Thursday, March 12, 2009

All-time starting five: Virginia

The O List's all-time starting five for Virginia basketball:

Sean Singletary (2004-08): The three-time team captain and all-ACC pick ran the offense and was its best weapon. Singletary (above) led the Cavaliers in assists, steals and scoring three years in a row.

Jeff Lamp (1977-81): Tremendous in the clutch, the 6-6 Lamp tied or won 14 games in the final minute of play. A rare four-time all-ACC pick, he finished with 2,317 career points.

Barry Parkhill (1970-73): Great at either guard position, the 6-4 Parkhill was Virginia's first ACC Player of the Year in 1972. A two-time all-American, he was named to the league's 50th anniversary team.

Bryant Stith (1989-92): Versatile swingman was a scoring machine who led Virginia to four straight 20-win seasons and three NCAA appearances. A great clutch player, Stith was a three-time all-ACC selection.

Ralph Sampson (1980-84): Despite roaming the perimeter too often, the 7-foot-4 Sampson (above) was simply the most dominant player in the sport during his era. A two-time national player of the year.

-- Stan Olson

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Think the O List is crazy for leaving someone out? Tell us who you'd add, and, just to make it interesting, who you would replace from our list. Put your thoughts in the comments section below.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

No love for my main man Matt Blundin? Quarterback and power forward extrodinaire. He had the amazing ability to wing the ball off of the backboard on the defensive end and have it carry almost to half court. That's got to count for something. I'm guessing sixth man would go to John Crotty and not native Charlotteans Junior Borough or Chase Metheny, who didn't even have to leave the ground to dunk while at Latin.

Unknown said...

Stan - Go back to baseball. I'm a Clemson grad but even I remember UVA's first championship and Wally Walker. What a gaffe...

Anonymous said...

Who would Wally Walker replace on the list? Sampson, Lamp, and Parkhill are locks. I would have a hard time putting Walker over the other two especially Stith.

Anonymous said...

the previous poster is absolutely correct..... Wally Walker has to be on this list as he led UVa's first and only ACC Championship. And he had a decent NBA run as well. Singletary is a solid player but doesn't belong.

Anonymous said...

John Crotty should be on there instead of Singletary. And Ralph Sampson was three time national player of the year, as well as four time all american (but only three time all acc.)

Anonymous said...

Wally Walker has to make the list. I was first year when WWW went to the ACC tournament, and in 3 days with UVA as a #6 seed beat national ranking #16 NC State, #8 Maryland, and #3 UNC. The only time (until maybe the diluted 12 team league) that any seed lower than a 3 ever won the championship. The NC sportswriter's left him off the first team ACC list, and he made everyone pay. Remember this was the first year that more than one team from each league got to go to the NCAA tourney. Everyone was debating whether Maryland or NC State would join UNC, and the Wally and the Wahoos burst both their bubbles.
There should also be some love for Gus Gerard who helped Parkhill bring UVA basketball respectability.

Anonymous said...

Othell Wilson should be on this list before Sean Singletary, and I would put Wally Walker on it before Barry Parkhill. No disrespect to great players, but it is criminal to leave Wally Walker off of this list.

Eli Doyle said...

Great readd