posting up near the basket as the #4 or even the five. Most of his TN scoring was in the paint - I don't think he ever played the two spot at Tennessee, although he would sneak out to the corners sometimes. He really played out of position throughout his Tennessee career. Most of his NBA scoring was from the perimeter.
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Correct.
 
#115
#115
OrangeIsLife said:
Jimmy England. Knoxville kid (Holston High School). All SEC and All American.
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His brother around the same age (Gary?) played at Auburn. There was at least one other brother from the middle/late 70s. I don't know where he went but I think it was at a mid-major or lower.
 
#116
#116
One other thing that King did really well at TN was running the floor on fast breaks. He could put the ball on the floor leading breaks and he was unstoppable filling the lanes taking the pass. He was just an amazing player and on a whole other level. A career average of 13 rebounds per game. Ferocious defender too.
 
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#121
#121
Since all the standard responses are taken, what about:

Skylar McBee (no one rocked the stache like McThree)

Dane Bradshaw (if there was a thread for player you thought hustled the most, he might just dominate).

Jeronne Maymon (the knee injury set him back, but he was a beast when he was at full speed/strength).
 
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#124
#124
My favorite Pro player is Magic Johnson. I bet y'all can guess who My all-time favorite basketball player is .......





Jabari McGhee. :wink2: You better believe it!
 
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