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1-10 11-20
21-30 31-40 41-50
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(A note on the rankings. Each player is listed with the years that they played - 92 for example means the 1991-92 season - height, and the position (s) played, roughly in order of frequency.)
31.Jaren Jackson (86-89) (6-4) (2, 3) - Spent the first 3 years of his Hoya career looking
for a position, but kept working at it and emerged as a starter as an undersized small forward in his senior season. A great defender, his career included an inordinate number of highlights in relatively limited time, including a spectacular payback dunk over Pitt's Jerome Lane and a then Big East record 38 points against Seton Hall during a junior season in which he averaged less than 9 points.
The work ethic served him well at the next level where he was able to parlay his defensive intensity into an 11 year career. He is the only former Hoya to have earned an NBA championship ring, averaging 8.2 playoff ppg with the 1999 San Antonio Spurs.
32. Jeff Green (05-Current) (6-8) (4, 5, 3) - Already working on a wonderful career, Jeff is certainly the best passing big man the Hoyas have ever had and among the very best outside shooters among that group as well.
While it is appropriate that early departures can earn a fabulous living in the NBA, one cannot help but regret the extent to which his likely early exit to the League will stop him from cracking the very top echelon of Hoya greats.
33. Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (98-01) (6-11) (5) - A three year starter and two time Big East third team performer, Ruben had the physical tools - a well-muscled 6-11, he was a good leaper for his size - to have truly dominated the center position. His struggles to master the position were supremely documented in an MCIGuy Hoyatalk epistle that should be permanently archived in the Hoya History site.
A Big East Scholar Athlete in 2001, he had a universal reputation for unusual intelligence and reflection. He might have been a better player, however, if that reflection had not been so readily apparent on the court.
34. Gerald Riley (01-04) (6-6) (3, 2) - Gerald Riley's Hoya career is perplexing, in that his place on many of the Hoya all time lists is quite high (scoring 13th, steals 12th), but one is left with the sense that he put up a lot of these numbers because of the general dearth of talent in the program in the program when he played - he got a lot of minutes because there was literally nobody else. He could hit the jump shot and make the occasional steal but his game was otherwise pretty limited.
A comparison of Gerald's game to Jaren Jackson's, who was stuck for the first 3 years of his career behind Tillmon, Bryant and Charles Smith and did not start until his senior year is illuminating. Physically similar (he was a little taller than Jackson) Gerald was a poorer rebounder, a poorer passer, shot worse (.403 verses .439) from the field and was not in Jackson's class as a defender. One place where Gerald did shine was at the free throw line where his career 82.2% shooting is the best in Hoya history.
35. Steve Martin (76-79) (6-4) (3, 2) - The first of a long line of Louisiana Hoyas (including Perry McDonald, Jonathan Edwards, Jaren Jackson, Joey Brown and Duane Spencer), Steve Martin steadily progressed, playing sparingly at both guard and small forward as a freshman and sophomore, assuming a key role as sixth man and occasional starter in his junior year and blossoming into a 12.7 ppg scorer at small forward as a senior. The 1978-79 team was an incredibly well balanced scoring team as Martin's average ranked him fourth behind Sleepy (16.6), Sky (16.2), and John Duren (14.6).
Martin was a competent rebounder, a great passer and a good mid-range shooter. A smart player he scored a lot on cuts to the basket and strong finishes. The Hoya whose game he most closely resembled was Eric Smith, who would have spent most of his freshman year on the bench watching how Steve Martin played the game.
36. Don Reid (92-95) (6-8) (4, 5) - Don Reid went after rebounds like a pit bull goes after steak and with the same subtlety. His offensive game was largely limited to put back jams, but his put back lay-up to beat Weber State in the 1995 NCAA's was one of the prettiest Hoya plays of an entire decade.
That he was drafted 29th in the NBA draft was a miracle. That he lasted eight years in the league was a tribute to heart and Hoya defense the way it used to be played.
37. Robert Churchwell (91-94) (6-6) (3) - Robert Churchwell could run. Robert Churchwell could jump. Robert Churchwell could make jump shots. Robert Churchwell made the Big East all-rookie team and was a four year starter. His failure to develop as a basketball player beyond his freshman year is among the most frustrating careers in Hoya history, particularly since he played against defenses that were collapsing around first Zo and then Othella and there were a lot of open shots available.
Churchwell is the leading nominee ever for least assertive Hoya. It was if he was in an FBI Witness protection program and didn't want to get noticed.
38. Billy Lynn (73-76) (6-9) (4, 5) - An athletic, long-armed 6-9 forward who was part of John Thompson's first recruiting class, Billy always looked like he was on the verge of stardom but never quite got there. In part, it might have been that he was fighting for space in the key with Merlin Wilson as part of the ongoing inability that John Thompson had in getting two big men to play together effectively. Nevertheless, he ranks 25th in scoring and 12th in rebounding among Thompson era players.
39. Boubacar Aw (95-98) (6-7) (3, 4) - Always a good defensive player, Boubacar's development on offense (he shot over 50% in each of his four years and averaged 11.4 as a senior) was a pleasant surprise in the generally dismal late 90's. His best shot was a mid-range jumper that had basically been extinct among the Hoya's since Mark Tillmon's graduation.
40. Ralph Dalton (83-86) (6-9) (5, 4) - It is probably a good thing that the internet did not exist in the summer of 1981 or it is likely that the Hoya Talk board would have imploded from excitement.
Not only did the Hoyas have the consensus #1 in the class coming in the fall (Patrick) but both Anthony Jones and Bill Martin were consensus top 10 high school recruits. Surprisingly, much of the buzz that summer concerned a fourth (and lesser known) recruit named Ralph Dalton who was big (a legitimate 6-9), mobile, and ripping up the Kenner league. Then the buzz ended as quickly as it started when Ralph incurred a terrible achilles injury that caused him to miss the entire 1981-2 season and play the rest of his career with one foot drooping. His career stats - over 500 points and almost 500 rebounds - don't look that impressive, although it was kind of hard to put up points when you played behind Patrick Ewing for your first three seasons. The numbers are pretty good, however, for a one-legged player.
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