ESPNs doing an all time college player bracket. Here would be my selections:
West:
Round 1
1. Lew Alcindor over 16. Seimone Augustus
-I don't have any rankings anyplace of all time college players, but if I don't advance Kareem to the final four at minimum I'd be surprised.
8. Sue Bird d. 9. Shaquille O'Neal
-Shaq won this understandably, but Bird won two titles and had an undefeated season
5. Tyler Hansbrough d. 12. Lisa Leslie
-This is the toughest of these three games for me, as Leslie is more important to her sport than is Hansbrough to his, but all time ACC leading scorer is pretty heavy resume material.
13. Jerry West d. 4. Anthony Davis
-I'm going to hammer the one and dones; Davis played 40 games in his college career, less than half West's total.
6. Kemba Walker d. 11. Marcus Camby
-super close, Walker's title gets him the narrow, narrow win
3. Oscar Robertson d. 14. Bill Bradley
-led the country in scoring three seasons, come on.
7. Akeem Olajuwon d. 10. Dwyane Wade
-Hakeem went to back to back finals, losing to Ewing and in the miracle to NC St.
2. Diana Taurasi d. 15. Chris Jackson
-3 titles, a perfect season, two Naismith Awards
Round of 32
1. Alcindor d. 8. Bird
Kareem averaged 26-16 for his career
5. Hansbrough d. 13. West
West>Kobe in their NBA careers, but Hansbrough's 142 game career at UNC is too much to deny.
3. Robertson d. 6. Walker
Oscar averaged 33 points and 15 boards for his college career. It's not close.
2. Taurasi d. 7. Olajuwon
Taurasi went 139-8 in her career.
Sweet 16
1. Alcindor d. 5. Hansbrough
-Kareem's 3 titles carries him through
3. Robertson d. 2. Taurasi
-This is super tough; Taurasi had so much more team success, but the ridiculous, just Chamberlain like dominance for Robertson can't be denied.
Elite 8
1. Lew Alcindor d. 3. Oscar Robertson
-I mean, he was NCAA Tournament MVP all 3 years.
