Rush The Court

In an attempt to pass time throughout the long summer months without basketball, eight Pac-12 writers will be attempting something different this offseason. Beginning this week, the following Pac-12 writers (in first round drafting order) will participate in a fantasy style snake draft of the all-time Pac-12 players and coaches:

1. Andy Wooldridge (Building the Dam)
2. Jack Follman (Pacific Takes)
3. Ben Knibbe (UW Dawg Pound)
4. Connor Pelton (Rush the Court)
5. Drew Murawa (Rush the Court)
6. Mark Sandritter and Jeff Nusser (CougCenter)
7. Adam Butler (Pachoops)
8. David Piper (Addicted to Quack)

The purposes of the fantasy league are: (1) to determine the top 80 players and eight coaches to have ever played/coached for a current Pac-12 school, and (2) to have fun and pass time throughout the long summer months without anything but MLB and soccer. The only guidelines for the draft are that a coach must have been a HEAD COACH at a current Pac-12 school to be eligible, while players have had to PLAYED at a current school to be eligible. After the draft, all eight teams will be placed into a bracket and will advance based on a vote by you, the readers. So far, one round of the draft is complete. We recap it below.

Round One

#1 (Andy Wooldridge) – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Lew Alcindor, Center, UCLA

No question on this one. Two-time Player of the Year, three-time First Team All-American, three National Championships, and three NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards make Abdul-Jabbar/Alcindor an easy choice at number one.

#2 (Jack Follman) – Bill Walton, Center, UCLA

Walton’s accomplishments are very similar to that of Abdul-Jabbar’s. Walton was named Player of the Year twice, was a three-time First Team All-American, and won a pair of National Championships. While Jabbar was a no-doubter at number one, Walton was the easy second choice.

#3 (Ben Knibbe) – Gary Payton, Guard, Oregon State

Here’s where things begin to get interesting. Knibbe chose to pass up greats Reggie Miller, John Wooden, and Sean Elliott for the king of talk and thievery, Gary Payton. This is not a bad selection at all, as anyone who was named Sports Illustrated Player of the Year and a consensus All-American should definitely go in the first round.

#4 (Connor Pelton) – Reggie Miller, Guard, UCLA

I went with former Bruin and NBA Hall of Fame inductee Reggie Miller. Miller is currently second (behind Abdul-Jabbar) for all-time points scored at UCLA, and made 69 three-pointers in the first season with a three-point line.

#5 (Drew Murawa) – John Wooden, Head Coach, UCLA

The Wizard of Westwood was bound to go high, being one of the most revered coaches in all of sports. Ten National Championships and six-time National Coach of the Year awards are by far records in the NCAA. Wooden is also a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach. His sweet, short, and simple inspirational messages will be used by coaches of all sports forever. No question, Drew started off his team with the best possible man to lead it.

#6 (Mark Sandritter and Jeff Nusser) – Jason Kidd, Guard, California

Going into the draft, Kidd was one of the players I was really interested in. He could go first round, early second, or be one of those classic draft day fallers that goes way later than everyone expected. We didn’t have to wait too long thanks to team CougCenter. Kidd is arguably the most accomplished player in Cal history and earned national Freshman of the Year honors in his first season in Berkeley.

#7 (Adam Butler) – Sean Elliott, Forward, Arizona

Another Kidd-like player that I was wondering where he would go. Elliott was a two-time All-American while at Arizona and still holds the all-time scoring record for the Wildcats. Elliott was also the number three overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft.

#8 (David Piper) – Sidney Wicks, Forward/Center, UCLA

A little surprised to see Wicks as a first rounder, as before the draft I was thinking either middle second round or early third for the big man out of UCLA. After playing on three consecutive National Championship teams with the Bruins, Wicks was taken with the second overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft.

The picks by team breakdown went like this:

1. UCLA – Five
T2. Oregon State – One
T2. Arizona – One
T2. California – One

*Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Stanford, USC, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado did not have any players or coaches selected in the first round.

Check back soon for a report on the second round, and go to each writer’s respective site and tell them who they should take next!