Zion
- Thread starter Fsgolfdr
- Start date
Of course, you are talking about Christian Laettner as a senior, when he averaged 21ppg. But not Laettner as a freshman who averaged less than 10.
He did post 24-9 versus Mourning in an escalator game his freshmen season.
Also hit a buzzer beater versus UConn in another escalator game and the Kentucky game speaks for itself.
Let’s see what happens the rest of the tournament where AD was great in his only year. But AD averaged something like 14 Ppg while Zion goes for 22.
It seems like there’s a reluctance by some here on the board to embrace Zion but as I see it, he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen and there still so much room for his basketball skills to grow.
I understand your case. But Zion is in another class. Comparing Zion as a frosh to Laettner in my opinion in no contest.
I don’t root for the Knicks but I hope the NBA rigs its lottery and Zion ends up there. Then Durant and another free agent head to the Big Apple and the east has another good team.
Last edited:
No offense, but MJ was average player in college. He owes Fred Brown for is collegiate legacy.
Two time 1st team All American and ACC Player of the Year in a 3 year college career?
They only had the three point shot one year when he was in college, I believe it was a year that the NCAA allowed some conferences to experiment with the rule, but Jordan shot 45% on threes that season.
Laettner wasn’t in the same class as Kareem or Walton.
Anthony Davis was arguably the single best defensive player to ever play college basketball. Zion's a better scorer, but I'll take Anthony Davis as the better player. That's not a knock on Zion nor is it an indication that I'm biased against him.
Never saw him play in college, but Pete Maravich had some crazy ass stats.
Patrick Ewing, Melo, Larry Bird, Bernard King, Ralph Sampson, Charles Barkley, Glenn Big-Dog Robinson, Tim Duncan
Patrick Ewing, Melo, Larry Bird, Bernard King, Ralph Sampson, Charles Barkley, Glenn Big-Dog Robinson, Tim Duncan
Last edited:
For sheer physical dominance, Shaq.
Speaking of Shaq, Chris Jackson didn't really care much for feeding his bigs, but he was certainly fun to watch.
Speaking of Shaq, Chris Jackson didn't really care much for feeding his bigs, but he was certainly fun to watch.
Allen Iverson has to be in the conversation as one of the most disruptive defensive players and he averaged 25 ppg.
Bird in his run to the final four was incredible. You can’t top that except maybe with Walton’s 21-22 in the finals. Both were seniors however. I was not old enough to watch jabber or wilt in college. Magic johnson was almost on par with birds performance. Bird had no supporting cast like the others.
Anthony Davis was unreal in his one year, especially in ncaa.
Zion is incredible and the most physically imposing combined with surprising skill. Did you know Zion was a 5’8 point guard in 7th grade, before growing to 6’3 in 8th grade? That explains a lot.
Did you see his behind the back dribble off of a steal that freed him up? Crazy. He also is the best college dunker I have seen, though this kid from Murray state is shocking ! If I had known about him I would have picked Murray state for a few games.
Talent wise, I agree. College career wise, Kareem and Laettner stand out the most.
Kareem won one more title, but making two buzzer beaters in the Elite 8, winning two titles and playing in four Final Fours is pretty incredible for Laettner.
If I had to pick between Laettner or Walton I'd lean toward Laettner by a hair.
To defense against Kareem the NCAA banned the dunk ! His teams went 88-2 and won 3 straight titles . If your old enough the game against Houston in the Astrodome might have been the biggest single regular season game ever .
Big Bill was the ultimate team player , but averaged over 20 ppg while shooting 65% from the floor with 15 rebounds and 5.5 assists . His teams went 86 -4 with 3 titles .
I still think Zion has all around bb skills equaled only by Labron and possibly Kobe , but they never felt the need ( or were forced ) to take an English class .
There were posters on this board who thought Lebron was all hype too. They simply don’t know enough about what they’re watching to understand what makes these guys great beyond their physical gifts.
Zion, like Lebron was coming out of HS, is a once in a generation kind of talent. The perfect package of tangible and intangible greatness. In addition to all of his obvious gifts, he’s an incredibly competitive kid who just refuses to lose and will his team to win.
He’s the reason I don’t see anyone beating by Duke in this tourney.
I won’t get into best of all time, because there have been so many great ones. Nobody in this thread mentioned Magic Johnson but he was one of the best HS players of all time without a doubt, far more so than Jordan was. But certainly Zion has a seat at that table. I’ve tried to watch him every chance I get, because once he goes to the NBA, I won’t bother to watch him again.
I don't enjoy the pro game today. The season is way too long, the regular season games are too meaningless, there is so little passion or pride in those games, and it's such a watered down version of basketball as I knew it. It wasn't always like that, I was a big NBA fan from my childhood through about 2006.
And no freshman eligibility for Pistol Pete. I never saw him play in college either but those numbers for a div 1 school are still mind blowing. To average over 40 ppg for 3 straight years is something we will never again see in our lifetime
Pick your spots and watch a quarter here and there that’s what I do . They’re amazing athletes!
Without the benefit of the 3 pt shot ! He’d be at the table and so would Magic , but I’m still going with Zion .
I’ll give you that AD was defensively superior. AD was actually “skilled” defensively. Zion is actually a good defender because of his incredible athleticism but still needs work on technique.
Glenn Robinson was dominant. I lived in Chicago during the early to mid 90s and he was the only college name you heard other than the fab 5.
I'm not sure what year he was when he left for the draft, but he lead the league in scoring with 30+ p/g, averaged 10 rebounds/game, and lead Purdue to a #1 ranking in the tourney. He put up 110 points in the first 3 games of the tournament before losing to Capel and Duke. There can't be many college players that averaged a double-double with 30+ points, especially in a power conference.
went to 3 straight final 4's. Robbed of a championship by Valvano. Drexler had 4 questionable fouls called before halftime. No shot clock in those days and Valvano held the ball. I know pitt79 loves that type of upset, but that nc state team had ten losses and shouldn't have been in the tourney (wasn't at 64 teams yet)
Only player I remember with this crazy strength, explosiveness etc at that size was Barkley and clearly Zion is even more athletic. He's also a better team player even as a freshman.
MJ only looked average in college because Dean Smith's system made him look average.
If Lew Alcindor could have played as a freshman this conversation wouldn't be taking place.
Latest posts
-
-
Recruiting Update Pitt offers Elon transfer defensive end Cazeem Moore- Latest: Guyasuta Genac
-
-
