Jack Scheuer’s Off The Boards – November 12, 2014 Edition

Off The Boards
By Jack Scheuer
November 12, 2104 Edition
While watching Doug McDermott playing for the Chicago Bulls, it occurred to me that his performance at Creighton should rank him among the elite of any 4-year players in college basketball history. A-3-time All American, he led the Blue Jays  to 3 NCAA tournaments, and a combined record of 107-38.  This while playing with some nice college players,  none of whom would ever be considered pro prospects.  There are only a few 4-year players with that kind of impact, including  the best of them all, Tom Gola, who led La Salle to NCAA and NIT titles, and whose teams won 110 games while losing 31.  Lionel Simmons and Jameer Nelson would be close, but Simmons had future pro Tim Legler as a teammate, while Nelson played with Delonte West, who scored over 1,200 points.  There have been several other 4-year greats, like Christian Laettner, Patrick Ewing, Tim Duncan, John Pinone, Mark Macon,Tyler Hansbrough, etc., but they were all aided by highly talented players. That was not the case with McDermott or the great Gola.
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That Sixers master plan could run into another problem down the road.  Coach Brett Brown appears to be very competent, with a bright future should he survive the tanking process.  However, San Antonio coach and future Hall of Famer Greg Popovich has implied he might consider retiring within the next 2 years.  Want to guess which former Spurs assistant coach would be a logical candidate?  And about those lottery picks. How have things worked out for the Sacramento franchise?
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Trivia Time, and a tough one: Which active NBA player has played the most games without ever being in the playoffs?  I’ll even give a hint, he’s currently in the Western conference.
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This and That:  UConn lost 4 starters but still has 3 players who contributed last season, plus NC State transfer Rodney Purvis and highly talented freshman Daniel Hamilton.  The defending National Champs will be at Temple on March 7…. An interesting early season match-up next  Monday night  when St. Joe’s visits  Drexel.  Dragon coach Bruiser Flint would love to notch a win over his alma mater….Former Hawk sharpshooter Langston Galloway is playing with the N.Y. Knicks West Chester team in the NBA Development League….Sam Dalembert, now a Knick, figures be a prime target for that tough Garden crowd.  The former Sixer has gotten off to a very slow start…. The much traveled John Salmons has found a home in New Orleans.  The Plymouth-Whitemarsh grad has played with  Sacramento twice, and 5 other teams in his 14-year career….Miami U. has loaded up with  guards, including 2 transfers from D-1 schools, but is still expecting big things from Goretti grad Ja’Quan Newton….Another guard, Roman’s Shep Garner, is battling for playing time at Penn State…. Duke continues to be among the top recruiters every year. Among the 15 top-rated freshmen, 3 were landed by the Blue Devils.
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Answer to Trivia Time:  Coming into this season, Charlie Villanueva, now with Dallas, had played in 530 games, but never in the playoffs.
Palestra

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