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Post by AzTex on Dec 12, 2020 9:58:48 GMT -8
As good as Josh was at grabbing offensive rebounds and making put backs there was no reason for him to even be 6' from the basket. True, except for the FT. I believe he air balled more FT than I have seen from all other aztecs over all the games I have watched. Still, he made my list. Hustle, aggressive, reliable/strong hands. Love the hustle. That more than anything is why he makes my list. Free throws are taken from more than 6' from the basket. Therefore my statement is true without excepting the free throws.  |
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Post by AzTex on Dec 12, 2020 10:01:21 GMT -8
Top 3 1. Jamaal (fan favorite. did whatever he wanted to on the court. truly a fun guy to watch but also the type of guy you hate on the opposing team but love on yours)
2. X (Came in with extremely unreasonable expectations following the 2011 season and was a major factor in solidifying our program as a winner) 3. Kawhi (nuff said) Honorable mention: Mehdi Cheriet (such a nice guy... one morning shortly after the end of our 34-3 season I was shooting around at the ARC by myself when Mehdi came up to me and started catching my rebounds and feeding me passes. We shot around for 30 minutes or so and didn’t talk basketball once. At the end, I congratulated him on the amazing season, shook his hand and wished him best of luck. Great description of Jamaal. So true. Nice memory of your encounter with Mehdi.
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Post by AztecBill on Dec 12, 2020 12:51:12 GMT -8
OK, gonna get a lot of hate mail for this....however. I think J. Franklin transfers after one year with Dutch. On this team he could not get away with the technicals and "antics". For example, the pass to self off backboard was for 2 reasons.. draw attention to self. and show up opposition. I think Dutch pulls a player if he does it this year. The last year of J. Frank was unbearable. Watch J. Frank take the shot clock down to 3, then fire a 26% three or drive 1 on 4. You could say, but he had nobody else who could score! Notice Tapley did not get a high volume of shots that year. OK. fire away. If we added J. Franklin to any of the Aztec teams that didn't make the tournament over the past 10 years, they would. I loved watching him foul out 2 overhyped-guards from Oklahoma in the NCAA tournament. I loved him getting over 10 Rebounds a game as a 6'5" PF while winning MWC POY. His ball off the backboard made that play easier...that was a good basketball play. We lost our entire team after that 2010-2011 team went to the sweet 16 and he led the Aztecs to great heights during their "rebuilding season". I see why some fans hate on JF, but I loved his game and what he gave to the Aztecs. |
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Post by AztecBill on Dec 12, 2020 13:05:16 GMT -8
Judging on my reaction during senior presentations, it would have to be Billy White. I came pretty close to losing it.
There have been so many players I have loved watching on the Aztecs over the years. One player underappreciated in this thread is Kyle Spain. The original #15 is the most Matt Mitchel type player we have had. I love seeing a #15 Aztec jersey and saying something about Kyle Spain. "You're a Kyle Spain fan"? Mostly I get confused looks.
I loved how smart JJ O'Brien was. His incredible doubling of the post against Kansas was masterful. He left them wondering when or if the double would come and how he could possibly get out to defend his man on the perimeter. That was the #1 reason we beat Kansas.
I loved Jamaal Franklin. How can a 6'5" PF get over 10 rebounds a game and win the leagues POY?
Malcom Thomas was one of the best centers we have ever had. He was overshadowed by Kawhi in our hearts and on this thread but not on his importance to our great 2009-2011 teams.
So many good times, so many great memories.
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Post by AzTex on Dec 12, 2020 13:28:49 GMT -8
Judging on my reaction during senior presentations, it would have to be Billy White. I came pretty close to losing it. There have been so many players I have loved watching on the Aztecs over the years. One player underappreciated in this thread is Kyle Spain. The original #15 is the most Matt Mitchel type player we have had. I love seeing a #15 Aztec jersey and saying something about Kyle Spain. "You're a Kyle Spain fan"? Mostly I get confused looks. I loved how smart JJ O'Brien was. His incredible doubling of the post against Kansas was masterful. He left them wondering when or if the double would come and how he could possibly get out to defend his man on the perimeter. That was the #1 reason we beat Kansas. I loved Jamaal Franklin. How can a 6'5" PF get over 10 rebounds a game and win the leagues POY? Malcom Thomas was one of the best centers we have ever had. He was overshadowed by Kawhi in our hearts and on this thread but not on his importance to our great 2009-2011 teams. So many good times, so many great memories. If you're going to take senior night into account I'd add my favorite player's family would be X's mom. The most touching thing I've ever seen at senior night was when she pulled Josh Davis into her family group because Josh didn't have any family there. No wonder X was such a class act with role models like that. |
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Post by mySTRAS on Dec 13, 2020 16:59:53 GMT -8
1. Winston Shepard 2. Marcus Slaughter 3. Malcolm Thomas 4. Matt mitchell 5. Malik Pope 6. Kawhi Leonard How could I forget about Mohamed Abukar? And Heath would have made the list if not for the dribble off the foot.  |
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Post by Aztec Empire on Dec 13, 2020 20:42:40 GMT -8
Chase Tapley always comes to mind. f****** loved that guy for his absurd perimeter defense and clutch big time three point shooting. I remember him collapsing on the floor at the end of the OT win against Temple to get to our first sweet 16.
DJ Gay and Thames also were some of my favs.
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Post by mc08066 on Dec 14, 2020 5:55:05 GMT -8
Al Faux was my favorite player followed closely by X. If it was past 20 years then I would have added Cage. After these three, I would include Mal, Winston, Franklin, JJ, Heath, Davis, Chase, Leonard, etc.
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Post by Den60 on Dec 16, 2020 8:52:27 GMT -8
Impossible to answer really. So for fun I'll say Yanni Wetzell. He not only emerged as one of the biggest surprises in Aztec history, but he gave us an epic sports one-liner. "No ceiling, sir" should be the slogan for this program forever. Yeah, he was easy to root for and you could see how much fun he was having last year. Too many players for me to decide on just one. |
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Post by heuschele on Dec 25, 2020 22:41:14 GMT -8
OK, gonna get a lot of hate mail for this....however. I think J. Franklin transfers after one year with Dutch. On this team he could not get away with the technicals and "antics". For example, the pass to self off backboard was for 2 reasons.. draw attention to self. and show up opposition. I think Dutch pulls a player if he does it this year. The last year of J. Frank was unbearable. Watch J. Frank take the shot clock down to 3, then fire a 26% three or drive 1 on 4. You could say, but he had nobody else who could score! Notice Tapley did not get a high volume of shots that year. OK. fire away. If I was making a list of least favorites he would be top of list. Not only for the items you list but I also attribute our Leonard team ncaa tournament loss to him. It does not mean he was not skilled (but he could not go left which is amazing that a player that good could not go left). |
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Post by uncledougy on Dec 26, 2020 17:59:51 GMT -8
Billy White and Matt Mitchell for me. Taps a close 3rd
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Post by ignoranus on Dec 26, 2020 19:29:02 GMT -8
Also enjoyed watching X & DP3!
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Post by newyorker2586 on Dec 27, 2020 14:31:07 GMT -8
1. Randy Holcomb
2. Billy White
3. Xavier Thames
4. Al Faux
5. David Abramowitz
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Post by sdsustoner on Dec 27, 2020 17:59:53 GMT -8
Surprisingly the only member of the Emerald 8 who has been mentioned so far. |
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Post by sleepy on Dec 27, 2020 18:11:59 GMT -8
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Post by jp92grad on Dec 27, 2020 18:18:07 GMT -8
Still upset that Carlwell didn't get that hardship year! |
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Post by johneaztec on Dec 27, 2020 21:07:30 GMT -8
For me, in no particular order:
Trey Kell
Billy White
Jamaal Franklin
Matt Mitchell
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Post by sdsustoner on Dec 28, 2020 5:34:24 GMT -8
That windmill dunk vs Gonzaga was huge! |
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Post by PAC12 Aztec on Dec 28, 2020 7:51:21 GMT -8
That windmill dunk vs Gonzaga was huge! Wait! What? Did I miss something? Big Brian had a windmill dunk against Gonzaga? How do I not remember this? I am going to find it now and I always thought he had hops similar to mine and you could barely get a piece of paper under my shoes when I jumped. |
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Post by jdaztec on Dec 28, 2020 7:54:55 GMT -8
I thought that was Billy White ?
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