Our final matchup of the first round pits the two seed, Adam Butler (Pachoops), up against seventh seeded Andrew Murawa. The winner of this one is off to the semifinals, where it will meet Connor Pelton’s team in the semifinals. Below are the rosters, followed by some commentary from the respective owners:
Adam Butler
- Head Coach – Ralph Miller, Oregon State
- Guard – Damon Stoudamire, Arizona
- Guard – Mike Bibby, Arizona
- Guard – Michael Dickerson, Arizona
- Guard – Salim Stoudamire, Arizona
- Forward – Sean Elliott, Arizona
- Forward – Ed O’Bannon, UCLA
- Forward – Shareef Abdur-Rahim, California
- Forward – Chris Mills, Arizona
- Center – Todd MacCulloch, Washington
- Center – Bison Dele, Arizona
Adam’s Take:
My team. Well they call it Point Guard U for a reason so I went ahead and gobbled up three of the great ones and one of the best off-guards they produced. Yes, I have an all Arizona backcourt and you can go ahead and call Team PacHoops a group of homers. Do it. And that backcourt is supplemented by three more Wildcats and a dallop of other insanely talented Pac-12 players. Know that Team PacHoops houses seven Pac-10 Player of the Year Awards; six NBA lottery picks, three NCAA titles; two Wooden Awards; and a HOFer.
Look at you, you’re impressed already and I haven’t even told you that Salim Stoudamire is practically at the end of my bench, or that Chris Mills is going to struggle to get minutes; or that the worst my starting forward could be is a ninth pick in an NBA Draft; or that our coach, Ralph Miller, is one of just 73 men to win more than 600 games on a college basketball bench.
Need more? Todd MacCulloch not only was twice named First Team All-Pac, but he’s also a pinball champion. That’s right, the big Canuck has long been a pinball wizard and last October he won his first tournament (the Pinball Expo in Chicago), earning his bad self $3,000. Sean Elliott – the two time Pac Player of the Year, Wooden Award winner, and the first golden child of Arizona – roundhouse kicked debilitating kidney disease right in the jaw and said, “Nah, bro. I’ma go ahead play again.” The first major athlete to return ever from a kidney transplant.
After all, this team wasn’t built on talent alone.
But there’s plenty of it. And so I’ll toss the rock to Mike Bibby or Damon Stoudamire – whoever coach Ralph feels is going to be better suited to start – and let them deliver it (or score) to the silky smooth likes of Michael Dickerson and Elliott or the power and grace of Mills, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Ed O’Bannon. Holding down the lane will be big Bison Dele right along with Todd the pinball maestro. All beautifully orchestrated by coach Ralph.
Vote for Team PacHoops because you know it’s the right team to vote for and it’s going to make you feel good to choose a winner.
A pinball champ.
(Note from Connor: To see Adam fully breakdown each position on his fantasy roster, click here for the guards, here for the forwards, here for the centers, and here for the head coach.)
Andrew Murawa
- Head Coach – John Wooden, UCLA
- Guard – Jason Terry, Arizona
- Guard – Russell Westbrook, UCLA
- Guard – James Harden, Arizona State
- Guard – Tyus Edney, UCLA
- Forward – Lamond Murray, California
- Forward – Tracy Murray, UCLA
- Forward – Derrick Williams, Arizona
- Forward – Hank Gathers, USC
- Center – Kevin Love, UCLA
- Center – James Edwards, Washington
Drew’s Take:
I’m not going to bother telling you how great my team is – all of these teams feature great players from conference history. I’m not going to bother counting up all the All-Conference picks or All-Americans or Final Fours or NBA Lottery Picks – suffice it to say there are plenty. But I am going to tell you how my team is going to take apart that fine Pachoops team.
First and foremost, John Wooden is dialing up his vaunted press, and with guys like Russell Westbrook, Jason Terry, James Harden, and Tyus Edney, we are going to cause problems for the relatively turnover-prone point guards – like Damon Stoudamire and Bibby – on our opponent’s team. As a result, we’re going to get our great open-court players like those guards, but also guys like Hank Gathers, Lamond Murray, and Derrick Williams, out making plays in a fast-paced game. When we’ve got to settle down in the halfcourt game, we’ll drop Kevin Love along the baseline, making plays either in the post or knocking down jumpers, with an eye towards finding guys like Westbrook, Harden, and Gathers cutting to the hoop. Otherwise, we’ll space things out and get open shots for dead-eyes like Terry, Williams or Tracy Murray. And, my god, will we pound the boards. No offense to guys like Elliott, O’Bannon, MacCulloch, or Dele, but they just don’t stand a chance against glass-eaters like Love, Gathers and James Edwards. And with Love’s ability to turn a defensive rebound into an easy bucket at the other end via the full-court pass, chalk up an extra couple of easy buckets for our squad. Sure, guys like Elliott and O’Bannon will certainly get theirs, but we’re going to frustrate that group of Arizona guards, take them out of their game and roll on to our next challenge. After all, Wooden didn’t exactly make a career out of first-round exits.
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Voting begins now and will close at 4:00 PM PT on Thursday. The winner is off to the semifinals, where it will face Connor Pelton’s team.
Good luck to all, and happy voting.
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