Now that Chris Paul has moved on...

[MCIGuy]

can someone tell me why he was showered with so much media attention? Paul was a fantastic college player and all. But I wouldn't put him in the same league as a Kenny Anderson. And yet Paul probably got five times the coverage and media adoration than Iverson received when he was at Geirgetown. Is that simply because college bball is even further watered down or was that just the ACC hype machine working? In paul's two seasons I don't think Wake ever got past the first weekend of the NCAA tourney. In his two seasons I don't think Wake won the ACC regular season title. And Wake never won an ACC tournament either during Paul's two year reign. Actually the Demon Deacs never even made it to the ACC Finals. So what is Paul's true legacy? Outside of the story of his grandpa what lasting memories will we have of his college days?

Of course plenty of Wake fans have turned on their former favorite player. The best nickname I've come across for him by Wake fans is Anakin ;D

[Joe Hoya]

In 2004 Wake was pretty close to reaching the Elite Eight before losing to St. Joe's.

[MCIGuy]

Joe said:

In 2004 Wake was pretty close to reaching the Elite Eight before losing to St. Joe's.

Oh, well I was wrong about that. There goes my argument. ;D

[SFHoya99]

MCIGuy said:

So what is Paul's true legacy? Outside of the story of his grandpa what lasting memories will we have of his college days?

Punching someone in the nads.

[HoyaFanNY]

during the season, i heard vitale compare paul to iverson. not a surprise considering the source, but still amusing.

[the_way]

ACC, and the type of kid the media portrayed him to be before punching Julius Hodge in the "specials". The media makes Chris Paul out to be a choir boy or young priest. Players out of the ACC and Carolina schools are overhyped and their flaws are overlooked by the media. If Kenny Anderson had went to one of the Carolina schools he would have had more attention. He did receive a lot of attention, but it was all about Bobby Hurley and Duke back then. (Man, that one play were Kenny was dribbling through his legs and behind his back while Hurley was trying to guard him was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in College Basketball). Kenny Anderson was one of the best point guards ever to come out of high school from New York. Iverson having been in prison and playing for GU under JT2, he wouldn't get the media hype and adulation. Iverson made some of the most amazing plays during his college years. I mean they would throw alley-oops to him even though he was barely 6-feet tall.GU was not a favorite of the media neither was JT2, neither is the Big East for that matter as much as the Big 10, Big 12 and ACC are worshipped. The media loves the ACC the most.

[HoyaFanNY]

the alley oop from jerry nichols at the garden in allens soph season against st johns was the best. jerry lobbed it from the 3 pt line, AI caught it and reversed it on the dunk. it was an amazing play by a player that size.

too bad we lost the game

[MCIGuy]

HoyaFanNY said:

the alley oop from jerry nichols at the garden in allens soph season against st johns was the best. jerry lobbed it from the 3 pt line, AI caught it and reversed it on the dunk. it was an amazing play by a player that size.

too bad we lost the game

I re-watched that playabout a thousand times. I made a little tape of Iverson highlights during his soph year that runs around an hour. So many great plays. It boggles the mind.

[ShimmyJr]

speaking of Iverson,

is ANYONE playing better than this cat right now? He is unbelievable - having his best season in the pros and should be #1 MVP candidate....38 and 16 performance last night was just beautiful to watch - love this guy!

[the_way]

MCIGuy said:

I re-watched that playabout a thousand times. I made a little tape of Iverson highlights during his soph year that runs around an hour. So many great plays. It boggles the mind.

You too! I had that game on tape for about 3 years, and I taped over it. I regret it. I used to watched that game over and over again. Yeah, we lost,but it was all Iverson that game. Iverson also had a nice breakaway tomahawk jam. That lob from Jerry Nichols was a designed play. I remember them calling it out before it happened, and Othella setting a pick for Iverson to get free. Another play during the game was when Victor Page was at the top of the key and Iverson was on the baseline. Iverson looked at Vic and tapped his shoulders indicating for Vic to throw a lob to Iverson. Iverson ran towards the basket and Vic threw the lob up in the air, Iverson caught it with two hands and missed the dunk because that short PG for St. Johns (Moe Brown was his name I think) tried to foul Iverson hard. They were about to almost fight at that point.


How about that block Iverson had were he jumped so high his head was over the basketball rim. I think that game was against Pitt if I'm not mistaken.

[IlliniNYC]

"Paul punched Hodge in the groin during the final regular-season game, costing him incalculable image points and a one-game suspension. The episode created turmoil at precisely the wrong time. Yesterday, a reporter asked if the incident had an impact on the pro decision.

"None whatsoever," Paul replied. "Julius Hodge, good riddance. Maybe I will see you next year.""

www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_ColumnistArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782161090&path=!sports&s=1037645509200

Chrissy = Classy (DWS)

[RDF]

Paul is a talented player and I like his game and toughness as a player, but the endless hype was created simply because of that "Scored 65 pts for his Dead Grandpa". So after that story, we had to hear about how "classy" Paul is and how "great of a kid" he was from commentators.

A few other things that relate to this topic:

1. Vitale not only said "Paul is like Allen Iverson" he ADDED that "A HIGHER CHARACTER" version of Allen Iverson---quote from Duke-WF game in Winston-Salem this season. WTH does Vitale know about AI other than scamming his bald one eyed butt into calling games of the Big East during the '96 season because it was BY far the best conference in America??? He screwed Raf out of his place and that was not only WRONG it made me hate him even more.

2. Paul has a little fight in him and personally I like that. Julius Hodge is a GOON. Now Paul should've been more manly about how to confront him--hitting in the "jewels" is an "ACC" way of handling things but at least he did something that showboating clown who has marginal game but acts as if he's MJ on the court.

3. I'll take Paul's game/future over Raymond Felton any day.

4. Kenny Anderson should've been leading the Hoyas at lead guard spot with Grant Hill on one wing and Zo in middle. Can you tell I let things go easily?? ;D

5. Bobby Cremins always gets credit for "the greatest program building job ever" from Vitale and many others. Well nobody brings up the fact he BOUGHT players and was so obvious about it that he often only carried 8-9 scholarship players out of a possible 15 ships so they could give the guys a little more.

6. Bobby Hurley deserved credit/acclaim as a college player. He was a big time point and I'd take him in a heartbeat. He's a good college guard and a tough winner. He's everything that most guys at Duke weren't and as much hype as Laettner received at Duke, I always thought Hurley was the key. He wasn't a great shooter, but made big shots, he was not fastest or most talented, but he knew how to lead a team and that's more important. Believe me, I am not a Duke supporter by any means, but he was a big time player and ACC getting him and Kenny from Big East territory is why Big East suffered in early '90's.

[JohnJacquesLayup]

the_way said:

You too! I had that game on tape for about 3 years, and I taped over it. I regret it. I used to watched that game over and over again. Yeah, we lost,but it was all Iverson that game. Iverson also had a nice breakaway tomahawk jam. That lob from Jerry Nichols was a designed play. I remember them calling it out before it happened, and Othella setting a pick for Iverson to get free. Another play during the game was when Victor Page was at the top of the key and Iverson was on the baseline. Iverson looked at Vic and tapped his shoulders indicating for Vic to throw a lob to Iverson. Iverson ran towards the basket and Vic threw the lob up in the air, Iverson caught it with two hands and missed the dunk because that short PG for St. Johns (Moe Brown was his name I think) tried to foul Iverson hard. They were about to almost fight at that point.


How about that block Iverson had were he jumped so high his head was over the basketball rim. I think that game was against Pitt if I'm not mistaken.

Maybe someone can fill in the details of my favorite Iverson play ever (I was a little young at the time to remember some facts about opponent and date). At the USAir arena back in '95 or '96 obviously, Iverson rebouned a missed shot for a dunk. I think it was off a missed foul shot and and his head was at the rim, he snatched the ball out of mid air with one hand and just threw it down (literally). The play was so amazing it got a standing ovation when they replayed it on the jumbotron.

Again I apologize for the lack of details, I'm sure anyone else there at the time can fill in the blanks for me . . .

[the_way]

JohnJacquesLayup said:

Maybe someone can fill in the details of my favorite Iverson play ever (I was a little young at the time to remember some facts about opponent and date). At the USAir arena back in '95 or '96 obviously, Iverson rebouned a missed shot for a dunk. I think it was off a missed foul shot and and his head was at the rim, he snatched the ball out of mid air with one hand and just threw it down (literally). The play was so amazing it got a standing ovation when they replayed it on the jumbotron.

Again I apologize for the lack of details, I'm sure anyone else there at the time can fill in the blanks for me . . .

Maybe that is the play I was talking about. I caught the tail end of the highlights on Sportscenter around that time so its kind of sketchy for me too. The main thing I recall was that Iverson was so high in the air that his head was in the middle of white square on the backboard. If anybody can recall what we are talking about, please chime in.

[SFHoya99]

Jean Jacques had it pretty much right. Was front row behind the basketball, so it might've made him seem higher but...just amazing. Never seen a sub-6' player make a play like that.

[prhoya]

So I guess that's one less '06 NCAA tournament team for the ACC.

[MCIGuy]

the_way said:

How about that block Iverson had were he jumped so high his head was over the basketball rim. I think that game was against Pitt if I'm not mistaken.

I thought that was the game at Seton Hall. A goaltending call was made by the refs but it was an unbelievble display of athleticism.

[MCIGuy]

the_way said:

Maybe that is the play I was talking about. I caught the tail end of the highlights on Sportscenter around that time so its kind of sketchy for me too. The main thing I recall was that Iverson was so high in the air that his head was in the middle of white square on the backboard. If anybody can recall what we are talking about, please chime in.

Actually the play never made the Sports Center highlights. Trust me I was checking. The play came in a game against an early season patsy (yes, I have that game too). Jerome Williams scrambled to save a loose ball heading out of bounds towards the Gtown bench. Junk Yard Dog's dive and save was worth a standing ovation on its own. After the save the ball was swung to an open Victor Page who took about a 16 foot shot from an angle near the Hoyas's bench. The shot missed and bounced a few feet above the rim. Two opponents, one around 6-5 or so and the other at least 6-9 had the best position to get the rebound and went up for the ball. Iverson, who was standing beyond the three point line when Page was ready to release that shot, ran straight line to the center part of the paint. And as the two opposing players were in the air ready to go after the ball, AI came in unseen behind them, propelled himself in the air and with one hand HIGH above the rim and OVER THE HEAD of the unsuspecting 6-9 plus guy slammed the ball through the hoop in one motion before the 6-9 dude could grab the ball. And then he landed like it was nothing. Wicked. Just wicked. I have never seen the highlight ever again unless I pull out my old tapes.

[MCIGuy]

ShimmyJr said:

speaking of Iverson,

is ANYONE playing better than this cat right now? He is unbelievable - having his best season in the pros and should be #1 MVP candidate....38 and 16 performance last night was just beautiful to watch - love this guy!

It was indeed a great performance by Iverson and a great game. Despite what the media may tell you there have been a lot of great games in the NBA this season. But the culture of the past 8 or so years has been for media and fans to dismiss NBA games and its players. Meanwhile every Brett Favre game in which the Packers win 17 to 6 is treated like the ultimate moment in the history of sports by ESPN and ESPN Radio. And don't we just love how every baseball game in the first week is broken down play by play as if they're really important. Because there's like only 155 more games to go.

Its a shame AI is in on a team that has been so inconsistent because he has been putting up great numbers. People love to pick on Jim O'Brien but I personally love how he not only handed over the keys to the offense to Iverson again, but stuck with the plan when the Sixers were losing and the media and fans were all over him. Yeah, AI's leading the league in turnovers but I'm not surprised. He plays aggressive, he has been trying to uptempo the games and he hasn't played the point in about six years. Still he is leading the NBA in points, is second in steals and is fifth in assists. He will end up being the first player in the history of the NBA to be in the top five in all those categories in a single season. If he was a baseball player or some NFL player and on the verge of making history like that the media would have been yapping about it for two months straight.

[SirSaxa]

RDF said:

1. Vitale not only said "Paul is like Allen Iverson" he ADDED that "A HIGHER CHARACTER" version of Allen Iverson---quote from Duke-WF game in Winston-Salem this season.

Did he really say that!
What a jerk.
I can't believe he said that.
If there was one American at the Olympics who had the right attitude, played team ball, and did not disappear when things went bad... it was Iverson. He even talked about how it was important it was to win the bronze after they missed out on the Gold. And he didn't blame anyone else, or the lack of practice time as a team together, or anything else.

I must say I am totally appalled that Vitale would say something like that. I mean being a homer for Duke is one thing. Being a buffoon is something that only affects him. But to take a slam at Iverson like that... cheap shot, low class, really shows what the guy is all about. Very disappointing.

Please tell me he didn't really say that.