Blazersedge Scrubdown: Matchup #2
by Dave on Aug 2, 2010 11:00 PM PDT
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PrintThe Blazersedge Scrubdown continues with our second head-to-head matchup. The explanation is in the gray box. If you already know what you're doing, by all means continue and enjoy!
When we talk about Blazers history we usually mention icons with retired numbers who played in our favorite eras. What about the rest of the guys? Who is the most notable Blazer outside of Drexler, Porter, Walton, Lucas, Sabonis, Vandeweghe, Paxson and company? Despite the clever "scrubdown" name I didn't pick true scrubs for the brackets. I'm not confident we're ready to debate the merits of Joe Wolf versus Alaa Abdelnaby. Rather these are Blazers whose names you will (or at least should) recognize who were never long-term starters and probably had zero or one fantastic years for the team.
In each post two Blazers of yore will go head-to-head. In the comment section (no polls, as they can be spammed) you vote for your favorite of the two. You can use any criteria you wish: stats, contributions, personality, your fond memories, who you'd like to have now, even just that you like one guy's name better than the other! It's meant to be an interesting exercise without being overly serious, you know? The only rule is that you should give the most weight to the Portland portion of these players' careers rather than what they did before or after. If you do have memories or solid reasons for favoring one guy over the other, please share them in the body of your comment. Be sure and place your actual vote in the subject line. We'll narrow down 24 players over the next few weeks until we hit the Final Three, one of which will be the official winner.
Today's matchup: Robert Pack versus Nick Van Exel. Who's your choice to advance?
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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Robert Pack.
I write about basketball players with Ridiculous Upside. I know you'll love it.
by Scott Schroeder on Aug 2, 2010 11:01 PM PDT reply actions
(sweet flat-top, Oregon schooled, sweet flat-top.)
facebook.com/year5000
by Y5k on Aug 2, 2010 11:06 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Gotta go with Pack.
Only because he went undrafted and provided a good amount of excitement. Plus I had the “Young Guns” tee featuring him, Uncle Cliffy, and Alaa Abdelnaby.
Robert Pack
What a stud he was for about a season. I remember him being one of my favorite players when he first came to Portland. Then he left and was a big stud in Minnesota I think.
Denver
He was most certainly NOT a study when he was with the Wolves in 2001.
by Pooh Richardson on Aug 3, 2010 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Ohhh
Man, that’s a hard one. I gotta go with Pack though, only because my brother had a Pack-man Tshirt that I was always jealous of.
Damn the Blazers. Damn them to hell. - 'The Sports Guy' Bill Simmons
And here it is!
Damn the Blazers. Damn them to hell. - 'The Sports Guy' Bill Simmons
by doublezeroduck on Aug 2, 2010 11:11 PM PDT reply actions 9 recs
Rec for awesomeness
and scanning effort.
"I come to you now, at the turn of the tide." -- Brandon "Gandalf" Roy, April 24th, 2010
Never heard of Robert Pack
But this is cooler than anything Nick Van Exel has been advertised on
you have a tremendous sense of humor
and should not be surprised if you are backhanded in public because of it.
"I come to you now, at the turn of the tide." -- Brandon "Gandalf" Roy, April 24th, 2010
I gotta go with Pack, too
He always seemed like a Blazer, even though we didn’t keep him.
Although I really liked Van Exel. Great guy and he gave this team all he had in the tank.
In KP I trusted!
Van Exel
Because I remember draining 3s with him in NBA Live games early in the 2000s.
(Too young for Pack.)
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
Robert Pack. He was a nice surprise when he arrived.
I was never a big Van Exel fan, nothing personal against him though.
Robert Pack
I’d rather not remember that Van Exel was a trailblazer. terrible times…
Nick Van Excel
He had a better face.
by Nick Van Excellent on Aug 2, 2010 11:36 PM PDT reply actions
Van Excel...better face...
I bet that’s the first time anyone ever said NVE had a better face than someone.
If Luke Babbitt and Jerryd Bayless played a game of table tennis I'm not sure who would win but the ping pong ball would lose no matter what. - Ben 7/16/2010
… better than Sam Cassell?
Time for a face off.
by HowlinJoeWolf on Aug 2, 2010 11:52 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't judge faces by how handsome they are.
I judge them on how great they are.
by Nick Van Excellent on Aug 3, 2010 12:27 AM PDT up reply actions
PACK MAN
because he was a true Blazer; a guy who we were stoked on. Whereas, NVE, was an overpaid vet who was just disgruntled by the end and surly to boot (from what I remember).
"I come to you now, at the turn of the tide." -- Brandon "Gandalf" Roy, April 24th, 2010
Pack man all the way
The day pack was traded my dad picked up up from school and took me out to ice cream because I was so upset. He was my first blazer favorite ever to be traded away so it hurt. I wore #14 allmost my entire childhood in sports as an homage to PAC
by przybillafan2001 on Aug 2, 2010 11:45 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Aside from Rod Strickland (who was sweet!),
does anybody remember Audie Norris, Calvin Natt, or Kenny Carr???
CALVIN!
My favorite player as a kid. LOVED hearing Schonz call his dunks. I was crushed when he was traded for a slow white guy with a pole-dancers name!
by snydtheglide on Aug 6, 2010 10:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Robert Pack
Did Nick Van Exel give me an autograph at Larry’s (now Fisherman’s Marine Supply) in the Oregon City Shopping Center? No. I may have to go up to the attic and see if I still have Pack’s autograph. I want to say it was on a Franz Bread card, but I may be wrong (did Pack even have one?).
volatilelyle.wordpress.com
He has Dikembe's vote
http://www.nba.com/media/act_robert_pack.jpg
volatilelyle.wordpress.com
by almost awesome on Aug 3, 2010 12:07 AM PDT up reply actions
Robert Pack???
1 season, 72 games played with no starts. 4.6 pts, .3 RPG, 1.9 asst, 1.3 TOs, in 12 minutes a game??? Really?
Have a look at the second paragraph of the block quote
volatilelyle.wordpress.com
by almost awesome on Aug 3, 2010 12:14 AM PDT up reply actions
Pack!
"OK, it's going to rain tomorrow. And there is going to be a Greenpeace meeting and hippies are going to be protesting" ~ The Buffet of Goodness on Portland
Van Exel
Nick the Quick for sure. I still have a poster of him up on my wall. Dude was awesome
Pack Man vs Nick the Quick? I gotta agree with oregon_fan above, the only thing Pack Man wins on is the nickname.
Obviously, Van Exel’s best days were not in a Blazer uniform, but even in Portland his numbers were better than Pack Man, who only played one season here too. Nick Van Exel was a stud, one of the most entertaining players to watch in the league at the time. He even made the all-star team. Pack Man, not so much. Maybe it’s hard for Blazer fans to vote for Nick after a past his prime version torched us in that 2003 Dallas series, though.
Nick
I loved watching him and damon jack up three’s. That was the best part of that lost season. The two point guard lineup! Nick puts some air under the ball. eeeeeooooooooooooooooooooooSPLASH!!!
Nick of course.
Pack played 12 minutes a game with Portland for 1 year (his rookie year) and then was traded.
Matty Walker: You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man. - Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Aug 3, 2010 1:14 AM PDT reply actions
ROBERT PACK!
He was a sick little man dunker and he NEVER PLAYED FOR THE LAKERS.
Oh, and from 2004 to 2005 he played in Kauno “Zalgiris”
Robert Packwood
Harassed the heck out of that hoop.
And gets one more vote. Totally subjective, but I remember thinking he would be the next big thing. Someday someone will do a timeline of Blazer scrub, young bench guards who become sentimental fan favorites for a short time and then are forgotten. See what kind of immortality you have to look forward to, Patty Mills? But that seems like it’s worth the extra scrub points.
Sure Nick was the better talent. But he always felt like a rented player.
Handles like Van Exel
Nick was such a mercenary for this team, but he had some great games for us. Plus, isn’t the idea of a backcourt of Damon and NVE the most absurd thing you’ve ever heard of? Well, guess what? It actually happened. Pryz in the middle, D-Miles at the wing, Zbo at PF. It was a truly absurd time to be a Blazer fan.
by hollywood robinson on Aug 3, 2010 2:12 AM PDT reply actions
Don't forget 6th man Rueben Patterson
That was a crazy team. I did like the game when Rueben and NVE torched the Sonics in the 4th with a decent two man game over and over…highlight of the season. Plus, I got baseline seats about three rows up for $10 each…for reasons that should be obvious given the makeup of that ridiculous team.
by Pooh Richardson on Aug 3, 2010 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Gotta go with Pack
Van Exel was probably a better player in his prime, and he scored more than Pack with the Blazers. But NVE was part of the dark times with the Blazers, and fit in a little too well with that.
Plus I remember Pack generating some excitement when he came in. He brought the energy and effort that you expect from an undrafted player.
I gotta go with Pack
He was classing in Airplane and I still think of him when I hear “Unsolved Mysteries” on the TV.
pack
although i like van excel for breaking the team record for 3 pointers in a game record (only to be broken in the same season by damon),
Michael Jordan is the Nicolas Batum of America
marty>babbitt
Nick Van Exel
Was comparatively more memorable for his brief hilarious Blazer service at that point in time when the entire team jumped the shark, than Robert Packwood was back when things made sense.
BTW Rouben Bumtje-Bumtje needs to be somewhere on this list. Because having the same last name doubled means you should be one the roster, right?
made em jump like Rod Strickland
p.s.
when I said “Robert Packwood” I meant “Robert Pack”, not Bob Packwood the disgraced former senator. I’ve gotten those two names mixed up repeatedly in the past, and here I go again.
made em jump like Rod Strickland
Is it bad I once signed a visitor's poster for a school open house as "Robert Packwood"?
I thought it would be funny to see if anyone noticed (they didn’t)
Blazers win!
VAN EXEL
Simply because he shot 17-foot free throws
Robert Pack
Feels more like a Blazer to me. Nick had some good moments hooking up with Joel on the pick and roll but I just never got attached to him as a Blazer. Pack was all about potential PG of the future. What could say Blazer more clearly?
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
by tssbro on Aug 3, 2010 6:16 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Nick Van Exel
May be irrationally on my top 5 players of all time list.
Liberty Ballers / Ridiculous Upside / Twitter
The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Michael Bourn
I've got a funny story about Robert Pack.
When I was a teenager, I think I was 16 or 17, I had a celebrity encounter. I was at the US bank branch in Lake Oswego, cashing my meager paycheck from another 2 weeks spent as a pump jockey for BP. (although we always referred to ourselves as petroleum transfer technicians, and this was well before they ruined the south, so you can stop sending letters). As I was leaving the bank, a black BMW pulled up and out stepped Robert Pack. In my juvenile state I was kerfuffled. It was just me and a bona fide NBAer in the parking lot. I knew I had to say something, but struggled to come up with the right thing to both acknowledge that I knew who he was, but also not to look like a complete dork.
Thinking on my feet I said, “good game lastnight.”
He nodded and thanked me and went on his way.
Later on I was bragging about the exchange to my friends. They asked me what I said to him. I told them I said “good game lastnight.”
They said, “he didn’t play lastnight.”
I felt like an idiot, but you know the guy was pretty gracious about me saying something that could have been embarrassing for both of us.
I vote for Robert Pack
I'm a Greg Oden honk, yeah.
Even when I was still a Sonic fan, I liked Oden more than Kevin Durant.
by AK1984 on Jun 12, 2010 12:20 AM PDT
by Tyler Durrden on Aug 3, 2010 7:09 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Pack, of course
He was truly a Blazer, even if for only a season; Van Exel was a mercenary hired by the Blazers.
Pack-Man, for the flat-top alone
Also, I remember reading about him in “Against the World” how he beat out Walter Davis and Danny Young for the final roster spot.
Also, we invited him to training camp back in 2002? 2003? I thought for sure he was going to stick…
The inbound to McGinnis, drives, stops, pumps, shoots, short, no good...AND THE GAME IS OVER! ~ Bill Schonely
by SandbergOnSports on Aug 3, 2010 7:59 AM PDT reply actions
Gotta go with Robert Pack
My favorite memory: his Dairy Queen commercial where he said he’d get his own collectible glass next year. OOPS! Traded! I was heartbroken.
Robert Pack
for the feel-good story. The commercials during Summer League for the vintage WC finals showed one of his breakaway baskets.
Pack man
Love the nicik name and I was much more into basket ball when he played compared to van ex’s time. Pack was impact player for short time
"Knowledge will get you from A to B. Creativity will get you anywhere." Einstein
Nick Van Excel
"I have contract with Portland.... I have contract with Portland... I have contract with Portland." - Rudy Fernandez
Pack of course...
He was a Blazer early in his career, Van Exel at the end of his. When a yungun comes on board, the fan base is still all a flutter about how good that player might be……potential is powerful. When it’s someone at the end of the line, not so much.
Pack had an incredible explosiveness heading to the hole. He was Bayless 1.0.
And for those who are voting Van Exel because they’ve never heard of Pack, please take the time and learn just a little bit about the older players. They were Blazers too and provided the team with some great moments. It’s not like the Blazers were invented in 2000 or something.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
Robert Pack
I imagine if I had the time to dig through the posts on Blazersedge when Bayless was first acquired by the Blazers, I would see a reference or two to Robert Pack. There’s just something about an explosive little guy that can dunk that gets the crowd going. It’s why Spud Webb and Nate Robinson have so many dunk contest titles. Bayless 1.0 is right. Or maybe just Bayless Beta?
by unblindloyalty on Aug 3, 2010 9:37 AM PDT up reply actions
I remember Robert Pack, all 1 season, 10 minutes a game, and 0 starts of him as a Blazer.
Not sure which version of Robert Pack you remember as a Blazer. Robert Pack was more of a Denver Nugget and the other 6,7 teams he played for. Pack was fun to like because of his nickname and dunks, but people have plenty of other reasons to vote Van Exel other than never hearing of Pack. Van Exel was a star in the league there for a while, could tear up the offense, and was extremely exciting to watch.
gotta go with the pac man
"I told somebody to stop crying," Pendergraph said after the game. "Actually, I told them all to stop crying."
Robert Pack
Nick Van Exel was undeniably the more talented overall player. But Pack was a fast paced game changer, embraced by the fans and held up to unrealistic expectation. That makes him the Scrubbier Scrub.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
Packman!
Nick the quick was an old trick when he landed in Ptown. Wasn’t a great pickup at the time, and I’ve never been a fan of his me-first attitude on the court. Gotta go with Robert Pack, he contributed plenty in a solid bench role for a few years and was a fan favorite.
NVE
Interrogation Cop: What are you saying?
Fenster: I said he'll flip you.
Interrogation Cop: He'll what?
Fenster: Flip you. Flip ya for real.
by Cyclops@Centercourt on Aug 3, 2010 10:29 AM PDT reply actions
Jean Claude Van Exel
Dude will roundhouse kick you, defuse bombs placed through out the stadium, then drill a 3 in your face.
by THEvanCOUVErite on Aug 3, 2010 10:39 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Pack
I forgot Van Exel played for the Blazers.
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
robert pack!!!
I was so pumped about him when he was a rookie..
Pack
I’ve always liked him.
NVE, who I didn’t dislike as a player, was such a bad fit (Blazers not competing for anything while he was at the end of his career and therefore wanted to compete….).
Van Exel was THREE times the player Pack was
But I remember him as being a #aker. So Pack it is
by LicketyBrindleDowntheMiddle on Aug 3, 2010 3:44 PM PDT reply actions
Pacman
SC grad and I saw him dunk on Jerome Kersey during practice
"We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. We forge our tradition in the spirit of our ancestors. You have our gratitude." - Rich Cho
by Sexual Tyrannosaurus on Aug 3, 2010 5:26 PM PDT reply actions
The only reason I know Van Exel played for us is he wore my number (19)
Pack Man all the way baby! Woo!
Blazers win!
100% Robert Pack
I liked his energy and I DIDN’T like Nick’s googly eyes… …not to mention the L@ker / M@verick connection.
Nick Van Exel
One of the few fun players to watch on a bad team.
Robert Pack
I always just liked watching him
We need some true Blazer scrubs who actually played with the team for longer than a year.
How about Tracy Murray for having 3 separate stints with the Blazers. I always liked Greg Anthony off the bench for some spark too. Or maybe even some Gary Trent or Aaron Mckie. But if I really think of a true scrub that was able to stay with the Blazers for a while though, Mark Bryant is the first name that comes to mind.
I gotta go with the Pack Man. At the time he played for the Blazers he offered a really nice change of pace on a team that was already fastbreak basketball. It was fun watching him outrebound a taller defender and then burst down the court before anyone could catch him. He really was a feel good story. I don’t remember him every being a guy whose character you questioned. He seemed to fit into his role nicely.
Van Exel
Jersey is still hanging in the closest! Loved Nick @ Nite!
Nick the Quick
Close call though, I loved Pack.
by stevecolterssocks on Aug 23, 2010 2:34 PM PDT reply actions
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