I Joe had some of Sidney Moncrief’s game and muscle, especially in / near the paint. That would be the complete package.
And, it would be really cool if Vanover had a bit of Bailey’s energy and athleticism.
If Vanover had Bailey’s athleticism! I chuckled just reading that. can you imagine a 7’2" guy with a 40 inch vertical! he would be truly unstoppable. ridiculous just thinking about that combo!
Thanks for the laugh
GHG
Sidney played hard. He was a great all-around player. He played great defense and could score…he was a tremendous rebounder for a guard. His range was limited to about 12-15 feet…that was his only shortcoming. He was not a good shooter. If he had had a smooth shot like Mason Jones, he would have been just unstoppable.
Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer and Marvin Delph coached by Eddie Sutton, Gene Keady and Pat Foster…now that is some serious talent. We only lacked a stud inside player…kind of like today.
Steve Schall wasn’t chopped liver. Averaged double figures his last two years on a team that had three stud guards (meaning he was the fourth option) and slowed it down. We’d be VERY good right now if we had another SS in the middle.
One more thing. If we’d had Scott Hastings at the 4 instead of Jimmy Counce in '78 we might have won the whole thing. He would have forced people to guard him instead of sagging off on the guards. Almost won it anyway.
“He was not a good shooter”. I think you need to rephrase that. Didn’t he lead the nation once or twice in field goal percentage? I think you are implying he wasn’t a deep threat like Marvin or Ron. His freshman and sophomore years he shot about 65% from the field. And since the three pointer was not in play yet the long range shot didn’t provide the point premium it does today.
Sidney was not a good long range shooter. Even with years to practice his outside shot in the NBA, he never got above 34% from deep, and that was taking about one trey per game on average. But he was a career 50% shooter in a league that’s not easy to do that. That’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame now, that and his relentless defense.
I attended every home game during the 77-78 season; the only time I achieved that, but what a season to watch closely.
Sidney was not a good shooter outside of 12-15 feet. He just was not. He was solid inside of that range. He made most of his shots near the hoop. Dunks, layups and mid-range jumpers. He was a scorer, not a shooter.
He was a great player. He just did not do everything well, but so what. Labron James is not a good 3 point shooter, but he makes up for it, just like Sidney did.
Michael Jordan shot 32% from deep for his career. So what? He’s still the GOAT.