NBA's Most Famous Virgin Leads Oregon St. 1982 Past JMU 2024

Oregon State's AC Green set some amazing streaks, perhaps most incredibly staying a virgin through a 16-year NBA career and until his marriage in 2002 (see Fox Sports story). As a freshman on this Oregon State 1982 team he stepped in as the starting center and helped lead the Beavers to a third straight Pac-10 championship, No. 4 ranking, and Elite 8 run.

This card was from Green's freshman season, so he was good but not yet dominant, and his the other future NBA players Lester Conner and Charlie Sitton have stronger cards. Green stepped in to a void the year after Oregon State lost three players from their defending Pac-10 champs to the NBA in Ray Blume, Steve Johnson and Mark Radford. Later the great Gary Payton and his son Gary Payton II went from Oregon State to the NBA.

Patrick Ewing finally shut Oregon State down in the Elite 8, holding the rest of the team to 35% shooting, but the only one unfazed was Green who hit 3 of 4 shots in a 10-point performance. Two games later, Georgetown led UNC in the title game 62-61 when Jordan hit the first of many game-winning shots. More famous still were the following few seconds as the Hoyas worked down for a potential game-winning shot only to have Fred Brown, thinking a teammate was behind him, pass the ball back to James Worthy who ran out the clock. Coach John Thompson famously hugged Brown to let him know all was ok.

Green went onto finish second all-time in career rebounds and fourth all-time in scoring and then won multiple titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. Anyone who has talked to an NBA player about the number of suitors who come to their hotel doors at night can appreciate what it took to stay a virgin as a star in Los Angeles.

This great Oregon State team ranks 47th of the all-time great teams in our score tracker, behind those two (Jordan's UNC is ranked 7th and a Ewing Georgetown team 33rd), and was seeded No. 2 of our new 16 teams and thus drew the newest team and 15-seed, James Madison University 2024, which started this season with an upset at Michigan State to start a 13-0 start that propelled them to No. 20 in the AP rankings, though www.kenpom.com is not as impressed with them at 62nd. This is the same year the JMU football team debuted in the Top 25 in only their second year at the top level of football.

Oregon State dominated this match-up, but JMU keep within range during an incredible streak of 20 possessions during which JMU scored an incredible three or more points on 7 possessions to get within 66-71 with only eight possessions or 4:35 to play.

However, the Beavers clamed down on the defense with steals and blocked shots by Conner, Danny Evans and a stop by Green to only allow 2 points the last eight possessions to win 68-82 win and advance to the second round.

The following is the box score, followed by the scoresheet to show the running score, and then some screen shots to show the set up. The bottom image shows the setup with a game note. Games typically start with each of the 10 players having 2 points each for the 20-20 tie. However, if some players averaged less than two points per game (such as Oregon State's Alan Tait, Jamie Stangel and Jeff Wilson) then you can start them at 0 points and give those extra points - 6 in this case - to other leading scorers. 

In this case we started the 2nd NBA player on the team Connor with 5 points - added a 3-pointer made to the 2-pointer made that most teams start with in the game. We changed Evans starting 2-pointer with a 3-pointer so he starts with 3 points instead of 2. Finally we gave Green a 2nd basket at the opening to start him with 4 points instead of 2. As long as your total is 20 points at the outset, you can tweak but only if some of the 10 players averaged less than 2 points per game.

One strategy note from the game, with 12 possessions, JMU switched to a "try for 3-pointers" strategy to try to catchup from a 54-65 deficit. This should only be used if a team is running out of time to catchup or needs a 3-pointer on their final trip down the court to tie.  It gives a team a chance for the bigger come-from-behind, but on average you will lose 2 points for every 1 point you gain from changing a 2-pointer to a 3-pointer.

It paid immediate dividends on possession 12 when Noah Friedel had a "5" on the 20-sided die, which would normally be in his 5-8 2-point shot made range. However, when the strategy is used then half the numbers in this range are changed to a 3-pointer made (5-6 for Freidel) but the other half are changed to missed 2-point shot and rebound to the high defensive rebound rating. The 3-pointers can no more than double the number of 3-pointers on the card, and any numbers remaining in the range stay a 2-pointer made. Changing it to a 3-pointer cut the Oregon State lead to 57-66.

The only other possession the strategy effected was with 3 possessions left when JMU's Terrence Edwards drew a "6" on the 20-sided die. Due to the strategy, his normal 3-7 range for 2-pointers made was adjusted to a 3-4 for 3-pointer made (it can no longer double the original 1-2 3-pointer made), with a 5 still a made 2-pointer, and then his 6 on this roll falling within the 6-7 range a missed 2-pointer with AC Green getting the rebound as the high rebounder and never a chance for the offense to grab an offensive rebound when they miss in this range. 

Here is the box score:

Pos	JMU 2024	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Height, PPG
1-PG	Michael Green	10	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	1	6'0,11.5 ppg
2-SG	Noah Freidel	8	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	4	6'4,10.9 ppg
3-SF	Terrence Edwards	12	2	2	2	2	2	1	0	1	6'6,17.2 ppg
4-PF	Julien Wooden	5	1	1	0	0	2	3	0	1	6'8,9.8 ppg
5-C	TJ Bickerstaff	14	0	6	2	2	2	0	12		6'9,15.8 ppg
1-PG	Bryant Randleman	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'4,1.7 ppg
2-SG	Xavier Brown	7	1	2	0	0	1	1	0	2	6'2,7 ppg
3-SF	Quincy Allen	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'8,3.8 ppg
4-PF	Raekwon Horton	4	0	1	2	2	1	1	0	1	6'6,7 ppg
5-C	Jaylen Carey	6	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'8,6.8 ppg
	15 Turnovers	68	8	19	6	6	13	7	1	10
Pos	Oregon St. 1982	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Height, Season
1-PG	William Brew	11	1	4	0	0	1	2	0	1	6'1,9.2 ppg
2-SG	Lester Conner	21	3	3	6	7	1	4	0	1	6'4,14.9 ppg,NBA
3-SF	Danny Evans	14	1	5	1	1	2	2	0	1	6'5,11.3 ppg
4-PF	Charlie Sitton	13	1	5	0	0	2	2	0	2	6'8,12.9 ppg,NBA
5-C	A.C. Green	10	0	5	0	0	2	0	1	3	6'9,8.6 ppg,NBA
1-PG	Alan Tait	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'2,0.5 ppg
2-SG	Jamie Stangel	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'7,1.4 ppg
3-SF	Jeff Wilson	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'7,1.2 ppg
4-PF	Rob Holbrook	6	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	2	6'86.7 ppg
5-C	Greg Wiltjer	6	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	1	6'11,5.4 ppg
	13 Turnovers	81	6	28	7	8	13	10	1	10

Calipari's UMass Tops 16 New Schools In Value Add Basketball Game

We finished the first stage of developing the cards- always 10 players to a team - of 16 strong college basketball programs that did not yet have a team in the Value Add Basketball Game. We started this project after finishing our Christmas tournament with Bill Russell defeating Wilt Chamberlain for a mini-title.

The best of the new 16 teams is Massachusetts (UMass) when John Calipari took them to No. 1 in the Final AP poll in 1996 and a final four. Two teams that still need to prove themselves over time, but seem to be building strong programs are Liberty University's team from a year ago that gave Wisconsin a scare in the NIT and reeled off wins to start this season, and James Madison University, which is currently ranked and was ranked in football in just their second year at the FBS level.

The following list shows where each team finished in the final AP poll, and then how they did in the tournament. We then calculate their offensive and defensive rating based on how many points we'd expect their cards to produce per 100 offensive possessions, and allowed per 100 defensive possessions. The bigger the gap the better the team and the overall rating is that figure -17, since the average great team is about 17 points better than an "average" team.

UMass' 110 and 90, 20 better than an "average* team but +3 better than the average great team in the game. We will likely set up a 16-team tournament and would out the against the 16th beat new great team, Liberty University with a 107 and 105 for a -15. This means we'd expect UMass to be about 18 points better than Liberty in 100 possessions or about a 12-point favorite for a 66 possession game.

Then we have developed just the first part we need to do on the cards. Basic info so you know how good they are, and then their Stamina and which possessions we recommend each player is used (in the game the possessions start at 44 and to down to 1 as the final possession). 

We did not list the positions, but they are all in order, so the first player listed in the starting point guard (PG-1), then the starting shooting guard (SG-2) etc, with the sixth player starting the reserves as the back-up point guard etc.

The rest of the cards will be developed, but this is always the first step to research a new team.

 

Bradley - 1954 (7th Runner-Up)
Off 94, Def 85, Rating -8
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
John Kent	6'1	13.0 Pts, 4.1 Reb	37	37-1
Bob Carney	6'1	16.2 Pts, 7.0 Reb-NBA	37	37-1
Eddie King	6'4	9.2 Pts, 4.3 Reb	37	37-1
Dick Estergard	6'4	14.5 Pts, 12.3 Reb	37	37-1
Dick Petersen	6'5	6.3 Pts, 5.9 Reb	37	37-1
Lee O'Connell	6'2	3.2 Pts, 1.1 Reb	7	PG 44-38
John Riley	6'2	2.0 Pts, 1.4 Reb	7	SG 44-38
Harvey Babetch	6'2	6.1 Pts, 3.1 Reb	7	SF 44-38
Jerry Hansen	6'4	5.4 Pts, 2.9 Reb	7	PF 44-38
Barney Kilcullen	6'9	2.4 Pts, 3.8 Reb	7	C 44-38
Buffalo 2019 (22nd, Round 2)
Off 110, Def 98, Rating -5
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Davonta Jordan	6'2	7.4 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 3.6 Ast	33	33-1
Jayvon Graves	6'3	9.7 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 1.9 Ast	30	44-34,19-1
CJ Massinburg	6'3	18.2 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 3.0 Ast	41	41-1
Jeremy Harris	6'7	14.0 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 3.0 Ast	41	44-33, 29-1
Nick Perkins	6'8	14.7 Pts, 7.4 Reb, 0.7 Ast	32	32-1
Dontay Caruthers	6'1	8.6 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 2.8 Ast	25	PG 44-34, SG 33-20
Ronaldo Segu	6'0	2.1 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 1.0 Ast	5	None
Jeenathan Williams	6'5	3.2 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 0.2 Ast-NBA	5	SF 44-42
Tra'Von Fagan	6'8	1.3 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.2 Ast	5	None
Montell McRae	6'10	5.6 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 0.5 Ast	16	C 44-33, PF 32-30
Charlotte - 1977 (17th, Final 4)
Off 112, Def 97, Rating -2
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Melvin Watkins	6'3	9.6 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 6.0 Ast	37	37-1
Chad Kinch	6'4	15.4 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 3.8 Ast-NBA	37	37-1
Kevin King	6'7	11.1 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 1.8 Ast	37	37-1
Lew Massey	6'6	19.7 Pts, 6.8 Reb, 1.6 Ast	37	37-1
Cedric Maxwell	6'8	22.3 Pts, 12.1 Reb, 2.1 Ast-NBA	37	37-1
Jeff Gruber	6'2	5.6 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 1.4 Ast	7	PG 44-38
Lee Whitfield	6'2	0.6 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.8 Ast	7	SG 44-38
Mike Hester	6'7	3.1 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast	7	SF 44-38
Ken Angel	6'8	1.1 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 0.1 Ast	7	PF 44-38
Phil Scott	6'8	3.1 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast	7	C 44-38
Drake - 1969 (11th, Final 4)
Off 112, Def 96, Rating -1			183
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Willie McCarter	6'3	20.4 Pts, 3.7 Reb-NBA	37	37-1
Dolph Pulliam	6'4	13.3 Pts, 7.7 Reb	37	37-1
Al Williams	6'6	8.8 Pts, 7.3 Reb-NBA	37	37-1
Willie Wise	6'5	14.6 Pts, 11.4 Reb-NBA	37	37-1
Rick Wanamaker	6'9	4.4 Pts, 3.4 Reb	37	37-1
Don Draper	6'0	12.3 Pts, 2.4 Reb	7	PG 44-38
Gary Zeller	6'2	6.3 Pts, 1.6 Reb-NBA	7	SG 44-38
Ron Gwin	6'2	2.6 Pts, 1.4 Reb	7	SF 44-38
Larry Sharp	6'9	1.6 Pts, 1.2 Reb	7	PF 44-38
Garry Odom	6'8	3.8 Pts, 4.5 Reb	7	C 44-38
James Madison 2024 (68th, in season)
Off 111, Def 106, Rating -12			183
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Michael Green	6'0	11.5 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 4.8 Ast	33	33-1
Noah Freidel	6'4	10.9 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 1.4 Ast	37	44-34,26-1
Terrence Edwards	6'6	17.2 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 3.0 Ast	39	44-30, 24-1
Julien Wooden	6'8	9.8 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 1.7 Ast	29	29-1
TJ Bickerstaff	6'9	15.8 Pts, 8.2 Reb, 1.4 Ast	27	33-25, 20-1
Bryant Randleman	6'4	1.7 Pts, 0.7 Reb, 1.2 Ast	5	None
Xavier Brown	6'2	7.0 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 2.3 Ast	19	PG 44-34, SG 33-27
Quincy Allen	6'8	3.8 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.0 Ast	5	None
Raekwon Horton	6'6	7.0 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 1.3 Ast	24	PF 44-30, SF 29-25, C 24-21
Jaylen Carey	6'8	6.8 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 0.5 Ast	11	C 44-34
Liberty 2023 (48th, NIT 2nd)
Off 107, Def 105, Rating -15			196
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Colin Porter	5'9	7.8 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 3.8 Ast	35	44, 34-1
Darius McGhee 10	5'9	22.8 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 3.0 Ast	43	43-1
Joseph Venzant	6'3	4.2 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 0.4 Ast	26	26-1
Kyle Rode	6'7	10.9 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 3.5 Ast	39	39-1
Blake Preston	6'9	6.7 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 1.4 Ast	20	20-1
Brody Peebles	6'2	7.4 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 0.6 Ast	16	SG 44, PG 43-35
Jonathan Jackson	6'4	1.4 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.1 Ast	5	None
Isiah Warfield	6'5	2.9 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.9 Ast	18	SF 44-27
Zach Cleveland	6'7	3.4 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 1.8 Ast	5	PF 44-40
Shiloh Robinson	6'7	7.6 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 0.9 Ast	24	C 44-21
Massachusetts - 1996 (1st, Final 4)
Off 110, Def 90, Rating 3
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Edgar Padilla	6'2	8.9 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 6.7 Ast	49	44-1
Carmelo Travieso	6'2	12.6 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 2.1 Ast	48	44-1
Donta Bright	6'6	14.5 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 1.7 Ast	39	44-39, 33-1
Dana Dingle	6'7	10.1 Pts, 7.4 Reb, 1.5 Ast	43	44-40, 38-1
Marcus Camby	6'11	20.5 Pts, 8.2 Reb, 1.8 Ast-NBA	39	39-1
Charlton Clarke	6'3	1.4 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.7 Ast	5	None
Tyrone Weeks	6'7	5.8 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 0.4 Ast	20	C 44-40, PF 39, SF 38-34
Rigoberto Nunez	6'7	0.5 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast	5	None
Inus Norville	6'9	2.4 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 0.0 Ast	5	None
Ted Cottrell	6'9	0.9 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.0 Ast	5	None
Nevada 2004 (20th, Sweet 16)
Off 107, Def 96, Rating -6			209
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Todd Okeson	6'0	11.2 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 3.9 Ast	41	41-1
Kirk Snyder	6'6	18.8 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 3.4 Ast-NBA	41	44-42,37-1
Garry Hill-Thomas	6'4	9.8 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 2.3 Ast	35	35-1
Kevinn Pinkney	6'10	9.4 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 0.9 Ast-NBA	34	44-34, 26-1
Nick Fazekas	6'11	12.6 Pts, 7.6 Reb, 0.5 Ast-NBA	33	33-1
Kyle Shiloh	6'3	1.8 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.9 Ast	5	None
Seth Taylor (1-3 3pt, 4-6 pt 7-8 FT, 9-14 miss 3, 15-20 miss 2)	6'3	1.0 Pts, 0.4 Reb, 0.0 Ast	5	None
Marcelus Kemp	6'5	4.6 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.8 Ast	11	PG 44-42, SG 41-38
Jermaine Washington	6'5	4.1 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 0.7 Ast	13	SF 44-36
Sean Paul	6'9	3.4 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 0.9 Ast	18	C 44-34, PF 33-27
New Mexico - 1974 (NR, Sweet 16)
Off 109, Def 95, Rating -3			-11
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Wendell Taylor	6'1	9.1 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 3.8 Ast	29	29-1
Gabe Nava	6'2	10.2 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 3.1 Ast	37	37-1
Mark Saiers	6'7	11.1 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 2.3 Ast	38	38-1
Bernard Hardin	6'5	17.1 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.3 Ast	39	PF 44-36, 29-1
Bill Hagins	6'7	12.5 Pts, 9.0 Reb, 1.6 Ast	35	35-1
Pat King	6'0	3.4 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 2.6 Ast	15	PG 44-30
Bob Toppert	6'4	4.7 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 2.2 Ast	13	SG 44-38, SF 37-32
Bruce Battle	6'5	3.7 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 0.7 Ast	6	SF 44-39
Rich Pokorski	6'6	8.3 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.6 Ast	14	C 44-36, PF 35-30
Paul Kruse	7'2	3.0 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 0.3 Ast	5	None
New Mexico St. - 1970 (5th, Final 4)
Off 116, Def 100, Rating -1			202
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Jimmy Collins	6'2	24.3 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 2.9 Ast-NBA	37	37-1
Chito Reyes	6'6	8.2 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 1.0 Ast	37	37-1
Roy Neal	6'6	5.5 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 0.3 Ast	37	37-1
Jeff Smith	6'8	12.8 Pts, 8.3 Reb, 0.5 Ast	37	37-1
Sam Lacey	6'10	17.7 Pts, 15.9 Reb, 1.3 Ast-NBA	37	37-1
Charlie Criss	5'8	12.5 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 2.9 Ast-NBA	7	PG 44-38
Milt Horne	6'0	4.4 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 3.5 Ast	7	SG 44-38
Bill Moore	6'3	2.0 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast	7	SF 44-38
John Burgess	6'5	4.7 Pts, 5.5 Reb, 1.9 Ast	7	PF 44-38
Lonnie Lefevre	6'8	1.3 Pts, 1.9 Reb, 0.1 Ast	7	C 44-38
Oregon St. - 1982 (4th, Elite 8)
Off 104, Def 85, Rating 2			183
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
William Brew	6'1	9.2 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 3.4 Ast	50	44-1
Lester Conner	6'4	14.9 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 5.1 Ast-NBA	50	44-1
Danny Evans	6'5	11.3 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 1.7 Ast	37	37-1
Charlie Sitton	6'8	12.9 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 2.2 Ast-NBA	39	44-38,32-1
A.C. Green	6'9	8.6 Pts, 5.3 Reb, 1.1 Ast-NBA	38	38-1
Alan Tait	6'2	0.5 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.1 Ast	0	None
Jamie Stangel	6'7	1.4 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.1 Ast	0	None
Jeff Wilson	6'7	1.2 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast	0	None
Rob Holbrook	6'8	6.7 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 2.3 Ast	21	SF 44-38, PF 37-33
Greg Wiltjer	6'11	5.4 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 0.5 Ast	12	C 44-39
Richmond 2011 (39th, Sweet 16)
Off 108, Def 99, Rating -8			197
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Kevin Anderson	6'0	16.6 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 3.3 Ast	44	44-1
Cedrick Lindsay	6'1	4.4 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 1.6 Ast	20	20-1
Kevin Smith	6'5	3.9 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 3.4 Ast	31	31-1
Justin Harper	6'10	17.9 Pts, 6.9 Reb, 1.2 Ast-NBA	41	41-1
Dan Geriot	6'9	9.5 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 2.8 Ast	30	30-1
Derrick Williams (3pt 1, 2pt 2-6, FT 7-9)	6'6	1.7 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.1 Ast	0	None
Darien Brothers	6'3	7.6 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 1.1 Ast	24	SG 44-21
Francis-Cedric Martel	6'6	4.6 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 0.9 Ast	13	SF 44-32
Darrius Garrett	6'9	1.9 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 0.3 Ast	14	C 44-31
Josh Duinker	6'11	1.8 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 0.2 Ast	0	PF 44-42
Temple - 1958 (5th, Final 4)
Off 105, Def 88, Rating 0
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Guy Rodgers	6'0	20.1 Pts, 6.6 Reb, 5.2 Ast-NBA	37	37-1
Bill Kennedy	5'11	13.5 Pts, 3.3 Reb	37	37-1
Mel Brodsky	6'2	10.9 Pts, 7.5 Reb	37	37-1
Tink Van Patton	6'8	6.6 Pts, 10.5 Reb	37	37-1
Jay Norman	6'3	13.0 Pts, 11.9 Reb	37	37-1
Joe Goldenberg	5'7	1.4 Pts, 0.5 Reb	7	PG 44-38
Jack Peepe	6'2	1.1 Pts, 1.1 Reb	7	SG 44-38
Ophie Franklin	6'4	2.1 Pts, 2.5 Reb	7	SF 44-38
Pete Goss	6'7	1.3 Pts, 1.4 Reb	7	PF 44-38
Dan Fleming	6'6	5.0 Pts, 4.3 Reb	7	C 44-38
Tulsa - 2000 (18th, Sweet 16)
Off 108, Def 95, Rating -4			183
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Tony Heard	6'0	9.7 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 3.4 Ast	36	38-1
Marcus Hill	6'5	11.2 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 2.8 Ast	35	44-39,31-1
Greg Harrington	6'2	10.8 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 2.9 Ast	37	44-29,19-1
Eric Coley	6'5	11.3 Pts, 6.8 Reb, 3.4 Ast	38	44-35,28-1
Brandon Kurtz	6'10	11.2 Pts, 7.0 Reb, 1.6 Ast	34	34-1
Dante Swanson	5'10	5.5 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 1.0 Ast	13	PG 44-39, SG 38-32
Antonio Reed	5'10	1.8 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 0.9 Ast	5	None
Kevin Johnson	6'7	2.4 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.5 Ast	5	None
Charlie Davis	6'7	2.5 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 0.2 Ast	5	None
David Shelton	6'6	13.5 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 0.5 Ast	25	C 44-35, PF 34-29,SF 28-20
Washington St. 2008 (10th, Sweet 16)
Off 109, Def 97, Rating -5			197
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Taylor Rochestie	6'1	10.4 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 4.7 Ast	46	44-1
Derrick Low	6'2	14.1 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 1.6 Ast	43	43-1
Kyle Weaver	6'6	12.2 Pts, 5.3 Reb, 4.3 Ast-NBA	43	44,42-1
Robbie Cowgill	6'10	7.3 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 0.7 Ast	35	44-43,33-1
Aron Baynes	6'10	10.4 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast-NBA	28	28-1
Thomas Abercrombie )1-2, 3-4,5-6, 7-16)	6'6	1.2 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.5 Ast	0	None
Stephen Sauls (1-3, 4-6, 7)	6'3	2.1 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.5 Ast	0	None
Daven Harmeling	6'7	5.6 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.8 Ast	20	SG 44, SF 43, PF 42-34,C33-29
Caleb Forrest	6'8	3.4 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast	8	C 37-34
Nikola Koprivica	6'7	2.5 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.7 Ast	7	C 44-38
Western Kentucky - 1966 (10th, Sweet 16)
Off 111, Def 96, Rating -2
Player	Ht	Season Stats	Stamina	Plays possessions (44-1 is all)
Dwight Smith	6'5	16.1 Pts, 9.9 Reb	37	37-1
Clem Haskins	6'3	20.4 Pts, 10.0 Reb	37	37-1
Wayne Chapman	6'6	13.3 Pts, 4.3 Reb	37	37-1
Greg Smith	6'5	9.5 Pts, 10.3 Reb	37	37-1
Steve Cunningham	6'5	15.1 Pts, 7.4 Reb	37	37-1
Mike Fawcett	5'10	2.1 Pts, 0.6 Reb	7	PG 44-38
Butch Kaufman	5'10	4.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb	7	SG 44-38
Norm Weaver	6'5	2.9 Pts, 1.7 Reb	7	SF 44-38
Pearl Hicks	6'7	2.3 Pts, 3.0 Reb	7	PF 44-38
Jack Butler	6'5	1.8 Pts, 1.8 Reb	7	C 44-38

Sun Belt with JMU and Return of Value Add Basketball Rankings

All-Sun Belt Conf	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Terence Lewis	Louisiana	8.74	131.2	102.9	13-seed, 26-8, Poss 20.3%
Taevion Kinsey	Marshall	8.54	122.3	101.3	24-8, Poss 26.4%
Greg Williams	Louisiana	6.57	122.1	102.9	13-seed, 26-8, Poss 18.6%
Isaiah Moore	South Alabama	6.45	106.3	100.4	19-16 (PG), Poss 33%
Felipe Haase	Southern Miss	6.10	114.7	100.6	25-8, Poss 22%
2nd T-Sun Belt Conf	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Zay Williams	Troy	5.99	115.4	101.1	20-13, Poss 20.9%
Terrence Edwards	James Madison	5.51	109	99.8	22-11, Poss 27.3%
Andrew Taylor	Marshall	5.13	103.5	101.3	24-8 (PG), Poss 28.5%
Chaunce Jenkins	Old Dominion	5.01	105.8	103.7	19-12 (PG), Poss 24.3%
Jordan Brown	Louisiana	3.91	106	102.9	13-seed, 26-8, Poss 29.3%

Above is a very late All-Sun Belt team from the 2022-23 season, and we will be updating these and the top 300 players at www.valueaddbasketball.com to go along with the rankings going back to the 2001-02 season. While this system received rave reviews from Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox Sports and many others, last season we skipped because we lost the ability to rank all 4000 players who take the court for D1 action.

The big addition from a few years ago after the beat Michigan in football was Appalachian State, and now its James Madison University moving up to D1 to break the Top 25 in both football and basketball this year to give some real excitement around the Sun Belt.

Team	2023	2024	2025	Seed23	Rnk24
Appalachian St.	SB	SB	SB		104
Arkansas St.	SB	SB	SB		171
Coastal Carolina	SB	SB	SB		274
Georgia Southern	SB	SB	SB		322
Georgia St.	SB	SB	SB		188
James Madison	SB	SB	SB		67
Louisiana	SB	SB	SB	13	149
Louisiana Monroe	SB	SB	SB		291
Marshall	SB	SB	SB		172
Old Dominion	SB	SB	SB		204
South Alabama	SB	SB	SB		176
Southern Miss	SB	SB	SB		217
Texas St.	SB	SB	SB		221
Troy	SB	SB	SB		223

Better late than never - this is one of 32 lists of All-Conference teams based on the "resurrected" Value Add Basketball rankings at www.valueaddbasketball.com. The other 31 releases of Conference teams will all include this same explanation for the rest of the blog, including the 10 returning All-Americans and top 60 players from last season listed further down.

This paragraph is of interest to stat nerds only. The offensive ratings were easier to recreate, since the basis was to pull hundreds of players ranked as the most efficient last season (AdjO at www.kenpom.com) and adjusting their figures for their percent of possessions. A player who can produce about 1.2 points per time he has the ball who also gets the ball 25% of the time against tough competition and as part of a strong defense can be All-American level, but a player who doesn't get the ball nearly as often but produces even more at 1.3 points per possession can still be All-Conference even if fans feel other players handling and shooting the ball more are better due to higher points scored per game.

The new simplified system weighs their ability to produce points against the Adjusted Defense (AdjD) - that is how many points per 100 trips would their team allow against an average D1 team. This accounts both for defense and for level of competition. We also note if a player is a Point Guard, the most important position on the court.

The resulting "Value" listed in the third column is the Value Add of points the player would improve an average team over if he could not play if a decent replacement took his place. Zach Edey was by far the most valuable player in the country last year at 13.17 meaning typically he would turn a 65-70 loss for a team into a 72-64 win - a 13 point swing. The notes off to the first indicated the team's record, their seed if they made the tournament, and then if they went to the NBA in the 2023 draft or are projected to go in the 2024 or 2025 draft.

1st and 2nd Team Returning All-Americans; and Top 60 Players from Last Season

 

The table below is the list of the 30 most valuable players in college basketball for the 2022-23 season according to our simplified www.valueaddbasketball.com rankings. Obviously most of these top players finished their eligibility or went pro so are no longer playing. However, if we made this our All-American teams of returning players including transfers at their new school the headline would be from Creighton.

1st Team Returning All-Americans - Value Add Basketball calculates that Creighton now has two of the three most valuable players in 2022-23 in returning Ryan Kalkbrenner and Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth. Ironically, Thursday it was Colorado State that handed Creighton its first loss - a team that Ashworth had dominated four of seven times in conference games at Utah State. The other 1st Team All-Americans based on last year's Value Add would be J'Wan Roberts returning for Houston, and then Tylor Perry who transferred from North Texas to Kansas State.

Most Valuable Player for 2nd Year. However, the far and away Most Valuable Player in the Country could challenge Anthony Davis, Jon Scheyer and Zion Williamson for as the most Valuable college player of the century in the All-Time Value Add Basketball Rankings - Zach Edey who was almost 2 points better than anyone in the country last year at Purdue and has them at No. 1 this season.

2nd Team Returning All-Americans - The 6th most valuable returning player according to Value Add is Marquette Point Guard Tyler Kolek. He would be joined on a second team All-American squad of returning players by Tennessee's Santiago Vescovi, Texas transfer from Oral Roberts Max Abmas, Duke's Ryan Young, Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis and finally Cam Spencer, who transferred from Rutgers to UConn.

In all, 18 of the top 30 players finished their college careers, leaving those 10 returning All-Americans and then two other players - JaKobe Coles of TCU and USC's Boogie Ellis.
 

All-American 1st Team	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Zach Edey	Purdue	13.17	125.9	94.5	1-seed, 29-6, nba 58 in 2024
Adama Sanogo (gone)	Connecticut	11.37	122.6	90.9	4-seed, 31-8, Poss 26.4%
Marcus Sasser (gone)	Houston	11.25	123.4	90.4	1-seed, 33-4, nba 25 in 2023
Ryan Kalkbrenner	Creighton	10.80	133.4	93.2	6-seed, 24-13, Poss 19.4%
Steven Ashworth (Creigh)	Utah St.	10.72	127.7	98.9	10-seed, 26-9 (PG), Poss 21.6%
All-American 2nd Team	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Tylor Perry (K-State)	North Texas	10.37	124.3	94.1	31-7, Poss 24.4%
Brandon Miller (gone)	Alabama	10.23	117.0	88.2	1-seed, 31-6, nba 2 in 2023
Xavier Castaneda (gone)	Akron	9.94	121.9	103.4	22-11 (PG), Poss 29.4%
J'Wan Roberts	Houston	9.90	127.9	90.4	1-seed, 33-4, Poss 18.4%
Jordan Hawkins (gone)	Connecticut	9.88	121.2	90.9	4-seed, 31-8, nba 14 in 2023
All-American 3rd Team	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Jaime Jaquez (gone)	UCLA	9.80	113.1	88	2-seed, 31-6, nba 18 in 2023
Jalen Pickett (gone)	Penn St.	9.66	118.7	101.1	10-seed, 23-14 (PG), nba 32 in 2023
Jordan Walker (gone)	UAB	9.64	114.7	97.9	29-10 (PG), Poss 30.6%
Tyler Kolek	Marquette	9.63	118	96.7	2-seed, 29-7 (PG), Poss 24.1%
Santiago Vescovi	Tennessee	9.52	114.2	87.5	4-seed, 25-11 (PG), Poss 18.8%
All-American 4th Team	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Max Abmas (Texas)	Oral Roberts	9.47	120.2	102.2	12-seed, 30-5 (PG), Poss 27.6%
Trayce Jackson-Davis (g)	Indiana	9.45	118.5	97.2	4-seed, 23-12, nba 57 in 2023
Ryan Young	Duke	9.37	128.7	93.9	5-seed, 27-9, Poss 18.3%
Kendric Davis (grad)	Memphis	9.24	111.1	96.1	8-seed, 26-9 (PG), Poss 31.6%
Drew Timme (grad)	Gonzaga	9.21	119.6	99.3	3-seed, 31-6, Poss 30.6%
All-American 5th Team	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Markquis Nowell (gone)	Kansas St.	8.92	111	95	3-seed, 26-10 (PG), Poss 27.6%
Souley Boum (gone)	Xavier	8.87	119.2	98.6	3-seed, 27-10 (PG), Poss 21.2%
Oscar Tshiebwe (gone)	Kentucky	8.83	122.6	98.8	6-seed, 22-12, Poss 24.5%
Terence Lewis (gone)	Louisiana	8.74	131.2	102.9	13-seed, 26-8, Poss 20.3%
Darius McGhee (gone)	Liberty	8.68	114.5	97.5	27-9, Poss 33.4%
All-American 6th Team	Team	Value	AdjO	AdjD	Notes
Azuolas Tubelis	Arizona	8.68	116.1	96.3	2-seed, 28-7, Poss 28.7%
Cam Spencer (UConn)	Rutgers	8.66	119.4	90.8	19-15, Poss 19.8%
Sir'Jabari Rice (gone)	Texas	8.66	116.3	92.1	2-seed, 29-9, Poss 23.4%
JaKobe Coles	TCU	8.64	118.4	94.3	6-seed, 22-13, Poss 23.4%
Boogie Ellis	USC	8.56	113.3	97.5	10-seed, 22-11 (PG), Poss 25.7%