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Stickin' it to 'em
Our list of this season's favorite Glue Guys
Posted: Tuesday December 26, 2000 4:43 PM
They don't get the hype, the stats or the end-of-the-year awards, but you can't
win a championship without them. They are Glue Guys, invaluable commodities who
check their egos at the scorer's table and find ways to help their team stick
together -- and win. Alex Wolff's paean to the Glue Guys that ran in our NCAA
tournament preview last spring was one of my favorite Sports Illustrated
hoops stories last season because it threw some light on a few nobles who were
normally lost in the
shadows.
Put simply, a Glue Guy is a player who is not quite good enough to be a star but
who has more ability than his numbers reflect. He is versatile and tough and
possesses a knack for knowing exactly what his team needs at any given moment,
whether it be a defensive stop, an offensive putback or a 15-foot jump shot. The
players featured in Alex's story were LSU's Brian Beshara, Duke's Nate
James, Utah's Alex Jensen, Lavor Postell of St. John's (captain) and
our glue "team," Stanford. Even though it's still December, it's never
too early for Hoopheads like us to be on the lookout for quality Glue Guys. If
we don't give them some love, who will? Herewith, then, my favorite stick
figures:
Sergio McClain, Illinois (captain). I was a one-man marketing
department for Postell the last couple of years, but now that he's gone I'm
counting on McClain to pick up the banner. Frank Williams is the floor
leader for the Illini and Brian Cook is their most talented player, but
McClain is their heart and soul.
Nate James, Duke. Sometimes a Glue Guy graduates to become a
Go-To Guy (like James' teammate last season, Chris Carrawell), but James
is still doing the same sticky things for the Blue Devils this season as he did
last year. It's a good thing, too, because Duke would be much less formidable
without
him.
Luke Walton, Arizona. Bill's boy is as deft a passer as any
forward in the country. He plays his sixth man role with aplomb, but if any of
the 'Cats' starters fall prey to injury or indolence, Walton is capable of
filling the
void.
Justin Hamilton, Florida. Hamilton's role is similar to the
one played a couple of years back by one of the charter members of the Glue Guy
Hall of Fame, UConn's Ricky Moore. Like Moore, Hamilton always draws the
toughest defensive assignment, and even though he is usually content to make the
extra pass, he can also light up the scoreboard when necessary. (Remember
Moore's first half of the Huskies' win over Duke in the '99 title
game?)
Jason Capel, North Carolina. Capel doesn't do anything
extremely well, but he does everything pretty well -- a classic Glue Guy
quality. He's an important steadying force on a team still trying to find the
right
chemistry.
Marcus Toney-El, Seton Hall (sixth man). A Glue Guy, by
definition, should be an upperclassmen, but on a team with precious little
experience, this freshman brings critical maturity. He is by far the Pirates'
toughest player (which isn't saying much, considering the way the Hall was
manhandled by Michigan State), and his ball skills keep defenses
honest.
And other Hoop
Thoughts....
Humble pie, crow -- whatever Grant Wahl is serving up these days,
I'm eatin' it. I was hoping that our little intra-Web site squabble over
Casey Jacobson vs. Mike Dunleavy Jr. would at least result in a
wash, but their face-off last week left no room for ambiguity. Not only did
Jacobson outscore Dunleavy 26 to 13, but his game-winner with 3.6 seconds left
came just moments after Dunleavy missed two free throws. When G-Dub first made
his bold proclamation, I feared he had taken a few too many soccer balls to the
noggin, but let's be frank: My bell has been
rung.
Nothing focuses a team like getting blown out, so I'm not surprised
Tennessee beat Syracuse a few days after its loss to Virginia. Two things are
clear about UT: 1) Ron Slay is the Vols' best player, and 2) Isiah
Victor is their second-best player. If Tony Harris quarterbacks this
squad accordingly, the Volunteers are capable of making the Final Four, but thus
far it seems Harris lacks the ability to control a game from the
point.
I still can't figure why such a big fuss was made over Cory
Bradford's breaking the NCAA record for consecutive games with a made
three-pointer. Don't get me wrong, I like Bradford and I love this team, but it
was obvious that he pursued the record to the detriment of winning. Besides, the
category seemed a bit too manufactured. Can you imagine anyone singing,
"Where have you gone, Cory
Bradford?"
At the risk of making you think I'm a dork -- OK, a bigger
dork -- I thought I should pass on the order of the first-round picks in the ACC
fantasy draft in which I participated last week. 1. Jason Williams, Duke;
2. Joseph (Don't call me Joe) Forte, North Carolina; 3. Donald
Hand, Virginia; 4. Shane Battier, Duke; 5. Will Solomon,
Clemson; 6. Juan Dixon, Maryland; 7. Anthony Grundy, N.C.; State
8. Tony Akins, Georgia Tech; 9. Brendan Haywood, North
Carolina
When it comes to daring, I don't think any player can match
Missouri's Clarence Gilbert. Sure, he's a little streaky and takes some
bad shots, but there's a lot to be said for bringing that kind of confidence to
the floor. Keep your eye on Mizzou, by the way. They're fun to
watch.
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 week throughout the college basketball season.
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