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CGB Hall of Fame: (5) Michele Granger v. (12) Ryan Anderson

Michele Granger, Gold-medal Olympian at Atlanta in Softball, faces off against NBA Star Ryan Anderson in the 5-12 matchup in the Pete Newell Region.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

(5) Michele Granger

LeonPowe nominates Granger:

On the short list of best softball players ever. 1996 Gold Medalist. This article encapsulates her accomplishments
From 1989-93 Granger amassed 1,640 strikeouts and 94 shutouts in 183 games, both NCAA records.The statistic that perhaps exemplifies Granger's dominance are her 25 no-hitters, five of which were perfect games Granger holds the top four spots in single-season strikeouts at Cal, and her 484 strikeouts during her senior year were a record at the time.


25 no hitters. 25 no hitters.

Granger was the winning pitcher when the USA Softball team that won the sports' first Olympic gold medal in 1996. At the 1996 games, Granger finished with a 2-0 record, a 0.87 ERA and 25 strikeouts. Granger, who now resides in Davis, Calif., compiled a 13-7 record in five U.S. Olympic Festivals, went 4-0 in two ISF World Championships and 9-0 in three Pan American Games. She holds record for most consecutive strikeouts in a Women's Major Fast Pitch National Championship (18).

Granger played for Cal from 1989-93. She is the Golden Bears' all-time career leader in wins (119), games played (183), games started (162), complete games (155), innings pitched (1,202.2), strikeouts (1,640), shutouts (94), no-hitters (25) and perfect games (5).

(12) Ryan Anderson

You can check out some of his highlights here

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.

Kodiak: Incredibly versatile. Inside and outside threat. Equally adept at hitting
the 3-ball as finishing around the basket with an array of post moves. Even started to incorporate a dribble drive game in his final year. Not an exceptional athlete, he grabbed boards with smarts and scored over bigger/faster guys with better fundamentals. If he had stayed to work with Monty, could have been one of the best bigs to ever don a Cal uniform.