Klosterman: Blazers Make Top 50 College Players Of All Time List

by Ben Golliver on Nov 4, 2011 10:30 PM PDT in News

Chuck Klosterman compiled a list of the top 50 college basketball players of all time for Grantland.com and a number of Portland Trail Blazers made the list. Klosterman clarifies that he is looking for the "50 players who inhabit our collective memory as 'awesome college guys,'" judging them on talent, their relative fame in college compared to the pros and with an eye towards the unusual.

The Blazers on the list included...

47. Stacey Augmon (UNLV, 1987-1991): Nobody ever terrorized the passing lanes like the Plastic Man. Is it possible to be "laid-back" and "aggressive" simultaneously? Somehow, that was Augmon's natural state of existence.

33. Juan Dixon (Maryland, 1998-2002): No matter what happens, I'll always consider Dixon a greater talent than Steve Blake. And I really like Steve Blake; I just can't understand how the things Dixon did at Maryland couldn't translate to the next level. And that makes me like him more.

3. Bill Walton (UCLA, 1971-1974): Deadheads in downtown Portland might quibble with Walton's inclusion on this list, but the man defined both the hippie collegiate experience and the NCAA style of play. Judging from his own statements, I'm relatively certain he'd sacrifice half his injury-plagued pro career just to spend five more minutes in a bomb shelter with John Wooden. Moreover, Walton had the greatest offensive performance anyone's ever going to see in a meaningful contest, hitting 21 of 22 against Memphis in the '73 title game.

(Here's part of my thinking on the inclusion of Walton: He only had 2½ great pro seasons, but he had three great years in college. This was the same reasoning I used for exclusion of Elvin Hayes: He feels more important as a college player, but he was a top-flight pro forever. He played in 12 All-Star games. It seemed unbalanced.)

Former Portland State University star Freeman Williams also made the list.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter

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Chuck Klosertman's criteria for this list of his was too subjective to have any merit.

"I Am Mine"

by AK1984 on Nov 4, 2011 10:52 PM PDT reply actions

graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantland.

dinasour type of guys choir boys

by mittsabishy on Nov 4, 2011 11:21 PM PDT reply actions

and any list of this sort that does not include tommy kleinschmidt is worthless.

dinasour type of guys choir boys

by mittsabishy on Nov 4, 2011 11:21 PM PDT up reply actions

just got back from spaceroom, going to bed.

dinasour type of guys choir boys

by mittsabishy on Nov 4, 2011 11:21 PM PDT up reply actions

I've really gotta work on that filter.

by Timmay! on Nov 4, 2011 11:50 PM PDT reply actions

Gotta say I enjoyed this list

Yeah, it’s subjective. Klosterman freely admits that, from what I remember. It just seems like a fun piece, and pretty good writing. I didn’t see most of these guys play; it’s interesting to hear someone else’s perspective on them.

by jumphook on Nov 5, 2011 1:10 AM PDT via mobile reply actions

Yeah, that was fun to read!

His section on Alcindor was hilarious. Kareem really was the baddest of them all.

by FlyingOutlaw on Nov 6, 2011 12:42 AM PDT up reply actions

Never thought I'd see a CK ref on Bedge.

Gotta say, I am a fan.

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((())) llbdll
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ed: bumped to front page

by Oh. Em. Gee. on Nov 5, 2011 2:40 AM PDT via mobile reply actions

I'm not seeing

Bob Lanier, Artis Gilmore and Michael Ray Richardson. I remember the 1970 NCAA final four with Lanier and Gilmore fighting for the right to lose to UCLA in the finals. Michael Ray Richardson at the University of Montana—what a tragedy as a pro.

The Dude abides.

by BrewDude on Nov 5, 2011 8:07 AM PDT reply actions

Gilmore was a really, really good pro. That's probably why he's not on there.

Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!

by HailOden! on Nov 5, 2011 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Ah Juan.

If only you were three inches taller, and twenty pounds heavier. I thought he’d be better at the NBA level too. If Iverson saw success at 5’10", I thought Juan would have stuck around at 6’3". Where the heck is he now anyway?

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Nov 5, 2011 8:55 AM PDT reply actions

It is an interesting question

Complete conjecture on my part, but he might be a good example of a guy who just didn’t have the drive to play. Blake is arguably less talented but appears to have worked his ass off to develop the skills that make him valuable to an NBA team.
My other thought is that Juan didn’t have the same opportunities as Blake, but they did play on a pretty horrible Blazer team together.

PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04

by tssbro on Nov 5, 2011 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions