Post by MCIGuy on Nov 14, 2024 7:33:30 GMT -5
Reading some of the comments I am taken aback with how much of it I disagree with. So here’s my two cents on the GU bigs I witnessed first hand in real time. I’ll start with Alonzo Mourning.
Zo remains my favorite Hoya of all time. He is the one who bought me into the fold of Hoya fandom as a youngin. His first Hoya team remains the best Hoya basketball team that I have followed (even if it didn’t make the Final Four).
Zo is, truly, my favorite Hoya as well. His freshman year was so great, there was no question we were going to continue as the top program in the country. Alas, just didn't manage to put top talent around him. It's so funny, the NCAA selection committee usually only comes up when they do something weird or wrong, but that first round Princeton matchup, though it scotched my plans for that evening, and almost killed me, was a stroke of genius.
I say with confidence that Alonzo had a very limited/subpar post game.
Compared to who? Other NBA Hall of Fame Centers? It's just a weird thing to say about a guy who was the offensive focal point of every team he ever played on, and averaged 20+ points per game in the NBA before kidney disease robbed him of years of his prime. I'm certainly not saying that Zo possessed the low post moves of a McHale or Olajuwon, but Mourning was always an extremely technically competent and effective player who knew what he was supposed to do on a basketball court. His low post vocabulary was, indeed, fairly basic compared to some other players, and he was not much of a passer, but you are practically describing Alonzo Mourning as an offensive liability. Quite to the contrary, he would tear teams up inside if they didn't dedicate the resources and attention necessary to slow him.
It was such a detriment for him that NBA teams were able to take away his right hand and dared him to score. The Bulls in particular took joy in this.
Yes, the '90's Bulls, who possessed two, then three, of the greatest defenders ever to play in the NBA, gave Alonzo and his teams a lot of problems
As a result during those peak years of the Heat with a young Alonzo, Tim Hardaway became the go-to-guy in the post season.
Alonzo played most of his playoff series against Jordan's Bulls, and the Ewing, Oakley and Mason Knicks teams. I mean, come on.
So how did Zo get to score so many points with the Hoyas and in the NBA? Well, he was quick, strong, had pretty good hands, could finish in traffic and most of all he was tenacious. He willed himself to get buckets and if that didn’t work he put so much pressure on the defense that he got fouled. The game is no longer played like that and refs no longer allow bigs to keep hurling themselves towards the hoop to pick up fouls.
The NBA allows much less contact now than they did in Zo's time. Not saying I know what his role would be on an imaginary current team, but his ability to establish position, receive an entry pass, and utilize his quickness and strength around the basket would draw many fouls in today's game.
To use a common modern day basketball jargon, Zo had no bag.
Needless to say, I completely disagree with this. It's like comparing Jerome Bettis to Barry Sanders, and saying Bettis is a subpar back. There are different ways to skin a cat. Alonzo has plenty of skills that, for whatever reason, you are undervaluing
Besides his warrior mentality what set Mourning apart was his uncanny ability to block shots. Pound for pound, inch for inch, a better shot blocker never lived, in particular not at the collegiate level.
if you even dream such a thing, you wake up and apologize to Bill Russell
Zo’s offseason developments never led to him returning to a new season with new skills Zo used the offseason to get physically stronger by building his muscles.
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Apologies for the length on this one. But this was about Zo and he is a passionate subject for me, even if it means discussing his shortcomings.
Never apologize for thinking about Zo. I share your passion, just think you are sort of missing the forest for the trees
I respectfully disagree with some of your rebuttals (btw: Zo scored mainly by pinning defender on his back a few feet from basket, getting the ball and powering through defender which would lead to a basket, or a miss or free throw attempts; it was highly effective during the regular season especially in his early years but wasn’t as much of an option in the post season because it’s not actually a real post move).
That said what similarities if any do you see between Zo and the small samples we have gotten of Sorber?
