Two things, it was the 99-00 team that made the final four. And Dan Cross is being severely underrated, he was the biggest reason that team of misfits went that far. AD was the only NBA player on that roster (amazingly he made over 17 million in the NBA) and they won the SEC, and made the final four. He ran Lon’s system nearly perfectly and could defend anyone you put in front of him. Plus, he had that AMart bulldog in him. That team also had a bunch of comebacks and close wins, he was why. For that team he was the perfect PG. I would also say who the coach is matters, one might pick different guys for an up tempo coach than a slower tempo one.
His block in the Boston College game probably made him an NBA player. We all knew that he could run like a deer and was a hard nosed defender but then the entire nation knew it. A close second for greatest blocks is a discussion between the Cameron Barry block in the Wisconsin Sweet Sixteen game that gets overshadowed by the Cheeze for 3 at the buzzer and the Thomas Haugh block late in the Houston championship game. Both blocks very underrated and both winning plays in big games.
Is the contest limited to how well each player played that year or how good a player they were for their entire career? Hard to keep a Matt Bonner off of the 2000 team based on career but you make the rules based on minutes played that year.
I'm thinking total Gator career (not NBA). You pick the player for their "Gatorness." DFS is an interesting case, since his production was greater during the two subsequent yrs after the FF run. Should the judges eval DFS based upon his 8.7 and 6.7 per game during 13-14, or for his senior year output? I thought hard about extending the # of players for folks like Bonner, who was a GREAT Gator. In the end, though, how many people are going to pick Bonner in their 8-deep?
NO WAY IN HELL! @tampajack or @rserina would be better if they aren't participating. And Mr. Pond Birds Bill Koss would be the very best if you could get him.
I'm thinking about a tourney-style contest with head-to-heads. It won't be a perfect contest by any means, but if it helps overcome the summertime blues, why not? So . . . . who's in for picking teams and who's in for serving as a judge? Fyi - I'm thinking three judges, whose scores would be averaged.
One pooling of players and some preliminary thoughts about rules: Guards.........................Forwards........................Centers Dan Cross(94)................Andrew DeClerq*(94).........Dametri Hill*(94) Craig Brown*(94)............Jason Anderson*(94).........Donnell Harvey(00) Kenyan Weaks*(00).........Brian Thompson*(94)........Udonis Haslem(00) Teddy Dupay(00).............Mike Miller(00)..................Joakim Noah(06-07) Taurean Green(06-07).....Brent Wright*(00)..............Cliff Richards*(06-07) Lee Humphrey(06-07).....Corey Brewer(06-07)..........Patric Young(14) Scottie Wilbekin(14)........Al Horford(06-07)..............Rueben Chinyelu*(25) Michael Frazier*(14)........Casey Prather*(14) Walter Hodge*(06-07).....Dorian Finney-Smith(14) Walter Clayton Jr (25).....Will Yeguete*(14) Alijah Martin(25).............Alex Condon(25) Will Richard(25)..............Thomas Haugh(25) Proposed Rules (please share suggestions): Pick 8 total players: 5 starters and 3 bench Pick 2G/2F/1C starters Pick 3 bench players - 1 Center and 2 others from any position May not pick more than one of Noah/Horford/Brewer Must have one player from every FF group (94/00/06-07/14/25) on the 8-man roster Must have one (*) player on the roster. May not combine WCJ with Taurean Green, Mike Miller with Corey Brewer, or Udonis Haslem with Joakim Noah.
Calling on @GatorJason for ideas about how to do head-to-head scoring. My first thought is to combo judges' player-rating scores with some kind of head-to-head assessment. Any thoughts?
This is a board of mostly old farts. Sure we remember them. They both played when I was in Gville for undergrad. This contest, though, would be about players on the FF teams. You in?
It would be complicated, but perhaps this should be a draft with 8ish participants, i.e. an Elite 8. That would call for only five players/team and I'd have to add some players to the mix. There are already suggestions for Vernon Maxwell, Stacey Poole, Livingston Chatman, Matt Bonner, & Neal Walk. Otherwise, I stick w the FF teams and go deeper. IOW - each team would consist of exclusive players; no overlap. To me that would be more intriguing in terms of matchups, but would be difficult to do a draft. Maybe just have four teams? There's not really a clamoring to participate, so maybe limit it to four.
Just have people list their Top 6 and then give points to the picks. First would be 6 points and 6th would be 1 point. Then sum up the results and pick the best at each position if you care about positions.
This is pretty good, but the combination of the below two rules, strongly incentivizes using Horford because he only has one limitation and Brewer and Noah have additional limitations. May not pick more than one of Noah/Horford/Brewer May not combine WCJ with Taurean Green, Mike Miller with Corey Brewer, or Udonis Haslem with Joakim Noah.
As far as grading, I'd just give it to a panel of three and let them subjectively pick. Just give them criteria (player fit matters or is it just the sum of the parts, should or should not consider how minutes would be allocated, etc.). I would also make it part of the criteria how we are viewing the players. I know you earlier posted that you would consider the players' whole Gators career, but I would limit it to the single seasons.
Anybody interested in selecting a team? I'm thinking about taking up to eight. @jcmiller910 @exiledgator @Singaporegator @beechgator @BTEGator @firegator @fox @JaxLizard @gatortenor37 @jeffphillips21 @GratefulGator @SmootyGator @Bazza @scooterp @bperkins10 @ApexNC @GatorRade @Gatorhead @audiogatorjim
Speaking of summer withdrawal, summer workouts started yesterday…amazing how short the offseason is when you win the NC
