Shama: If I could draft 1 former Gopher to start a team, it would be Bobby Jackson

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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I'm 100% with Shama.

per Shama:

Where does Murphy rank with the program’s greatest players ever? Will he have his jersey number retired with Randy Breuer, Jim Brewer, Dick Garmaker, Lou Hudson, Kevin McHale, Chuck Mencel, Whitey Skoog, Mychal Thompson and Trent Tucker?

I watched all of those players except for Garmaker, Mencel and Skoog. Yet if I could “draft” one former Gopher to start a team, my choice is Bobby Jackson. He has yet to be honored with the other nine greats because he played on the 1995-96 and 1996-97 teams whose seasons have been erased from the record books as part of the NCAA enforced penalties of the coach Clem Haskins era.

Jackson was the best clutch player I ever watched at Minnesota. He played point guard, the most important position in college basketball, and when the Gophers needed a late game impact play on offense and defense he answered the challenge like few players have in Big Ten history.

Another ex-Gopher I would take in a heartbeat over some of the jersey-honored players is point guard Archie Clark from the 1960s. Clark was similar to Jackson, a terrific defender, scorer and clutch player. Clark was overshadowed at Minnesota by teammate and forward Lou Hudson, probably the most gifted multi-skilled player in program history.

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 

I love Bobby Jackson, but I think many get his position wrong. Wasn't Eric Harris the PG on that team?
 

94Gopher said:
I love Bobby Jackson, but I think many get his position wrong. Wasn't Eric Harris the PG on that team?
Click to expand...

Good question.
I think Eric Harris was more of the #2. Defensive specialist who didn't score much but often drew the best scoring guard on the opposition.
Then Charles Thomas would come in for a scoring punch.
 

Well, let's see:

Bobby Jackson: 60 games at U, avg 14.4 pts, 42.7% shooter, 5.5 rebs, 3.5 assists, 2.3 TO, 1.8 steals

Mychal Thompson: 96 games at U, avg 20.8 pts, 56.7% shooter, 10.0 rebs, 2.0 assists, ? TO, 1.0 steals

I'd like to be a GM in the same league as Shama.

JTG
 



My All-time Gopher starting 5:

c: Mychal Thompson
PF: Kevin McHale
SF: Willie Burton
SG: Trent Tucker
PG: Bobby Jackson

Now, looking at my personal favorite starting 5, Who on the team could I most easily replace?

Probably Willie or Bobby. We have had quite a few good SF players and do I really need much more than a ball-handler who can pass to replace Bobby? Ray Williams could easily fill his spot. Heck, Al Nolen could fill it with all the scoring on the court in front of him.

I could replace Trent without much dropoff with Voshon or Blake, although Trent was much better defensively.

I could replace McHale with an Mbawkwe or a Brewer but I think the dropoff is greater at this position.

Who could replace Thompson? Breuer? Please. The gap between Mychal and the next best option at center is huge.

I take Thompson #1
 

94Gopher said:
I love Bobby Jackson, but I think many get his position wrong. Wasn't Eric Harris the PG on that team?
Click to expand...

Yes. Bobby was Eric's backup when Eric was out. Bobby was the shooting guard. In the NBA he was never a point guard either, always an undersized two. This is not debatable.
 

Otis said:
My All-time Gopher starting 5:

c: Mychal Thompson
PF: Kevin McHale
SF: Willie Burton
SG: Trent Tucker
PG: Bobby Jackson

Now, looking at my personal favorite starting 5, Who on the team could I most easily replace?

Probably Willie or Bobby. We have had quite a few good SF players and do I really need much more than a ball-handler who can pass to replace Bobby? Ray Williams could easily fill his spot. Heck, Al Nolen could fill it with all the scoring on the court in front of him.

I could replace Trent without much dropoff with Voshon or Blake, although Trent was much better defensively.

I could replace McHale with an Mbawkwe or a Brewer but I think the dropoff is greater at this position.

Who could replace Thompson? Breuer? Please. The gap between Mychal and the next best option at center is huge.

I take Thompson #1
Click to expand...

Very well reasoned, Otis. McHale and Breuer had stats that were fairly comparable ... and neither had anywhere near the impact Thompson had at the college level. McHale and Breuer were both very, very good. Thompson was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. At this school, anyway.

JTG
 

rockford said:
Very well reasoned, Otis. McHale and Breuer had stats that were fairly comparable ... and neither had anywhere near the impact Thompson had at the college level. McHale and Breuer were both very, very good. Thompson was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. At this school, anyway.

JTG
Click to expand...

I think Thompson would be the starting center for Michigan State's top 5. Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin too.
 




Great question. Hudson was before my day, and with the smaller number of games played in the mid-'60s, his totals don't show up in any of the career leader categories. (And remember, freshmen weren't eligible to play until the early '70s.) Looks like he missed seven games his senior season. With those games, he would probably be the No. 8 all-time scorer.

But averaging 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds for his career is pretty eye-popping, especially when you consider he was only 6-foot-5.

JTG
 
Last edited:


rockford said:
Great question. Hudson was before my day, and with the smaller number of games played in the mid-'60s, his totals don't show up in any of the career leader categories. (And remember, freshmen weren't eligible to play until the early '70s.) Looks like he missed seven games his senior season. With those games, he would probably be the No. 8 all-time scorer.

But averaging 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds for his career is pretty eye-popping, especially when you consider he was only 6-foot-5.

JTG
Click to expand...

And he played half a season with a cast on his shooting hand.
 



Otis said:
My All-time Gopher starting 5:

c: Mychal Thompson
PF: Kevin McHale
SF: Willie Burton
SG: Trent Tucker
PG: Bobby Jackson

Now, looking at my personal favorite starting 5, Who on the team could I most easily replace?

Probably Willie or Bobby. We have had quite a few good SF players and do I really need much more than a ball-handler who can pass to replace Bobby? Ray Williams could easily fill his spot. Heck, Al Nolen could fill it with all the scoring on the court in front of him.

I could replace Trent without much dropoff with Voshon or Blake, although Trent was much better defensively.

I could replace McHale with an Mbawkwe or a Brewer but I think the dropoff is greater at this position.

Who could replace Thompson? Breuer? Please. The gap between Mychal and the next best option at center is huge.

I take Thompson #1
Click to expand...

C’mon, Mbakwe in the same sentence as McHale or Brewer? Al Nolen in the same sentence as Bobby or Ray? Although I think that was simply for emphasis for how good the other four are. And Voshon was nowhere near as good as a Gopher as Trent, not even close. I can see Ray Williams replacing Bobby, but Bobby was clutch!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Hudson, 13 years in the league. Averaged over 20 points for his career. Averaged higher in the playoffs. 6 time all star.
Clark comes out of the military and plays for the Gophers, so doesn't get to the NBA till he is 25. Plays 12 years in the league and averages over 16 points for his career.
Ray Williams with 13 years in the league and averaged 19.9 and 18 for his two years with the Gophers.
All great players.
 

Clearly the number one overall pick would have to be Hosea Crittenden.
 

BleedGopher said:
I'm 100% with Shama.

per Shama:

Where does Murphy rank with the program’s greatest players ever? Will he have his jersey number retired with Randy Breuer, Jim Brewer, Dick Garmaker, Lou Hudson, Kevin McHale, Chuck Mencel, Whitey Skoog, Mychal Thompson and Trent Tucker?

I watched all of those players except for Garmaker, Mencel and Skoog. Yet if I could “draft” one former Gopher to start a team, my choice is Bobby Jackson. He has yet to be honored with the other nine greats because he played on the 1995-96 and 1996-97 teams whose seasons have been erased from the record books as part of the NCAA enforced penalties of the coach Clem Haskins era.

Jackson was the best clutch player I ever watched at Minnesota. He played point guard, the most important position in college basketball, and when the Gophers needed a late game impact play on offense and defense he answered the challenge like few players have in Big Ten history.

Another ex-Gopher I would take in a heartbeat over some of the jersey-honored players is point guard Archie Clark from the 1960s. Clark was similar to Jackson, a terrific defender, scorer and clutch player. Clark was overshadowed at Minnesota by teammate and forward Lou Hudson, probably the most gifted multi-skilled player in program history.

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

I remember the year we went to the Final 4 CBS had 3 or 4 people in the studio and Nantz or whoever was hosting asked everyone what they'll remember about the tournament up to that point and coach K said "Bobby Jackson at the line shooting two." He was money!
 


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