Deepest team ever?

C: Iti, Nance
PF: Withers, Pigford
SF: Basden, Drayton
SG: Plavich, Basden, Sager, Lewis
PG: Baldwin, Goldwire, Lewis

I know some of these players have not played a single minute yet, but can you guys ever remeber a Niner’s team this deep and talented across the board?

This is the first time in a long while were an injury across the frontline will not totally disrupt things as in years past. We actually have solid backup players across the frontline that can step up for short periods of time.

[i]Originally posted by TheShowDawg[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 11:44 AM [b] C: Iti, Nance PF: Withers, Pigford SF: Basden, Drayton SG: Plavich, Basden, Sager, Lewis PG: Baldwin, Goldwire, Lewis

[/b]


I’ll go with most talented frontcourt that I can remember and potentially the deepest if Drayton and Nance are productive. Withers will be one of the all-time Niner greats if he stays 4 years. The guards have to prove themselves, IMO.

No question we are the deepest we have been since I’ve been part of Niner Nation (1993). I don’t know how deep we were in '77, but I know the '98 and '01 teams weren’t this deep. Depth is a double-edged sword. If everyone accepts their roles it will be deadly for our opponents. If not, then we will have some of the same chemistry problems we had the two seasons ago when some don’t get the PT they desire.

I would love to see a game of the '98 team versus this years team. It would be a great game.

Position 98 Team 05 Team
PG Colson Baldwin
SG Downs Plavich
SF Shaw Basden
PF Johnson Withers
C Price Iti

I see a #3 hanging on the wall in 07. :slight_smile:

[i]Originally posted by LeftyNiner[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 12:15 PM [b] Withers will be one of the all-time Niner greats if he stays 4 years. [/b]
If Withers stays 4 years, you can retire his jersey the day after his sr. season ends.

on a somewhat related note, would you ever retire the jersey of a player who didn’t stay 4 years (outside of Haywood :frowning: )??

[i]Originally posted by X-49er[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 12:31 PM [b] Price vs. Iti

[/b]


Kelvin would own Martin.

[b]on a somewhat related note, would you ever retire the jersey of a player who didn't stay 4 years (outside of Haywood )?? [/b]

My answer is yes, but the better question is where is the cutoff? 2 years? 3 years? I think 3 years meets the criteria. Two is iffy, and he would have to be a 1st team All-America to warrant jersey retirement if you turn pro. I know you guys hate UNC references, but I’m going to use one. Could you imagine Carolina not retiring MJ’s jersey even though he only stayed 3 years? If Withers turns pro after this season, I still think he deserves the honor.

Who is Haywood? Honestly, that’s disrespect.

[i]Originally posted by 3ball[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 12:37 PM [b] Who is Haywood? Honestly, that's disrespect. [/b]
Obviously he meant Hayward. I don't think he meant any disrespect.
[i]Originally posted by NormanNiner+Aug 11 2004, 12:46 PM-->
[b]QUOTE[/b] (NormanNiner @ Aug 11 2004, 12:46 PM)
[i]Originally posted by X-49er[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 01:31 PM [b] No question we are the deepest we have been since I've been part of Niner Nation (1993). I don't know how deep we were in '77, but I know the '98 and '01 teams weren't this deep. Depth is a double-edged sword. If everyone accepts their roles it will be deadly for our opponents. If not, then we will have some of the same chemistry problems we had the two seasons ago when some don't get the PT they desire.

I would love to see a game of the '98 team versus this years team. It would be a great game.

Position 98 Team 05 Team
PG Colson Baldwin
SG Downs Plavich
SF Shaw Basden
PF Johnson Withers
C Price Iti

I see a #3 hanging on the wall in 07. :slight_smile: [/b]


I dunno X, in addition to Hayward, that team had Galen Young, Kedric Smith (solid) & Diego off the bench. They were a little thin at the 5, but they had quality depth at every other position.

One thing I seem to remember is that they weren’t the best FT shooting team, but with DeMarco, Diego & Colson, they were still worlds better than recent Niner teams.

[b]I dunno X, in addition to Hayward, that team had Galen Young, Kedric Smith (solid) & Diego off the bench. They were a little thin at the 5, but they had quality depth at every other position. [/b]

Closer than I first thought, NA. Was Tremaine Gardner on that team as well, or was '98 the year he sat out for knee rehab? This will be the first year I can remember having two true 5’s. We usually play a PF at C, or have only one center. There have been years where we’ve been two-deep everywhere but the 5, but this season we have depth (and decent quality) at every position.

[i]Originally posted by X-49er[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 01:59 PM [b] We usually play a PF at C, or have only one center. There have been years where we've been two-deep everywhere but the 5, but this season we have depth (and decent quality) at every position. [/b]
Nance isn't a true 5. A little short for center.

What about 2001?

Diego, Demon
Jobey, ?
Rodney, JZ
Cam, ?
Kenkay

We added 7 guys that year.

[i]Originally posted by NinerAdvocate[/i]@Aug 11 2004, 01:34 PM [b] One thing I seem to remember is that they weren't the best FT shooting team... [/b]
When have we had one? :D
[b]Nance isn't a true 5. A little short for center.[/b]

He’s 6’8" Lefty, and that’s what Martin is listed at according to the NBA pre-draft camp. :wink:

We are deep by today’s standards. Most teams have 7 players max and the rest keep the bench warm. Actually, when you think of the top teams, only about 7 guys play. Maybe a team with a lot of talent and no stars is a curse? Playing time will obviously be an issue. Much better than the alternative though.

[i]Originally posted by Anborn+Aug 11 2004, 12:32 PM-->
[b]QUOTE[/b] (Anborn @ Aug 11 2004, 12:32 PM)

FYI, Shanderic Downs wasnt on the 98 team. We had Delonte, Deigo, and Dee all as freshman. KP and Galen transfered in as juniors. Charles and Tremaine should have been on that team but neither played the whole season. Versile played with a partially torn acl the whole year. I think our stating lineup for most games that season was Demarco, KP, Versile, Galen and Shawn. That was the team ranked preseason #15 but lost 2 of the first three games to unranked App St. and USC I believe. If we would have had a healthy Versile, Hayward and Tremaine I think that team would have done major damage. They lost to #1 seeded Carolina who sported 4 current NBA players in OT in the second round of the tourney. I think this team with Iti is the deepest we have had in a while on paper. But remember alot of crap can happen between now and the season. If we run our offense through Withers we should be hard to stop. I’m hoping our coaching staff will introduce Curtis to the rest of the team. He’s been our best player the last 2 years, and he never has plays run for him, and he never gets touches in the post. I just hope the guards will be smart enough to get him the ball this year. I think we should definetly have be a good team come March.

[b]If we run our offense through Withers we should be hard to stop. I'm hoping our coaching staff will introduce Curtis to the rest of the team. He's been our best player the last 2 years, and he never has plays run for him, and he never gets touches in the post. [/b]

We ran plays through Curtis more than most think, but he had a fumbling problem early in the year last year. The Alabama game stands out in my mind, as he had 5 turnovers from fumbling the feed pass. Curtis can do damage down low when he has the ball, but he’s got to learn to receive it better. He got better as the year went on, but he still bobbled it plenty and led the team in turnovers. I look for that to change this year and for us to feed him more as a result.