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Rick Barry greater than the "Logo" Jerry West.

May 13th 2012 23:47

Yes the Chris Mullin retirement night made me do some thinking only because I saw one of the most polarizing Golden State Warriors of all time come to new owner Joe Lacob's defense that night in the midst of being rained with a chorus of boos. Even though I was never able to see Rick Barry play live every other day since I was not born yet, it hasn't stopped me from watching old games and looking up all the statistical accolades of NBA greats of the past. I love basketball and it only made sense to me I should at least know of past players including those of the home town Golden State Warriors.

And yet as I have gotten older and watched more basketball and looked up more information about the game's past and it's players, one of my most favorite things to do is to compare great players. Instead of Jerry West being present that night (he is on board with the Golden State ownership as a consultant and a very minority owner), Rick Barry toko the microphone and chastized those who evidently made too much noise for Joe Lacob to talk over. Sure the whole night was ruined for Chris Mullin, but it only reaffirmed my position on Rick Barry as a man and as a player. I think Rick Barry is a better basketball player than Jerry West. It's not an indictment on Jerry West, it's just my personal opinion.

I don't think it's entirely heresy for basketball aficionados to at least consider the suggestion if they actually sit down and do their homework. I'm sure a bunch of Los Angeles Lakers fanatics would suggest I'm crazy. Perhaps as crazy as saying Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson do not even deserve to be compared. But that's best put aside for a different time. I recently talked about the possibility Rick Barry's career is more impressive than West's with a friend who immediately scoffed at my notion. It makes sense at first glance for a lot of people on the periphery to laugh at the idea Jerry West was less of a player than Rick Barry. But I think his reaction was based more on the aura surrounding Jerry West. West was a Laker, "the Logo", and an all around good guy. He was beloved by fans and his other nickname "Mr. Clutch" suggested notions of buzzer beaters and game winning shots under duress.

Rick Barry was more vocal and outspoken, not afraid what people thought of him. He wasn't "the Logo," but instead "The Miami Greyhound" and shot underhanded free throws without shame. It explains why he only lasted so long as a broadcaster and why he never was offered a coaching gig in the NBA despite his wealth of knowledge about the game. Barry was an arrogant man and may have been considered unlikable by some teammates, but he got the most out of the marginal talent he was surrounded with most of his career. This, for me, is one of the biggest issues I have with West's legacy.

Not only was he fortunate enough to be drafted onto the NBA's marquee franchise, he only won one NBA title despite being part of nine NBA Finals appearances when he was playing for the Lakers. In contrast, Barry spent his blossoming younger years in the rival ABA, where he averaged over 30 points per game twice in his four seasons from age 24 to 27. West is also about six years older than Barry. His Lakers often beat the Warriors when matched up in the playoffs simply because they were a better team. When people talk about "The Big Three" and the collection of talent on one particular team, that notion has hardly been foreign to NBA franchises throughout the league's history. I don't think West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Gail Goodrich is too shabby of a roster.

Rick Barry played with a few notables including Nate Thurmond, Clifford Ray, and a young Jamaal Wilkes the season Barry helped lead the Warriors to their only title with the franchise in California. I know the statistical minded are inventing new formulas aside from the obvious averages to determine a player's value and impact on a team in each season. I, for one, will not really put much stock in win shares, player efficiency, and the like. I'm not dismissing it, but I don't feel I really need it to make my argument.

Look at the basic numbers and accomplishments. They have each one championship, double digit All Star Games appearances, an NBA Finals MVP award, and an All Star MVP award. Both have led the league in scoring once, but Barry is the overall scoring average leader in the ABA with a 30.5 ppg. West led the league in assists during the 1971-72 season, the only championship team West was on. His career assists of 6.7 best Barry's career average of 5.1, but again please go back and look who West passed to as opposed to Barry. In contrast Barry led the league in steals one season with 2.9 and was in the top 10 in steals four times in his NBA career. West never came close to that feat. And for all the ribbing Barry took and continues to take about shooting underhanded free throws, Barry is the career percentage leader in the ABA and led the NBA in free throw percentage six times. He is also third all time in the NBA record book with a 90% career average. Barry also averaged 6.7 rebounds for his career as opposed to West's 5.8. West's career scoring average of 27 ppg beats Barry's 24.8 mark. But their shooting percentages (West 47% and Barry's 46%) are practically identical. Barry also averaged 10.6 rebounds in his first season in the NBA, something Jerry West never came close to doing.

At the end of the day, comparing greats to one another is a fascinating thing to do for basketball fans. It is for me at least. Jerry West was the more liked and more popular player of his day. As was John Havlicek. But Rick Barry was just as, if not, more versatile than either of those players with a competitive mean streak in him that rivals any of the game's most maniacal when it comes to winning. Jerry West may have beat Barry's team more often, but he played on a better team. When I think of Jerry West, I think of a great player who was also embellished a bit because of his stature and personality within the league. To me, Rick Barry seemed to get more out of his talent and career than West even though he played on lesser teams. He won a title with a lesser team and West won only one title with a title contending teams for multiple seasons with future Hall of Famers as teammates.

One of the fun things I also do is wonder about the circumstances of a great player's fate. What if Rick Barry was drafted by the Lakers and was in West's shoes? Obviously it's all speculation, but I really believe if Rick Barry was in Jerry West's place, the Lakers would already be past the Boston Celtics for the most championships in franchise history.

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Rick Barry is better than Jerry West. At least I think so.

April 13th 2012 02:08

Being born in San Francisco and loving basketball, I've grown up watching the local Golden State Warriors essentially run on a treadmill since I was a single digit year old kid watching pro hoops on television. And so it seems fitting a franchise seemingly so cursed, snake bitten, and jinxed as the Warriors would have a night in which one of their Hall of Fame players jersey retirement night was ruined due to a prolonged berating of the new team owner Joe Lacob.

But it was also a night that made me think about one man associated with the Golden State Warriors in a winning light: Richard Francis Barry. Now I'm 26 so no I was not around to see local games or nationally televised games on a nightly basis of Rick Barry. But I've watched the legendary 1975 Warriors playoff games on the way to their only Bay Area championship winning season and I've seen Barry's infamous underhand free throw form. And I know when he took the microphone to help a clearly overwhelmed and speechless Joe Lacob who refused to forge through his speech despite the boo birds, I came to think about Barry in an even more respectful way.

Of all the people down on the floor that night, Don Nelson and Al Attles included, I don't think any other person had the fortitude to talk to a bunch of frustrated Warrior fans booing their current owner because their team didn't live up to the promises he made for this season. Al Attles and Nate Thurmond are legends in their own right, but let's be honest, Rick Barry is one of the most polarizing characters in Bay Area sports history. Of course, he comes across as arrogant and cocky, but he also backed it up with his play on the court. He was accused of being a racist as a player and broadcaster, not a great teammate, and was not a beloved figure for Warrior fans to be quite frank. But he won and delivered more than any one else did not named Attles and Thurmond down on that floor on March 20th, 2012.

I have been to many Warrior games and seen season ticket holders honored in between timeouts. When asked who their favorite player was, almost inevitably, Chris Mullin is the name heard over the loudspeaker. And in this moment at halftime of a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they decided to ruin his jersey retirement because of their distaste for Joe Lacob's false promises of hope in 2012. And it made me think even further about how Rick Barry never got a chance to be a coach because he was too old school and would not mesh with the younger generations. On this night, it couldn't be more apparent Barry would never be able to relate, but it explains what made him so great too. Out of respect for Mullin and Lacob, Barry's strong personality was not going to sit on the sideline and endure a tribute turned mockery for the fans' enjoyment.

It was on that night, where Jerry West was probably golfing at the Riviera Club in Southern California and nowhere to be seen or heard, that I decided Rick Barry was better than the court of public opinion gave him credit for. And in my next post, due to further digging on my part out of mere interest, I plan to lay out a simple explanation for why I think Rick Barry is a better player than the man known as the "The Logo" and "Mr. Clutch." This is out of no disrespect to Jerry West, who was completely great in his own right, but sometimes a player's greatness is all about time, place, and one's popularity among the masses. This is not always the case, but when comparing Hall of Famers of similar positions like West and Barry, I believe it to be so.

To be continued.......

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Kevin Garnett- In A Class By Himself

March 21st 2012 08:56

When you think of great NBA players who paved the way for the wave of NBA stars that came out of high school in the mid to late 1990s and all the way up to 2005, one name comes to mind. It's not Darryl Dawkins or Moses Malone. Not Shawn Kemp or Connie Hawkins. It's a 35 year old power forward once known as "The Kid" and now more often referred to as "KG" or 'The Big Ticket." Kevin Garnett is the ultimate superstar who led the trend for talented high schoolers to become some of the NBA's best players. In his 17th season as one of the best power forwards to ever play in the NBA, Kevin Garnett could have become one of the more unappreciated stars of his generation.

No longer flashy and bouncy in the legs to the tune of younger high schoolers like Josh Smith or Dwight Howard, Garnett relies on his intensity, unselfishness, and completeness as a teammate. It's remarkable he has been around so long and been as effective as he has been like Tim Duncan. To me his wholeness as a basketball player represents having experience, intangibles, and fundamentals trumps the skill of raw athleticism younger players may have over aging veterans. But Garnett is not a selfish superstar. He's not an egomaniacal shot-putter, but he was definitely the leader in the clubhouses of both Minnesota and Boston. Sure guard play in the NBA is more exciting to watch and fans are entertained more by talented perimeter players, but basketball aficionados really understand greatness does not lie in highlights alone.

KG has one MVP award, a Defensive Player of the Year Award, and one NBA title. He was a fixture in the All Star game from 1997 to 2011 and missed it this season. Only once did Garnett rank in the top three in scoring and he has never averaged above 25 points in a season. This is a star who has never averaged more than 19 field goal attempts per game. His career average sits at 15.6 FGA and his career scoring average is 19.4 points per game. From 1998 to 2007 Garnett averaged never lower than 10 rebounds per game or 20 points per game. Want to know what sets Garnett apart from many superstars in this era? His under-the-radar efficiency that can only truly be appreciated by basketball junkies, scouts, and NBA stat geeks eager to equate such intangibles with more detailed stats such as defensive efficiency rating, win shares, and plus/minus.

He won't have the multiple rings of Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan. In 2003 LeBron James, if only by circumstance, trumped Garnett's high school jump in 1995. He's no longer a fixture on ESPN unless he's mixing it up down low or getting into heated trash-talking exchanges. But in 2012, a few games this season from Kevin Garnett reminded me why I consider him easily to be one of the top five power forwards to ever play in the NBA. One was the seemingly insurmountable comeback in Orlando when the Celtics looked dead in the water. Instead of giving up and throwing in the towel, Garnett took on Dwight Howard on this January 26th night, just three days after destroying the Magic at home 87-56. En route to being down by over 27 points at one point, Garnett helped Boston hold Orlando to 8 fourth quarter points as the Celtics came back to win 91-83 in Orlando.

Last Wednesday in Oakland, the Celtics were facing a ramped up Warrior squad motivated by Mark Jackson to show the home crowd they could compete without two of their best players being gone due to a recent trade. Garnett had his way underneath and in the final seconds of a close game, Paul Pierce, the usual closer for the Celtics, found Garnett on the wing for the game winning jumper. He doesn't need the attention or the last shot attempt ever time. He will do what he can to win and that's why any player who has been on Garnett's team doesn't say a bad word about him. And how many memorable moments does Garnett have of those? Not many but that's because he does so much more than simply jacking up shots every quarter or when the clock winds down. He exerts so much energy on every possession you can't help but love the blue collar attitude Garnett plays with. He became one of the more complete front court players and he never played a minute for a college program. Pretty impressive to be that fundamentally sound.

And while his stats aren't jaw dropping at first glance, Garnett's style of play exlains why he eventually got his NBA championship in 2008. I can see why he would get under a lot of opponents' skins, but it's no secret his teammates love being on his side. Garnett is fiercely private in his life, but can be openly engaging in interviews sometimes. He's all heart, tenacity, and unselfishness wrapped up in one. And finally this past weekend in Denver, Garnett's five assists put his statistics in a different paradigm. KG became the sole member of the 20,000 point, 10,000 rebound, 5,000 assist, 1,500 block, and 1,500 steal club. Finally, for those who may not have that defining Kevin Garnett highlight soaked in their memory, they can respect the all-around kind of game The Big Ticket brings night in and night out.

I give the Minnesota Timberwolves nothing but credit for trading Kevin in the 2007 offseason. Minnesota wasn't able to build enough around him so they traded him to Boston for Ryan Gomes, Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Wayne Ellington, and Johnny Flynn. Garnett was criticized for not doing enough to get Minnesota over the hump, but it's also interesting to note the only player left from that deal on the Minnesota roster is Wayne Ellington, which means Minnesota had already rebuilt again after acquiring those pieces. Seems to tell me more about the Timberwolves being lucky to have one of the most team oriented superstars in NBA history. I love watching Kevin Garnett play and I always will. He's not underpaid, but he definitely is under appreciated by the athletic-crazed fans of today's NBA.

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Tourney Time 2012

March 13th 2012 08:18

I really don't understand the point of NCAA basketball conference tournaments.I was looking over some of this season's tournament winners and it sort of boggled my mind. I guess if St. Bonaventure hadn't knocked off Xavier on Sunday in the Atlantic 10 tournament final, a different team from a list of tourney snubs would be headed to the big dance instead of the NIT. Drexel, Seton Hall, Miami, Northwestern, Washington, and Nevada would have been one of the teams who missed the cut for better or worse. Selection committee chairman Jeff Hathaway would not explain the details of the decision making process, but even if he did that wouldn't satisfy schools who failed to make the cut. And really the conference tournament are partly to blame because you get teams like Florida State and Colorado winning conference tournaments to earn an at-large bid. I'm not downplaying teams' successes in conference tournaments. They are merely playing the games scheduled for them to compete in, but it seems somewhat erroneous to have a regular season followed by a conference tournament if the team that wins a tournament gets an automatic bid. Even if that team did not have a better regular season. There is a reason the regular season and postseason are two different things.

The conference tournaments serve as a type of second-chance for any team who may catch the better teams in their conference disinterested. Top seeds Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky all lost in the conference tournament and didn't seem terribly bothered by it. Nor should they be because they deserved top seeds as the most dominant teams in the regular season. Washington and Cal lead the Pac-12 this season, but they collapsed in the tournament and may have only one or two real NBA worthy players in the entire conference this season. Nevertheless, Colorado propelled themselves into the tournament in their inaugural Pac-12 season. Cincinnati also used this season's Big East tournament to upset Syracuse, but then Louisville beat them to earn a seeding

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Former Tulane football coach Bob Toledo would help improve any struggling offense in the country

February 28th 2012 19:53

Coaching runs in Bob Toldeo's blood and football runs even depper in his veins. Originally from San Jose, California, Toledo played football at three different colleges (San Jose State, San Jose City College, and San Francisco State) from 1964-1967. Toledo played quarterback and played in the Camellia Bowl back in 1967 in Sacramento, California against Don Coryell's San Diego State Aztecs. After graduating, he tried out for the San Francisco 49ers but failed to make the roster.

With his playing days through, Toledo got right into coaching back at his high school, Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco. Right after graduating in 1968, Toledo began coaching the freshmen Riordan Crusaders and by 1970 he was the head coach. I know such things because my dad was one of his players. In his mid twenties, Toledo took over the Riordan varsity team and coached from 1970-1972. Eventually, he went to UC Riverside and my dad followed him there too. My dad's football career ended at UC Riverside, but he was never too far removed to remember the influence Coach Toledo had on him and a bunch of other players along the way

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NBA All Star Weekend 2012 isn't really necessary if you ask me

February 20th 2012 08:15

I don't mean to sound like a grouchy and frustrated basketball fan, but this shortened season has soured me on the idea a real All Star weekend in Orlando is worthwhile in 2012. The NBA would never pass on an opportunity to soak up more corporate dollars and television air time, who can blame them?

But does it really reflect what it means to be an All Star anymore? Similar to the Pro Bowl, I'm of the mind simply picking the rosters and labeling them as deserving of the title to be called an "All Star" or "Pro Bowler" is good enough for me now. I don't need to see a pointless exhibition where the players are half invested and just toying around. I'd hate to be at the game too, since the price of those tickets are in the thousands, unless you are sitting up where you need binoculars

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The Golden State Warriors have got to be a little cursed

February 15th 2012 10:13

Neophyte Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson instituted a policy of energy, effort, and defense for the 2012 season. Not the same run and the gun Warriors of the past few seasons under Don Nelson and Keith Smart. And in this 66 game shortened season the Warriors are 29th in scoring defense at just over 100 points and are 4th in offensive scoring at 99 points. Scoring is down league wide, but the Warriors are really the same team under Nelson and Smart with a few minor tweaks. But they still rank 21st in opponent field goal percentage at 45.1% and are the 24th worst rebounding team in the league at 44.1 per game.

While Jackson may have the gameplan for the job, he certainly doesn't have the horses to implement exactly what he wants to do. He has talent but not a complete roster, which means he does not have a complete team. The new ownership group of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber have promised to be a passionate and very involved ownership to get a winning product on the field. But as a native of the Bay Area and with basketball being my favorite sport, the futility with which the Warriors have operated in the front office and on the court has been more than apparent over the years

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Eli Manning: No longer just Peyton's younger brother

February 7th 2012 00:21

I guess it's safe to say Eli Manning may not be in the conversation as one of the top three quarterbacks currently in the NFL. But there is no argument he is the most clutch quarterback with the game on the line in the final quarter. He proved it more than once this season and the Giants rode the hot hand all the way to a second Super Bowl in four seasons. He did it in regular season games and he did it on the road in the NFC Championship in a hostile environment against of the NFL's best defenses this season.

And in the fourth quarter with around three minutes to go, Manning must have felt at ease. He'd been here before, this was not new territory. I think his perfect throw to Mario Manningham exemplified all the composure with which he played under. If you want to compare the Manning brothers, all well and good, but if it's solely about numbers and stats there really is no comparison. Peyton is five years older and has amassed more numbers and broken passing records that have stood for some time in this league

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This NBA season, the focus of back-to-back games are put to the forefront. But does it matter?

January 31st 2012 09:16

Basketball is by far my favorite sport and the NBA is my favorite sports league of all time. But it is one of the most fascinating sports leagues to actually research and learn about. It's a league that has had its share of controversies, scandals, and naysayers since its creation in June of 1946. The 2011-2012 season, like the 1998-1999 season, features many back-to-backs and back-to-back-to-backs. Talk about putting strain on your roster and if you think some of the injuries are not directly related to the lack of a training camp and little rest in between games please think again.

This is simply the situation the players and owners had to deal with since the lockout prevented the season from starting on time. It's no longer time to complain about it, but Stern and his cronies in their New York offices sure were not shy about cramming as many games as possible to make up for the two months of regular season games lost. The fact the regular season ends April 26th and the playoffs start just two nights later should tell most NBA junkies all they need to know. There is a pure rush to squeeze as much out of this season as possible and the Finals are ensured to go no later than June 26th

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Revenge on the New England Patriots' mind in Super Bowl 46

January 23rd 2012 06:17

So the matchup is set and the betting lines are out for Super Bowl XLVI. New England is a 3.5 point favorite and the total is 55. Funny enough how Eli and his teammates are underdogs in the home stadium of his older brother for the final NFL game of the season. I contend it is hard to beat teams twice in a row in football especially. Coaches have more to use to coach up their players with regards to film and the mistakes that may have won or lost them the game. But is there such thing as revenge over a Super Bowl that happened back in 2008?

With all the turnover amongst players and coaching staffs in this era of sports, it's almost unimaginable to think the 2012 version of these teams are thinking about 2008. But a good number of players on those teams then still remember and haven't forgotten Super Bowl XLII. The holdovers probably already initiated the newcomers via free agency and the draft about the matchup in their November 6th game this season

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Comment by Book It
on Eli Manning: No longer just Peyton's younger brother

February 12th 2012 18:22

I appreciate the kind words James! Yep that's where Eli Manning's career is right now

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Comment by Book It
on Hawaii Point Shaving Rumors

November 30th 2011 08:54

no problem thanks for the note!

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Comment by Bookit
on 2011's Best Starting Pitchers

November 23rd 2011 22:13

Madison Baumgarner is no. 9 on your list? I'm from the Bay Area and while he's been great you can't put him ahead of Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain. On a side note isn't it amazing how baseball stats have moved to more detailed mathematical formulas instead of wins, losses, and just ERA. I think so. While I think a lot of the nerdy stats are meaningless, the Fielding Independent Pitching and Batted Balls In Play stats do speak volumes.

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Comment by Bookit
on 11/2011 Historical Player Profile: Mark Brunell

November 18th 2011 21:19

Thanks man for the compliments! I have to believe the only reason Mark Brunell is still in the league is so he can collect a check due to declaring bankruptcy a few years ago due to real estate investments gone awry.

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Comment by Anonymous
on 11/2011 Player Profile: Brandon Flowers

November 14th 2011 06:21

Thanks for the comments on my last article Joe. I'm a big fan of Flowers since watching him back during his days at Virginia Tech.

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Comment by Matthew Lottice
on Cade Foster, Adam Meyer, and NFL Week #9

November 6th 2011 19:07

Wassup Griffey Junior. If you only started following football in the 2000s you need to realize there is a reason Suisham has been hired by three of the four teams in the NFC East and still has a NFL job. Do you know he holds the distinction of being the only place kicker to kick four field goals of 40 yards or more in a single game? And he has done that twice.

I'm sure when you think of great NFL kickers Suisham does not come to mind. Yes he was undrafted but besides Janikowski name me another kicker who was actually worth a high draft pick. Check out "Mr. Irrelevant" a few years ago (Ryan Succop Chiefs kicker) was one of the better kickers in college out of South Carolina.

But guess what. I'd bet Suisham's misses last night would have looked better than Cade Foster's. Those kicks weren't even close man. Foster reminds of me Cowboy kicker David Buehler out of USC. Some kickers have some bulk to them because they played linebacker or some other positions in earlier in their careers but it hardly makes them good kickers.

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Comment by Matthew Lottice (Book It)
on 11/2011 Historical Player Profile: Jim McMahon

November 5th 2011 21:27

I always thought Jim McMahon was an underrated QB because he was overshadowed by those incredible Bears defenses and an all world running back. McMahon was one of those rebellious individuals who liked to challenge authortiy. Maybe that's why I liked his character so much. I heard a few years ago he fell on hard times financially but saw him when I went out to South Lake Tahoe for the Edgewood Golf Course celebrity and ex-athlete golf tournament held in July. He was out there with brightly colored checkered pants and playing barefoot!

And there was always those sunglasses he wore due to being partially blind but I always thought they were a cool look. Tony Sparano does the same thing since he suffered an eye accident as a teenager working in a restaurant. Something about wearing those darks shades makes people think all men are trying to be like Corey Hart (of "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night") fame.

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Comment by Anonymous
on The most hyped college football game in 2011

November 5th 2011 21:14