SPECIAL REPORT...TGS 2016-17 COLLEGE HOOPS SUPERLATIVES
by Bruce Marshall, Goldsheet.com Editor and TGS Staff
TGS ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
FRANK MASON III, 5-11 Sr., Kansas
MONTE MORRIS, 6-3 Sr., Iowa State
NIGEL WILLIAMS-GOSS, 6-3 Jr., Gonzaga
JOSH HART, 6-5 Sr., Villanova
SINDARIUS THORNWELL, 6-5 Sr., South Carolina
LONZO BALL, 6-6 Fr., UCLA
JOHNATHAN MOTLEY, 6-10 Jr., Baylor
KENNEDY MEEKS, 6-10 Sr., North Carolina
JOHN COLLINS, 6-10 Soph, Wake Forest
CALEB SWANIGAN, 6-9 Soph, Purdue
JUSTIN JACKSON, 6-8 Jr., North Carolina
DILLON BROOKS, 6-7 Jr., Oregon
Due to popular demand, for the second straight year we have expanded our A-A team to a “full roster” of twelve players for this season!
TGS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Normally we do not like to name co-anythings when it comes to MVP-like honors. In fact, we loathe to do so. But the 2016-17 College Hoops season was a unique campaign, without any truly dominating player or team. As a confirmation of those developments, our three-man panel came up with three different Player of the Year nominees. So, consistent with the character of the just-completed season, we split the award...three ways! (A one-off development...at least we think.)




Honorable mention (in no particular order): Gregg Marshall, Wichita State; John Dunne, Saint Peter’s; Scott Drew, Baylor; Michael White, Florida; Josh Pastner, Georgia Tech; Rod Barnes, CS Bakersfield; Jay Wright, Villanova; Dan Hurley, Rhode Island; Jamie Dixon, TCU; Tim Jankovich, SMU; Allen Edwards, Wyoming; John Beilein, Michigan; Mike Brey, Notre Dame; Brian Jones, North Dakota; Dana Altman, Oregon; Chris Mack, Xavier; Mark Few, Gonzaga; Danny Kaspar, Texas State; Roy Williams, North Carolina; Larry Eustachy, Colorado State; Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech; Tim Floyd, UTEP; Craig Smith, South Dakota; Archie Miller, Dayton; Tim Cluess, Iona; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; John Brannen, Northern Kentucky; Rodney Terry, Fresno State; Matt Painter, Purdue; Ed Cooley, Providence; Greg Gard, Wisconsin; Andy Enfield, Southern Cal; Johnny Dawkins, UCF; Dan D’Antoni, Marshalll; Mike Anderson, Arkansas; John Becker, Vermont; King Rice, Monmouth; Bruce Weber, Kansas State; Chris Collins, Northwestern; Rick Byrd, Belmont; Kermit Davis, Middle Tennessee; Dan Muller, Illinois State; Bryce Drew, Vanderbilt; Herb Sendek, Santa Clara; Kevin Willard, Seton Hall; Steve Alford, UCLA; John Calipari, Kentucky; Steve Prohm, Iowa State; Eric Musselman, Nevada; Ray Harper, Jacksonville State; Kevin Keatts, UNC-Wilmington; Mike Rhoades, Rice; Mitch Henderson, Princeton; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Underwood, Oklahoma State; Jim Les, UC Davis; Scott Cross, UT-Arlington; Mick Cronin, Cincinnati; Bill Self, Kansas; Chris Holtmann, Butler; Steve Wojciechowski, Marquette; Richard Pitino, Minnesota; Danny Manning, Wake Forest.
TGS MID-MAJOR ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
Another overlooked collection that we at TGS believe warrants some extra attention, hence another expanded grouping... a full 24 honorees!
KEON JOHNSON, 5-7 Sr., Winthrop
MARCUS KEENE, 5-9 Jr., Central Michigan
JACK GIBBS, 6-0 Sr., Davidson
QUINTON HOOKER, 6-0 Sr., North Dakota
JAYLEN ADAMS, 6-1 Jr., St. Bonaventure
MARCUS EVANS, 6-2 Soph, Rice
JARED BROWNRIDGE, 6-3 Jr., Santa Clara
NIGEL WILLIAMS-GOSS, 6-3 Jr., Gonzaga
MARCUS MARSHALL, 6-3 Sr., Nevada
GIAN CLAVELL, 6-4 Sr., Colorado State
CHARLES COOKE, 6-5 Sr., Dayton
CHRIS FLEMMINGS, 6-5 Sr., UNC-Wilmington
VICTOR SANDERS, 6-5 Jr. Idaho
PRZEMEK KARNOWSKI, 7-0 Sr., Gonzaga
JOCK LANDALE, 6-11 Jr., Saint Mary’s
MIKE DAUM, 6-9 Soph, South Dakota State
ALEC PETERS, 6-9 Sr., Valparaiso
CAMERON OLIVER, 6-8 Soph, Nevada
REGGIE UPSHAW, 6-8 Sr., Middle Tennessee
MARKIS McDUFFIE, 6-8 Soph, Wichita State
JORDAN WASHINGTON, 6-8 Sr., Iona
BRANDON CLARKE, 6-8 Soph, San Jose State
HASSAN MARTIN, 6-7 Sr., Rhode Island
CHIMA MANEKE, 6-6 Jr., UC Davis

DISAPPOINTING TEAMS OF THE SEASON: Georgetown, San Diego State, and UConn...For the first time since we began to “honor” (or is it dis-honor?) the underachieving teams of the year, we have a repeater from the previous season. That would be Georgetown, which never ignited and stayed beneath .500 for the second straight year (not to mention 10-20 vs. the number, one of the nation’s worst pointspread marks). If not for surprising contributions from 6-5 Robert Morris transfer Rodney Pryor (18 ppg), things could have been even worse. It was bad enough, however, for HC John Thompson III to lose his job in what sources are saying was a furious and fascinating internal battle between various factions that finally concluded a couple of weeks after the Hoya season ended. Georgetown’s roundabout coaching search then landed upon former Hoya great Patrick Ewing, who has been itching for a head coaching job somewhere after toiling as an NBA assistant for the past 15 years. Which has apparently gotten the old man himself, former HC John Thompson, Jr., back on board, though it is fair to ask how much sway “Big Jawn” still has beyond the school’s old-line Jesuits (who no longer pull the levers at the university) after the Wall Street collection of Hoya alums reportedly won the power struggle to replace his son as coach. Rest assured we’ll be following the Ewing tale and Thompson-related intrigue very closely next season.
Meanwhile, San Diego State’s days as a Mountain West power are now a memory as the Aztecs fell to the middle of the pack in a down year for the league. Offensive issues became more of a problem this season as the offense barely shot 41% from the floor and 31% beyond the arc. Which for the last half of the season cast doubts upon how long vet HC Steve Fisher might want to continue on the job...doubts confirmed on Monday when Fisher stepped down, handing the reins to assistant Brian Dutcher, who has been the Aztec coach-in-waiting the past few seasons.
Finally, the biggest false alarm of all this season might have been UConn, ranked in the Top 25 in many preseason polls but never coming close to igniting after opening the season with home losses vs. Wagner and Northeastern. By the end of November, HC Kevin Ollie was already minus three touted newcomers, including ballyhooed frosh G Alterique Gilbert (shoulder injury) and F Mamadou Diarra (chronic knee condition) and 6-8 VCU transfer wing Terry Larrier (torn ACL suffered in the Maui Classic). Still, with holdover Gs Jalen Adams and Rodney Purvis and C Amida Brimah, the latter a link back to 2014 national title winners, UConn shouldn’t have fallen too far from last year’s 25-11 team that made it to the second round of the Dance. But aside from a few bright moments, the season continued in an uneven pattern, as last spring’s ill-advised early departure of G Daniel Hamilton to the NBA created more of a void than most envisioned. When the dust cleared the Huskies were 16-17 SU (and an even worse 11-19 vs. the line) and couldn’t even make it into a minor tournament. Which has somewhat damaged the reputation of Ollie, widely regarded as a miracle worker for his championship job in 2014.
POINTSPREAD CHAMP: SMU (22-8). Other spread champs...Harvard 15-6, Fresno State 19-8, Northern Kentucky 21-10, Gonzaga 23-11, Wyoming 24-12, Nevada 23-12, Dayton 19-10, Iowa State 20-11, Colorado State 19-11, Saint Louis 19-11, Northwestern 21-12, Georgia Tech 20-12, Notre Dame 18-11.
POINTSPREAD CHUMP: Washington (9-20). Other spread chumps... UALR 9-18, CS Northridge 9-18, Cleveland State 9-18, Georgetown 10-20, Pepperdine 10-20, Colroado 11-21, Miami-Florida 11-20, Northern Iowa 10-19, UCSB 8-15, Drexel 10-18, UConn 11-19, LSU 11-19, Ohio State 11-19, UC Riverside 9-16, NC State 11-18, St. Bonaventure 11-18.
STREAKY TEAM OF THE SEASON: UTEP...Tim Floyd’s team ran off a breathtaking 14-game spread win streak (12-2 straight up) from Jan. 21 thru March 9, which finally ended with a loss to eventual champ Middle Tennessee in the C-USA Tournament on March 10. That late spread surge, however, was without warning and totally unexpected, as prior to Jan. 21, the Miners had been one of the nation’s most disappointing teams and had dropped eight spread decisions in a row!
THE “SAY WHAT???” QUOTE OF THE YEAR: “The ceiling is the roof.” Whatever Michael Jordan actually meant when he said it after UNC defeated Duke in March is still unknown and has architects shaking their heads across the nation. But the Tar Heels eventually won another NCAA crown, so His Airness’ malapropism/blunderism will likely be a rallying cry at Chapel Hill for years to come!
