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Coaches' Corner
All-Time All-NCAA Tournament Team
By Mike Douchant Who were the most pristine postseason players in the premier sports spectacle--the NCAA Tournament? So many stars to choose from. So many divergent opinions on individual playoff performances. Who always seemed hot? Who was not? Well, chill out. Help has arrived with an all-time All-NCAA Tournament team separating pertinent facts from school-submitted fax. In order to whittle the illustrious field of candidates to a manageable number, the following first- and second-team selections had to appear in at least two NCAA Tournaments, including at least one Final Four. Such restrictive criteria eliminates from top 10 consideration all-time greats who appeared in the tournament just one year like Auburn forward Charles Barkley, Kansas center Wilt Chamberlain and North Carolina State forward David Thompson. Naturally, the all-time tourney first- and second-teams would look much different if they were determined without regard to position. They could have easily been dominated by big men. After all, the five individuals to be selected Most Outstanding Player in back-to-back Final Fours were centers. But isn't a textbook team supposed to consist of one center, two forwards and two guards? In deference to a traditional lineup, the All-NCAA Tournament first- and second-team picks include each of the five positions. Another copout would have been to simply accept the instant visibility of one-name icons such as Magic, Bird and Michael and cite them among the 10 greatest players in tourney history. But the prolific pro careers of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, a trio that combined to win nine consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player awards from 1983-84 through 1991-92 (three apiece), somewhat distorts their impact in college postseason play. Notwithstanding the appeal of the Bird/Magic championship game matchup in 1979 and Jordan's game-winning basket as a freshman in the 1982 national final against Georgetown, a closer examination of the facts shows that other players were more efficient more often in the NCAA Tournament. Consider the following tourney trauma for Johnson, Bird and Jordan:
Generally, sizzling scorers have learned it's not a day at the beach in postseason play. For instance, Rockets sensation Clyde Drexler averaged more than 17 points per game each of his last 13 NBA seasons, but he scored more than 17 points in just one of 11 NCAA Tournament games for Houston from 1981-83. Duke's Christian Laettner, the all-time playoff scoring leader with 407 points from 1989 through 1992, tallied fewer than 15 points in six of his first seven tournament games. Just four of the top 20 in career scoring in the NCAA playoffs accumulated more than 10 points in every tourney game they participated--UCLA's Lew Alcindor (1967-68-69), Princeton's Bill Bradley (1963-64-65), Arizona's Sean Elliott (1986-87-88-89) and Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson (1958-59-60). If some of these historical facts aroused your curiosity, here is additional tournament insight that should fuel debates concerning who excelled the most as NCAA playoff performers: FIRST TEAMLEW ALCINDOR-- The only individual selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player three times averaged 25.7 points and 18.8 rebounds and shot 64.1 percent from the floor in six Final Four games from 1967 through 1969. Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is the only player to couple three unanimous first-team All-America seasons with three NCAA titles. Of the 10 different individuals to average more than 23 points per game for a national champion a total of 12 times, Alcindor achieved the feat all three of his seasons with the Bruins. He is also the only player to hit better than 70 percent of his field-goal attempts in two NCAA title games. UCLA '67, the first varsity season for Alcindor, set the record for largest average margin of victory for a champion when the Bruins started a dazzling streak of 10 consecutive Final Four appearances. They won their 12 NCAA playoff games with Alcindor manning the middle by an average margin of 21.5 points. The three Alcindor-led UCLA teams rank among the seven NCAA champions with average margins of victory in a tournament of more than 19 points per game. He led the Bruins in scoring in 10 of 12 playoff contests. It's no wonder a perceptive scribe wrote that the acronym NCAA took on a new meaning during the Alcindor Era--"No Chance Against Alcindor." BILL BRADLEY-- The former U.S. Senator (D-N.J.) and current presidential candidate for 2000 holds the record for most points in a single Final Four game (58 against Wichita State in 1965 national third-place game). He scored 39 points in the second half of the consolation game. The Rhodes Scholar was the only player to have a double-digit season scoring average (30.5 points per game) for Princeton's Final Four team. Bradley also holds the career playoff record for highest free-throw percentage (minimum of 50 attempts). He was 89 of 96 from the foul line (90.6 percent) from 1963 through 1965. In five of his nine playoff games, Bradley made at least 10 free throws while missing no more than one attempt from the charity stripe. He made 16 of 16 free throws against St. Joseph's in the first round of the 1963 East Regional and 13 of 13 foul shots against Providence in the 1965 East Regional final to become the only player to twice convert more than 12 free throws without a miss in playoff games. He was the game-high scorer in eight of nine tourney contests. ELVIN HAYES-- He is the only player to lead a tournament in scoring by more than 60 points. Alcindor and his UCLA teammates helped hold Hayes to 10 points in the 1968 national semifinals, but the Big E finished with 167 points in five games that year. Alcindor was runner-up with 103 points in four games. Hayes became the only player in tournament history to collect more than 40 points and 25 rebounds in the same game when he amassed 49 points and 27 rebounds in a 94-76 decision over Loyola of Chicago in the first round of the 1968 Midwest Regional. He holds the records for most rebounds in a playoff series (97 in five games as a senior in 1968) and career (222 in 13 games). He had five games with at least 24 rebounds, including the first three playoff games in 1968, before being held to five in a 101-69 national semifinal loss against UCLA. Hayes also holds the record for most playoff field goals in a career with 152. GAIL GOODRICH-- Despite standing at least three inches shorter than both standout opponents, the 6-1 Goodrich outscored consensus second-team All-America Jeff Mullins of Duke, 27-22, in the 1964 final and outscored unanimous first-team All-America Cazzie Russell of Michigan, 42-28, in the 1965 final. Goodrich, the only guard to score more than 35 points in an NCAA final, averaged 35 points per game in the 1965 tourney. He was also the Bruins' leading scorer the previous year (21.5-point average as a junior) when he became the shortest undergraduate to average more than 20 points per game for an NCAA titlist. Goodrich and Walt Hazzard (18.6 ppg) represent the only backcourt duo to be the top two scorers on the season for an NCAA championship team. Of the seven times a school successfully defended its major college championship, Goodrich is the only guard to be the team's leading scorer in back-to-back years. The Bruins won 58 of 60 games in those two championship seasons although they didn't have a regular taller than 6-7. JERRY WEST-- He is the only player to score at least 25 points in eight consecutive tournament games (all of which he led in scoring). West is also the only player to rank among the top five in scoring average in both the NCAA Tournament (30.6 points per game) and NBA playoffs (29.1 ppg). He was denied a championship ring in his only Final Four appearance in 1959 when Cal center Darral Imhoff, a player who would become an Olympic and NBA teammate, tipped in a decisive basket in the closing seconds. JOHN WOODEN-- Legendary coach appeared in 12 Final Fours, but he established the amazing record after a shaky start, losing his first five NCAA playoff games with UCLA from 1950-'56 by an average of 11.4 points. Wooden didn't participate in a Final Four until his 14th season with the Bruins (fourth-place finish in 1962). "When I look back at the early years when we got in the tournament and lost early, I realize I didn't handle it well," Wooden said. "We should have done better. When we got in tournament play in my early years, I overworked them mentally and emotionally. I forgot what got us there. I always wanted to add something else, and I tried to teach something new in a hurry. I think subconsciously I wanted to win so much that I hurt ourselves in doing that. I think I learned a lot as I got more tournament experience." UCLA won 47 of its last 52 NCAA playoff games under him, with four of the five losses by a total of just eight points. The Bruins prevailed in all of their 10 championship games with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame selection at the helm, winning seven of the 10 finals by more than 10 points for an incredible 13.4-point average margin of victory. Six of UCLA's seven consecutive national champions won their playoff games by an average margin of at least 16 points. Which of the Wizard of Westwood's 10 national champions did he think was his best? "I've never come out and said it," Wooden said, "but it would be hard to pick a team over the 1968 team. I will say it would be the most difficult team to prepare for and play against offensively and defensively. It created so many problems. It had such great balance. "We had the big center (Alcindor) who is the most valuable player of all time. Mike Warren was a three-year starter who may have been the most intelligent floor leader ever. Lucius Allen was a very physical, talented individual who was extremely quick. Lynn Shackleford was a great shooter out of the corner who didn't allow defenses to sag on Jabbar. Mike Lynn didn't have power, but he had as fine a pair of hands around the boards as I have ever seen." To try to give an idea of the magnitude of Wooden's 21 Final Four triumphs, consider that he has two more Final Four victories than the total compiled by more than 25 coaches with over 500 career wins (minimum of 10 seasons at Division I). Incredibly, his 10 championship teams from 1964 through 1975 lost a total of just 10 regular-season games and never trailed at halftime in an NCAA Tournament final. Wooden's UCLA teams won 38 consecutive NCAA playoff games between their 1963 losses to Arizona State (79-75 in overtime in West Regional semifinal) and San Francisco (76-75 in regional third-place game) until a 1974 defeat against North Carolina State (80-77 in double overtime in national semifinals). The Bruins didn't pick on patsies despite winning 28 of the 38 games by more than 10 points (16.4-point average margin of victory overall). Thirty of the 38 opponents incurred fewer than seven losses entering their contest against UCLA. SECOND TEAMBILL RUSSELL-- Grabbed an incredible 50 rebounds at the 1956 Final Four (23 against SMU in the semifinals and 27 against Iowa in the championship game). No other player has retrieved more than 41 missed shots in two Final Four games or more than 21 in the final. SEAN ELLIOTT-- Of the more than 60 different players to score at least 2,500 points and/or rank among the top 25 in career scoring average, he is the only one to have a winning NCAA playoff record in his career plus post higher scoring, rebounding and field-goal shooting playoff averages than he compiled in the regular season. He scored at least 17 points in all 10 of his NCAA playoff games. BOB PETTIT-- Of the more than 40 different players to score more than 225 points in the NCAA playoffs and/or average over 25 points per tournament game (minimum of six games), he is the only one to score more than 22 points in every postseason contest (six games in 1953 and 1954). He was perhaps the most consistent big scorer in NCAA Tournament history with a single-digit differential between his high game (36 points) and his low game (27). Pettit wasn't named to the 1953 All-Tournament team despite leading the Tigers to the Final Four and averaging 30.5 points per game in four NCAA playoff contests. He averaged the same number of points in two tourney games the next year. BOBBY HURLEY-- Duke's 6-0 guard was selected Most Outstanding Player at the 1992 Final Four. He was the shortest player to earn the award since 5-11 Hal Lear helped Temple to a national third-place finish in 1956. The only Final Four Most Outstanding Player shorter than Hurley from a championship team was 5-11 Kenny Sailors of Wyoming in 1943. Hurley shot a mediocre 41 percent from the floor in his college career, but he was the Blue Devils' linchpin with his playmaking and intangible contributions. He holds the career record for most playoff assists (145) although his bid to become the first player to start four consecutive NCAA finals was thwarted when California upset Duke in the second round of the 1993 Midwest Regional despite Hurley's career-high 32 points. After averaging just 5.4 points per game in his first eight NCAA Tournament contests, he averaged 22.8 in his last five playoff outings. OSCAR ROBERTSON-- Averaged at least 29 points and 10 rebounds per game each of his three years in the tourney. The Big O isn't a first-team pick because California restricted him to a total of 37 points in two Final Four games (1959 and 1960). He hit just nine of 32 from the floor against the Bears. Robertson, the nation's leading scorer all three of his varsity seasons with averages of more than 32 points per game, is the only team-leading scorer to twice go more than 10 points below his season scoring average when his school lost in the national semifinals or final. ED JUCKER-- The only coach to win an NCAA title in his first full season at a school. He achieved the feat the first year after the departure of Robertson, the school's most illustrious player who was a three-time UPI Player of the Year and led the nation in scoring each season. After losing to California by a total of 14 points in the national semifinals in 1959 and 1960 under Smith with unanimous first-team All-America Robertson in the Bearcats' lineup, they won perhaps the most ironic title in 1961 with Jucker as their new coach and without the Big O.
NCAA TOURNAMENT PLAYER HONORABLE MENTION Player, Position, School Steve Alford, G, Indiana Ray Allen, G, Connecticut Kenny Anderson, G, Georgia Tech B.J. Armstrong, G, Iowa Len Bias, F, Maryland Ron Brewer, G, Arkansas Gene Brown, G, San Francisco Austin Carr, G, Notre Dame Len Chappell, F-C, Wake Forest Jimmy Collins, G, New Mexico State Mel Counts, C, Oregon State Adrian Dantley, F, Notre Dame Terry Dehere, G, Seton Hall Tim Duncan, C, Wake Forest Patrick Ewing, C, Georgetown Henry Finkel, C, Dayton Tom Gola, F, La Salle Johnny Green, F-C, Michigan State Alex Groza, C, Kentucky Rudy Hackett, F-C, Syracuse Richard Hamilton, G-F, Connecticut Vern Hatton, G, Kentucky Tom Hawkins, F, Notre Dame Paul Hogue, C, Cincinnati Bob Houbregs, F-C, Washington Les Hunter, C, Loyola of Chicago Dan Issel, C, Kentucky Allen Iverson, G, Georgetown Larry Johnson, F, UNLV Ollie Johnson, C, San Francisco Wali Jones, G, Villanova Greg Kelser, F, Michigan State Bo Kimble, F-G, Loyola Marymount Stacey King, C, Oklahoma Brevin Knight, G, Stanford Barry Kramer, F, NYU Bob Kurland, C, Oklahoma State Christian Laettner, F, Duke Dwight (Bo) Lamar, G, Southwestern Louisiana Bob Lanier, C, St. Bonaventure David (Big Daddy) Lattin, C, Texas Western Reggie Lewis, F, Northeastern Bill Logan, C, Iowa Clyde Lovellette, C, Kansas Jerry Lucas, C, Ohio State Maurice Lucas, F-C, Marquette Mark Macon, G, Temple Mike Maloy, C, Davidson Danny Manning, F, Kansas Jamal Mashburn, F, Kentucky Don May, F, Dayton Jim McDaniels, C, Western Kentucky Rodney Monroe, G, North Carolina State Lawrence Moten, G, Syracuse Chris Mullin, G-F, St. John's Jeff Mullins, F, Duke Hakeem Olajuwon, C, Houston Mike Olliver, G, Lamar Billy Owens, F, Syracuse Anthony Peeler, G, Missouri Chuck Person, F, Auburn Paul Pierce, F-G, Kansas Howard Porter, F, Villanova Tony Price, F, Penn Bobby Rascoe, F, Western Kentucky Khalid Reeves, G, Arizona J.R. Reid, F-G, North Carolina Glen Rice, F, Michigan Mitch Richmond, G-F, Kansas State David Rivers, G, Notre Dame David Robinson, C, Navy Rumeal Robinson, G, Michigan Dick Rosenthal, F-C, Notre Dame Cazzie Russell, G, Michigan Don Schlundt, C, Indiana Charlie Scott, G-F, North Carolina Dennis Scott, G-F, Georgia Tech Rony Seikaly, C, Syracuse Miles Simon, G, Arizona Joe Smith, C, Maryland Isiah Thomas, G, Indiana David Thompson, F, North Carolina State George Thompson, F, Marquette Kenny Walker, F, Kentucky John Wallace, F, Syracuse Rex Walters, G, Kansas Bill Walton, C, UCLA Kenny Washington, F, UCLA Corliss Williamson, F, Arkansas Al Wood, F, North Carolina |
