Heading into the IU game, Buie is 19 points away from being the all time leading scorer for NU. What a great career for this young man. It would be fitting to get the record in a win on the road against Indiana.
Boo Buie - NU all time leading scorer
- Thread starter DaCat
- Start date
Shurna did it in 4 years it took boo boo 5. Shurnas still the 🐐!!
Disagree. Shurna was fantastic, but Buie’s the #1 NU basketball player of all time.
It’s good that we can have this debate. There won’t be much dispute that the Final Four for the NU GOAT honors are, in alphabetical order, Buie, Eschmeyer, McKinney, and Shurna.
Silver lining from Boo's foul trouble today: he'll break the record at Welsh-Ryan
I for one am happy to say I saw all 4 play at McGraw/Welsh Ryan......
Who rounds out that starting 5? Three guards and either Juice, Crawford or Jitim? Do you put Stack at the 3? Or do you play Shurna at the 3 and bring in a dark horse like Vedran? Or Rankin in a twin tower lineup? The first four are always easy for me... it's the fifth spot that jams me up.
I would be happy with Crawford… but the one guy whose career felt unfulfilled is Kevin Coble, with his foot injury then the falling out with Carmody. Dererk Pardon is another favorite, not to mention BMac too.
I'd leave Shurna at the 4 and bring in someone like Vic Law or similar at the 3.
Didn’t the team and Coble not get along? I recall reading on here that the rest of the team was happier when he left; even tho it shocked us. Something about ego?
@ThatkidfromHolland , could you please check the full basketball post history to verify?
Anyway he’s not #5 on my GOAT list. At all.
I would take Jitim for 5th best player in his time at NU. Though if we were actually trying to create the best 5 man lineup I think Vic Law is the answer for defense and a bit more floor spacing. You’d have Jitim, Crawford, Vedran etc as the first guys off the bench. And Juice backup PG for some spot minutes each game, I don’t think you can have Boo and Juice on the floor at the same time for defense reasons.
Billy McKinney played a long time in the NBA. I think Don Adams may have the next longest tenure. NU basketball from '66-'69 was very good relative to NU's history. NU actually had the #1 recruiting class in the early 60's-memory says it included Jim Pitts, Jim Burns, Ron Kosloski(sic), Jim Cummins.
NU v UCLA at Chicago Stadium in '69 was a classic NU performance-beat the crap out of Alcindor, lead by 10 at half despite shooting 30% then we got cold and lost.
Don Adams and Jim Burns were great players, both better all around players than John Shurna but no one mentions or possibly even remembers them-Florida Alum(RIP)and No Chores would be exceptions
NU v UCLA at Chicago Stadium in '69 was a classic NU performance-beat the crap out of Alcindor, lead by 10 at half despite shooting 30% then we got cold and lost.
Don Adams and Jim Burns were great players, both better all around players than John Shurna but no one mentions or possibly even remembers them-Florida Alum(RIP)and No Chores would be exceptions
I was at that game. What happened is our number 1 center was handling Alcindor. Then he took an elbow to the face at the beginning of the second half and was out for the remainder of the game. The replacement was totally intimidated by Alcindor and we lost.
Didn't see them play but they should certainly be in the discussion. Shurna shot 44% from 3 his senior year and averaged 1.6 blocks a game. He could also play with his back to the basket and had good hops. He was a great all-around college player.
It's a little hard to evaluate college stats in the late 60's since pace of play was very high and defense did not appear to be much of a priority. Those were the Pete Maravich and Rick Mount years.
Since this is all theory anyhow, I also think players from the 60s might have more difficulty adapting to the modern rule sets - if that’s what this team would be using.
I mean no disrespect to our historical stars and I think they were playing a different game to some degree. So I have a bit of a recency bias.
Even as Boo approaches the all time scoring record, I know I ponder what numbers Billy would have had with the three.
I mean no disrespect to our historical stars and I think they were playing a different game to some degree. So I have a bit of a recency bias.
Even as Boo approaches the all time scoring record, I know I ponder what numbers Billy would have had with the three.
I thought about Coble, and talent-wise he’s as deserving as anyone - but the whole quitting thing disqualifies him and puts him in the Rex category, imo.
More fitting to get it at home on Thurs against Mich in another win
Buie has done more overall. Especially if he gets us to second consecutive Dance. Have to say he is so far the GOAT.
Sure did not help the team when he left. We had legitimate chance at dancing till he was no longer there. That knocks him down a peg or so on any list.
I thought the issue was his mother had cancer and he wanted to be with her but Carmody refused so he just quit. If my memory is correct then Coble should not be blamed and knocked down a peg or so on any list
I think it was about a team trip overseas that he chose to not go on because he had a family trip but I think his mother's cancer was behind her. Should have been able to be worked out and I am not placing blame. But this is about the Greatest of all time list and without that last year he does not belong. Other guys like Juice or Crawford, Falk, etc move ahead of him. Even McIntosh has the all time assists record and taking the team to the dance. Maybe even Pardon or Audige. And don't forget Vedran. And other than Falk and McKinney those are just the recent ones. I will agree that Coble was good but without that last year (that had a good likelyhood of getting us into the dance for the first time), plenty of others meant more to the team
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If boo leads us again for second year in a row to ncaa tourney this year he is best ever at nu. No other player that has been discussed on this thread has done this. Best ever defined....best player on team with best accomplishments
Absolutely. He will be first all time in scoring , second in assists and have led two teams to the dance.
Loved watching Jitiim. He was so tough and filed so many roles for the team. He too belongs in front of Coble. Just an example of plenty of guys being important to the program.
If Rick Mount could not play in the NBA, then the Caitlin Clark supporters are just delusional.
Mount might have made it if they had the three point shot back then. I think Joe Ruklick has to be in the discussion of Wildcat greats.
No 3-point shot in the 60’s but Mount averaged almost 30 shots a game. They were running and gunning. I am not sure how much defense was being played. One of the NU teams from the mid-60’s averaged almost 100 points a game.
I suspect you would be in a very small minority maybe of one. Esch was a dominant college center. He was a 3 time first team All B1G and a consensus 2nd team All American. Easily one of the top four NU Cats ever.
Remember them well. Also, I was in the house when my fraternity brother, Rich Falk, dropped 49 on Iowa.
How about Nick Mantis who played in the Joe Rucklick era. Those teams were very good
Willie Jones was a big contributor in the late 50's also. Very quick. IIRC, he was drafted by the Pistons and stuck around for a few years.
Did you guys see the Babe call his shot at Wrigley?
What about the 1931 National Champions? Joe Reiff was the star, a three-time All American, for chrissakes! He was a towering 6-3 center, led the league in scoring twice, and was a charter inductee into the NU athletics Hall of Fame.
If we are going back before the 60’s, he seems like the best choice. Nice call!
We should probably have a pre-1960 (or some other date) Mount Rushmore.
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