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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

NBA DRAFT BIG BOARD: 141-180

by DOUG FERGUSON

I’m half way there! 95% of the players who are posted after this are Europe bound. Although I know its every basketball player’s dream to play in the Association but I refuse to feel sorry for people who get paid to move to Europe and play basketball. I refuse to answer questions about things I would do to be able to do that on the grounds people would think I’m one of the 5 worst human beings on the planet.

141. Steven Gray/SG/Gonzaga/6-5/210/JR
Has real NBA range and is a real perimeter threat along side Matt Bouldin these days in Spokane….Also has the size to matchup as a pro

142. Dallas Lauderdale/PF/Ohio State/6-8/260/JR
Starting to become a minor threat offensively and is starting to become a MAJOR havoc defensively….has put up multiple 5+ blocks already this year

143.Corey Fisher/PG/Villanova/6-1/185/JR
They don’t call him Fisher Price for nothing….Has the tools to be the best ball-handler in the country but needs to cut turnovers which he is starting to do….one Chicago guard (who has played against Derrick Rose) told me that Fisher is the best guard he has ever played against

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BIG EAST DRAFT CLASS OF 2009: A PERFECT 10

by DOUG FERGUSON

Coming into last year the Big East was said to potentially be the best conference in the history of NCAA basketball. Some say that they lived up to that hype and I would say that it came pretty close.

Coming off that kind of hype the expectations were high for the conference’s NBA rookie class of 2009. It ended up producing four first round picks (all lottery picks) and nine players selected in total. So far they have played up to projections in the same way the conference did last year. They have probably played most solid of all the conferences but haven’t done anything so far to make people drop their jaws and say “WOW”.

It will undoubtedly help them that in the end the Rookie of the Year probably won’t be claiming the ACC, Big 12, or any other college conference for that matter. They do however have two players in my Top 5 canidates for Rookie of the Year and every single player drafted from the conference has played at least sparingly so far this season. Also (as I predicted) they had at least one undrafted player make an NBA team and make a legitimate impact.

Here is a look at how the heralded Big East class of 2009 has fared as they approach the quarter pole of their first NBA Season…

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NBA DRAFT PROSPECTS: BIG EAST JUNIORS

by DOUG FERGUSON

Transition year. This is what I call the junior season of an NBA prospect. It is year that makes or breaks a player. Either they step their game to another level or they start thinking about a life abroad. Below I bring you the best of the 2010 bunch from the Big East conference…

10) D.J. Kennedy/G-F/St. John’s/6-6/215

2009 Stats: 13.0 ppg 6.6 rpg 3.0 apg, 1.5 spg
Overall Rank: 215

Has the type of verstility that is attractive to NBA teams. Needs to use his length to become a more solid all-around defender and use footwork as opposed to gambling so often.

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MESSAGE TO D’ANTONI: FREE NATE

By Zach Smart

My buddy Big Sully shot me a vital text message this afternoon, in regard to the relationship between Nate Robinson and Mike D’Antoni. The relationship, never a strong one, has frayed over a number of disputes.

Now, Robinson is uncomfortably nestled in D’Antoni’s Doghouse.

The point Big Sully was trying to illustrate is that D’Antoni seems to have it out for Nate. He’s after Nate Rob like Mr. Hand was after Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.

Coach D’Antoni is beginning to use Robinson as a scapegoat for the team’s doormat, porous defense.

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BLAIR WATCH PROJECT: VIDEO EDITION

Guarding Rasheed Wallace.

Going at KG and Sheed.

Crashing the glass. Read more

EARLY SEASON 2010 NBA MOCK DRAFT

by DOUG FERGUSON

Hello and welcome to the first mock draft of the year. I would like to remind people that I am almost never wrong in scouting the draft. You could say that I tell the truth, even when I lie. I did my own personal lottery since we all know the worst team never gets the first pick. The question then becomes, if Minnesota gets the first pick do they take ANOTHER point guard with John Wall? We shall see!!!!!

1. T-Wolves- John Wall/PG/Kentucky/6-4/FR
If Minnesota is serious that they are going to take the best player at any position if they are “special” then this will be the time that proves it….

2. Nets- Dontas Montejunas/PF/Benetton Treviso/7-0/1990
I think the Nets are getting lucky to have a pick this high because they are not as bad as their record indicates…..

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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

KNICKS SHOULD HAVE TAKEN AI

By Zach Smart

After overlooking Brandon Jennings–who’s rapidly become a Rookie of The Year candidate in Milwaukee–the Knicks once again displayed their pure basketball ignorance and idiocy in skipping out on Allen Iverson.

Sure, Iverson would dominate the ball and perhaps utilize his me-first mentality to score buckets by the bundles. Would the move, however, actually prove problematic for this floundering franchise?

Let’s see, Iverson contains blink quickness, a full offensive repertoire, and the toughness to instantly become the Knicks’ best player.

While we are at it, AI would have immediately become the Knicks’ best player in recent memory.

He’s household name with an accomplished game. Just check Iverson’s long hoop pedigree. The Knicks should have bagged him, especially after passing up on Jennings. While he may have bumped heads with trigger-happy guards like Nate Robinson, Iverson would provide a scoring punch that would at least elevate the Knicks from the Eastern Conference swamplands.

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