"Changing of the guard" in the NBA

[ehh]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

The only player that I really remember from that team other than melo was Warrick.

Here it is:

No Name Pos Ht Wt DOB Yr City (High School)
21 Josh Brooks F 6-5 180 SR Saranac, NY (Saranac HS)
23 Todd Burach G 6-5 196 SO Englishtown, NJ (Manalapan HS)
35 Ross DiLiegro F 6-8 213 SO Lexington, MA (Lexington HS)
14 Billy Edelin PG 6-4 195 JR Mouth Of Wilson, VA (Oak Hill Academy)
51 Craig Forth C 7-0 256 SR East Greenbush, NY (Columbia HS)
12 Logan Gabriel G 5-10 167 FR Carbondale, PA (Carbondale Area JSHS)
32 Xzavier Gaines G 6-4 197 JR Houston, TX (Westfield HS)
24 Matt Gorman PF 7-0.5 235 05/01/1984 JR Watertown, NY (Watertown SHS)
42 Louis McCroskey PG 6-5 208 06/27/1985 SO Bronx, NY (St. Raymond Hs For Boys)
3 Gerry McNamara PG 6-2 182 08/28/1983 JR Scranton, PA (Bishop Hannon HS)
4 Demetris Nichols F 6-8 212 09/04/1984 SO Barrington, RI (St. Andrew's School)
5 Josh Pace SG 6-6 203 SR Griffin, GA (Griffin HS)
33 Terrence Roberts PF 6-9 228 08/14/1984 SO Jersey City, NJ (St. Anthony HS)
5 Hakim Warrick SF 6-8 219 07/08/1982 SR Wynnewood, PA (Friends' Central)
13 Darryl Watkins C 6-11 258 11/08/1984 SO Paterson, NJ (Paterson Catholic HS)
25 Dayshawn Wright F 6-6 232 09/05/1985 FR Mouth Of Wilson, VA (Oak Hill Academy)
30 Josh Wright PG 6-2 175 04/08/1986 FR Utica, NY (Thomas R. Proctor HS)
No Name Pos Ht Wt DOB Yr City (High School)

That roster is from 2005, OSU.

[1Rose]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

I could only name two players from that team other than Melo off the top of my head (McNamara and Warrick, not exactly superstars). It's not like he was playing with the 04 Tar Heels.

And you wouldn't consider them two any good?? McNamara is the best 3 point shooter in the history of Syracuse basketball, and Warrick is 4th in points in school history. Disagree if you want but that was a great TEAM. Including Edelin and Duany.

How is Ron Artest on the Lakers in any way comparable to Melo at Syracuse?

Weren't you citing the fact that he won a championship as a reason for a having a championship attitude?? So with your reasoning anyone that has ever won a championship has a championship attitude.

[ehh]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

'03 Cuse was very young first of all, Duany was the only experienced player on that squad. Gerry & Edelin were also freshman and Warrick was a soph. At that point those guys weren't what we eventually came to know them as. No one expected them to win the title that year, they had an up and down season and got worked by UConn in the BET semis (UConn won both meetings by double-digits that year ).

What they had for them, besides Melo of course, was insane length for the college game. Boeheim's zone was never more effective, Melo/Warrick/Forth or McNeil and Duany (great length for a college 2-guard) was a great four-fifths of a 2-3 zone.

As they went through the Big 12's big boys en route to the title no opponent had anyone remotely close to match up to Carmelo and none of them could shoot over the zone. And it still took a horrific FT performance from Kansas for Syracuse to win the title.

They had a lot of contributors and were well-rounded by I definitely would not call them a GREAT team. I think '03 Kansas beats them 8 out of 10 times.

[wwharton]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Not quite sure if you remember but that Syracuse team that won, was pretty stacked. If I remember correctly there were 5 guys on that team that averaged double figures. Yes Melo is a great player, but he was also the beneficiary of having a great team around him.

Just because you've won a championship, doesn't mean you have a championship attitude. Would you consider Ron Artest someone who has an attitude of a champion?

There has always been questions about his work ethic, he is self-absorbed and only cares about himself. Which is standard in today's sports world. Him and Amare do not compliment each other on the court either. They will be what the Hawks have the been the previous years. Solid regular seasons and bounced in the first or second round.

Actually Artest does have a championship attitude and people forget that in his prime he was an MVP candidate. He was the best defensive SF in the league while still giving you great offense and hustle stats. If his crazy attitude didn't spill onto the court that one year, people would probably have a different perspective on him. I'd take a young Artest on my team 10 times out of 10.

[1Rose]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Yes, saying that two players weren't "GREAT" is the same thing as saying they weren't "any good".

It is?? They had a bunch of solid players. Sure they were young and didn't turn into NBA superstars but this is college basketball, not the pros. 3-4 solid guys around a star, makes a pretty tough team.

Come on, man. You know that's not what I was saying. Melo was unquestionably the best player on that Syracuse team. He led them to the championship.

You said: "It couldn't possibly be the fact that he won the championship in his only year of college."

Implying that because he won a championship, in any aspect, in this case his first year of college, that he has a championship attitude. Please tell me how I should interpret that differently.

College is a different ball game then than the pros. Natural talent can take you pretty far, especially when you have the skills that Anthony had at his age.

He may have helped get them there, but went scoreless the last like 14 mins of that championship game. He was a great player, yes, but those guys were instrumental in them winning that game. In fact Edelin, who you failed to mention or acknowledge, was basically the player who won them that game at the end when Anthony couldn't score. He scored like 10 points in the final like 8 mins. And of course Warrick made the block to seal it.

[da ThRONe]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Defense=Championships

If you are a capable defender and choose not to you don't have a championship attitude because your not willing to do whatever it takes. Look at Dirk not on Melo level as a defender, but his defenses effort has been at a high level. That's a championship level.

[1Rose]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

I'm not debating this any further. This is silly.

(And apparently unable to detect sarcasm.)

Ahh, the ole undetectable sarcasm bit...one of my favs.

Defense=Championships

If you are a capable defender and choose not to you don't have a championship attitude because your not willing to do whatever it takes. Look at Dirk not on Melo level as a defender, but his defenses effort has been at a high level. That's a championship level.

This.

[sportzbro]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

I'd thought bumping this is appropriate. I think we just witnessed a passing of the torch with OKC.

To me, that was San Antonio's last real shot at 1 more title. Given their age and how close they were, I can't see them really get over that.

This version of Boston is definitely on it's last legs, but is having a great run in the playoffs. This probably is also those guys' last shot - I'd guess win or lose, the Celtics get blown up and slowly rebuild over the next couple seasons. Doc Rivers is probably going to walk away for a little bit, and the 3 main guys are gonna retire or be traded... with Boston building again with Rondo.

[BringTheHeat]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Excited to see what the Heat will do, win or lose this year. I think we need to blow up this big 3 stuff, we NEED a center.

Top 5 teams I'm ready to watch for a long time:

1. Denver (Don't sleep on them, they could beat OKC next year)
2. Clippers
3. Memphis
4. Minnesota
5. Detroit (Kills me to see them do bad, they need to get better soon, love watching games at the Palace)

[ZB9]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Defense=Championships

If you are a capable defender and choose not to you don't have a championship attitude because your not willing to do whatever it takes. Look at Dirk not on Melo level as a defender, but his defenses effort has been at a high level. That's a championship level.

best offensive team with the best defense = championship

if you have the best defense but cant shoot then you wont make the championship series...

[23]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Great balance wins titles not just defense

Thats a myth

I agree with ZB

[TMagic]

The only three teams to come out of the West in the last 13 years have been the Mavs, the Spurs, and the Lakers.

In this years playoffs, the Thunder just so happened to face each team and beat all 3 of them in convincing fashion in route to the NBA Finals.

Thats some symbolism for your *** right there man.

[Vni]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

best offensive team with the best defense = championship

if you have the best defense but cant shoot then you wont make the championship series...

I agree. Bulls was a good example last year.

[da ThRONe]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

Ofcourse you have to score to win. My point was (and it's my fault for not being clear) that offense comes and goes, but defense will show up every game. The rules give a decided advantage to offenses so to say that defense alone equal a championship is inaccurate. The point I was getting at is if Anthony truly had a championship attitude he would give more consistent effort on that side of the ball.

[Hotobu]

Re: "Changing of the guard" in the NBA

OKC is frightening. I don't think they'll beat the Heat in the finals this year, but they're the most future proof team in the league. Of course them winning wouldn't be a surprise to anyone either. Durant and Westbrook together are fantastic. When Westrook learns to maximize his efficiency, get his teammates involved more, and not look for his shot so much they'll be even better. I wouldn't be surprised to see them go on a Bulls-like run. Their their team is good as is. If they can keep Harden and Iblocka then the rest of the league will be playing catchup for the better part of a decade.

The Clippers, Bulls, Heat, and whatever team Dwight Howard ends up with will be the closest competitors, but they've all got issues. Clippers need Griffin to get better and some other players. The Bulls need a 2 guard, and Derrick Rose to fully heal from injury. The Heat will go as Dwyane Wade goes. Lebron's their best player, but if Dwyane Wade doesn't play well then they don't go anywhere.

While every other team in the league is trying to figure out who will go where the Thunder already have. It's just a matter of salary cap at this moment.