When discussing the best Wyoming basketball players since Dembo/Leckner (by best I mean I would pick them first for a run at Half Acre with my house on the line) the Top 10 list likely includes, in no particular order:
Bailey
Adams
Ewing
Nance
Davis
Ratliff
Slater
Jay Straight
Whitehead
Mo Alexander
I could make an argument for a couple of other inclusions on this list like Tim Breaux, Afam pre-injury, Jeron Roberts, Justin Williams and maybe a couple others. But that's basically the Top 10 I've seen since 1989.
And now comes the first hard part. I need to cut 5 off this list to get to my Top 5 After Fennis. After much rending of garments and two shots of tequila, this is my Top 5, again in no particular order:
Bailey
Adams
Slater
Nance & Ewing I can't pick and you can't make me
Ratliff
And now we get to the harder part. Slater is probably the best Wyoming rebounder I've ever seen in person. Ratliff is unquestionably the best shot blocker to ever wear the Brown and Gold. Nance's freak athleticism gets a lot of attention but he was extremely intelligent when it came to running Wyoming's defense and getting big baskets when needed. Ewing got buckets. Lots of them. But for my money, if I had to pick the top 2 best guys I've seen since the Glory Days, it would be Marcus and Josh.
Oh, sweet Jesus, is this really happening? Am I really going to pick someone over Marcus Bailey? I need to think about this now...
Marcus was deadly because he had a game that basketball largely forgot. When the game was becoming largely about the three and dribble penetration, Marcus was a mid-range player who ate 12 feet from the basket. But he was also sneaky athletic and would scare the bejeezus out of people by occasionally taking them baseline to jam it.
But what made Marcus what he was, if you ask me, is that he had no fear when the lights were on. Need a big basket at the end of a game? You're goddamn right Marcus was getting the ball. He knew it, the guys on his team knew it, and the guys on the other team knew it. Didn't matter. The late drive against Gonzaga and the 3 in the MWC tournament against Vegas are all you need to see about this.
But this Adams, he's got some dog to him too. That step back 3 against SDSU in the tournament last year was clutch. If I had Marcus and Josh on the same team, and I needed a bucket with under 10 seconds on the clock, I would draw up the play for Marcus. But it would be close.
That leaves me two places where Josh separates from the pack; on defense and with his absolutely freakish athleticism.
For the past two seasons Adams would draw the toughest defensive assignments, and he would largely lock them down. Jamaal Franklin? Check. Xavier Thames? Check. Tony Snell? Check. Derrick Marks? Shit, please. Adams destroyed and humbled Marks in the MWC semis last year so badly that I think the guy quit the game.
So that's how I see it. Marcus is (slightly) better in the clutch than Josh but it's close. Adams is more athletic and a better defender. He is also the best we've had at dribble penetration in a long time.
For these reasons, and others, I believe Josh Adams is the best Cowboy basketball player since Fennis.
Bailey
Adams
Ewing
Nance
Davis
Ratliff
Slater
Jay Straight
Whitehead
Mo Alexander
I could make an argument for a couple of other inclusions on this list like Tim Breaux, Afam pre-injury, Jeron Roberts, Justin Williams and maybe a couple others. But that's basically the Top 10 I've seen since 1989.
And now comes the first hard part. I need to cut 5 off this list to get to my Top 5 After Fennis. After much rending of garments and two shots of tequila, this is my Top 5, again in no particular order:
Bailey
Adams
Slater
Nance & Ewing I can't pick and you can't make me
Ratliff
And now we get to the harder part. Slater is probably the best Wyoming rebounder I've ever seen in person. Ratliff is unquestionably the best shot blocker to ever wear the Brown and Gold. Nance's freak athleticism gets a lot of attention but he was extremely intelligent when it came to running Wyoming's defense and getting big baskets when needed. Ewing got buckets. Lots of them. But for my money, if I had to pick the top 2 best guys I've seen since the Glory Days, it would be Marcus and Josh.
Oh, sweet Jesus, is this really happening? Am I really going to pick someone over Marcus Bailey? I need to think about this now...
Marcus was deadly because he had a game that basketball largely forgot. When the game was becoming largely about the three and dribble penetration, Marcus was a mid-range player who ate 12 feet from the basket. But he was also sneaky athletic and would scare the bejeezus out of people by occasionally taking them baseline to jam it.
But what made Marcus what he was, if you ask me, is that he had no fear when the lights were on. Need a big basket at the end of a game? You're goddamn right Marcus was getting the ball. He knew it, the guys on his team knew it, and the guys on the other team knew it. Didn't matter. The late drive against Gonzaga and the 3 in the MWC tournament against Vegas are all you need to see about this.
But this Adams, he's got some dog to him too. That step back 3 against SDSU in the tournament last year was clutch. If I had Marcus and Josh on the same team, and I needed a bucket with under 10 seconds on the clock, I would draw up the play for Marcus. But it would be close.
That leaves me two places where Josh separates from the pack; on defense and with his absolutely freakish athleticism.
For the past two seasons Adams would draw the toughest defensive assignments, and he would largely lock them down. Jamaal Franklin? Check. Xavier Thames? Check. Tony Snell? Check. Derrick Marks? Shit, please. Adams destroyed and humbled Marks in the MWC semis last year so badly that I think the guy quit the game.
So that's how I see it. Marcus is (slightly) better in the clutch than Josh but it's close. Adams is more athletic and a better defender. He is also the best we've had at dribble penetration in a long time.
For these reasons, and others, I believe Josh Adams is the best Cowboy basketball player since Fennis.
