TBCB's Player Rank

Much has been made these last few weeks of ESPN's NBA Player Rankings, which provide excellent source material for endless debates in offices and across the Twitterverse. To develop the ratings, ESPN says "We asked 104 experts to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, in terms of the current quality of each player." I'm sure the Entertainment (and Sports) Programming Network made every effort to develop quality rankings, but something is amiss. Too many players seem to be getting by on their reputation, while others deserve more attention and higher rankings. Perhaps part of the issue is that ESPN failed to define "quality." Or maybe the network is intentionally trying to generate television viewers and website clicks. Regardless, at TBCB we're breaking down the ESPN rankings by issuing our own. In today's First Annual TBCB Player Rankings, we're relying on advanced stats to help make the case for players that are both productive (as measured by their PER) and produce wins (as measured by Win Shares). Highlight reel dunks and points scored are fun, but they don't really matter if your favorite team puts in a losing effort night after night.

Photo by Iain Lees [CC-BY-SA-2.0], 

via Wikimedia Commons

I'll explain the approach below, but let's begin with what you came here to see. Listed below are the top 25 NBA players based on their 2011 Win Shares multiplied by their PER. It's a simple metric that has its flaws, but to reach the top you need to be both statistically competent and help produce wins. This is a combination we want from our stars, so it seems a good place to begin the discussion of who ESPN is over and underrating. I've also noted each player's TBCB and ESPN ranking. Note that a positive difference between these two rankings represents an underrated player, and a negative difference represents an overrated player.

TBCB Top 25

Player	TBCB   Rank	ESPN   Rank	Difference
LeBron James	1	1	0
Chris Paul	2	4	2
Kevin Durant	3	2	(1)
Kevin Love	4	7	3
Blake Griffin	5	14	9
Dwyane Wade	6	8	2
James Harden	7	26	19
Ryan Anderson	8	50	42
Dwight Howard	9	3	(6)
Andrew Bynum	10	13	3
Russell Westbrook	11	9	(2)
Tyson Chandler	12	23	11
Joakim Noah	13	36	23
Al Jefferson	14	44	30
Pau Gasol	15	15	0
Paul Millsap	16	53	37
Dirk Nowitzki	17	11	(6)
Marcin Gortat	18	57	39
LaMarcus Aldridge	19	20	1
Tony Parker	20	16	(4)
Greg Monroe	21	49	28
Marc Gasol	22	24	2
Carlos Boozer	23	67	44
Josh Smith	24	31	7
Kevin Garnett	25	21	(4)

A few observations can be made immediately. But before we begin, a few caveats. First, I'm among those who believe that stats can't be judged in isolation. Nothing beats watching the games with a trained eye, but the stats give us important information that we can use for making informed judgments. Since I didn't watch every game last season, I'm sticking with the numbers, but I recognize that they're only indicators. Second, the TBCB rankings reflect the 2011-12 season, which due to the lockout favored young players and teams, while the ESPN rankings also incorporate expectations for the upcoming season based on off-season changes. Again, the TBCB Rank is a starting point for discussion, and not expected to settle any arguments. Finally, I'm no statistics expert, but I recognize that every statistic and advanced statistic has its limitations, and combining certain statistics can result in strange results that overemphasize or deemphasize important information. However, wWith that said, let's get on with the good stuff.

Biggest Surprises

The most immediate surprise in the above chart is Ryan Anderson. Settle down Hornets fans. I don't actually believe that Anderson is a top 10 player, but I do think he's a lot better than he's typically perceived. Last season, his efficiency rating of 21.2 placed him 29th overall. He was also 9th overall in Win Shares, one spot behind Joakim Noah and just ahead of the Gasol brothers. Another big surprise is the absence of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. Where are they? Kobe is ranked 28th overall and Nash is 37th. And Nash might be breaking down. Uh oh.

[public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

Most Overrated 

Kobe Bryant clocks in as the most overrated player in the TBCB Top 50, followed by Derrick Rose, Many Ginobili, Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Rudy Gay. Each of these men were ranked at least ten spots higher by ESPN than by TBCB. Look, these guys are all great players. Half of them might even be Hall of Famers. However, their output last year isn't consistent with ESPN's rank this year. Maybe the gap was due to injuries, but if a guy is considered a great player but is often inconsistent and limited by injuries, is he really great anymore? This is one reason why I really enjoyed Aaron McGuire's analysis of the standard deviation of Steve Nash's Game Score. If we had this data for all players, we could have really great debates about whether it's better to be consistently good or inconsistently great.

Most Underrated

My favorite part of this analysis is identifying guys who might be overlooked. In this case, the most underrated players by ESPN are Thad Young, Lou Williams, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Ryan Anderson, Ersan Ilyasova, Marcin Gortat, and Paul Millsap. Are there any of these guys that you wouldn't want on your favorite team? Not me. My favorite of the bunch is Elton Brand, who I hope to see have a comeback year with the Mavericks. Although based on last year's numbers, it wouldn't really be a comeback year, would it? James Harden is also an underrated player appearing in our top 10. While not as underrated as Anderson, he definitely seems to deserve a max or near-max deal after this season.

The Top 50

Much more could be written about this, but my self imposed time limit for this post has passed. I've listed all the key details for the top 50 players below, so feel free to review, critique, debate, and discuss in the comments or on Twitter.

TBCB Top 50

Player	PER	WS	WS*PER	TBCB   Rank	ESPN   Rank	Difference
LeBron James	30.7	14.5	445.15	1	1	0
Chris Paul	27	12.7	342.9	2	4	2
Kevin Durant	26.2	12.2	319.64	3	2	(1)
Kevin Love	25.4	10	254	4	7	3
Blake Griffin	23.4	9.2	215.28	5	14	9
Dwyane Wade	26.3	7.7	202.51	6	8	2
James Harden	21.1	9.3	196.23	7	26	19
Ryan Anderson	21.2	8.9	188.68	8	50	42
Dwight Howard	24.2	7.7	186.34	9	3	(6)
Andrew Bynum	22.9	8	183.2	10	13	3
Russell Westbrook	22.9	7.9	180.91	11	9	(2)
Tyson Chandler	18.7	9.5	177.65	12	23	11
Joakim Noah	19.6	9	176.4	13	36	23
Al Jefferson	22.8	7.5	171	14	44	30
Pau Gasol	20.5	8.3	170.15	15	15	0
Paul Millsap	21.8	7.8	170.04	16	53	37
Dirk Nowitzki	21.7	7.6	164.92	17	11	(6)
Marcin Gortat	21.2	7.6	161.12	18	57	39
LaMarcus Aldridge	22.7	7	158.9	19	20	1
Tony Parker	22	7.1	156.2	20	16	(4)
Greg Monroe	22	7	154	21	49	28
Marc Gasol	18.4	8.2	150.88	22	24	2
Carlos Boozer	19.7	7.6	149.72	23	67	44
Josh Smith	21.1	6.8	143.48	24	31	7
Kevin Garnett	20.4	6.9	140.76	25	21	(4)
Derrick Rose	23	6	138	26	5	(21)
Paul Pierce	19.6	7	137.2	27	29	2
Kobe Bryant	21.9	6.2	135.78	28	6	(22)
Ty Lawson	19.4	6.9	133.86	29	48	19
Tim Duncan	22.5	5.9	132.75	30	27	(3)
Ersan Ilyasova	20.5	6.4	131.2	31	72	41
Carmelo Anthony	21.1	6.2	130.82	32	17	(15)
Chris Bosh	18.9	6.9	130.41	33	18	(15)
Andre Iguodala	17.6	7.3	128.48	34	28	(6)
Danny Granger	18.6	6.7	124.62	35	39	4
Louis Williams	20.2	6.1	123.22	36	88	52
Steve Nash	20.3	5.9	119.77	37	19	(18)
Roy Hibbert	19.3	6.2	119.66	38	35	(3)
Thaddeus Young	18.9	6.3	119.07	39	91	52
Serge Ibaka	19	6.2	117.8	40	41	1
Joe Johnson	18.4	6.4	117.76	41	33	(8)
Elton Brand	18	6.1	109.8	42	85	43
Mike Conley	16.8	6.4	107.52	43	65	22
Rudy Gay	17.8	6	106.8	44	32	(12)
David West	17.8	5.9	105.02	45	56	11
Manu Ginobili	24.1	4.2	101.22	46	25	(21)
Brandon Jennings	18.4	5.5	101.2	47	61	14
Kenneth Faried	21.9	4.6	100.74	48	71	23
Paul George	16.5	6	99	49	75	26
David Lee	19.7	5	98.5	50	59	9

HP: The Flickering Candle of Steve Nash

Throughout the year, TBCB recognizes good basketball writing as part of our Good Reads series (click on the Good Reads link above for more). Sometimes the articles are current, sometimes they're weeks or months old, and occasionally they're many years old. In any case, when I come across something I really like or that makes me wax nostalgic, I try to find time to post it here.

Last week, Hardwood Paroxysm, which happens to be the source of many Good Reads, posted an article on Steve Nash that's part of Aaron McGuire's extended player capsules series. The series is excellent, and this particular piece focuses on two of my favorite things: Steve Nash and advanced advanced stats.

[public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

In particular, McGuire discusses the standard deviation of Nash's Game Score over the last several years to show whether Nash is becoming less consistent over time. (As described by Basketball-Reference, Game Score is a rough measure of a player's productivity for a single game.) This caught my eye because I've been thinking about whether to factor Game Score into how I determine TBCB players of the game and also how it might be used to poke holes in ESPN's NBA Player Rankings (I'll post more on both of these topics soon). Examining the standard deviation of this stat over multiple seasons seems like a brilliant way to assess consistency and answer questions about whether a player is beginning to break down (also, introducing the standard deviation of this stat is why I refer to this as an advanced advanced stat). In Nash's case, McGuire argues that Laker fans should watch out.

Read the article here. You can also find more from McGuire's series here and follow him on Twitter here.

[Note: Upon further review, three of the last four Good Reads have cited Hardwood Paroxysm. With this in mind, we'll be sure to spread the love to other blogs for our next several Good Reads. You can always send suggestions via Twitter or email (champsbelt at gmail).]

1951-52: Mikan's Lakers Peak

Presidential term limits have long been a part of American government. While not under any formal obligation to limit their presidencies to two terms, four of the nation's first five presidents chose not to run for third terms (the second president wasn't reelected for a second term). This precedent stood until Franklin Roosevelt was reelected three times before he passed away in 1945. In February 1951, American presidents were formally limited to two terms when Minnesota became the 36th state to ratify the 22nd amendment.

Franklin Roosevelt

[public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

While the people of Minnesota were the deciding factor in limiting presidential terms, they had no interest in term limits for their Minneapolis Lakers. As covered previously on TBCB, while the Lakers raised the Belt more than any other team during the 1950-51 regular season, the Rochester Royals finished the season as NBA champions, ending the Lakers reign. However, in the fall of 1951, George Mikan's Lakers returned determined to regain the championship that was once theirs. The NBA widened the lane before the 1951-52 season in an attempt to limit Mikan's dominance, but this change proved to be ineffective as Mikan and the Lakers won the next three NBA titles.

Due the college point shaving scandals and the NBA's decision to ban players who were involved, the Indianapolis Olympians lost stars Ralph Beard and Alex Groza before the 1951-52 season began. The Olympians folded two years later, but despite (or perhaps because of) the ongoing drama in college basketball, the NBA was relatively stable during the summer of 1951. The only change of note was the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (Tri-Cities refers to Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa) moving to Milwaukee.

1951 was also the year that the world was first introduced to current NBA official Joey Crawford (b. August 30) and future stars Slick Watts (b. July 22), Bob McAdoo (b. Sept 25), and Bobby Jones (b. Dec. 18).


When we last left our tour of Championship Belt history, the Rochester Royals and New York Knicks were battling for the Belt in the 1951 NBA Finals. After a thrilling game seven that came down to the game's final minute, the Belt spent the summer of 1951 relaxing in upstate New York with Arnie Risen and Bob Davies.

Regular Season

On November 1, the Royals began their short-lived defense of the Belt with an opening day defeat of the Baltimore Bullets. However, the Royals were then defeated by the mighty Minneapolis Lakers in the second game of the season, sending the Belt back to the Lakers. The Lakers quickly lost the Belt to the Syracuse Nationals on November 4, but they won it again two games later and began the longest streak of the season, raising the Belt for a total of eight consecutive games. [Note: The complete list of games played involving the Belt during the 1951-52 season will soon be posted here.]

The Minneapolis Lakers are the story of the 1951-52 season. With only ten teams in the league, teams played each another many times over the course of the long season, giving each team multiple opportunities to win, lose, and regain the Belt. The Lakers took full advantage of these opportunities by winning, defending, losing, and again winning the Belt a record number of times. In total, the Lakers raised the Belt a total of 21 times during the 66 game regular season. George Mikan led the Lakers in most of these games, winning a total of 14 TBCB Player of the Game awards.



On December 2, the Lakers lost the Belt to Frankie Brian and the Ft. Wayne Pistons, who held it for only two nights before losing it to the relocated Milwaukee Hawks. [Note: Check out Brian's Wikipedia page. Apparently someone with a close connection to him has been making too many changes.] Then, after the Belt passed from the Hawks to the Baltimore Bullets and back to the Lakers, the New York Knicks took the Belt from the Lakers and raised it for a total in four consecutive games.

The Knicks were the Buffalo Bills of the early fifties. They finished the 1950-51 season by losing to the Royals in a seven game NBA Finals, and then they finished the 1951-52 season by losing a seven game Finals to the Lakers. In 1953, they again advanced to the finals. However, while only two game sevens separated the Knicks from winning both the 1951 and 1952 NBA championships, they were soundly defeated in 1953, losing the series four games to one. Adding yet another another second place finish, the Knicks raised the Belt 10 times during the 1951-52 regular season, finishing second to the Lakers in TBCB's team standings.

 

Walter Brown Trophy

Awarded to NBA Champions from 1949-1977

By Cmcnicoll at en.wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-3.0], 

from Wikimedia Commons

On December 26, the Knicks lost the Belt to the Hawks and it quickly found its way back to George Mikan's Lakers, who held it for eight of the next nine games. The Belt was then passed between various teams, spending time with the Knicks, Pistons, Lakers, Hawks, and Celtics before the Olympians and Warriors each held it for short stretches in February.

The Olympians, who retooled in the offseason after losing Groza and Beard to suspension, were led by veteran Don Lofgran and newcomer Joe Graboski during their four game streak. The Warriors were led by Paul Arizin in each of their three consecutive victories. Philadelphia's roster also featured the BAA's first star, Joe Fulks, and rookie Neil Johnston, who was soon to become an unstoppable force.

Shortly after the Warriors lost the Belt to the Bullets on March 1, the Celtics, led by young Bob Cousy and Ed Macauley, regained it and held on for five games. The season concluded with the Nationals and the Knicks each holding the Belt for two games, and the Knicks taking it into the 1952 playoffs.

Playoffs

Like they did in April 2012, the Knicks began the 1952 playoffs hoping hold the Belt throughout the playoffs and be crowned NBA champions. Led by Max Zaslofsky, the TBCB player of the 1940s, the Knicks defeated the young Celtics in the first round two games to one. The Knicks then handed Dolph Schayes and his Syracuse Nationals a three games to one defeat in the conference finals, setting the stage for a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.

The 1952 Finals featured a several strange occurrences, not the least of which was that six of its seven games were played in alternate venues. In New York, the Knicks were displaced from Madison Square Garden by the popular Barnum and Baily Circus. Similarly, three of Lakers' four home games were played in St. Paul because the Minneapolis Auditorium was booked for another engagement. Only game seven was played on either team's home court. Yet another odd occurrence was an official's mistake in game one that might have decided the game and the series. According to NBA.com:

In the first quarter, Knicks guard Al McGuire drove inside for a bucket and was fouled. But the goal wasn’t awarded, and McGuire was sent to the free-throw line instead.

 “Neither referee saw it and they gave him two shots instead of the basket and one,” explains Al’s brother and teammate, Dick McGuire. “I saw the ball going in the basket, and we couldn’t believe they gave him two shots.”

“I remember that very well,” says Knicks All-Star forward Harry Gallatin. “If they had counted that shot, it would’ve made a big difference in the series.” 

McGuire missed both foul shots, the game finished tied, and the Knicks eventually lost 83-79 in overtime. The Knicks battled back to win the second game, and the teams then alternated wins, leading to a game six in New York. However, with the Lakers leading the series three games to two, only 3,000 fans decided to attend the game at the Armory, which the Knicks won 76-68. Perhaps dispirited by their lack of fans support, the Knicks were then soundly defeated in game seven on the Lakers home court in Minneapolis. With this victory, the Lakers took both the Walter Brown Trophy and the Belt, which would once again spend the summer training with George Mikan and company in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.



Awards

As described above, the Lakers and George Mikan dominated the Belt during the 1951-52 season, winning TBCB's Team and Player of the Year awards. In total, the Lakers raised the Belt 21 times, followed by the Knicks (10) and Olympians (8) who finished a distant second and third. Mikan won Player of the Game honors in 14 games, and was followed by his teammate Jim Pollard and the Warriors' Paul Arizin, who each won five awards. Bob Cousy finished fourth by winning Player of the Game honors in four games.

While the Lakers went on to win the next two NBA titles, 1951-52 was the last time during the Mikan era that they dominated the Belt. With that in mind, expect to see new teams and faces leading the pack in future posts as we continue to explore the history of the Championship Belt of Basketball.

Coming Soon

TBCB will soon post answers to frequently asked questions about the Belt, discuss how the NBA was integrated, finalize preparations for the 2012-13 NBA season, and continue to update the roster of TBCB Champions. We'll also continue to post interesting historical tidbits as we begin preparing to review the 1952-53 NBA season.

Sources: Neft and Cohen's Pro Basketball Encyclopedia (5th Edition); Michael Schumacher's Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Birth of the NBA; previous blog posts; Basketball-Reference.com; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Youtube; and NBA.com.

TBCB Champions

TBCB readership has grown almost every month since the blog began earlier this year. To help both new and returning readers better understand the history of the Championship Belt of Basketball, we've added a page showing who has held the Belt throughout NBA history. The page currently features results from 1947-51, and we'll be adding more seasons over time. We'll eventually post information for all games from 1947 to the present, which will let readers answer important questions like "Who had the Belt when Joey Crawford was born?" (The answer is after the video below.) We'll post more information on how we've determined who currently holds the Belt as we get closer to the beginning of the 2012-13 NBA season.

In the meantime, take a moment to review the TBCB Champions page and follow the path of the Belt back in the early days of the NBA. As you can see, the basis of who holds the Belt is simple: To be the champ, you've got to beat the champ.



So, who held the Belt when Joey Crawford was born? The Rochester Royals. 

1951: Introducing Slick Watts

At TBCB, we love Seattle. The city that brought us the Space Needle, Pearl Jam, and Starbucks also features incredible fans dedicated to making noise and having fun at Seahawks and Sounders games. Seattle was also the long-time home of the SuperSonics, and investors are currently working to bring basketball back to the Emerald City.

Born in 1951, Slick Watts was a popular member of the Sonics between his 1974 arrival as an undrafted free agent and 1978 departure. He had his best year during the 1975-76 campaign, when he led the league in assists and steals and also made the All-Defense Team. Watts later worked as a high school gym teacher in Seattle.

While you're waiting for our upcoming post on the 1951-52 season, take some time to enjoy this video by the Seattle duo Blue Scholars, called (and starring) "Slick Watts." Also check out the Youtube comments, since some represent glowing reviews of Watts from his former students.



If you also happen to be fan of the Seattle radio station KEXP (like me), you might also enjoy this in-studio version.

1951: Scandal Takes Down The Olympians

The Indianapolis Olympians, which featured the stars of the 1948 Olympics and the 1948 and 1949 NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats, were a popular team with a bright future until Alex Groza and Ralph Beard were suspended in the wake of the 1951 point shaving scandals (read our report on the scandals here). The Olympians played the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons without their former stars and folded after the 1952-53 season.

I recently discovered this great history of the Olympians, which was prepared for Indianapolis's WNDY in 1996.

1951: The Year the World Met Joey Crawford

While researching the 1951-52 NBA season for our upcoming season recap, I rediscovered an entertaining Joey Crawford parody from several years ago. Crawford, who was born in August 1951, is believed by many to get too involved in the games he officiates. He once famously tossed Tim Duncan for "mocking officials from the bench" and challenged him to a duel.

"He looked at me and said, 'Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?"' Duncan said. "If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don't have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, 'Do you want to fight?" (via ESPN.com)

Crawford was suspended for the remainder of the 2007 season after challenging the Big Fundamental.



If you want to do a serious analysis of how Crawford officiates games, check out Basketball-Reference.com's NBA Referees Directory. Despite his reputation, games involving Crawford have averaged 3.5 fewer free throw attempts, 2 fewer personal fouls, and over 2 more points scored than the league average. In the playoffs, his numbers appear to be much closer the league average.

Maybe Crawford simply understands how to pick his spots. While his playoff stats might be close to average (which is a good thing), he's probably one of the only NBA refs to have ever fouled another player during a game.



The moral of the story? Don't get on Joey's bad side.

Our 1951-52 Season Summary is scheduled to be published next weekend. Until then, enjoy researching NBA officials and searching the web for Joey Crawford highlights. Send me a Tweet or email if you find anything interesting. 

1951-52 Preview: Neil Johnston's Rookie Whimper

One of my favorite things about writing this blog is rediscovering players who don't get discussed much these days. While preparing for the upcoming 1951-52 season summary, I was reminded that 1951-52 was the rookie season for the man who still ranks fourth all time in Win Shares per 48 Minutes. The first three men on that list, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, and Wilt Chamberlain, aren't complete surprises, although Robinson seems to be ranked high at number two. Numbers five through ten are also well-known players: Chris Paul, Lebron, Kareem, Magic, Barkley, and Manu Ginoboli. I'm surprised to see Paul and Manu ranked so high on this list, but at least each of them is in the midst of very respectable careers. All of these top 10 players are well-known to even the most casual fans except for number four. So, who is this mystery man?

 

Newsboy, 1910

[unrestricted] via Flickr

Number four on the list is the rarely-discussed Neil Johnston. Johnston's illustrious career began on November 3, 1951, when his Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons 70-69. On this day, the Warriors were led by second-year player Paul Arizin (22 points), Joe Fulks (20), and George Mikan's little brother Ed (11). Future Hall-of-Famer Johnston contributed a not-so-remarkable two points. This kind of output wasn't an anomaly during Johnston's rookie campaign, as he only averaged six points per game during his first season.

While his rookie season was disappointing, Johnston turned a corner and dominated the league during his second year. In particular, he led the league in minutes played, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws, points, and points per game and was second overall in total rebounds and rebounds per game. He was also named an All-Star and a member of the All-NBA First Team. Johnston followed this incredible season with several more, showing that he was much more than a one year wonder. During the course of his career, he would earn six All-Star appearances and would be named to the All-NBA First or Second team five times. He also won an NBA title as a member of the Warriors in 1956. Not a bad career for a guy nicknamed "Gabby."

Johnston didn't win any TBCB Player of the Game awards during his first season. But as you'll eventually see on this blog, he had a pretty stellar career record with the Belt. (If all this business about the Belt doesn't make sense to you, stay tuned for our upcoming post on frequently asked questions.) Unfortunately, Johnston's incredible Hall of Fame production came to an end when a knee injury suffered during the 1958-59 campaign ended his career.

Curtis Harris subtly awarded Johnston the 1954-55 MVP in the concluding post of Hardwood Paroxysm's Lost MVP series. Harris also previously wrote about Johnston in his Forgotten Warriors series. I suggest you read them both for more detailed accounts of Johnston's career.

For those still wanting more, you can see a brief Neil Johnston All-Star Game highlight at about two minutes and ten seconds into the following clip.

1947-55 Top 10: #9, Arnie Risen Joins the TBCB HOF

As TBCB continues to celebrate the early fifties, we're counting down the best NBA players who played between 1947 and 1955. This countdown recognizes the ten men who won the most TBCB player of the game awards between 1947 and 1955. As we work through the countdown, the top five men on this list who are not already members of the TBCB Hall of Fame will be inducted. TBCB Hall of Fame eligibility rules and requirements are described here.

At number nine, we recognize the newest member of the TBCB Hall of Fame, Arnie "Stilts" Risen. Risen barely missed the Hall of Fame cut when we counted down the top players of the 1940's. However, his inspired play continued into the early 1950's, finally earning him a place alongside other basketball elites. In total, Risen earned 14 regular season TBCB player of the game awards between 1947 and 1955.  He finished second in our player of the year standings for the 1948-49 season and tied for third overall in our 1953-54 standings. While our number ten player, Harry Gallatin, also won 14 player of the game awards, Risen won the tiebreaker and enters the Hall of Fame because he won more player of the game awards in the playoffs.

Postman on Stilts

[public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

As previously reported on TBCB, a six foot nine center/forward , Ohio State's Arnie Risen began his career with the National Basketball League's Indianapolis Kautskys in 1945. In 1948 he became a member of the Rochester Royals, where he played until joining the Boston Celtics in 1955. His career concluded as a member of the Celtics in 1958. Risen won NBA championships with the Royals in 1951 and the Celtics in 1957. He earned also all-BAA honors in 1948-49 and was named an NBA All-Star each year from 1952-1955. Risen was inducted into the official Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. Sadly, Arnie Risen passed away last month. NBA.com has a nice video feature on Risen here, where Bill Russell cites Risen as a mentor during Russell's early days with the Celtics.

Stay tuned for more as we continue explore the early 1950s and count down the top players of NBA between 1947 and 1955. Coming soon, we'll release our review of the 1951-52 NBA season, spotlight integration in the NBA, and reveal numbers 7 and 8 on our list of the top players between 1947 and 1955.

Dam Beavers: Point Shaving Rocks College Hoops

In the 1940s, college basketball was king. The local heroes of New York University, City College of New York, Long Island University, St. John's, and Manhattan College played to packed crowds at Madison Square Garden, which held over 16,000 fans, while the still second-class New York Knicks of the upstart NBA often played at the 69th Regiment Armory, which held only 5,000. Arena owners were focused first and foremost on maximizing profits, and college basketball was a more established and dependable draw. At the time, the Garden was the mecca of the college basketball world, hosting the NIT Tournament each year from when it began in 1938 and hosting the less prestigious NCAA championship seven times between 1943 and 1950. However, a scandal was brewing behind the scenes that would soon alter the public's view of the innocent college hoopsters and upend the balance between college and professional basketball.

CCNY Coach Nat Holman

[public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

As previously discussed on TBCB, in 1950 the City College of New York Beavers became the first and only team to win both the NIT and NCAA tournaments. Their success was unexpected. Disney's Cinderella was released in February 1950, and according to ESPN's College Basketball Encyclopedia, the term Cinderella was first used as a popular reference to a sports team when it was applied to the 1950 CCNY Beavers. While their more heralded counterparts were recruited to play at big time programs like Kentucky and Bradley, the young men of City College attended "The Harvard of the Poor" for the opportunity to play under former Original Celtics star Nat Holman and a high-quality education that came without the perks of more well-known college basketball factories.

At the conclusion of the 1950 season, the Beavers were recognized as a respectable team, but no one could have expected the success that was about to come. They began their improbable postseason by upsetting powerhouse Kentucky 89-50 in the NIT quarterfinals and then defeating Bradley 69-61 in the finals. Ten days later, they defeated Bradley again, 71-68, to win the NCAA tournament.



A newsreel from the time (above) refers to the team as frustrating, but doesn't explain why. Maybe they won games by smaller than expected margins, but they were still the champions of both major tournaments. What the fans and commentators didn't know at the time was that a major college basketball scandal would break about 10 months later that would shed light on their frustrations. In January 1951, the New York District Attorney's Office arrested two Manhattan College players and three bookies for bribery and conspiracy. The following month, three CCNY players were also arrested as the scandal continued to grow. In March, three additional City College players were arrested. In total, 32 players from seven colleges would be arrested for fixing 86 games over a three year period.

The CCNY players were never accused of throwing games, but there were certainly involved in intentionally winning by margins lower than the point spread to help bookies make money. An interview with the author of The Game They Played, below, provides additional information on the scandal and also shows highlights demonstrating the poor play produced by point shaving (highlights begin at 37 seconds).



A budding basketball powerhouse, City College would never recover from the point shaving scandal. In some ways, I feel I can relate. As a University of Minnesota student in 1997, I traveled to San Antonio to watch Bobby Jackson lead the Golden Gophers in a thrilling comeback victory against UCLA to win the Midwest Region and earn a spot in the Final Four. While the Gophers lost their next game and didn't advance to the NCAA Finals, Minnesota students and fans were still immensely proud of our team. I can clearly recall how the crowd in my dorm's television lounge grew larger and more boisterous with each regular season victory. The frenzy continued into the NCAA tournament and the Final Four, but we would later be disappointed to learn that the team's records would be invalidated due allegations of tutors doing homework for players. Two years later, I remember sitting in a half-empty University of Minnesota Student Union Theater, watching the shorthanded Gophers lose to lower-ranked Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA Tournament due in part to suspensions that had just been announced.

The disappointment of City College students must have been much more significant due to the team's unprecedented double championship and the fact that the scandal directly impacted the competitiveness of games that were played. CCNY students had watched their team achieve the impossible and then watched with horror as their heroes were exposed for collaborating with bookies and cheats.The 1952 City College yearbook explains:

We watched as one of the greatest teams in the history of basketball developed as frosh, matured through the adolescent stage during its sophomore year, then bloomed into full maturity at the close of that season, sweeping through unprecedented NIT and NCAA tournament championships, acclaimed throughout the country as New York's "Cinderella Kids." And then we looked on with unbelieving shock, disappointment, and in many cases bitter anger and resentment as the bubble suddenly burst.

In addition to impacting the Beavers, other programs were also left reeling. Players from Manhattan College, Long Island University, New York University, Bradley University, Toledo, and Kentucky were also eventually implicated. Madison Square Garden, also a major fixture in the scandals, was also impacted. While the Garden continues to host the NIT tournament, it has not hosted the NCAA Final Four since 1950. (Note that I have yet to read anything indicating that tournament games were impacted by the scandals; only regular season games were affected.)

Madison Square Garden, c1890

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons 

The NBA banned players who were involved in the scandals as collegiate athletes. These bans impacted a number of teams, but no team took a more significant hit than the Indianapolis Olympians. The core of the team, founded in 1949 as a replacement for the Indianapolis Jets, was comprised of the gold medal winning 1948 Olympic basketball team. Two of the team's stars, Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, were both suspended by the NBA in 1951 after they admitted to shaving points while in college at Kentucky, and the team eventually folded after the 1953 season. However, despite the bans, the NBA's long term prognosis was significantly improved as fans began to pay more attention to the professional game. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the Knicks' regular season attendance improved from about 152,000 in 1950-51 to almost 250,000 for the 1955-56 season.

The City College point shaving scandal reminds us that sports and gambling have always been linked. As a Dallas Mavericks fan, I still cringe when the subject of the 2006 NBA Finals is raised. I will never forget groaning along with other Mavericks fans at the Game 5 watch party at the American Airlines Center in Dallas as we watched Dwyane Wade take trip after trip to the free throw line in Miami. Rule changes were made before the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons that benefited aggressive guards and certainly played a role in the 2006 NBA Finals. However, doubt will always linger in the minds of many as to whether Las Vegas somehow affected the final outcome.

In the case of City College, we know definitively that gamblers impacted the results of many games. However, in an odd turn of events, modern day NBA fans have these very same gamblers to thank for setting in motion a series events that would ultimately contribute to the establishment of the NBA a member of the pantheon of the nation's greatest sports leagues.

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As always, feel free to contact me with edits or errors (Email: champsbelt at gmail.com; Twitter: @champsbelt). You might also be interested in reviewing the following selected sources for additional information on the scandal.

Websites

CUNY Library Website: Nat Holman: The Man, His Legacy, and CCNY.
Wikipedia entry on the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal
Wikipedia entry on Adolph Rupp
Wikipedia entry on the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
Hoopedia entry on the CCNY Beavers
Previous posts on champsbelt.com

Articles

Berman, Zach. Chaney recalls scandals of 1951 CCNY was among 7 schools caught shaving points. Philadelphia Inquirer. July 28, 2007. 

Goldstein, Joe. Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops. ESPN Classic, Nov 18, 2003.

Books

Cohen , Stanley. The Game They Played, by Stanley Cohen
ESPN and Bill Bradley. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game

Neft, David S., Cohen, Richard M. The Sports Encyclopedia, Pro Basketball

1947-55 Top 10: #10, Harry Gallatin

As TBCB continues to celebrate the early fifties, we're beginning our countdown of the best NBA players who played between 1947 and 1955. Similar to our list of the top 10 players of the 1940s, this list recognizes the ten men who won the most TBCB player of the game awards between 1947 and 1955. As we work through the countdown, the top 5 men on this list who are not already members of the TBCB Hall of Fame will be inducted. TBCB Hall of Fame eligibility rules and requirements are described here.

At number 10, we recognize the undersized 6 foot 6 center, Harry "the Horse" Gallatin. Between 1947 and 1955, Gallatin won TBCB Player of the Game awards 14 times. While never topping our player of the game standings for any single season, Gallatin finished third in TBCB's 1949-50 player standings; fourth in 1952-53; and third in 1953-54. He also ranks as the fifth best player in Hardwood Paroxysm's Lost MVP series for the 1949-50 season; the seventh best for 1951-52; and the seventh best for 1952-53.

Ilya Repin's The Ploughman Tolstoy in the Fields

 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Harry Gallatin played at Truman State before being drafted by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 1948 NBA draft. Gallatin played for the Knicks from 1948 until 1957 and then spent his final season as a member of the Detroit Pistons. During his playing days, he was named an NBA All-Star seven times and was named to the All-NBA team twice. Gallatin also coached the St. Louis Hawks from 1962-1965 and the Knicks during the 1965-1966 season. He was enshrined in the Professional Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.

While Gallatin is a member of the official basketball Hall of Fame, he barely missed the cut for entering the TBCB Hall of Fame. However, stay tuned for player number nine, who will become our newest Hall of Famer.