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Mike Lindsley’s All-Time Big East First, Second and Third Teams:
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Mike Lindsley’s All-Time Big East First, Second and Third Teams:
First Team:
Point Guard: Allen Iverson
Iverson redefined the point guard position as a pure scorer, not just in the Big East but in college basketball. He averaged 23 points per game in two years at Georgetown along with 4.6 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He was an underrated rebounder and team leader. Most importantly, today’s athletic, all-around NBA point guards who look to score first (who also left college early for the pros) have A.I to thank.
Shooting guard: Lawrence Moten
#21 is the all-time leading scorer at Syracuse University with 2,334 points and the Big East’s all-time leading scorer with 1,405 points. He is also the only player to score 500 or more points in four consecutive seasons in Syracuse history. It was very rare that someone would be able to defend Moten for a full game. Moten was the greatest combination of talent and smoothness in conference history.
Small forward: Chris Mullin
Mullin made short shorts and high-top white shoes cool. A pure scorer who could do it all. Averaged nearly 20 points a game for his career at St. Johns. Named Big East Player of the Year three times and was a three-time All-American. Helped St. John’s to the Final Four in 1985. Mullin set-up recruiting at John’s for years before the eventual downfall.
Power forward: Derrick Coleman
In baseball, he would have been called a five-tool player. D.C. averaged a double-double at Syracuse with 15 points and 10.7 rebounds. Transformed the power-forward position in the Big East by running the floor and serving as an inside-outside threat. Coleman was the #1 pick in the 1990 NBA Draft and with his talent should have been Charles Barkley times two, but his work ethic and focus got in the way.
Center: Patrick Ewing
The most dominating player the conference has ever seen. When you think Georgetown basketball and old school Big East, you think Ewing. Averaged over 15 points and 9 rebounds as a Hoya while shooting an incredible 62 percent from the floor. His shot-blocking and defensive presence was Bill Russell all over again (3.4 blocks per game). One of the first college players to start and flourish on a varsity team. With Ewing, the Hoyas reached three NCAA title games in 1982, 1984 and 1985, winning it all in 1984.
Second Team:
Point Guard: Sherman Douglas
People in Central New York worried about filling the shoes of Pearl Washington and then Sherman Douglas arrived from Washington D.C. and was better than Pearl. 14.9 points per game for a supposed passer. Invented the true alley-oop in college basketball. 7.0 assists per game and set the all-time assist record at SU. 235 steals at Syracuse. Ran the halfcourt and fast-break perfectly and rarely turned the ball over. True leader. Classy guy. Helped the Orangemen to the NCAA title game in 1987. His #20 hangs from the Carrier Dome for a reason.
Shooting Guard: Kerry Kittles
Kittles ran like a deer, never got tired and scored all the time. He owns 15 Villanova all-time career records, including most points (2,243) and most steals (277). He put the fear of God into coaches who had to prepare for him defensively.
Small Forward: Billy Owens
Billy Owens in high school was LeBron James in high school before LeBron James and was one of the most highly sought after players by college programs in history. Points-rebounds-assists-steals-defense-basketball IQ. You name it, Owens had it at Syracuse. Owens became the first player under Jim Boeheim to score 20+ points per game in one season (23.2 ppg in 1990-91). He helped carry the Orange basketball torch after Derrick Coleman. Owens’ knees prevented him from a remarkable NBA career.
Power Forward: Donyell Marshall
Marshall was tough to stop because he could handle the rock and run the floor at 6’9. Incredibly long and athletic, Marshall could score from anywhere. He won Big East Player of the Year in 1993-94. The Connecticut star was good for 18.1 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game. Helped the Huskies to the Sweet 16 in 1994.
Center: Alonzo Mourning
Ewing set the standard, and Mourning helped carry the torch. He led the nation in blocked shots his freshman year at Georgetown and was an All American in his last year. Mourning, between scoring, rebounding and blocking, is one of the most complete big men the conference has ever seen.
Third Team:
Point Guard: Mark Jackson
Jackson was all action at St. John’s and could work any offense into his style of play. Great court vision and a great passer. He was the perfect guard for the program and the Big East in the 1980s when the game was getting faster and more flashy.
Shooting Guard: Ray Allen
Allen was the consummate pro before he was a pro. At Connecticut, Allen finished his career third on the Huskies’ career scoring list with 1,922 points and set a single-season school record with 115 three-pointers in 1995–96. One of the purest shooters the conference has ever seen. He won Big East Player of the Year in 1996 and his epic battles with Allen Iverson were second to none.
Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony
Anthony did more in one year than most good college players do in four years. Carmelo powered Syracuse to the national title in 2003 and was the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and Final Four MVP, thanks mostly to 33 points and 14 rebounds in the Regional Final against Texas and 20 points and 10 rebounds in the championship win over Kansas. Scored, rebounded, passed and played solid 2-3 defense all year. Anthony was named NCAA Freshman of the Year, All-Big East First Team and Big East Conference Freshman of the Year due to 22.1 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Power Forward: Bill Curley
Not a lot of flash or highlights. Curley just got the job done. Averaged over 16 points during his career at Boston College and led the renaissance of the school's basketball program. Curley was the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year in 1991 and was twice selected to the All-Big East First Team. He helped the Eagles to the Elite Eight in 1994.
Center: Emeka Okafor
The second most intimidating center behind Ewing in conference history. Okafor averaged 4.30 blocks per game during his career and changed or altered countless more. His defense helped Connecticut to the national title in 2004. That same year, Okafor led the nation in blocks and won National Defensive Player of the Year, Big East Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament.
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Mike Lindsley’s Top 10 programs in men’s college basketball history:
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1. UCLA
The dynasty built by John Wooden will never again be duplicated. The “Wizard of Westwood’s” club won 10 championships in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including seven straight from 1967-73 (Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton helped). UCLA won 88 straight games from 1971-74. They’ve appeared in 13 NCAA title games and been to 18 Final Fours. Their title in 1995 gave the program some modern success, as did three Final Four appearances from 2006-08 under Ben Howland. The Bruins will need to have some success very soon to keep this place, however.
2. Kentucky
Despite an average decade in the 2000s by Wildcat standards, Kentucky is #1 in wins and winning percentage. The Wildcats won their 2,000th game on December 19, 2009 with an 88-84 win over Drexel. UK has won seven national championships and been to 14 Final Fours. The school has had plenty of great eras, including the 1996-1998 dynasty that won two championships (lost to Arizona in 1997). Adolph Rupp and Rick Pitino are Hall of Fame coaches and Tubby Smith (1997-2007) had no problem handling the pressure after Pitino. Kentucky is still the most attractive job when it opens in college basketball. An Elite 8 appearance in 2010 and a Final Four spot in 2011 have brought the Wildcats back to prominence.
3. Kansas
The Jayhawks have been another golden standard of college basketball. From Phog Allen to Roy Williams as head coach and Wilt Chamberlain to Danny Manning as players, Kansas may just be the most consistent program over the longest time. 13 Final Fours. Three NCAA titles. Five NCAA Tournament runner-ups. Most recently, Kansas won it all in 2008 and has been one of the leaders in recruiting the last 20 years. They always get piles of All-Americans. Don’t forget, the game of basketball was invented by its first coach, Dr. James Naismith.
4. North Carolina
11 Player of the Year winners have given the Tar Heels star power in college basketball. Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Phil Ford, Jerry Stackhouse and Tyler Hansbrough to name a few. Legends Dean Smith and Roy Williams have been stars on the Chapel Hill sidelines as well. These names and others have given UNC five national championships. UNC has been the dominant team in the ACC as well, capturing 17 tournament titles and 28 regular season titles. Carolina has been to the NCAA Tournament 42 times. The most impressive statistic? A record 18 Final Four appearances.
5. Duke
You could make the argument that the single most important coach to a program outside of John Wooden at UCLA is Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K single-handedly turned the program into a power starting in the early 1980s. Duke had only been to four Final Fours (1963, 1964, 1966, 1978) and had never won a title. All of a sudden, Duke showed up in the Final Four 11 more times (11th in 2010) and won four titles in 1991, 1992, 2001 and 2010 and was runner-up four times under Coach K. As of the 2008-09 NBA season, Duke had more players on NBA rosters than any other school. 19 ACC tournament championships and 19 regular season titles don’t hurt either. People have hated Duke more out of jealousy than anything else, and that is a true accomplishment in sports because you know you’ve proved plenty.
6. Indiana
The Hoosiers are slightly behind Duke because players didn’t leave early when Indiana was dominating college hoops. History still places Indiana here and rightfully so. The Hoosiers are still the last team to go undefeated in a championship-winning season (32-0 in 1975-76). The program has five NCAA titles, three under Bobby Knight (1976, 1981 and 1987). They have reached the Final Four eight times, the last coming in 2002. Something needs to happen quickly though, because Indiana has been a non-factor since then. Guards Isiah Thomas and Steve Alford helped carry the program to the top, and IU needs a few recruits to do the same today.
7. Michigan State
Toughness, rebounding and defense have created a winning mentality through the years for the Spartans. Two national championships in 1979 and 2000, eight Final Four appearances and 11 Elite 8 spots. You can’t say enough about the job Jud Heathcote did as coach from 1976-95 and Tom Izzo after that. Izzo does more with less better than any head man in America. Michigan State is the model program in the Big 10 and a team no one wants to ever face in March.
8. Connecticut
“People don't mention him that much when they talk about great coaches.” "He has done more in taking a program from the Yankee Conference to the top of college basketball than anybody else who has ever done it at any school. If you look at the other great programs, they were great before the coaches got there."
-Jim Boeheim, February 11, 2010, after Syracuse’s 72-67 win over UConn.
Boy is Boeheim right. UConn men’s basketball=Jim Calhoun. The Huskies joined the newly-created Big East Conference in 1979 but were nothing until Jim Calhoun arrived in 1986. Since then, Connecticut has had nothing but amazing success. Two championships in 1999 and 2004. 10 Elite 8 appearances. 16 Sweet 16’s and four Final Four’s. The players are endless. Cliff Robinson, Donyell Marshall, Tate George, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor and Kemba Walker. Connecticut is the fourth best program of the last 25 years behind North Carolina, Kansas and Duke. Short time success still equals a Top 10 all-time program.
9. Louisville.
Tremendous program. Two national titles in 1980 and 1986. The Cardinals have made the Final Four eight times and Elite Eight 11 times to go along with 23 Sweet 16’s and 37 NCAA Tournament appearances. From Denny Crum to Rick Pitino with the old Freedom Hall hosting so many terrific games, Louisville has been a college basketball model for greatness and consistency. Pervis Ellison is the greatest Cardinal of them all, but Louisville has shined not because of individual players, but because of team basketball and buying into the Louisville brand of basketball.
10. Syracuse
They have one title in 2003, but Syracuse is the 5th winningest team in history and the all-around success of this program validates its spot. They have done it for a long time with great players in the always tough Big East. Four Final Fours, seven Elite 8 appearances and 19 Sweet 16’s. SU was also the NCAA title runner-up in 1987 and 1996. Jim Boeheim, the former SU backcourt teammate of Dave Bing, is arguably the most loyal coach in the game and built the program starting with the recruiting of Louis Orr and Roosevelt Bouie. The names on the Hill since that time have been staggering: Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Billy Owens, Lawrence Moten, Etan Thomas, Carmelo Anthony, Jonny Flynn and Wes Johnson. The Orange has won the Big East regular season seven times and the Big East Tournament five times. Finally, the Carrier Dome’s record crowds make this basketball heaven for Upstate New Yorkers.
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