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These guys stick together Posted: Tuesday January 07, 2003 12:50 PM
It's that time of year again. Time to recognize players who won't soon be named all-this or all-that, but believe me, they're all that. I call them Glue Guys -- players who by virtue of their toughness and smarts help their teams win in subtle but important ways. In order to advance deep into the NCAA tournament, teams need a few unsung heroes to keep the club stuck together when it's falling apart. In this space, at least, Glue Guys are heroes, and I'm proud to sing their praises. We at Sports Illustrated first presented an All-Glue team during our 2000 NCAA tournament preview issue, and I've carried on the tradition here in Webville the last two years. So without further ado, installment No. 4. Pay close attention, because you won't be seeing these guys on any late-night highlight reels anytime soon. Rick Anderson, 6-foot-9 senior, Arizona (captain). I was speaking with a Big Ten head coach recently, and when the subject of Arizona came up (as it usually does), all he wanted to talk about was Anderson. Anderson cleans up everyone else's mistakes. The Wildcats have been spotty on offense, largely because of injuries to Salim Stoudamire and Luke Walton, but their rebounding has kept them afloat. (In their win over Oregon last week, they beat the Ducks 45-25 on the boards.) Anderson is Arizona's second-leading rebounder, and while he's only the fourth-leading scorer, he is efficient, making 58.3 percent of his field goals. He can also hit the occasional 3 (he has the highest 3-point percentage on the team), is an excellent foul shooter and provides invaluable senior leadership. For all these contributions, Anderson gets the nod as this season's No. 1 stick figure. Jaron Brown, 6-4 junior, Pittsburgh. Any guard who leads his team in rebounding is automatically given All-Glue consideration. Brown accomplished that feat last year, and his average is only 0.4 behind Ontario Lett's this year. Among Brandin Knight, Julius Page and exciting redshirt freshman Carl Krauser -- remember that name, by the way -- it's hard to notice Brown is even on the floor sometimes, but he fits right into Pitt's steel-minded identity. His line from Monday night's thumping of Notre Dame was typical: nine points, nine rebounds (four offensive), three assists and two steals. Justin Hamilton, 6-3 senior, Florida. The only repeat performer in the long, storied history of the All-Glue team. By definition, point guards usually do not qualify as Glue Guys, but once again I'm going to make an exception, because Hamilton is not really a full-time point guard. He just takes over when the Gators need to be steadied, providing an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.5-to-1. Hamilton is also a wonderful on-the-ball defender, and nothing helps a coach's game plan like a player who can consistently lock up the other team's best guy. Chuck Hayes, 6-7 sophomore, Kentucky. The Wildcats have a lot of Glue Guys -- one of their problems, I'd say -- including last year's All-Glue captain, Gerald Fitch. Fitch is still a rebounding fool, but he lost his chance at repeat honors by getting suspended twice last season. Hayes, however, will do just fine. The best thing about Hayes is his consistency. Even though he is playing out of position at small forward, Hayes has started every game and is the only player on this team who does a little of everything -- scores, rebounds, passes, blocks shots and defends. I also like that he's fifth on the team in field goals attempted but he's second in free throws attempted. That shows he's Glue Guy-tough. Robert Johnson, 6-8 senior, Oregon. With the two Lukes firing up so many shots, you'd better make every scoring opportunity count on this team. Johnson has done that this year, converting a ridiculous 71.7 percent of his field goals while being the sixth-best rebounder in the Pac-10 at 7.0 per game. I don't know that I would call the Ducks a tough team, but whatever toughness they have comes from Johnson. Ellis Myles, 6-8 junior, Louisville. Lots of folks in Louisville assumed Myles would follow Denny Crum out the door when Crum retired (wink, wink) and was replaced by Rick Pitino. How would the soft, overweight and pouty Myles fare under the intense tutelage of King Rick? The answer is, quite well. Myles instantly dropped about 20 pounds, and this year he is Conference USA's second-leading rebounder at 9.4 per game. Tony Robertson, 6-2 senior, Connecticut. How many players would accept being demoted from a starter to a reserve at the start of his senior year? Not many, but Robertson has shown a great deal of character in agreeing to come off the bench, which is just one more reason to believe the Huskies will be playing deep into March. Robertson has been a streaky shooter in the past, but his percentages are stellar this year -- 53.5 percent from the floor, 47.8 percent from 3-point range and 82.8 percent from the foul line. Here's a rundown of our past All-Glue teams: 2000
2001
2002
Other Hoop ThoughtsSports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine. Hoop Thoughts will appears every Tuesday during the regular season on CNNSI.com.
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