Spot Number 33 - Top 50 Spurs

[timvp]

SpursTalk's Top 50 Spurs
1. Tim Duncan
2. David Robinson
3. George Gervin
4. Gregg Popovich
5. Angelo Drossos
6. Manu Ginobili
7. Tony Parker
8. Sean Elliott
9. James Silas
10. Bruce Bowen
11. Larry Kenon
12. Avery Johnson
13. Alvin Robertson
14. Johnny Moore
15. RC Buford
16. Artis Gilmore
17. Peter Holt
18. Mike Mitc
19. Bob Bass
20. Malik Rose
21. Robert Horry
22. Red McCombs
23. Doug Moe
24. Terry mings
25. Mario Elie
26. Willie Anderson
27. Billy Paultz
28. Robert McDermott
29. Stephen Jackson
30. Mark Olberding
31. Stan Albeck
32. Brent Barry

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To pass the time until the start of preseason, let's see how SpursTalk.com ranks the Top 50 Spurs. Those eligible for the list include all players, coaches and owners. I don't want to define "top" too narrowly, but I think the best way to do it would be to think of the list as a list of the 50 most influential people who have helped make the Spurs one of the most successful franchises in the history of sport.

For more information on what we are doing, check out this thread.

In this thread, we will vote for spot number 33. Please place your vote. If you will, also explain in this thread why you voted how you did.

Thanks.



P.S.

Poll options listed in alphabetical order. If you want to vote for someone not on the list, post in the thread and I'll add the person.

Voting will end 2AM CST Thursday morning.

Please vote only once.

[Rynospursfan]

From a player standpoint I think the two players that stick out the most that should be on the list next are Rod Strickland and Dennis Rodman. I don't particularly like either of them that much because I feel they were major letdowns in a couple of the Spurs best chances to win a championship before 99. But these players clearly had a bigger impact on the Spurs than anyone else not already on the list.

I know Coach Bud got some play on the last round of voting but I think that is a bit premature. Last year was his first year as assistant head coach. As far as Fo guys and coaches go I think there are people far more deserving of this spot such as Larry Brown, Hank Egan, and maybe even Sam Presti.

[ShoogarBear]

Holy crap. Brent Barry over Mike Gale?

I'll make my case for the original Sugar tonight.

[ChuckD]

Egan. He devised the P'n'R defense that at last allowed us to slay the Jazz dragon, circa maybe 2000 or 2001. It was a soft double on Stockton that guided him towards the sideline, cutting his view of the floor, and safe passes, in half. They had owned our asses for the better part of a decade.

[Spooky]

I voted Mike Bud here, cuz I think he might get the votes over Vinny Del Negro. I don't think Vinny should voted this high at all.

[MrChug]

I'm of the original " HANK EGAN" fan club for going to the galiers.

[baseline bum]

It's ridiculous that anyone would vote Del Negro here. That soft is probably the worst player in franchise history to get significant starting minutes. I can't see how anyone in his right mind would pick Del Negro over players like Rod Strickland, Dale Ellis, Jaren Jackson, Dominique Wilkins, Gene Banks, Johnny Dawkins, Finley, Nazr, Perdue, etc. I'd even take Rodman or Steve Smith over that worthless POS.

[baseline bum]

Here's a great post from Extra Stout that sums Vinny Del Negro up pretty well

Vinny Del Negro was a slightly-above-average outside shooter, and could get to the rim on occasion. He was famous for his "hair fake."

He was probably the worst defender of any starting player in basketball at that time. The vision of Clyde Drexler scoring like it was practice in the 1995 WCF is burned into my brain. Throughout the mid-to-late 1990's, critics cited Del Negro as being too weak a starter for any team with le aspirations. They were correct.

He was also a world-class crybaby. Ray Allen is Admiral Freaking Cook in comparison. There is a reason he found the Phoenix Suns organization so attractive. He loved to cry to the media all the time. Bob Hill was his bedroom friend. Vinny never could take Pop's style of coaching, and bad-mouthed him to the Spurs' beat writer at the time, Kevin O'Keefe, who hated Popovich and David Robinson.

In 1999 Pop dumped Del Negro for Mario Elie. O'Keefe was as crushed as Steve Francis was when Cuttino Mobley was traded, and ripped Pop up and down in the paper as basically the second coming of Hitler. The E-N had enough and fired him.

The Spurs never looked back.

Del Negro went where all bags go -- Phoenix. He fit in perfectly there. Now he's going to go destroy the Chicago Bulls.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...58#post2600558

[2centsworth]

I'm going to go with Kerr here not only for his '03 playoff run, but mainly because he has been a very nice spokesman for the team.

However, it's real close between he and Gene Banks to me. I have to brush up on Mike Gale, because I know he was good too.

[2centsworth]

Vinney Del Negro

[Dex]

Now that I got my homer-iffic Brent Barry vote out of the way, I'll probably have to go with Budenholzer or Egan on this one. I could easily see Jackson or Vinny stealing a spot here too.

[Many PackYao]

Jaren Jackson for 33

[Spurminator]

Del Negro was never a starting-quality player but I wouldn't punish him for being played out of position. Compared to the others left on this list, he's got the best combination of numbers and tenure with the team. He shot at a consistently high clip and scored 13-15 ppg as a starter.

He was never very good and was possibly a , but he was a key part of the 90's Spurs, for better or worse. I'd have to defer to some of the older guys on whether some of the early Spurs were more impactful in other areas but Del Negro is my vote here.

[baseline bum]

Del Negro was never a starting-quality player but I wouldn't punish him for being played out of position. Compared to the others left on this list, he's got the best combination of numbers and tenure with the team. He shot at a consistently high clip and scored 13-15 ppg as a starter.

He was never very good and was possibly a , but he was a key part of the 90's Spurs, for better or worse.

Del Negro wasn't on any other team. In San Antonio he had the luxury of not having any guards with any talent whatsoever behind him to take his spot and minutes.

[FromWayDowntown]

I'm going with Mike Gale here.

I still think the arguments for Budenholzer are wholly dependent on rings and, if reasonable, would compel those who subscribe to that theory to vote almost any Spur of recent vintage over guys like Gervin, which I still find to be ridiculous.

Jaren Jackson is Steve Kerr several times over in terms of his contribution to a single le. Imagine Kerr repeating that Game 6 trick 5 different times over the course of a playoff run and you have what Jaren Jackson did in 1999 -- with several of those performances coming on the road in put-away games. I can't imagine a scenario in which one could reasonably vote for Steve Kerr over Jaren Jackson.

Steve Kerr's legacy with the Spurs is defined by 4 shots -- maybe 5 -- he hit over the period of about a week in the late spring of 2003. Jaren Jackson, by contrast, had 5 or more triples in a game on numerous occasions during the 1999 playoffs (Game 4 at LA (6-11); Game 3 at Portland (6-11); Game 1 against New York (5-10)) and drained backbreakers galore that summer (Game 4 at LA; Game 4 at Portland; Game 5 at New York).

Kerr was such a vital part of the 2003 le team that he played a grand total of 10 minutes in the pivotal series that year against LA -- 6 in the Game 2 blowout, 2 in the Game 3 blowout, and 2 in the Game 6 blowout. Kerr didn't even play in the series against Phoenix that year, in which the games were much closer. And played a grand total of 16 minutes against the Mavs that year, getting DNP's in 3 of the 6 games. Now, he did hit 4 huge shots against Dallas (though Jax and Manu might quarrel with anyone about who hit the bigger shots that night). But how, exactly, does that make Kerr better than Jaren Jackson?

I also fundamentally disagree with this:

I'm going to go with Kerr here not only for his '03 playoff run, but mainly because he has been a very nice spokesman for the team.

I'd dispute Kerr as a nice spokesman for the Spurs. Like I said elsewhere, Pop and Kerr have had more than a couple of scrapes (including Pop's "You're wearing too many hats" beauty from 2007) that have grown out of Kerr's positions about the Spurs.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Vinny Del Negro sucked. Please, for the love of God, don't vote Del Negro into the top 50.


Mike Gale, Gene Banks, Swen Nater, Coby Dietrick, George Johnson....even Dave Corzine needs some love soon...but people need to forget about Vinny and Rasho....ughhh!!!







But save room for the man who used to do those vicious helicopter dunks because that guy was awesome!!



Gale gets my vote here.

[baseline bum]

I don't really believe Budenholzer deserves this spot, but I voted for him because Del Negro is less deserving of it. Almost feels like November 2nd already.

[urunobili]

Del Negro getting this much love?

[FromWayDowntown]

Budenholzer getting this much love?

FIFY

[urunobili]

FIFY

i voted Egan on this one... i gave up on trying to make everybody appreciate what Bud brings to the table... check who voted who before playing smart ass...

Can you please explain why Del Negro deserves to be here >Budenholzer?

Thanks in advance,

urunobili

[FromWayDowntown]

i voted Egan on this one... i gave up on trying to make everybody appreciate what Bud brings to the table... check who voted who before playing smart ass...

Can you please explain why Del Negro deserves to be here >Budenholzer?

Thanks in advance,

urunobili

Et tu, urunobili?

I've already explained that I think Mike Gale deserves to be here, not Del Negro.

[Admiral]

I watched Vinny Del "Fuego" way too many times to vote for him now. He wasn't awful, but he was far from the capable guard we needed to win les.

I feel much the same way about Rodman. He was an incredible rebounder and tough defender, but there is no way he deserves to be considered at this point. He had too many glaring weaknesses in his game. Those weaknesses, coupled with his horrible me-first at ude and disruptive antics, were a major reason why we did not win a le in the mid-90's. A decent starting guard and someone besides Rodman would've probably been enough to get us our first le. Oh well.

For spot number 33, I am voting for Gene Banks.

[timvp]

I'm going to go with Kerr here not only for his '03 playoff run, but mainly because he has been a very nice spokesman for the team.

Were you impressed when he fought against Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw getting suspended or when he want on national television saying Tim Duncan should get suspended for leaving the bench? Pop's "you're wearing too many fvcking hats, Stevie" line clues me in that Kerr hasn't been the best Spurs spokesman in history.

[rascal]

Wilkins should be on the list now. But my vote is for Swen Nater(good enough for an aba all star game) Gale is a close 2nd. Del Negro is a big reason why the spurs could never win it all before Duncan and he should not be on the list anytime soon.

[2centsworth]

Were you impressed when he fought against Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw getting suspended or when he want on national television saying Tim Duncan should get suspended for leaving the bench? Pop's "you're wearing too many fvcking hats, Stevie" line clues me in that Kerr hasn't been the best Spurs spokesman in history.

I'm more speaking as a commentator. He was a spurs homer, much like Sean.

As far as his association with Phoenix, it is similar to Avery and Dallas.