Check out the full bracket here.
To check out the original nomination thread, click here.
For those who love the Hall of Fame and want to track all these posts, click here or right next to the timestamp above where it says "Hall of Fame".
This post's matchups: JJ Arrington vs Brian Hendrick, Dante Hughes vs Lamond Murray
We move onto the bottom half of the Pappy Waldorf bracket! Top two matchups get posted this morning, bottom two this afternoon. Polls for these matchups close next Friday at midnight. The athlete matchups are above, the athlete descriptions and polls are after the jump. Please read, vote, and debate in the comments!
#3 JJ Arrington vs #14 Brian Hendrick
via i.a.cnn.net
Tightwad Hill encapsulated Arrington's 2004 season perfectly.
Cal fans were understandably anxious to see what Arrington would do carrying the full workload in 2004. What he did was have the greatest season by any player in the history of Cal football. That’s right. The greatest season ever.
In each of his 12 games, Arrington hit for at least 100 yards – the only back in America to make that claim. Against Air Force in the opener, he scored three times including an 89-yard run that set a Cal record. 3 more scores against NMSU, and then a couple of off games – 108 yards and a TD v Oregon State and 112 in the heartbreak loss to SC. Then J.J. got serious.
The first 1:19 are the only Cal highlights I could find of JJ. The run at :49 is my favorite. Nice tackling Ducks.
We haven't even discussed his 31 carry, 261 yard, 2 TD performance in Hattiesburg with the Rose Bowl starting to become a huge question mark. People would probably remember JJ's season more if we punched our tickets to Pasadena the next day, but so it goes. We didn't even mention he was a two star recruit. Not too shabby.
Ohio Bear talks a little about Hendrick's Golden Bear accomplishments.
4 generally solid years for Cal (3 for Campanelli, 1 for Bozeman). I believe he made All Pac-10 as a freshman and sophomore before injuries kind of sidelined him. Still a very good career and worthy of consideration for HOF.
California Pete also includes how Hendrick help beat Bobby Knight's Indiana team in the tourney. LeonPowe mentions meeting him in Japan, and indeed he did spend a year playing there. Also met his wife there too!
He was also involved in a huge brouhaha as captain of the team when Coach Campanelli was fired, detailed here in the New York Times.
Meanwhile, a skeptical Campanelli fumes. "I was fired over abusive language? That's ridiculous," he said. "Ask Brian Hendrick. He was with me five years. Ask Brian Hendrick."
Hendrick, the captain, rounded up later that day, said in a monotone: "Well, Coach was a screamer, to say the least. I'd grown numb to it myself, but it was to the point that the other guys felt it was getting too personal. I'm with them."
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#6 Dante Hughes vs #11 Lamond Murray
Daymeion, or as he’d later be known, Dante Hughes was one of the most dominant if not the most dominant cover corner Cal had ever seen. Many multi-year players in college show vast swings in their ability from year to year, or have careers rendered moot and inconsistent by injury or other distraction. With a steady progression from solid to spectacular over his four years at Cal, Daymeion showed none of this. A highly lauded dual threat recruit, Daymeion was equally dangerous rushing and passing. His stellar D in addition to the 15 TDs and yardage totals he chalked up landed him as the #41 player in the nation coming out of Crenshaw High School in LA. Starting as a true freshman in the oh-so-innocent Tedford days of 2003, he won team freshman of the year, and in a sign of things to come, intercepted his first pass for a 72 yard TD vs. Oregon State. His sophomore year brought continued development, starting in 11 games and honing his approach and tackle skills. Daymeion truly started to shine in 2005, his junior year, in a vein not seen since Deltha O’Neal. With five interceptions, 16th nationally, for a massive 159 return yards, His senior season was stunning. Eight interceptions for a hundred and then some yards and two more for TDs, seventeen pass breakups, and 72 tackles. QBs hardly dared throw near him. With his partner in defense Tim Mixon out of Cal with untimely injury problems, Daymeion found time to tutor an up-and-coming freshman named Syd’Quan Thompson. It appears to have worked. His hard work was well rewarded. In addition to the Lott trophy, Hughes was an AP first-team All American and the Pac-10 player of the year. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and continues to play for them under the new persona of Dante Hughes. Thank you for your hard work Daymeion! DelthaDaymeion effectively shut down half the field for opposing QBs, and along with Tim Mixon was a major force in the (mostly) rock solid 2005 D. His play also led to two of the more inventive facebook groups to be created for Cal football players (Group 1 & Group 2 here, click on them!).
People might remember Greg Van Hoesen being big on art, but Dante was his quiet counterpart.
Daymeion Hughes Highlights from ken livingston on Vimeo.
He was really good at this football thing too.
via i.a.cnn.net
The best scorer I’ve ever seen at Cal – and I saw Ed Gray, Sean Lampley and ‘Reef play. Effortless, smooth jump shots, making 3s from all over, Mid range. Also had to play out of position at power forward due to Al Grigsby’s (multiple) injuries. BUttery smooth left handed jumper. Led the Pac-10 in scoring (and maybe rebounding) one year. Of course, wasn’t Pac 10 Player of the year due to another Cal player (um, Jason Kidd)
Couldn't find any clips of Murray at Cal on his own, mostly of him finishing off Kidd lobs. Enjoy some of his power finishes (it's scattered in here, he's Number 21)
He did have a productive NBA career, but unfortunately had to be drafted by the Clippers and hence spend most of his pro time in relative obscurity. It would not be a huge stretch to consider him one of the top ten Clippers ever. Nice tidbit: Teamed up with Kidd in New Jersey in his final season in the league. He now plays for the Los Angeles Lightning in the IBL and is averaging a 25-7 this season.
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