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Post by ptctitan on Apr 12, 2024 18:04:33 GMT -5
It's an interesting debate about Spencer and where he should rank. Now back to more important stuff.
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Post by Commissioner on Apr 12, 2024 19:18:06 GMT -5
Well, we only played three more games after Baldwin Wallace--we lost at #2 ranked LaSalle by 2 points with Spencer having a Herculean game (44 points, 32 rebounds); Spencer then scored 27 in a loss at #16 Boston College, and finished with 45 in a season ending victory over Canisius. If Spencer hadn't been suspended and the Titans had beaten Xavier, would they have gotten an NIT bid? Possibly--they were one of if not the first team out. OTOH, sans Spencer, that team would probably have not even had a winning record--probably would have finished about 7-19. The only reason 1969 mattered was because we had Spencer Haywood. Yes, Spencer took a lot of shots and grabbed a lot of rebounds, but we still lost. You're now making the same argument for Spencer that you considered to be a negative for Antoine. For me, for a player to be an all-time Titan great, I must give greater weight to the number of years played here. For a one-and-done player to be ranked in the top 5, he must have contributed something greater than his one-year individual stats. Otherwise, Antoine's 5th year performance alone should merit him a top 5 ranking, 930 points, 303 FGs, 159 3PGs, 41% 3P%, 91% FT%. So, yes, Spencer had a monumentally powerful individual performance here in 1968-69. As an all-time Titan great, he clearly ranks above #10 but below #2. That's just my opinion having seen him play versus everyone from 1960 to now. Spencer didn't lose. We were 16-10 against a very tough schedule, and ranked as high as #7 in the country early in the year. It was one of the most memorable years in Titan history. I think Spencer did contribute more than his one-year stats, by the way. I would venture to say that for the average basketball fan, the four names most associated with the Titans are Dick Vitale, Antoine Davis, Spencer Haywood, and Dave DeBusschere. But I doubt that Davis will be up there in 55 years. For players of roughly the same caliber, I give a lot of weight to longevity. But Spencer was way above the others, except DeBusschere (he was a better college player than DeBusschere, too, but both were very top elite players). How would you rank the top 10, you think? And what, pray tell, is more important?
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Post by ptctitan on Apr 13, 2024 9:54:35 GMT -5
How would you rank the top 10, you think? 1. DeBusschere 1A Calihan 2. Phillips 3. Murrey 4. Long 5. Swanson 6. Duerod 7. Tyler 8. McCallum 9. Antoine Davis 10.Ebben 11.Haywood Commissioner asks, "What, pray tell, is more important?" The future!
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