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We rank 'em. You react. That's how the Daily List rolls.
March Madness Heroes that Faded Away
Part of the fun of March Madness is that we can expect the unexpected. A Belmont makes a run at Duke, Princeton nearly knocks off Georgetown. The winners keep playing, and the losers fade into obscurity, often never to be heard from again. And occasionally a player has the game of his life on one of the world's biggest stages. Here are my top five improbable March Madness heroes who never found the same level of attention again. 1. Bryce Drew: He hit the fading three for Valparaiso back in 1998 to knock off Ole Miss. Drew actually went on to make a few appearances in the NBA (starting 41 games for Chicago in 2001), but is now back at Valpo as an assistant coach. 2. Harold Arceneaux: Playing for little-known Weber State in the 1999 Tourney, Harold "The Show" Arceneaux went for 36 in a win over UNC and 32 in a loss to Florida. He returned to Weber State for his senior season and has spent the last eight years bouncing around the NBA underworld. 3. Jai Lewis: This big guy was a big part of George Mason's run to the Final Four back in 2006. After Mason got knocked out, Lewis announced he was going to chase dreams of the NFL. The dream ended quickly, however, and now Lewis is playing basketball in Europe. 4. Curtis Blair: Back in 1991, Curtis Blair scored 18 points and added 6 assists to lead the Richmond Spiders over Syracuse. since then...no idea what happened to him. 5. Keith Smart: After nailing that midrange jumper to give Indiana the 1987 title, Smart played just 2 games in the NBA and then, perhaps inspired by Bob Knight, Smart went on to a career in coaching. He's currently an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. Who was your favorite March Madness hero who dropped off the radar? Let us know below... Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.com
posted by SI.com | View comments |
Comments:Whatever happened to that skinny Jordan kid from North Carolina who hit that jumper to beat Georgetown in '82?
whatever happened to A.J. Moye who did the little things to get Indiana to the final 4
Tyus Edney - remember his length of the court drive and score in the 1995 NCAA tourney
FENNIS DEMBO!!!
Brian Oliver
Brian Oliver
Whatever happened to Terry Dehere from Seton Hall? He hit a game winner against (was it Iona? LaSalle?) back in the early '90s tourney and led them to the Elite 8and Sweet 16 in different years. I beleive he left the school its all-time leading scorer. I thought he'd be a good pro. Where is he now?
I don't think he ever amounted to anything -- at least not in the NBA.
I don't think he ever amounted to anything -- at least not in the NBA.
What ever happened to Gary McLain, Villanova '85?
Whatever happened to God Shammgod? Didn't he play with Austin Croshere at Providence?
better revise that list. looks like the only guy who actually dropped off the grid was #4. all he others seem to be doing just fine.
better revise your list. looks like only blair (#4) really dropped off the grid. all the others seem to be doing just fine.
That was not a funny comment.
Scottie Thurman? Arkansas....big kid-great shooter
I dunno no one ever heard from him again..... Unlike that Tyus Edny
Where did Mouse McFadden from Cleveland State end up?
you haven't remembered mateen cleaves, do you? neither do i.
Harold Jensen came from nowhere to lead Nova the most stunning run in the history of the tourney
Where is Tyus Edney, he of the famed cost to coast
Where is Tyus Edney, he of the famed cost to coast
Hoya paranoia -- Michael Graham of Georgetown's 1984 NCAA Champion team. Mr. Mean was Hoya Paranoia. If he had stuck around for another year, Georgetown would've demolished 'Nova in the 1985 championship game.
Can't forget Matheen Cleaves MSU (forget the year)...after getting tackled on a break-away layup by a Duke defender, he leaves the game on one leg..only to hobble back on to the court (aka Kirk Gibson) to help MSU ice the win...
So where is Mateen now??? Much like Jerry "The Shark" - you never heard much from the Runnin' Rebs of UNLV after they won......
Reggie Theus - wasn't he on that squad? Mateen Cleaves - anyone remember him outside of East Lansing? Fab 5 - there's a reason that they have a nickname - nobody wants to remember their names (outside Webber - who was public enemy #1 in Ann Arbor for many years)..... What about Scotty Thurman of Arkansas (hit winning shot vs Duke in title game of 1994)?
Mateen Cleaves was the hear and soul of Michigan State's '99 championship team. Charlie Bell, Morris Peterson, etc. made it in the pros, what has Cleaves done since? Absolutely nothing.
John Lucas from Oklahoma State. Hit the jumper to beat St. Joes and send them to the Final Four in 2004, returned for his senior year, and helped them reach the sweet sixteen. Has been around the D-League and a benchwarmer for the Rockets since...
I heard he had a gambling problem and toiled around in the Chicago White Sox organization for a year or so.
I think that Curtis Blair is now a college basketball ref.
Whatever happened to the O'Bannon brothers?
Whatever happened to most anyone from Duke?
My favorite has to be Kevin Pittsnogle. I mean, it was just 3 years ago that he led the Mountaineers to the Elite 8, and yet a 6'11" 3-point marksman can't even get a whiff of the NBA.
Tate George last second shot against Clemson off a full court pass from Scott Burrell
How about Gerry MacNamara? Six threes in the NCAA Championship game in 2003...historic Big East run... now he does car commercials in Syracuse...
Curtis Blair is now a ref in college basketball. Not sure which conference though.
What about Patrick Sparks?
Speaking of "whatever happened to" - what about Lorenzo Charles - the guy who slammed home Derek Whittenburg's air-ball/brick to win it all over Houston?
I hope you're watching it this year Jimmy V. We still miss you. he had a horrible career with the Washington wizards after trying to make it as a baseball player.
God Shamgod?
a bit of googling reveals that Curtis Blair is a college basketball official, and apparently played several seasons in the Turkish Basketball league.
Mateen Cleaves, One shinning moment to where are you?
What about Randolph Childress from Wake Forest, maybe 12 years ago. He had that amazing cross over that caused the defender to fall over, then he waved at him to get up before hitting a jumper. Great hilight.
Whatever happened to ED and Charles O'Bannon?
JOHN WALLACE
How about some guy from Kent State in 2002 named Antonio Gates? He sure disappeared from the "basketball" radar...
How about John Wallace? Did he ever play in the NBA?
YOU'VE BEEN PITTSNOGGLED!!!!
I think he just recently made it to the NBA-DL Anderson Hunt from '90-'91 UNLV?
How come I read all the time that March Madness is "one of the biggest stages in the world"? Don't you guys realise that noone outside those with any personal connection to the US - which is after all, you know, by far most of the world, gives a rodent's posterior about US college sports?
The pro stuff - I grant you that, even though I do not even begin to comprehend why I like NFL games, a lot of people, at least in Europe, follow that. But the college sports? Come on, get your heads out of the sand and take a look around... Mark Macon - Temple. Unreal clutch shooter
Khalid El-Amin, he and Uconn "shocked the world" by beating Duke in the title game, but the one guy to make it from that team is Rip Hamilton. Jake Voskuhl is a back up big man and nobody else is even heard from anymore. Anderson Hunt from UNLV, 3 point specialist. Miles Simon, he was supposedly better than Mike Bibby. Christian Laettner - token college player with the original Dream Team - was the highlight of his career. Troy Bell from Boston College. Iowa State forward that played with Jamaal Tinsley, he was drafted #2 or #3 after college. The list just goes on and on ...
God Shamgod played on a Portland team in the IBL and another east coast team in the ABA. Where is Donte Callabrio, the Italian from North Carolina who was money from deep in the mid 90's with Stackhouse and Rasheed?
Where is Donte Callabrio? He was the Italian that was money from downtown with North Carolina in the mid 90's with Stackhouse and Rasheed. God Shamgod played with a Portland team last season in the IBL.
John Wallace was drafted in the first round by the NY Knicks where he wallowed in mediocrity...The Knicks got rid of him only to get him back a few years later...They then realized that they were a worse team without him so let him go again......
A Few Names to Ponder: Cameron Mills, Jeff Sheppard, Miles Simon, Andrew DeClerq, Tom Coverdale, Toby Bailey, Richie Frahm, F.P. Santangelo, Casey Calvary, Kahlid El-Amin.
God shamgod was playin in china a few yrs ago nd der was an article about him in SLAM around a year ago
MILES SIMON
Marvin O'Connor. Almost led St. Joe's to a huge upset by dropping 30 something against #1 Stanford. If it hadn't been for some questionable calls in that game, they might have won.
Mike Gansey? Personally kept WVU in their sweet sixteen game against Wake.
No Miles Simon?
Whatever happened to researching an article? It took me a total of 45 seconds to find out what happened to Curtis Blair. Weak effort.
"Blair was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets in 1992. Currently, he is working as a basketball official in the NBA's Developmental League, and has also worked as a college basketball referee." -from the Richmond Athletics' Website Roosevelt Chapman of Dayton.
Even more recently what about Lee Humphrey? The sharpshooter from Florida helped lead them to back to back titles and without his clutch threes the Gators probably wouldn't have won a title.
Tate George?! I know he played sparingly in the NBA but what ever happened to him?
Bobby Hurley ?
Bo Kimble, Loyola Marymount.
or how about this guy? William Avery the Guard from Duke. Was an awesome player for the dukies, i know he was drafted high in the NBA, but where the heck is he now?
The UNLV squad did not have Reggie Theus. Big names were Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt.
The Fab 5 are still successful. Jalen Rose and Juwuan Howard have had long NBA careers. Mateen Cleaves was drafted in 1st round by Pistons (stupid), sat on the bench in Sacramento and Portland for a while, and now is playing in IBL. (I think) Scotty Thurman hit the shot vs Duke to win Arkansas the title in 1994....Then disappeared forever
Bobby Hurley comes to mind first. He and Laettner tore it up and then went to the NBA and well....tore it down I guess.
march madness did not start in '82 when Jordan hit the jumper to beat G-Town....what about Artis Gilmore and Pembrook Burroughs from the '70 Jacksonville team? The final 4 in '70 was UCLA, Jacksonville, N. Mex St. and St. Bonaventure (with Bob Lanier)
Chandler Thompson of Ball State - most incredible dunk in NCAA history. UNLV nearly lost to Ball State on their eventual run to the 1990 title.
What about Scoonie Penn who led the Buckeyes to the Final Four in 1999?
khalid el amin is the highest payed player in Turkey's pro league(about $2mil a year) he was drafted by the bulls in the 2nd round but couldnt stick
"A Few Names to Ponder: Cameron Mills, Jeff Sheppard, Miles Simon, Andrew DeClerq, Tom Coverdale, Toby Bailey, Richie Frahm, F.P. Santangelo, Casey Calvary, Kahlid El-Amin."
Mills: a pastor or youth leader in KY I believe. Simon: Assistant coach at Arizona F.P.: He's a baseball player, you mean Matt Santangelo Frahm: Still bouncing btwn. the D-League and the NBA James Forrest(G. Tech), Al Dillard(Arkansas), Andrew DeClerk(Florida).
I loved the Arcenaux pick, that guy was just RIDICULOUS against UNC and Florida. I really don't think I've ever seen someone take over a college game like him vs. UNC.
Another name just as a great college guy who faded... Jason Gardner. He was a star right along with that loaded Arizona team with Gilbert Arenas and Richard Jefferson, but was too much of a shoot first PG to make it in the pros. wWHAT ABOUT BRIAN PENNY. THE COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY STAR ALMOST BEAT INDIANA BY HIMSELF IN THE EARLY 90'S. OF COURSE SO DID EVERY OTHER TEAM INDIANA PLAYED IN THE TOURNAMENT.
Actually, Curtis Blair should be an NBA referee by next year. He worked several preseason games this year and as mentioned earlier is currently a referee for the NBDL as well as college (ACC, A10, CAA etc.). Not exactly missing, nice job by the reporter!
Bobby Hurley had a pretty decent rookie year until an accident with a drunk driver. He attempted a series of comebacks in the NBA but was never near the same player he once was.
What about that point guard from Duke, Jason Williams? What's he up to now? Reliving his UMD vs Duke games?
US Reed and his half court shot that beat Louisville in the late 70's
Speaking of Tyus Edney, what about Cameron Dollar, who as a sophomore replaced the injured Edney at point guard for the UCLA-Arkansas title game in 1995 and shredded the vaunted Razorback press? He never played pro basketball, but didn't really "fade away," choosing coaching instead.
Lorenzo Charles played in the NBA and Europe for a few years and now lives back in the Raleigh area. He recently attended a ceremony where his jersey was retired at NC State.
Haven't seen yet: Trajan Langdon of Duke, George Zidek of UCLA, Mike Gansey of WVU and Luke Shensher (sp?) of Georgia Tech.
Charles O'Bannon is playing in Japan.
Christian Leattner had a good pro career averaging 16 pts and 8 rebs for about 8 years with the Twolves and Hawks, and even made the allstars once.
Bobby Hurley had a decent rookie season for the Kings before being hit by a drunk driver. Jason Williams averaged 10 pts for Chicago in his rookie season before getting into a motorcycle accident. He now is trying to get into the broadcasting world. The O´Bannon brothers from UCLA, Miles Simon, What happened to Ron Mercer?, Wayne turner never went pro?Trajan Langdon?Felipe Lopez?Cherokee Parks?Bryant Reeves?Alaa Abdelnaby? what happened to those guys?
priest lauderdale
MICHAEL DICKERSON
What happen to Will Avery from Duke
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