NowherePoke said:
DocHolliday said:
NowherePoke said:
DocHolliday said:
To preface, let me be clear, the comment you are about to read has nothing to do with the just completed game, and it is almost unthinkable to the well majority of terrific Pokes fans here.
Larry Nance.
A good player, yes.
An overrated player as well?
In my opinion, the answer is once again, yes.
I'll be shocked if he ever plays in the NBA.
Let the War now commence...
Overrated relative to what? I guess I don't see the relevance of his NBA prospects. They aren't great, but they never have been (go look at any NBA draft prediction). So, are you saying he is overrated as a draft prospect? He is rated very low, if at all in that regard so not sure where you get that.
NBA prospects are a poor gauge for evaluating the impact and level of most MWC players however. By your method, guys like Leckner, Dembo, Bailey, etc were bums.
In the context of a college player at UW, Nance is a legitimate two time first team All-MWC player and one of the top two players to don the Brown and Gold in the last decade along with Brandon Ewing (who didn't play in the NBA either). He also provided a positive public face and stayed all four years. If his career is not good enough for you, then I suggest you move back to whatever shit hole you came from and stop sullying the Wyoming Cowboys with your misplaced fandom.
Is that what you were looking for?
Overrated in the sense that the Pre-Season MWC Player Of The Year was too often not the best player on the court in too many games this past season.
I guess I just disagree with this. Pre-mono I thought he was clearly the 2nd best player in the MWC (although I could see a case for Marvelle Harris). The fact that Marks was better was more a reflection of Marks being underrated or improving his game than any weakness in Nance's performance. He was clearly not 100% physically early in the OOC, but he was still having an impact and by the time conference play came around he was carrying this team, to a 8-2 start. Without him at 100% this was a very weak team. When Bailey went down, the Pokes still finished 3rd in a MWC that was tougher than the current version. How would this years squad sans Nance fare against that schedule? Near the bottom of the league, no doubt.
Nance's legacy is limited by injury and a weak supporting cast, but he is one of the Top 7-8 players I have seen at UW in 30 years of fandom. That's JMO obviously, but I would be interested in your take on who was better at UW in whatever time frame you choose and who was better in the MWC, besides Marks of course.
NP understand I am far from trying to flog Larry Nance, on the contrary, he is a terrific player who I believe was misused by Shyatt this season to a great extent.
I also believe that he was probably more singularly important to his team than any one other player on any other team in the MWC.
Where the
'overrated' aspect comes into play for me is in his pre-season honor, and what I felt were games where he disappeared for too many stretches.
The bottom line is that I just don't feel the overall game and talent matches up with the hype associated with his name.
Is he a great kid? Obviously.
Was he sick this season? Of course, and it has affected him since he got back from the mono
(of which I had at one time).
Was he a tremendous ambassador for the University of Wyoming? Of course...and it was my privilege to see him play the last few years.
I think he was a very good player during his time at Wyoming -- but not a
'great player' in my humble opinion.