Tag: Bill Melchionni

NBA Villanova Wildcats vs. NBA St. John’s Red Storm

Our next matchup is a classic Big East clash. St. John’s dominated the early days of this rivalry, going 37-19 from 1954-55 through the 1992-93 season. Since then, however, Villanova has dominated, sporting a 33-10 record as St. John’s has faded from national prominence. In recent years, Villanova has become the last vestige of Big East basketball power, adding two championships and becoming one of the best programs in the country. The NBA Villanova Wildcats vs. NBA St. John’s Red Storm will be a battle of an old juggernaut and a new superpower, with key players from each era of this storied rivalry.

NBA Villanova Wildcats vs. NBA St. John's Red Storm

Key Matchups

Small ball vs. traditional lineups – The Wildcats are going to try to go as small as possible throughout this series. Their best NBA players were guards (or guard-sized in the case of Paul Arizin), and their bench is filled with ball-handlers and shooters. St. John’s has more roster balance, and can play a variety of ways, but expect Villanova to try several different four-guard lineups, and also to try a five-out configuration with Tim Thomas as the big man. How will St. John’s counter these lineups? St. John’s has several competent big men, but they can adjust by using Metta World Peace and Maurice Harkless as power players to counter the smaller Wildcat lineups. Leroy Ellis should be quick enough to defend Thomas on the perimeter while giving St. John’s an advantage on the boards when they need mobility at the five spot.

Pitchin’ Paul vs. modern-day wings – Arizin may be the best NBA player in this series, but it will be interesting to see how he fares against some of the modern day wings the Red Storm will throw at him. World Peace, Malik Sealy, and Harkless will all spend time using their length and physicality to disrupt Villanova’s best scorer. Arizin was highly skilled, and will get his points, but they won’t come easy unless Villanova can force the Red Storm’s older, slower guards to switch onto him.  

Biggest Mismatches

St. John’s big man depth – The Red Storm should dominate the interior on both ends of the court. Billy Paultz should have a field day against Jim Washington at the start of each half, and will serve as the key rim protector in this series. If Villanova plays Ed Pinckney and Washington together for long periods of time, St. John’s can pair Paultz with Jayson Williams and/or Ellis. Williams in particular will help them dominate the glass.

Villanova’s modern-day backcourt – Kyle Lowry is one of the best all-around guards in today’s game, and Kerry Kittles would thrive as a modern-day 3-and-D athletic wing. Mark Jackson and Max Zaslofsky do not have the size, athleticism, or defensive capabilities of their counterparts. Expect Zaslofsky to cede playing time to Sealy and Harkless (with Chris Mullin switching to shooting guard in some of these lineups) to help St. John’s offer more defensive resistance.

X-Factor

Whose older players are better positioned for success? Arizin, Zaslofsky, Paultz, Bill Melchionni, and Dick McGuire will face an interesting transition to the modern-day game. How will they hold up defensively? Which of them has the skill set to thrive in any era? Arizin was a superb athlete and pioneering jump shooter in his time, so I expect his transition to be the smoothest. Others have specific skills that translate (Zaslofsky’s shooting, Paultz’s rebounding and shot-blocking, Melchionni and McGuire’s ability to run an offense), but will have varying degrees of success, based on matchup.

Results

This proves to be a fun series, with several memorable performances from the superstars (namely Lowry, Arizin, and Mullin). However, the role players wind up being the deciding factor. St. John’s has a deeper, more versatile team, and they use a balanced attack, led by Mullin, World Peace, and Paultz, to pull out the victory.

St. John’s wins, four games to three.

Next Round

The Red Storm faces the NBA Louisville Cardinals in the second round of our tournament.

NBA Villanova Wildcats

NBA Villanova Wildcats

Our next profile features a college basketball David who has morphed into Goliath. Long gone are the days when they were mainly known for their miracle run to the NCAA championship in 1985, when they became the lowest seed ever to win the NCAA tournament. With two more titles since 2016, and a program run by one of the best coaches in the country, they seem poised to stay near the top of college hoops for the foreseeable future. While they don’t typically recruit the NBA-ready talent that many of their elite peer schools do, they have a steady influx of players who have had long NBA careers. The NBA Villanova Wildcats features a multigenerational mix, with a heavy emphasis on backcourt talent.

After a bumpy start to his career, Kyle Lowry has worked to become a perennial all-star, NBA champion, and likely Hall-of-Famer. He has become a deadly outside shooter, who also is a strong finisher at the rim, and a smart, tough-minded defender. His impact on the game was summed up by Zach Lowe earlier this year: “Lowry is just a brilliant, winning player. Every second he is on the floor, he is doing the exact right thing — half-rotations on defense, extra passes, impromptu screens, little shifts along the arc to open up driving lanes, late switches, tipped rebounds. Because he is a threat everywhere — as a shooter, cutter and quick-twitch passer — defenses follow every one of those moves.” He’s joined in the starting backcourt by Kerry Kittles. As an athletic two-guard with good size (6’5”), good shooting ability (3 of his 8 seasons shooting over 40% from three-point range), and who was a two-way player (Larry Brown once called Kittles a “great defender”), his skills would have been coveted in today’s game. The depth of this team’s backcourt is impressive, as the best players in Wildcat history have generally been guards. Off the bench, Bill Melchionni was a three-time ABA all-star and an NBA and ABA champion. He has his number retired by the Nets, and at his peak, averaged 16.8 PPG and 7.5 APG over a four-year period, though advanced stats aren’t as kind to him (14.6 PER and .087 WS/48 during that time). Rory Sparrow provides more point guard depth, though he’ll play sparingly behind Lowry and Melchionni. Randy Foye was a combo guard who struggled with inconsistency; however, he could shoot from long-range, and will likely get minutes beside the two main point guards. Alvin Williams was another combo guard who had his biggest impact as a point guard on the Raptors teams in the early 2000s; he’s only likely to be used when others are in foul trouble. Finally, Chris Ford was a solid shooting guard with good size (6’5”) and range. He was a starter on an NBA champion (the ’81 Celtics), and will get minutes as Kittles’ backup.

The starting small forward, Paul Arizin, had the greatest NBA career of any Wildcat. He was a two-time scoring champion in the 1950s. He was an NBA champion in 1956, who had the best postseason run of anybody on his team (and, arguably the league), leading the league in playoff scoring, minutes, win shares, and WS/48. He was a pioneering jump shooter who would benefit from the modern-day three-point line. He and Lowry will form the backbone of this team’s offense. Ed Pinckney is another player who would have been more appreciated in the modern-day context. He had an above-average PER in four seasons in his career. He has a 60.2% career true shooting percentage. He ranked fourth in the league in offensive rebound percentage in 1991-92, and if he qualified, he would have ranked second the year before. He could be a valuable supporting player in the right context, and he’ll be tasked with keeping them competitive on the glass and providing some interior defensive resistance. The nominal starting center, Jim Washington, only stood at 6’7”, but he was able to average a double-double four times in his career, and played center for the Chicago Bulls in the 1967-68 season. Tim Thomas will be one of the most important players on this roster off the bench. The tallest player on the team (6’10”), Thomas had productive stretches in the NBA, including his 2005-06 playoff run in Phoenix, when he averaged 15.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.4 made three-pointers on 44.4% from downtown, and a 62.5% true shooting percentage in 20 games. In fact, his career playoff PER is 16.9 in 55 games. He was an infuriating player at times because his production did not always match his talent, but he will play as a stretch four and small ball five for this smaller roster, and his ability to hold up will be a key factor in their success. Dante Cunningham was an NBA journeyman who will be another body they can use against bigger opponents, but he won’t move the needle for this frontcourt.

Overall, the NBA Villanova Wildcats are well-suited to play small ball, with a plethora of guards and a lack of NBA-caliber big men. Their success will depend on matchups, and how well their frontcourt players hold up against more talented big men in this tournament. They will face their old Big East rival, the NBA St. John’s Red Storm, in their first-round matchup.

All-Time Brooklyn Nets Team

All-Time Brooklyn Nets Team Infographic

The All-Time Brooklyn Nets team is…lacking. It’s lacking the clear-cut greatest player in franchise history, Julius Erving, because he only played three seasons with the franchise (sorry Nets fans, but these are the rules of our tournament). It’s also lacking other greats such as Rick Barry and Drazen Petrovic, due to the same longevity issue. What we’re left with is an underwhelming group that reflects the team’s standing as an NBA also-ran and fails to adequately commemorate their two ABA championships. Even though those championships make them our 11th seeded team, their lack of high-end talent makes them susceptible to an early-round exit.

Since Erving is ineligible, the great Jason Kidd is the team’s best player, and is one of only three players to be a member of three of our all-time franchise teams (along with Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal). Kidd led the Nets through an historically weak Eastern Conference and to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. He’s joined in the starting backcourt by Vince Carter, an elite scorer in his time with the franchise, who represented them on three all-star teams. While the Carter-Kidd backcourt failed to put the team over the top from 2005 to 2008, they had complementary skill sets, and were lethal in the open court. They’re backed up by another three-time all-star, Bill Melchionni, who twice led the ABA in assists and was a contributor to the two championship teams in 1974 and 1976. Kenny Anderson, the talented New York product who never lived up to the enormous expectations placed on him, will serve as the third point guard. Otis Birdsong, a one-time all-star with the Nets, will back up Carter along with Kerry Kittles, a solid all-around player who ranks in the top ten in team history in field goals, three pointers, total points, and steals.

While Richard Jefferson, the starting small forward, was not Erving or Barry, he was a dynamic wing who played well off of Kidd. He became a competent three point shooter in his latter years with the franchise, and provided elite athleticism for his size. Buck Williams is the greatest big man in franchise history, and is the all-time Nets leader in games, minutes, field goals, free throws, rebounds (total, offensive, and defensive), rebounds per game, total points, and win shares. They’re backed up Kenyon Martin, a plus two-way player, who provided toughness and athleticism from the power forward position. Although he’s infamous for his 3-for-23 shooting performance in game six of the 2003 NBA Finals, Martin’s offensive game was well-suited for a complementary role, which he should be able to assume as an off-the-bench contributor for this team.

Although he was a natural power forward, Derrick Coleman will serve as the team’s starting center. Coleman was one of the most talented big men of the 1990s, who, unfortunately, developed a horrible reputation during his time with the franchise. Like Anderson, he didn’t live up to the enormous expectations placed upon him, but he was a two-time all-NBA selection who averaged a double-double in his Nets career. Off the bench, Billy Paultz was an elite ABA big man who was an excellent shooter for his size. Brook Lopez, the team’s current center, will also get minutes as a dangerous scoring threat who can use his elite size (7’0” 275 lb) to protect the rim.

This team consists of many solid pieces, but does not have the mix of hall-of-fame legends that many of their competitors in our tournament boast. They have an intriguing first-round match up with the Los Angeles Clippers, another also-ran who has only recently developed into a competitive franchise.

Coach: Kevin Loughery

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .440