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In the final matchup of the first weekend of the Hall of Fame brackets, we have two Cal great athletes who slipped through the cracks, toiling on mediocre teams with mediocre coaches. This is your chance to show the love.
Anderson looks to improve upon his second round bouncing to Tony G last year; Carter is making his first appearance.
Winner goes on to take on Syd'Quan Thompson in the second round. Deadline to vote is by Friday at noon.
Ryan Anderson Cal Pre-Draft Highlights
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Ryan Anderson was as overlooked as they get in college, rollonubears argues:
Was/is an absolute monster. In my opinion, if he had stayed 4 years, he would have been considered an all-time Cal great. His freshman year he was robbed of Pac-10 Freshman of the year. His sophomore year he was one of the most underrated basketball players in the nation. He got absolutely no national recognition (talks about it here around 3:23), mostly because he wasn’t on a tournament team. Look at that team. The people surrounding him were pretty much awful (PChris was the only other good player on the team. This was back when Jerome Randle was the Nate Longshore of basketball). His starting point guard had a 1.2-1 A-TO ration. ERIC FUCKING VIERNEISEL AVERAGED 24 MINUTES A GAME ON THAT TEAM. I think I would give Vierneisel a run for his money in a pick-up game. He had a .298% on threes and still shot 84 of them. And don’t even get me started on Devon ’I’ll give effort when I feel like it’ Hardin. The point is that Anderson was that team. He was the only reason we made it to the NIT. That team minus Ryan Anderson would have had single digit wins
I am still angry that he never got any national props. Look at his stats that year: 21.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 49% from the field, 41% from three, 87% FT. He almost (and look how close he was) threw up a 20-10 in one of, if not the toughest conference in the nation. The Pac-10 was getting abundant love that year thanks to Love-Mayo-Bayless-Lopez twins-Budinger-Harden-Afflalo-that whole Wazzu team-etc. However, the guy who was most valuable to his team and who arguably had the best season that year got no love at all.
Ryan Anderson: the unloved Cal great.
Now highlighting it with the Magic, ieeebear has done his best to highlight Anderson's yeoman work as the tenth/eleventh man on an NBA title contender. Rain the 3s Ryan!
MinerNiner lays out the case for Carter.
Carter played for the California Golden Bears from 1996-2000. During his junior and senior years he was a unanimous All-Pac 10 Conference selection. In 2000 he won the Morris Trophy, awarded to the Pac 10’s top defensive lineman as voted on by the starting offensive lineman from the conference. In addition to being selected as the Golden Bears’ most valuable player, Carter was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation’s top defensive player. Finished as the school’s all-time sacks leader.
#2 seed Scott Fujita was also big on his old teammate, calling Carter his favorite teammate (HT kolwave).
When Fujita got to Cal as a 6-4, 195-pound safety who was the last man on the depth chart, his intensity on the practice field routinely perturbed his veteran teammates. "I was kind of the annoying, walk-on, ‘Scout Team All-American’ who irritated the old guys," Fujita explained. […] It was hard not to feel excluded, especially when everyone was lining up for training table and I wasn’t allowed to eat. Andre Carter would sneak me food all the time. He really took care of me in every way. He’s my brother from another mother."
Two sentimental favorites vying for a duel with the Squid in the second round. Take your pick!