Alright everyone in the first round of the Hammertime Sports Tournament the number one overall seed matched up against the 16, Michigan. The other matchup this week was a 2/3 matchup of powerhouses UCONN and Georgetown.
UCLA: Lineup: Kareem Abdul-Jabar (Formally Lew Alcindor), Bill Walton, Reggie Miller, Jamaal Wilkes, Russell Westbrook.
When we were thinking about the team to beat in this tournament, it was difficult to overlook this towering UCLA squad. This was our number one overall seed going into this tournament, and it's easy to see why.
Lets start at the top: Kareem was as close to a truly unstoppable player as basketball has ever seen. 7 foot 2 and impossibly long, Kareem perfected the sky hook on the way to 29 points per game as a senior.
Got a way to stop this? No? Join history in that regard.
Kareem only might be enough to win this tournament of college players, mostly because there aren't too many 7 foot 2 guys in this tournament, other than the guy on his team, that is, Bill Walton. Walton grabbed 15 rebounds a game for a total of 1,370 in his career.
Reggie Miller is rarely mentioned as an afterthought, but that's what he is on this team. With as many resources as teams would have to commit to the post threat of Walton and Alcidor, Reggie would make it rain. Westbrook wasn't in school long enough to be a great college player, but he was still ridiculously athletic player who got his hand on everything. Add in Wilkes, one of the smoothest players to play the game, and this is a very formidable squad.
Michigan: Lineup: Glen Rice, Chris Webber, Trey Burke, Juwan Howard, Rudy Tomjanovich
Taking Glen Rice over Jalen Rose was a tough call, but I feel like the sweet shooting Rice is the right call. The need for size puts Juwan Howard in the lineup as well.
Although Tomjanovich was undersized, he was a ferocious insider scorer and rebounder, still the leading rebounder in Michigan History.
Even though Rudy T was most famous for getting his face broken
He was a heck of a player at Michigan.
Burke is coming off a Player of the Year win and led his team to the national championship game. As steady as they come, Burke's scoring and passing are much needed on this team. Before webber blew out his knees in the NBA and became a jump shooter, he was one of the most explosive basketball players I have seen in my lifetime.
UCONN: Lineup: Emeka Okafor, Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall, Caron Butler.
The need for a bigger wings keeps Rip Hamilton on the bench for Butler. This is another stacked team with a lot of scorers. Both Okafor and Marshall were grown men in college, Okafor didn't do any one thing spectacularly well, but was well rounded and steady in the post for the huskies for four years. Kemba Walker was an undersized guard who basically single handedly won a national championship with his scoring ability. Ray Allen may be the best pure shooter of all time, and Butler is a big and versatile wing, a walking matchup nightmare.
Georgetown: Lineup: Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Jeff Green, Otto Porter
Looking at this roster, you may have one of the most balanced dream teams taking the floor.
Patrick Ewing was one of the most intimidating presences to ever grace a basketball court, and pair him with a young Zo, who was basically the same guy and that's a load to deal with. Everyone knows Iverson basically invented the modern crossover and could score at will, Jeff Green and Otto Porter are big time matchup problems on the wing.
So now we get into the tournament. Before I wrote out the teams on this on I thought UCLA would walk away with this bracket, but at a second glance this is closer than it looks.
Matchup 1: UCLA VS Michigan.
The only way Michigan has a chance in this one is on outside shooting and if Trey Burke has a phenomenal slash and kick game. Unfortunately for him, the athlete that is Russell Westbrook doesn't have much to do on this team other than stop him from getting to the paint. Which he does. Burke ends up with an inefficient 15 points and seven assists, but Westbrook keeps him from getting into a rhythm with two steals, two blocks and 8 points all coming in transition.
UCLA dominates inside. Walton pull down 13 rebounds and 22 points, feasting all night on the shorter Howard. Kareem puts up a stellar 28 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Chris Webber just can't get anything going inside due to UCLA's superior length and has to settle for jumpers. Rice and Miller cancel each other out.
Final Score: UCLA 88, Michigan 72.
Matchup 2: UCONN v Georgetown
What a matchup. How is this the first round? Who made this bracket? Oh wait.
Despite Emeka Okafor's workman like performance, Georgetown has an advantage inside. Zo and Marshall would be a heck of a matchup, but the help defense would have to shift to one of the two Georgetown bigs. It's a war, but Ewing finishes with a double double, 18 and 11, and Zo puts up a similar 14 and 9.
Okafor holds his own on defense but can't get anything going against Ewing, finishes with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Zo is just too big defensively for Marshall.
This game is truly played by the guards though. Watching Kemba and Iverson go at it would be like watching a couple lightning bolts bounce off each other.
Neither player is much for defense, Iverson puts up 24 and Kemba a cool 22, both lead their teams in scoring. Ray Allen runs around Marshall Screens all night for 17 with Porter putting up 12 and 8.
You forget how athletic Caron Butler was in college, So here's this:
Jeff Green was still skinny in college and couldn't handle him.
And Jeff Green beat an extremely talented UNC team by himself that year:
But Jeff Green was such a crafty scorer, he would get his on Caron as well.
In a close game, the difference comes down the post options for Georgetown. Ewing may not have gotten his average against Okafor, but he and Zo bother shots at the rim all night. Iverson's mid range game keep them ahead slightly going into the fourth. A Kemba Walker fade away clanks off the rim at the buzzer.
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