Big East All-Time NBA

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #19 ‘SLEEPY’ FLOYD

In the next two months NBE’s ‘The Association’ will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#19
Name: Eric “Sleepy” Floyd
College: Georgetown
NBA Teams: New Jersey Nets (1982-83, 1994-95)
Golden State Warriors (1983-87)
Houston Rockets (1987-93)
San Antonio Spurs (1993-94)

Our second consecutive player who actually played in Big East Conference games is Georgetown point guard Eric “Sleepy” Floyd. Floyd broke the expectations of the New Jersey Nets by appearing on any “Greatest” list.

After a great career at Georgetown in which he was 15 seconds from a National Title before being Jordaned, the Nets chose Floyd 13th overall in the 1983 Draft. After a first half so bad John Daly could legitimately call it sub-par, they decided it would be cutting their losses to ship off to San Francisco. As a Golden State Warrior Floyd played well under the tutelage of head coach John Bach but achieved All-Star status in 1987 under new coach George Karl.

During this All-Star campaign in which Floyd was averaging a career high 21 points per game he was rewarded by the Warrior organization by being traded again. This time he was dealt to Houston in a somewhat mega-deal for the time in a trade that brought Ralph Sampson to Golden State. Neither player ever returned to the form of their earlier career. Floyd however was far less disappointing than Sampson though playing 5+ steady seasons for the Rockets.

Floyd finished out his career where he started in New Jersey where he made it longer than he did the first time by playing one FULL season. His NBA career was like his college career as he wasn’t suited for superstar life but was dependable as a sometimes 2nd but mostly 3rd option. Just as he came just short at Georgetown he never managed to pull off an NBA title but offered up solid play for over 10 years.

Career Accomplishments: 1987 NBA All-Star
12,260 career points (203rd all-time)
5,175 career assists (45th all-time)
1,120 career steals (91st all-time)

Voters

Doug Ferguson- Lead Writer NBE The Association and Midwest Editor NBE Basketball Report
Paul Hayes- Fantasy Analyst NBE The Association
Sean King- Contributer NBE The Association
Michael LaFreniere- Scout/Analyst NBE The Association
Ray Mernagh- Senior Columnist NBE Basketball Report and College Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report
Zach Smart- Contributor, NBE Basketball Report
Newt Younger- Historian/Consultant, NBE The Association

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #20 OTIS THORPE

In the next two months NBE’s ‘The Association’ will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#20
Name: Otis Thorpe
College: Providence
NBA Teams: Kansas City Kings (1984-85)
Sacramento Kings (1985-88, 1997-98)
Houston Rockets (1988-95)
Portland Trail Blazers (1995)
Detroit Pistons (1995-97)
Vancouver Grizzlies (1997)
Washington Wizards (1998-99)
Miami Heat (1999-2000)
Charlotte Hornets (2000-01)

We can now finally get to a player who was neither played for the Chicago Bulls nor laced them up for the Fighting Irish. Otis Thorpe on the other hand played his college ball in the smallest state in the union at our favorite little catholic school, Providence College. Thorpe is one of the few players in NBA history that can be considered a true journeyman as well as having his face recognized distinctly with a particular franchise.

Thorpe played for eight teams in his 16 seasons in the NBA, most recognizably though were his six as a Houston Rocket. After being drafted 9th overall by the Kansas City Kings in 1984 he played one season in Kansas City and three more for the franchise after they moved to the capital of California. He then moved on to Houston where he proceeded to personify toughness in the NBA. He was an All-Star reserve in 1992 mainly based upon the respect he had among players and coaches as there were many who had more deserving stats. This is something that isn’t seen too often in today’s NBA which is driven by who has the most eye-popping stats and hair-raising dunks.

Thorpe was the muscle behind the most talented defensive frontcourt in NBA History in playing for the championship 1994 Houston Rockets. In his aging days in the association, his had such a winning reputation that he was used as the bait in some of the most notoriously one-sided ripoffs in the history of trades. Teams thought so much of him that they let it happen 3 times and if he wouldn’t have retired, teams probably would’ve came back for more.

After winning the NBA title in 1994 Thorpe was traded the following season at the deadline to Portland for Clyde Drexler along with some other inconsequential pieces (no offense to my facebook friend Tracy Murray). In a “what could have been” move the VANCOUVER Grizzlies thought they were one tough guy away from becoming a contender when they traded away a first round pick to the Detroit Pistons in 1997 for Thorpe. Five years later the gauge of how wrong they were could be determined by the fact that they had to have that pick pried away from them due to the fact that it had been lottery protected for said five years. Even lottery protection wears away its welcome after five years however and they were forced to give it up in 2003 when the Pistons used it to take Darko Milicic. Although this may have actually been a deal for the Grizzlies on its face when one thinks about it more in depth they realize that any other team besides Detroit that year without a doubt takes Carmelo Anthony and irreversibly changes the fortune of their team. One thing I’m for sure of is that any change of fortune for the Grizzlies would be better than their fortune is now or ever. Later that year, the Kings traded Thorpe along with fellow aging star Mitch Richmond to Washington who, in their rush to get rid of the problematic Chris Webber made the Kings consequential for the first time in their history.

When I tabulated the votes for this list I had one major problem with the voting and Otis Thorpe being number 20 was definitely it. Otherwise I was very proud of the voters. However, Thorpe has numbers that you won’t see out of some of the players in the top five and he is a champion.

Career Accomplishments- 1994 NBA Champion (Houston Rockets)

1992 Western Conference All-Star Team

1,257 career games played (18th all-time)

39,822 minutes played (20th all-time)

Played all 82 games 9 times

17,600 career points (61st all-time)

10,370 career rebounds (31st all-time)

3,446 career offensive rebounds (13th all-time)

54.6% career FG shooting (14th all-time)

4,146 career personal fouls (10th all-time)

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #21 BEN GORDON

In the next two months NBE’s ‘The Association’ will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#21
Name: Ben Gordon
College: Connecticut
NBA Teams: Chicago Bulls (2004- 09)
Detroit Pistons (2009-present)

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TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #22 ORLANDO WOOLRIDGE

n the next two months NBE’s The Association will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#22

Name: Orlando Woolridge
College: Notre Dame
NBA Teams: Chicago Bulls (1981-86)
New Jersey Nets (1986-88)
Los Angeles Lakers (1988-90)
Denver Nuggets (1990-91)
Detroit Pistons (1991-93)
Philadelphia 76ers (1993-94)
Milwaukee Bucks (1994-95)

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Even though they have three of the first four players on this countdown, I promise that isn’t a list of the best players in Notre Dame history. It is fitting that Woolridge be placed back to back on the list with college teammate Kelly Tripucka for whom he was drafted six spots apart frp, in 1981.

Woolridge teamed with Tripucka for four years in South Bend to create a scoring tandem that could rarely be tamed. In 1978 the two freshmen teamed with Bill Laimbeer (continue following the poll for further details) to take the Irish to the Final Four where they lost their last two games to finish the season 4th in the country. Woolridge was not as quite as prolific a scorer at ND but his athletic tools made the NBA teams project him as a better pro. This prompted the Chicago Bulls to draft him 6th overall in the 1981 NBA Draft.

Woolridge steadily improved each of his first four seasons in Chicago. He soon developed into one of the most exciting players in the new look NBA where the game was starting to move above the rim full time. In 1984 he acquired a new running mate in Chicago by the name of Michael Jordan. Rims have never suffered more in the Windy City than in the 84-85 season when the two combined to average over 50 points per game between them.

The arrival of Jordan however, was the beginning of the end for Woolridge in Chicago as the old basketball proverb rang true that there were too many scorers but only one ball to shoot. Woolridge was traded to the New Jersey Nets as the Bulls prepared for Jordan to come back from injury prior to the 1986-87 season. Woolridge continued to put up solid numbers for New Jersey but looked like he may be set off track for good when he was suspended for well over half the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy in just his second year with the team.

In 1988 Woolridge signed with the L.A. Lakers as a free agent where he was asked to come off the bench to provide the team with some scoring punch. Although it was his worst season statistically as a pro, he would play in his only NBA Finals in his first season in Los Angeles. He followed that year by becoming one league’s top sixth men, averaging nearly 13 points per game while contending for the league lead in Field Goal Percentage. He would be traded to Denver after the ‘90 season where injury may have cost him the scoring crown.

Woolridge followed his lone season in Denver by continuing his journeyman voyage in the NBA with three more teams in the next 5 years. Along with being one of the inspirations for the invention of the NBA’s 6th Man Award, he has also been a poster boy for the success of the league’s substance abuse policy. He followed up his NBA career by being the first to perfect Mike D’Antoni’s free wheeling offense, leading the coach’s 1995 Benneton Treviso squad to the Euro Cup. Woolridge is one of the forefathers of run and gun basketball in the NBA which is good enough to snag him the 22nd spot on our list.

Career Highlights- 2nd Team All-American (1981)
13,623 Career Points (151st All-Time)

Top 25 Voters
Doug Ferguson- Lead Writer NBE The Association and Midwest Editor NBE Basketball Report
Paul Hayes- Fantasy Analyst NBE The Association
Sean King- Contributer NBE The Association
Michael LaFreniere- Scout/Analyst NBE The Association
Ray Mernagh- Senior Columnist NBE Basketball Report and College Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report
Zach Smart- Contributor, NBE Basketball Report
Newt Younger- Historian/Consultant, NBE The Association

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #23 KELLY TRIPUCKA

In the next two months NBE’s The Association will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#23
Name: Kelly Tripucka
College: Notre Dame
NBA Teams: Detroit Pistons (1981-86)
Utah Jazz (1986-88)
Charlotte Hornets (1988-91)

Kelly Tripucka was a basketball golden boy growing up in New Jersey and became a high school legend. He continued his solid gold tradition by donning the golden shorts at Notre Dame. He started all four years for the Irish, all of which ended in NCAA tournament bids. South Bend was where Tripucka became notorious for long socks and mid-range jumpers but Detroit is where he brought it to the big time.

The Pistons took Tripucka with the 12th overall pick in 1981. It was the tail end of a pair of 1st round picks, the first of which was used to take Isiah Thomas. Starting then, Detroit would be a force to be reckoned with in the East until the Jordan era began. Tripucka averaged 20+ ppg in 4 of his 5 years in the Motor City, highlighted by his 26 a game average in his sophomore campaign. In his 3rd season, he exploded in a legendary five-game playoff series against the New York Knicks, a series which the Pistons would lose. He averaged nearly 28 points per game in that series but was out-dueled by Bernard King when it was all said and done.

Unfortunately for Tripucka, he wouldn’t be around for the Pistons glory years as he was traded after the 85-86 season to the Utah Jazz for fellow Fighting Irish hoopster and future Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley. His years in Salt Lake City may have cost him his own trip to Dr. Naismith’s shrine. He was never the same after his years in Utah where he famously butted heads with coach Frank Layden.

After two rough seasons for the Jazz, Tripucka became the first face of the Charlotte Hornets as he went there to finish out his career, leading the team in scoring its first 2 years. Tripucka retired in 1991 from the Hornets with a respectable career to look back on and as one of the most revered scorers of the 80’s. He is now a scout for the New York Knicks, which is something he might rather leave off of his resume these days.
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Career Highlights- 12,142 points (17.2 ppg) over 11 year career
New Jersey High School Player of the Century (2000)
2nd Team All-American (1979-1981)
National Polish Sports Hall of Fame (2000)
50 Greatest Pistons of All-Time (2008)

Top 25 Voters
Doug Ferguson- Lead Writer NBE The Association and Midwest Editor NBE Basketball Report
Paul Hayes- Fantasy Analyst NBE The Association
Sean King- Contributer NBE The Association
Michael LaFreniere- Scout/Analyst NBE The Association
Ray Mernagh- Senior Columnist NBE Basketball Report and College Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report
Zach Smart- Contributor, NBE Basketball Report
Newt Younger- Historian/Consultant, NBE The Association

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #24 KENYON MARTIN

In the next two months NBE’s The Association will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#24
Name: Kenyon Martin
College: Cincinnati
NBA Teams: New Jersey Nets (2000-04)
Denver Nuggets (2004-present)

Bob Huggins coached many great players during his tenure as coach of Cincinnati. None of them were quite like Kenyon Martin though. Martin broke his leg in the final months of the 2000 college season costing Huggins what was probably his best chance at a national championship. Martin was the consensus National Player of the year that season and rode that success to becoming the top overall selection in the 2000 NBA Draft despite his injury. He remains the last college senior born in the United States to be drafted 1st overall.

Matin’s professional career has been a mixture of above average play on the court with injuries and frequent troubles off the court.

Martin is one of justthree players from the draft class of 2000 to make an NBA All-Star team. He acheived this in 2004 which was probably his best as a pro. He earned all-rookie honors in 2001 averaging 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. The next 2 years of his career were concluded by trips to the NBA Finals that came up short to the Lakers and Spurs respectively.

Following his 4th season w/ the Nets, the all-star forward was traded to the Denver Nuggets for three first round draft picks. The Nets are still prospering from these picks while the Nuggets portion of Martin’s career is still trying to find its legs literally as he has had microfracture surgery on both knees since being dealt to Denver. He has started the 2009 campaign in a positive fashion. It looks like he has returned his focus to rebounding and tenacious defense which is where his proverbial bread was buttered during his glory years in with New Jersey.

It also looks as if for now he has put some of his off the court troubles to rest as well. The most eyebrow raising non-basketball headline with Martin’s name was on New Year’s Day 2007. The normal sports stories of the day were clouded by tragedy when Denver Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams was fatally shot while leaving a birthday party in Denver thrown in honor of Martin. It was reported that the shooting was in some way gang related and although Martin was said to be in no way involved it brought more bad press to him.

If one were to ask if Kenyon Martin has played above or below his expectations in the NBA the answer would probably be slightly below. This is the problem with being the number one pick though. Unless a player is Lebron James or David Robinson the expectations will always exceed the production. All and all though he has been more than serviceable. The name KMart in the social world has always been associated with cheap and low quality. In the basketball world however, KMart is as far from either of the two as it gets.

Career Highlights- 2000 NCAA Player of the Year (Naismith, Robertson, Wooden)
1st Overall Pick in 2000 NBA Draft (New Jersey Nets)
2001 NBA All-Rookie First Team
2004 Eastern Conference All-Star Team

Top 25 Voters

Doug Ferguson- Lead Writer NBE The Association and Midwest Editor NBE Basketball Report
Paul Hayes- Fantasy Analyst NBE The Association
Sean King- Contributer NBE The Association
Michael LaFreniere- Scout/Analyst NBE The Association
Ray Mernagh- Senior Columnist NBE Basketball Report and College Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report
Zach Smart- Contributor, NBE Basketball Report
Newt Younger- Historian/Consultant, NBE The Association

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #25 JOHN PAXSON

In the next two months NBE’s The Association will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#25

Name: John Paxson
College: Notre Dame (1979-83)
Pro Teams: San Antonio Spurs (1983-85)
Chicago Bulls (1985-94)

John Paxson was on the first ever McDonald’s All-America team in 1979 even though he looked like he belonged nowhere near a basketball court. He took his act east one state to the University of Notre Dame playing four solid years in South Bend capping it off by earning 2nd Team All-America honors while averaging almost 18 points per game as a Senior. He was also a two time Academic All-American for the Irish.

The choice of Paxson by the San Antonio Spurs in 1983 was not very well received as the Spurs passed on former tournament heroes Randy Wittman and Sidney Lowe to select him with the 19th overall pick. Those doubts were magnified as Paxson started out his career in San Antonio with somewhat of a whimper averaging just under 5 points per game in his first 2 seasons.

After 2 years in San Antonio Paxson decided to pack up and head back to the midwest signing as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls. It was the equivalent of winning the backcourt mate lottery as Paxson immediately stepped in as the starter next to Michael Jordan. After Jordan missed most of the 1985-86 season due to injury he and Paxson spent the next four seasons as one of the more formidable guard duos in the NBA. Paxson complemented Jordan perfectly with his ability to knock down timely open jump shots opposite Jordan who was often double teamed.

In 1991 Paxson moved to a new role as Chicago’s sixth man turning over the starting reigns 2nd year man B.J. Armstrong. This proved to be the final variable in a formula that would make basketball history as it would be the start of one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. The Bulls would win the first of six championships that season, helped immensely by the ability of Paxson to outplay other teams reserves by performing like a starter off the bench. In 1993 Paxson lived out every boy’s childhood dream by hitting the game winning shot of the clinching game in an NBA Finals. He did it by doing what he had done for years, calmly knocking down a wide open jumper while Phoenix Suns defenders were double teaming Michael Jordan.

Paxson retired following the 1994 season and he remained on as a coach on Phil Jackson’s staff but left shortly after to join the Bulls broadcast team. He would go on to fill the ginormous shoes of long time Bulls GM Jerry Krause in 2003, a position that he remains in til this day. Paxson has successfully used a formula of drafting players from winning and tradition rich college programs to rebuild the Bulls and return them to respectability. John Paxson was a proven winner and an outstanding representative of Notre Dame and the Big East.

Career Highlights: 3-time NBA Champion (Chicago Bulls 1991-93)
5,560 career points
2,758 career assists

Top 25 Voters

Doug Ferguson- Lead Writer NBE The Association/Midwest Editor NBE Basketball Report
Paul Hayes- Fantasy Analyst, NBE The Association
Sean King- Contributor, NBE The Association
Michael Lafreniere- NBA Scout/Analyst, NBE The Association
Ray Mernagh, NBE Senior Columnist & College Basketball Editor of Pittsburgh Sports Report
Zach Smart- Contributor, NBE Basketball Report
Newt Younger- Contributor, NBE The Association