Bad List of the Week: EA's Top 50 All-Time College Players

[benji]

EA's Top 50

Michael Jordan -- North Carolina -- 96
2. Kevin Durant -- Texas -- 94
3. Earvin Johnson -- Michigan State -- 94
4. Clyde Drexler -- Houston -- 92
5. Larry Bird -- Indiana State -- 92
6. Steve Nash -- Santa Clara -- 91
7. Kenny Anderson -- Georgia Tech -- 89
8. Chris Bosh -- Georgia Tech -- 89
9. Richard Hamilton -- Connecticut -- 89
10. Jamal Mashburn -- Kentucky -- 89
11. Jason Terry -- Arizona -- 89
12. Reggie Williams -- Georgetown -- 89
13. Ray Allen -- Connecticut -- 88
14. Carmelo Anthony -- Syracuse -- 88
15. Butch Beard -- Louisville -- 88
16. Travis Best -- Georgia Tech -- 88
17. Mike Bibby -- Arizona -- 88
18. Junior Bridgeman -- Louisville -- 88
19. Caron Butler -- Connecticut -- 88
20. Mike Dunleavy -- Duke -- 88
21. Ben Gordon -- Connecticut -- 88
22. Chris Jackson -- LSU -- 88
23. Kevin Jackson -- California -- 88
24. Jason Kidd -- California -- 88
25. Christian Laettner -- Duke -- 88

Alcindor? Walton? Glenn Robinson? etc. al.

I am ignoring the ranking of the players on the list. Like say, Steve Nash.

[BigKaboom2]

The overrepresentation of Louisville is mighty curious, especially when I've never heard of any of them. But yes, all kinds of wrong.

[The X]

that list is terrible....Jordan at No. 1, ridiculous....it's not a pro list....Durant at No. 2

I guess they forgot the likes of Alcindor, Bill Walton & Maravich....

the list is an utter disgrace....they obviously didn't take much time preparing it....

Nash No. 6

how the heck do some of my fav college players of All-Time in Laron Profit & John Wallace make the list

[Dean]

Im not going to try and pass myself off as some die hard college fan, but no JJ Redick?

[Matthew]

that list is terrible....Jordan at No. 1, ridiculous....it's not a pro list....Durant at No. 2

I guess they forgot the likes of Alcindor, Bill Walton & Maravich....

the list is an utter disgrace....they obviously didn't take much time preparing it....

Nash No. 6

how the heck do some of my fav college players of All-Time in Laron Profit & John Wallace make the list

What makes Jordan not number 1? Jordan hit the game winning shot to bring home the NCAA Title as only a freshman. He was College Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1983 and 1984 and he also won the Naismith and Wooden Awards in 1984.

[The X]

that list is terrible....Jordan at No. 1, ridiculous....it's not a pro list....Durant at No. 2

I guess they forgot the likes of Alcindor, Bill Walton & Maravich....

the list is an utter disgrace....they obviously didn't take much time preparing it....

Nash No. 6

how the heck do some of my fav college players of All-Time in Laron Profit & John Wallace make the list

What makes Jordan not number 1? Jordan hit the game winning shot to bring home the NCAA Title as only a freshman. He was College Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1983 and 1984 and he also won the Naismith and Wooden Awards in 1984.

I'm not saying he shouldn't be on list, he's definitely one of the best of All-Time, but I wouldn't put him in the same class as Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Pete Maravich or Oscar Robertson....I'd also have him behind the likes of Larry Bird & David Thompson....

For argument's sake, I'm going to disregard his game winning shot in the Title game....full credit to him being in the right place at the right time & making the play to have his team win a title....it's nothing that Robert Horry hasn't done before....

he was Player of the Year in 1984, so clearly he was at least a very good college player, as is the likes of fellow Player of the Years Andrew Bogut, Shane Battier, Kenyon Martin, JJ Redick & TJ Ford....but I still can't put him ahead of a guy like Bill Walton who was a superb college player who helped lead UCLA to 2 NCAA titles, an 88 game winning streak & was the College Player of the Year 3 times....the Big O was Sporting News Player of the Year 3 straight years....Pistol Pete Maravich averaged 44.2ppg over his career at LSU....Larry Bird put a mid-major on his back & came one win shy of an unthinkable title....

I think my initial reaction was displeasure at the list as a whole....I can understand why Jordan was put at No. 1 & you could make a reasonable argument for it, even though I don't think he's in the top 5 or even top 10....his selection at the top was nowhere near as bad as Steve Nash at #6....I like Nash, but that's a joke....I wouldn't have him in a top 100, let alone in the top 10....the list is a joke, but then again, it is EA....

[Matthew]

Jordan's shot in 82 was hardly a Robert Horry moment. MJ was a starter as a freshman and averaged 13 ppg and 4.4 rpg while shooting 53% from the field. The shot in the title game solidified his collegiate career, it isnt the meat and potatoes of it.

Oscar was the sporting news POY 3 years, MJ was once. You can't say that seperates them and then say he is the same class as Bogut, Reddick and Ford etc.

Basically you're cherry picking an argument, picking and choosing was acceptable in certain situations to make it look good.

I think if they wanted to do a proper list they should of organised it better. Have players who went pro after one season in one group. Sophmores in another. Freshman and Senior also in individual groups.

That way we can debate Webber vs Carmelo vs Durant vs Magic.

We can then debate Jordan vs Shaq vs Chamberlain.

[benji]

There is no way Jordan can be first, he simply did not have a college career on par with Walton or Kareem, let alone Russell, Oscar, Maravich, etc. He was a solid college player and arguably one of the 20 best, and maybe "the best" in his final season, but not before that.

Hitting one shot is hardly reason to make a player number one.

Basically you're cherry picking an argument, picking and choosing was acceptable in certain situations to make it look good.

Is he? You brought up the Sporting News "Player of the Year", The X pointed out that players like Bogut and Reddick have also won it, while other players have won even more of them.

Actually, aren't you "cherry picking" more? Your entire case that Jordan is number one is that he was named College Player of the Year once by a magazine, and that he also won two other awards. And that's the entire case you made.

Oscar was the sporting news POY 3 years, MJ was once. You can't say that seperates them and then say he is the same class as Bogut, Reddick and Ford etc.

Yes he can, that is logically consistant. If we are measuring players simply by their Sporting News College Player of the Year awards. Oscar has three, Jordan has one, so do Bogut and Ford. If we are ranking players ENTIRELY by this magazine award a player who has three of them is in a different class than those who have just one.

Walton and Robertson: 3
Jerry Lucas, Kareem: 2
Jordan and lots of others: 1

Looking at another set of opinions, Naismith winners (only since 1969):
Walton, Sampson: 3
Ford, Reddick, Jordan, Jay Williams, Calbert Cheaney: 1

Wooden winners? (only since 1977)
Sampson: 2
Jordan, Ed O'Bannon, Kenyon Martin: 1

Let's "cherry pick" another argument...NBA MVPs. Kareem has six, Jordan and Russell have five. Dirk has one. Don't you think that Jordan's five MVPs seperates him from Dirk's one? This puts Jordan in a different class than Dirk, it puts Dirk in a class with McAdoo, Iverson, and Unseld. The class being: guys with one MVP award.

I also don't think he was necessarily saying that because of this Jordan is the same level of player as TJ Ford, he was simply mentioning that LOTS of players have won the award once. One time winning the award does not seperate Jordan from very many people, thus it is not an invincible case for his number one placement.

[Matthew]

Jordan has 2 TSN POY, in 83 and 84.

If you're going to say the # of sporting news player of the year awards for Robertson (3) seperates him from Jordan, then turn around and say "well Jordan only had one Niasmith award, the same as Bogut etc". But wouldn't his back to back TSN awards seperate him the way they do for Oscar?

And I didn't say that shot he made against Georgetown is the reason he is number one. It helps for sure, but its not the reason.

[benji]

Alright, my initial search only had Jordan listed as winning one, but I have confirmed with The Sporting News he has two.

So. Then. What? It does nothing to descredit any argument he made as to why Jordan is not the greatest NCAA basketball player. He was simply relating that lots of players have won awards and been very good college players. The fact that he mentioned Oscar's three straight magazine awards is not really "cherry picking". "Cherry picking" would be instead of pointing out Oscar averaged 33-15-7, only selecting his three career highs and saying he did something like "scored 50 points, grabbed 25 rebounds and had 15 assists" or ignoring all his missed shots and saying he therefore shot 100%.

I don't think anyone would argue an extra award from a magazine places Jordan on par with Walton, Kareem, Russell, or Oscar.

[Matthew]

But it confirms the cherry picking as I said before. If 3 TSN awards separates Oscar from Jordan, then wouldn't two separate Jordan from Bogut?

And I stand by what I said before: It's hard to compare college careers of players who entered the NBA draft early.

They should of broken the list up into freshman, sophmores, juniors and seniors and compared them individually.

[The X]

True, good point....MJ could've had a crazy senior season in which he dominated & cemented himself as one of the great All-Time College Players....the fact is, outside the earlier generation of Alcindor, Maravich & Walton, a lot of the more recent 4 year players don't become stars until their 4th years (Battier, Redick - star to superstar from junior to senior season)....

[shadowgrin]

That list is what happens when you make a list while high on crack.

No Bobby Hurley?

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

Stockton and Shane Battier aren't on here???

OUTRAGE!!

[Indy]

Pistol Pete is far and away the greatest college player of all time. It isn't even close.

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

Just because he averaged 40+??


SUUUUURE

[shadowgrin]

^ And your argument that he's not?

[Ethos]

Pistol Pete is far and away the greatest college player of all time. It isn't even close.

Agreed. If Jordan was that good in college why was he the third pick in the draft? I mean, if he was by far and obviously the best ever nobody would have overlooked him. I think I saw an ESPN list a few months ago if not more, having Christian Laettner at numero uno

[shadowgrin]

I wouldn't trust ESPN.
How could they justify considering Tiger Woods as the "greatest athlete of all time" just because he won 4 straight majors back then.
It's crazy I tell you.

[The X]

I agree, I wouldn't put Laettner at number 1....I'd definitely have him top 10 at least though....

[Ethos]

I agree, I wouldn't put Laettner at number 1....I'd definitely have him top 10 at least though....

Yeah I agree. I wouldn't put him as number one either I'm just saying. EA was just giving Jordan that spot because of he is NBA career.

[The X]

I agree, I wouldn't put Laettner at number 1....I'd definitely have him top 10 at least though....

Yeah I agree. I wouldn't put him as number one either I'm just saying. EA was just giving Jordan that spot because of he is NBA career.

I don't think the MJ spot was the problem though, it was Durant at 2, Nash at 6, etc, etc....