Pac-12 Basketball Fantasy League Voting: Semifinal #1

Posted by Connor Pelton on July 22nd, 2012

Our first semifinal pits top seeded David Piper (Addicted to Quack) up against the fifth seeded, two-headed monster in Mark Sandritter and Jeff Nusser (CougCenter). Below are the rosters, followed by commentary from the respective owner:

David Piper

Head Coach – Pete Newell, California

Guard – Terrell Brandon, Oregon
Guard – Harold Miner, USC
Guard – Andre Miller, Utah
Guard – Aaron Brooks, Oregon

Forward – Luke Jackson, Oregon
Forward – Greg Ballard, Oregon
Forward – Keith Van Horn, Utah
Forward – Adam Keefe, Stanford

Center – Sidney Wicks, UCLA
Center – Brook Lopez, Stanford

David’s Take:

Obviously, all of these teams are filled with great players, but none are as versatile as mine. At the guard spots, I have two of the best all-time scorers at guard in Terrell Brandon and Harold Miner, who both averaged over 27 PPG a game, but Brandon and Andre Miller are also two of the better distributors in league history, while Aaron Brooks is lightning quick and has an unlimited range. Miller and Brandon, two of the better all-around guards not only in college, but in the NBA over the last two decades, are both fantastic defenders as well. In the frontcourt, three of the forwards are 20/10 guys while the fourth is one of the best all-around forwards in league history. Keith Van Horn nearly won a national title at Utah, and has the ability to go inside out, while Adam Keefe was a physical banger at Stanford who went for 26-12 his senior year. Greg Ballard’s was the equal of Marques Johnson, drafted two rounds earlier, he just didn’t have the name “UCLA” on his jersey, and Luke Jackson was a triple-double waiting to happen who could score from anywhere on the floor and once had 39 straight in a game. At center, Sidney Wicks was a national player of the year who won a national title at UCLA while, Brook Lopez is a 20/10 seven footer. My team has four first-team All-Americans (Miller, Van Horn, Jackson, and Wicks) and two national players of the year (Wicks and Van Horn).

But, most importantly, there isn’t a thing this team cannot do. I can put out guard combinations that score at the rim, from three, or distribute. I can put in posts who will score back to the basket, or hit jump shots. Only Brooks isn’t a great rebounder or defender; everyone else is plus in both areas. Oh, and they are coached by national champion Pete Newell, who, if not for health reasons, would be the greatest coach ever (and is the only coach in conference history to have a winning record over John Wooden).

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Pac-12 Basketball Fantasy League Voting: Round One, Game Two

Posted by Connor Pelton on July 3rd, 2012

Our second matchup of the summer pits fourth seeded Andy Wooldridge (Building the Dam) up against the five seed, two-headed monster in Mark Sandritter and Jeff Nusser (CougCenter). The winner of this matchup will meet David Piper, who won our first game, in the semifinals. Below are the rosters, followed by commentary from the respective owner:

Andy Wooldridge

  • Head Coach – Sean Miller, Arizona
  • Guard – Byron Scott, Arizona State
  • Guard – Kevin Johnson, California
  • Guard – Lionel Hollins, Arizona State
  • Guard – Lester Conner, Oregon State
  • Forward – A.C. Green, Oregon State
  • Forward – Detlef Schrempf, Washington
  • Forward – David Meyers, UCLA
  • Forward – Jim Barnett, Oregon
  • Center – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, UCLA
  • Center – Lonnie Shelton, Oregon State

Andy’s Take:

I had the opportunity to put not only the best post player in the history of the Pac, and quite possibly also the NBA on the floor, so it made sense to surround Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a cast of players designed to support him, and also to do so night in and night out, and regardless of the strategy employed against them. In Kevin Johnson, we have fill it up scoring ability that will discourage anyone from just packing it in, to deny the entry. Byron Scott brings proven ability to score or distribute. A.C. Green can run the floor, but can also play the opposite side of the floor from wherever we choose to post Abdul-Jabbar up. Detlef Schrempf can rebound as well as score, either as a primary option or working off the boards, and both David Meyers and Jim Barnett can shoot over any defensive back line that doesn’t step out to them.

In the backcourt, Lionel Hollins can also play a variety of styles, capitalizing on whatever the opponent’s weakness is. Lester Conner was best known for his defense (hence the nickname “The Molester”), but also led a Pac-10 conference winning team in scoring and rebounding from the guard position, as well as in steals. And if an opponent wants to try to out-physical this team inside, big Lonnie Shelton can take care of that idea. The team can challenge anyone defensively as well as offensively, and as the numerous long and productive NBA careers many of these players had demonstrate, they know how to play the game over the long haul.

A team that is versatile and also loaded with a variety of personality types needs a flexible coach, and in Sean Miller, we have a leader who has demonstrated his ability to adapt to the talent at hand (and there’s certainly plenty of it on the roster). Miller has a tremendous number of options about how to match up with a variety of quality opponents, and won’t hesitate to change things up as needed.

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