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My (gulp) favorite player
Posted: Monday November 27, 2000 3:12 PM
There's just no use pretending anymore.
As a "journalist" (wink, wink) I am supposed to be completely unbiased. However, I must confess that I have a deep and abiding rooting interest that I feel compelled to share with my fellow hoopheads in this space. That way, there will be no question as to where I stand as this already compelling season rolls on. So here goes:
Eugene Edgerson is my favorite college basketball player.
Whew. I feel much better now.
If you've watched Arizona play, I know you've noticed the 6-foot-6 senior forward. And despite all the lottery-pick talent whirring past, I know you cannot take your eyes off him. It's not just the eight-inch afro redolent of Dr. J, circa 1976 (before he went mainstream). It's not just the knee pads, the high socks, the canvas kicks. It's not just his game, though that in itself is worthy of a strong media bias. Rebound, play D, make the extra pass, set screens for his skywalking, future millionaire teammates -- this cat just doesn't give a meow about scoring. They ought to call him Screen Gene.
It is all that, and more. Last year, as we all know from our reading, Screen Gene set aside basketball so he could complete his undergraduate degree in four years, even though many players -- indeed, many college students -- take at least five. An elementary-education major, he spent the second semester surrounded by little kids as he fulfilled his teaching requirement at a local school. I spent an hour talking with him last winter for Sports Illustrated's Inside College Basketball, and his enthusiasm fairly leapt through the phone. He even entertained me with the songs the kids sang every morning around the flagpole -- and, yes, my man can sing.
And so, for demonstrating that despite the neverending debate of style vs. substance it's possible to have a surfeit of both, this edition of Hoop Thoughts is hereby dedicated to Eugene Edgerson. In honor of Screen Gene, please read the rest of this column while listening to your favorite Barry White album.
Can you believe how good that Temple-Duke game was? I really think Lynn Greer is better than Pepe Sanchez, which is saying a lot. We all knew Greer could shoot, but he has been surprisingly adept at running the Owls offense. If Kevin Lyde develops more of an offensive game, Temple should win the A-10 going away.
Incidentally, I did not receive a ballot for MVP at the Preseason NIT (alas, I was snubbed for the second straight time by Madison Square Garden's press-room enforcer, Eric Gelfand ), but rest assured I have officially contested the results in court. Carlos Boozer was great and all, but Duke won that game because of Jason Williams, period. Yo, Eric, did you remember to count the dimpled chad?
I know losing to Cal State-Northridge is embarrassing, but please, please, please let's not have any wild conjecture this season about Steve Lavin's job security. Coach Lav isn't going anywhere, you dig? After all that has gone on the past couple of seasons, I have resolved to never again write Steve Lavin's obituary until I'm absolutely, positively sure the man is dead.
Keep your eye on the Seton Hall point-guard situation. Last season, Ty Shine played the good soldier behind Shaheen Holloway, because he knew Holloway was a senior. I thought coming into this season that Shine would split time at the point with freshman Andre Barrett, but it is evident that Tommy Amaker is intent on basically handing Barrett the ball. I wonder how Shine will be able to handle that, especially with Darius Lane so entrenched at shooting guard.
And speaking of the Hall, by the time you finish reading this sentence, Samuel Dalembert will be whistled for two more fouls.
You won't hear much about him because his team is lousy, but Clemson point guard Will Solomon is the real deal. He led the ACC in scoring last season and still shot a high percentage (37.5 percent from three), which is amazing considering all the attention he draws from opposing defenses. Solomon is very strong, and even though he is only 6-1 he knows how to create his own shot.
I'm for staying in school and enjoying the college life and all that, but if Troy Murphy doesn't enter the NBA draft next spring he should have his head examined. Not only would Murphy, who dropped 30 on Cincinnati, definitely go in the top five, but he would be that rare high pick who is drafted not on potential but on what he can actually do now.
Memo to Storrs, Conn.: Please let us know when you find Ajou Deng.
Early props to Austin Peay's Trenton Hassell and Marshall's Tamar Slay for living up to their preseason hype.
Any discussion about the top freshmen in the country must begin with DePaul point guard Imari Sawyer, who dished out a tournament-record 30 assists during three games at the Great Alaska Shootout.
Seems to me this point-of-emphasis thing regarding rough play is working quite well. Sure, games are a little longer and foul shots come more frequently, but so far it has been well worth it. The question will be whether the refs maintain that emphasis throughout the season, or abandon it when conference play begins.
Finally, it looks like my buddy Grant Wahl has been breathing a little too much of that sulfur-laden West Coast air. How else to explain his bold proclamation that Casey Jacobsen is heads and shoulders above Mike Dunleavy Jr.? Sure, Jacobsen is a better shooter, but Dunleavy is better at everything else. I predict there will come a time when G-Dub eats crow over that one -- maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of his life. An NBA scout who watched Stanford play in the Puerto Rico Shootout described Jacobsen to me as "a shorter version of Jud Buechler. "
Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Hoop Thoughts will appear each Monday throughout the college basketball season.
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