Living the Dream
Those of you who regularly read NDN know our relationship with the South Bend Tribune has been rather contentious. Under normal circumstances, I'm not prone to link things I find there. However, a good friend e-mailed a link to me I felt I should share with the ND basketball fans.
The Trib is taking a poll to determine ND's dream team for the ages. ND did their All-Century Team back in 2005, but the SBT is looking for a more focused list.
I encourage ND hoops fans of all shapes and sizes to participate. With the Irish enjoying their strongest hoops success in a while, it's good to reflect on the past and know how we got here. You don't have to stick to the All-Century list --- there may be a player not on it you think deserves mention, as I (almost) did with Ray Meyer.
As a start, or perhaps as an exercise in narcissism, here's the team I submitted:
1) Austin Carr. Duh.
2) Adrian Dantley. Duh II, the revenge.
3) Edward "Moose" Krause. The man revolutionized low post play in his era. Every time you (should) hear a whistle for three seconds, you have Moose to thank for it.
4) John Moir
5) Paul Nowak.
ND has had precious few three-time consensus All-Americans, and these guys are two of them. Moir was National Player of the Year in 1936, when the Irish won the national championship, and it was the first time the guy had ever played organized basketball.
6) Tommy Hawkins. The Hawk still holds a lot of rebounding records at Notre Dame, all achieved in only three years of playing.
7) Dick Rosenthal. What Moose was to ND hoops in the 30's, Rosenthal was in the 50's. He was a dominating low-post man, and led the Irish to the Elite Eight in his senior year ... the last time they'd get there until Digger's Final Four trip.
8) David Rivers. Not only was he one of the most gifted guards ever to play at ND, he led his junior year team to the Sweet 16 seven months after lying on the side of a road with his abdomen slashed open. If that's not balls, I don't know what is.
9) Collis Jones. He'd be considered one of ND's greatest if he hadn't had a teammate named Carr. And to his credit, he's never complained about it once and remains AC's greatest friend and supporter.
10) Kelly Tripucka. The last spot came down to him or Ray Meyer, who I wanted to put in there based on what he brought to the game of basketball over 50 years. But I decided leading ND to their only Final Four so far had to trump that.
Jump on their site and share your own team with the poll. They'll be releasing the results on the 21st.
The Trib is taking a poll to determine ND's dream team for the ages. ND did their All-Century Team back in 2005, but the SBT is looking for a more focused list.
I encourage ND hoops fans of all shapes and sizes to participate. With the Irish enjoying their strongest hoops success in a while, it's good to reflect on the past and know how we got here. You don't have to stick to the All-Century list --- there may be a player not on it you think deserves mention, as I (almost) did with Ray Meyer.
As a start, or perhaps as an exercise in narcissism, here's the team I submitted:
1) Austin Carr. Duh.
2) Adrian Dantley. Duh II, the revenge.
3) Edward "Moose" Krause. The man revolutionized low post play in his era. Every time you (should) hear a whistle for three seconds, you have Moose to thank for it.
4) John Moir
5) Paul Nowak.
ND has had precious few three-time consensus All-Americans, and these guys are two of them. Moir was National Player of the Year in 1936, when the Irish won the national championship, and it was the first time the guy had ever played organized basketball.
6) Tommy Hawkins. The Hawk still holds a lot of rebounding records at Notre Dame, all achieved in only three years of playing.
7) Dick Rosenthal. What Moose was to ND hoops in the 30's, Rosenthal was in the 50's. He was a dominating low-post man, and led the Irish to the Elite Eight in his senior year ... the last time they'd get there until Digger's Final Four trip.
8) David Rivers. Not only was he one of the most gifted guards ever to play at ND, he led his junior year team to the Sweet 16 seven months after lying on the side of a road with his abdomen slashed open. If that's not balls, I don't know what is.
9) Collis Jones. He'd be considered one of ND's greatest if he hadn't had a teammate named Carr. And to his credit, he's never complained about it once and remains AC's greatest friend and supporter.
10) Kelly Tripucka. The last spot came down to him or Ray Meyer, who I wanted to put in there based on what he brought to the game of basketball over 50 years. But I decided leading ND to their only Final Four so far had to trump that.
Jump on their site and share your own team with the poll. They'll be releasing the results on the 21st.
Labels: nd basketball, nd basketball history
posted by Mike Coffey at 8:45 PM
8 Comments:
HOW ABOUT KEVIN O'SHEA! JOE '52
Troy Murphy should be in there. Without his efforts, it is possible that we would still be in the lull of the mid '90s. Two time BE player of the year, two time first team All American, and he led Notre Dame to their first NCAA Tournament in a decade.
How about Pat Garrity? If he had a better supporting cast, he'd have done so much more his sophomore through senior years which were the first three years in the Big East Conference. He was a dominant player on teams that were mediocre at best.
how about Laimbeer?
I glad you included David Rivers, not only because of the reason you cite, but because Digger stuck his neck out to get him into school, and this kid turned out to be an outstanding person (from everything I've heard) and player. I always think he tends to be forgotten because he played on the downhill side of Phelps' tenure.
O'Shea. mentioned previously, was a great guard as was his running mate Leo Barnhorst. Barnhorst played pro ball for a number of years. In fact, he was the only starter on the then Indianapolis Olympians not banned for life when the 1951 point shaving scandal broke.
Joe Miller
I'd like to cast a vote for John Paxson. He was by far the best player on the court for either side during my years at ND ... not that this is saying a whole lot, but he seemed like an NBA player when he was in college. His jumper was pure magic; he had that special something. He was the "go-to guy" and usually came through even though everyone knew he was going to get the ball at the end of the game.
Shumate has to be considered...a class act and an NBAer
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