Gerry McNamara makes Grantland list of all-time college greats

[Orangeyes]

Click

 

[SaintTristan]

you didnt actually read the text, did you?

 

[Moontan]

This is not a list of the 50 most talented college basketball players of all time, or the 50 who had the biggest impact on the sport. These are the 50 players who inhabit our collective memory as "awesome college guys." They're the transient people who make college basketball a little more pleasurable than its professional counterpart, a phenomenon that's often due to their disjointed combination of temporary excellence with timeless imperfection. They are, for lack of a better term, the reason college basketball is different.

 

[Orangeyes]

you didnt actually read the text, did you?

I did

 

[orange03]

He'll go down in Syracuse basketball lore as a legend, and probably rightfully so... but how would his career be viewed if he didn't play with Melo his frosh year and win a title?

Obviously there's more to the game then talent alone, but I have a hard time believing that he was any more talented then Devo or Rautins. (Yes I'm only comparing the recent white guards)

All that said, the tournament frosh year and his Big East run were individually more impressive then anything the above mentioned did. But again, what if there was no Melo...

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

I don't get the "what if there was no Melo" argument. The fact is that Gerry was a freshman with Melo on that team and he provided a GREAT counterpart to Melo on that team and played amazingly well for a freshman.

Counter argument could be what if Damone Brown played on that team with Melo? or any other player. I find it irrelevant to what transpired. The facts are the Gerry played tremendously on that team - it was a great team and they played great in the tournament. I have no issue with Gerry being listed at all - he didn't do too shabby having to carry the load the next seasons post-Melo either.

 

[tipphill]

how many bus loads from scranton came to see him?if i remember right,jimmy b played for scranton in league at one time?

 

[cto]

Click

Very interesting list. I remember most of those guys and was interested in the analysis. NB: the footnotes indicate that Pearl Washington, Stevie Thompson and Derrick Coleman almost made the list

Anyhow, regarding GMac: those four days in March 2006 were indeed special. Here, in the middle of Husky Nation, people still talk about it ... whenever they talk college hoops with me.

 

[stone567]

This post has absolutely no credibility. Cannot give credibility to anyone that is trying to argue that McNamara was a better college basketball player than David Bing, Pearl Washington (might have been the most dominating guard to ever put on a SU uniform), Derrick Coleman (one of the most dominant rebounders in NCAA history), Sherman Douglas (one of the greatest floor generals in NCAA history), Billy Owens (just talk to JB about this guy), Lawrence Moten ( a scoring machine), John Wallace (did anyone watch his performance in the 96 Final Four run?; put SU on his back in a historic Danny Manning style domination...remarkable) and Carmelo Anthony (if not for Melo, SU does not win a national championship...his one year playing college hoops was more dominant than 90% of all players who played 3-4 years...other than Pearl, have not seen a more dominant SU player) I would also argue very easily that Rony Seikaly, Louis Orr, Leo Rautins, Roosevelt Bouie, Stephen Thompson, Hakim Warrick and Wes Thompson, among others, were substantially better college basketball players than McNamara.

To put McNamara on this list and no one else from Syracuse history, makes this list ridiculous and stupid. To say otherwise, is not even a valid argument.

 

[stone567]

One more thing, one tremendous weekend for a meaningless (but fun) conference tournament, should not merit inclusion on a list of the greatest college basketball players. I realize that GMac is some sort of legend in Syracuse, but the reality is that the college basketball player was never as great as the legend. GMac had a very good freshman year, a great Final Four and a great Big East Tournament; the rest of the four years was somewhat inconsistent.

 

[cto]

This post has absolutely no credibility. Cannot give credibility to anyone that is trying to argue that McNamara was a better college basketball player than David Bing, Pearl Washington (might have been the most dominating guard to ever put on a SU uniform), Derrick Coleman (one of the most dominant rebounders in NCAA history), Sherman Douglas (one of the greatest floor generals in NCAA history), Billy Owens (just talk to JB about this guy), Lawrence Moten ( a scoring machine), John Wallace (did anyone watch his performance in the 96 Final Four run?; put SU on his back in a historic Danny Manning style domination...remarkable) and Carmelo Anthony (if not for Melo, SU does not win a national championship...his one year playing college hoops was more dominant than 90% of all players who played 3-4 years...other than Pearl, have not seen a more dominant SU player) I would also argue very easily that Rony Seikaly, Louis Orr, Leo Rautins, Roosevelt Bouie, Stephen Thompson, Hakim Warrick and Wes Thompson, among others, were substantially better college basketball players than McNamara.

To put McNamara on this list and no one else from Syracuse history, makes this list ridiculous and stupid. To say otherwise, is not even a valid argument.

I think you miss the article's point. If it were about the greatest college basketball players of all time, it would include Ewing, Jordan, Bird, Magic, etc. Instead, as Jurrie says above, it is about those who remain in our consciousness because of "their disjointed combination of temporary excellence with timeless imperfection."