The Admiral of Area Hoops Talent

By the end of this week, it'll be March, and you know what that means -- Madness! So we thought we'd get the college hoops party started right, by setting off a debate about who was the greatest player ever who went to a local school. And our answer is:

David Robinson

On March 16, 1986, Robinson's 35 points, 11 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals helped Navy shock mighty Syracuse in the NCAA tournament, and apparently he's not done scoring upsets in the college ranks. Truth be told, those of us on the question-posing end of this process assumed the top spot would go to a certain perspiration-prone Hoya. But it turns out the Admiral has plenty of admirers among our crack staff, and why not? Patrick Ewing had far greater team success, but there's plenty of reason to believe that Robinson was the better player. Start with their stats, which reveal that Robinson has the edge over Ewing in career points (2,669 to 2,184) and blocks (516 to 493), and is virtually tied in rebounds (1,314 to 1,316).

As for the argument that the Navy center's competition was, for the most part, vastly inferior to that of his Georgetown counterpart, there's the rebuttal that, by the same token, Robinson had the support of less-gifted teammates. And when the stakes were higher, it's not like the Admiral abandoned ship (don't groan yet, we're just getting started): After swabbing Syracuse's deck, he sunk red-hot Cleveland State's battleship with a game-winning basket to reach the round of eight, then he keelhauled Michigan for a career-high 50 points in the following year's tourney, albeit in a losing effort.

Face it, the man had a boatload of talent. And you have to like the career arc; with the help of tremendous athletic ability and a significant growth spurt, Robinson went from an inconsequential freshman (7.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg) to the undisputed player of the year as a senior (28.2 ppg, 11.8 rpg). Contrast that with Ewing, a hugely hyped recruit whose scoring and rebounding averages actually dropped between his sophomore and senior seasons. Replace him with Robinson on the Hoyas and they lose a little intimidation factor but gain a guy whose offensive game was clearly superior to Ewing's. Plus, Robinson had the defensive acumen to set NCAA records for most blocks in a single game (14) and season (207).

Sure, he dominated lesser foes in those days, but guess what? He's doing the same today.

Patrick Ewing

Poor, poor Ewing, finishing second once again, and this time there's no John Starks around to blame. Even his one victorious trip to the national title game in 1984 is vastly overshadowed (in the national, if not the local, memory) by the two others, Michael Jordan's game-winner/Fred Brown's turnover in 1982 and Villanova's Cinderella story in 1985. But let's finally give the man some love and applaud his marvelous college career, noting that the '84 championship came at the expense of another all-time great center, Hakeem Olajuwon (who himself would go on to repeatedly school Robinson in the NBA playoffs). Score one for the Big Fella!

Len Bias

One of sport's great, if depressing, what-if questions is how Bias might have fared in the NBA. Fortunately, we have only to contemplate his tenure at Maryland, which featured a combination of crazy athleticism, passion and feel for the game that made him arguably the most complete forward in ACC history. Or even, as a member of our staff put it, "Three words: Better. Than. Jordan."

Ralph Sampson

Then there's this guy, who merely won the Naismith award a record-tying three times. Oh yeah, and who bested Ewing in both the individual and team realms the one time his Virginia squad played Ewing's Hoyas. But, you know, it's hard to discuss Sampson's college career without mentioning a certain word, so avert your gaze, U-Va. fans, here it comes: "Chaminade."

Allen Iverson

Much like the battle for the top spot, game trumped resume for the last one, with the Answer's two years of Georgetown brilliance topping Juan Dixon's stellar four-year Maryland career. In the words of our crack staff, "Iverson was so electric, he changed the way John Thompson coached. It's hard to imagine Thompson changing the way he does anything, much less coach."

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