Raider Nation said:
Loved the 70s/80s DePaul duds.
Name everyone in this photo!
Here's a head start: Aguirre, Sampson, Isiah, Bowie.
Fantastic photo! Outstanding shorts length, socks height, and shoe selection on all of them. This era is right when my family got cable and my mom wanted me to read more so she bought me a subscription to Sports Illustrated. These guys are heroes of my childhood.From left to right:
UVA 50: Ralph Sampson. Yes, he really was 7'4" and yes, he really could move, dribble, and shoot. Some great footage of him as a college player in the 30 For 30 "Survive And Advance", as three NC State/UVA games in 1983 are integral to telling that story.
G'Town 21: Eric "Sleepy" Floyd. The Hoyas were on the rise at this time just as the Big East took form, Floyd's senior year was Georgetown's first of many seasons as a 1-seed in the 1980s.
LSU 40: "Cookie Monster" Greg Cook. LSU was a basketball powerhouse in the early 80s, and had national title aspirations with Cookie leading them.
DePaul 23: Skip Dillard. Forgotten great of DePaul's 70s/80s run. Let's just say cocaine is a helluva drug.
tOSU 32: Herb Williams. Outstanding college big man, layups had a difficult time finding the hoop when he was protecting the rim. Spent his 20s and early 30s cashing NBA checks as serviceable big man, blocking shots and pulling down boards.
DePaul 24: Mark Aguirre. Devastating scorer. Strong legs, big butt, if he got position on the left block it was over. If the center switched over to him he'd step out and shoot over or drive by him. Had unfortunate timing of showing up at the Final Four the same year Magic and Bird came to the party.
KU 14: Darnell Valentine. Probably the best player of the Ted Owens era. Still a good friend of the program, still in great shape. Dressed for a supercharged alumni game at the Phog a couple years ago during an NBA lockout and could still hang for a couple minutes.
UMD 55: Albert King. Could do a bit of everything, SF who could dribble, shoot, pass. Won ACC POY once over names like Ralph Sampson and James Worthy. Home one-on-one games as a child against his brother Bernard were a bit more competitive than the driveway basketball you played as a kid.
UK 31: Sam Bowie. Most famous today for who he wasn't when he got drafted into the NBA, but he was a scary good college player. Stupid injuries.
IU 11: Isiah Thomas. He could play fast or slow, throw the perfect pass or hit the big shot, could D up... Despite his size, it wasn't a surprise he went on to many NBA All-Star Games and alpha NBA titles. In that era of CBB, it wasn't uncommon for possessions to last over minute, or for teams to get a rebound with 2:20 left in the half and play for the last shot. A PG like Isiah who could keep his dribble alive anywhere in the frontcourt against any defender could extend possessions and shorten games in ways that eventually got the shot clock introduced to that level of the sport.
