Dick Vitale's latest book has no love for the West Coast
DIANE PUCIN / ON THE MEDIA
His list of the top 50 players in college basketball for last 30 years includes only two from the Pac-10, and no one from UCLA.
So the book arrives, "Dick Vitale's Fabulous 50 Players and Moments in College Basketball."
OK, it's not all of college basketball but college basketball for the last 30 years, the number of years Vitale has been calling the game on television.
It is a list, Vitale says, he expects to be argued. For example his No. 1 player is Patrick Ewing of Georgetown. Michael Jordan is No. 4.
Fair enough, the book is based only on college performances, not professional, and it can be argued that Jordan played on better teams at North Carolina, that Ewing was definitely the face of Georgetown basketball for four years.
But then the count starts. Of the 50 players Vitale names, there are a combined 14 from North Carolina and Duke but only two from the Pacific 10 Conference. You have to go down to No. 26, Sean Elliott from Arizona, to find a Pac-10 representative. The other is California's Jason Kidd at No. 32.
Nobody from UCLA, the program with the most NCAA championships (11), a program that produced a Final Four team in 1980 and a national championship team in 1995 (time periods covered by Vitale's list).
Notably missing from Vitale's list: Sports Illustrated national player of the year Gary Payton of Oregon State; Sports Illustrated national player of the year Harold Miner of USC; Ed O'Bannon and Tyus Edney of UCLA who both won various players of the year awards; Arizona stars Mike Bibby and Jason Terry (who was a national player of the year).
Or how about Loyola Marymount's Hank Gathers? One could argue he made more of a college basketball impact than, say, Kentucky's Kenny Walker, who is on Vitale's list.
Utah became a national powerhouse under Rick Majerus, went to an Elite Eight with Keith Van Horn (who did end up as a No. 2 overall NBA draft pick, which seemed to indicate he had a pretty good college career) and a national championship game with Andre Miller. No mention of them.
When it was suggested to Vitale that fans in the West looking at his list might conclude that the idea of an East Coast bias might be true, Vitale bristled.
"I just talked to [UCLA Coach] Ben Howland," said Vitale who was preparing to broadcast Thursday's game between UCLA and Michigan at Madison Square Garden. "He said, 'Thank you Dick for the beautiful book.' I'll just ask one question? Who's the one guy that jumps out? I thought the world of Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Gary Payton, trust me. This list is there for people to debate."
