Who was the best college basketball player of all time?

[kodi]

Poll question: Who was the best college basketball player of all time?

the only ones I actally saw play whene they were in college were Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Pete Maravich, Larry Bird, David Thompson, and Elvin Hayes.

Lew Alcindor was so good it was not even funny, but the game that Bill Walton plyed for the NCAA champoinship in '73 against Memphis State was the best performce I ever saw in a college game. Walton scored 44 points on 21 for 22 shooting, grabbed a dozen boards, blocked 7-8 shots, and sold $500 worth of popcorn at half time (not really but he did everything else that day).

Pete Marqvich was such a great shooter and ball handler that there was talk about him joining the harlem globetrotters instead of the NBA or ABA........christ, the guy AVERAGED 44 POINTS A GAME!

Larry Bird almost singlehandedly won an NCAA champoinship for Indiana state,

DT was, well as an NC State grad I am a bit prejudiced, but only Dr. J could do what DT did at the time.

Elvin Hayes was a monster player at Houston and redefined the game at forward in the NBA. i remember watching the night at the astrodome when he played against Alcindor (with the eye patch from the scratched cornea)and beat them.

But in a pick up game, give me walton and you take the next two picks...and if Bill Russell is left, you will never score on my team.

[daveskilt]

1. lew alcindor - 3 championships in three years

and it would have been four if they let freshmen play in the tournament back then. 3 MVP's in the final four. regular season 88-2 over three years. best player ever on the best team ever

[kodi]

7. no doubt, his freshman team beat the varsity who won the ncaa

john wooden mentioned it in an interview years ago and he said that he just knew the next few years were going to be fun.

"Alcindor played for the best college team in the country in 1965-66, but unfortunately for him and his teammates, freshmen were ineligible to compete for the varsity then. In their first game, the first game ever at Pauley Pavilion, the UCLA freshmen whipped the varsity, two-time defending champions and preseason No. 1, 75-60. Alcindor scored 31 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked seven shots. The Brubabes went 21-0 and Alcindor averaged 33 points and 21 rebounds."

http://www.sportsplacement.com/kareembio.htm

[Faygo Kid]

2. Should have listed Magic. He changed the game.

A 6'9" point guard. I am not saying he is the best ever, but he should have been on the list.

[kodi]

3. actually, he's ranked #11 on the list linked

http://mb13.theinsiders.com/fbroreadersfrm1.showMessage?topicID=11287.topic

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. I think he's the best ever. At any level.

Singlehandedly taught me to love the game of hoops. His game was beauty and joy made real in basketball...

[BrotherBuzz]

5. Angelo "Hank" Luisetti

Shame on you for not including the "invertor" of the one handed throw, the man that brought basketball into the modern era!
http://sports.insidebayarea.com/top50.asp?story=Hank_Luisetti

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. Besides, not exactly fair to list Bird and not Magic when

Magic won their college championship matchup, the biggest game either of them ever played in college...

[kodi]

8. next to the UCLA-Houston game in ' 68 it was the biggst ever.

watched it in amazement and joy knowing that those two were headed to the NBA

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

9. I need to get a tape of this sometime. Magic vs. the Basketball Jesus.

MSU vs. ISU. Has ISU even been anywhere near the Sweet 16 ever since the Basketball Jesus left there?

[kodi]

10. never was anyone like bird who made his teamates better

love magic, but with bird, in college and the pros he elevated everyones play around him.

i was in boston in '87 and was sitting in a bar and looking at a pix of bird behind the bar, when a fairly inebriated gent approched me and in a typical boston accent.."that's the greatest basketball playa' that ever lived" i turned and said two words..."The Doc."

he smiled, clapped me on the back, and said, "okay! you got a point. the Doc is great!"....... well, he was the owner of the bar and he and i sat at the bar talking sports for an hour when the topic moved to boxing and marvin haigler.. and i mentioned that i had been to the only fight up til them that hagler had lost...to bobby boogaloo watts.. well, lo and behold, the guy on the other side of us poked me in the back and said that he had fought bobby watts!

after that we all went to a private lounge in the back with a pool table, a gaggle of bitchin' babes and free drinks flowed until until 2am when the guys i had gone to the bar with originally finally found me.. i told them to go back to the hotel and i would see them in the morning.. the boxer, bar ownewr and i stayed up all night talking celtics basketball and telling stories about bill russsll-wilt chamberlin games and bird-dr j games..

it was the best night i ever had in boston....and we all hated the ny yankees!