So the talk of college basketball by and large this year has
been the great freshmen class that is dominating right now. But let’s not
forget, there are some other great players in college basketball too. I’m talking
about those guys who have played multiple years in college. So today, I’m
picking a team (10 players) of freshmen, and then a team with everyone else
(sophomores, juniors, seniors). Then we’ll debate on who would win:
Youth
G Nigel
Williams-Goss Washington
F Andrew
Wiggins Kansas
F Jabari
Parker Duke
F Aaron Gordon Arizona
F/C Julius Randle Kentucky
G Andrew
Harrison Kentucky
G Sindarius
Thornwell South Carolina
G/F James Young Kentucky
F Noah Vonleh Indiana
C Joel Embiid Kansas
Experience
G Marcus Smart Oklahoma
State
G Russ Smith Louisville
F C.J. Fair Syracuse
F Doug
McDermott Creighton
C Adreian
Payne Michigan State
G Shabazz
Napier UCONN
G Tyler Haws BYU
G/F Sean
Kilpatrick Cincinnati
F James
Michael McAdoo North Carolina
C Alex Kirk New Mexico
Greg: I believe the freshmen team
would win. They are at least as talented at every position but PG, and
have great size and scoring ability. The freshmen team is also more athletic,
and due to the new rules in college b-ball this year, in order to play defense
without fouling you need that athleticism.
I
also think that the "Experienced" team is a bit soft, with the
exception of Marcus Smart. Smart may be good enough to win this game anyway,
but I think if you look up and down the “youth team”, they are all very solidly
built, tough players. Rebounding and shot blocking would be a decided edge for
the freshmen team.
When
I compared the teams, I found myself liking the freshmen team better at SG, SG,
and C. I only liked the experienced team more at PG, and PF. The Center
position was close, but since Randle has already dominated Payne once this year
and Embiid is actually more of a true center than any of them I went with the
Freshmen/Youth.
I
love Jabari Parker, I think he is the second coming of Lebron James, in a less
offensive persona. He needs to take his nutrition and physical conditioning a
little bit more seriously, but he is without a doubt in my mind the best player
on the court here. Marcus Smart is the only other player capable of challenging
that, but I think Parker's inside/outside game and combination with Gordon,
Randle, Embiid, Vonleh, and Wiggins would eventually make the difference in the
game here. The Youth team has too much scoring and athleticism for the “Experienced
Team” to compete with, even with Napier and Smart running the show.
I
like the Youth team in a 95-90 win, with Parker leading the way with 19 and 13.
Andrew: I’ll take the veteran squad. We’ve
actually even seen this play out this year in some regard… The first example
was an experienced Michigan State handling the freshmen team at Kentucky. We
also saw Kasey Hill (freshman) get overwhelmed against the vets of Wisconsin.
Plus, we watched UCONN execute better than the young Hoosiers, and take
freshmen Vonleh and Williams out of the game. Jabari Parker’s Duke squad has
been shaky throughout the year, while Marcus Smart’s Cowboys have been
dominating teams. There are plenty of examples to choose from, but experience
counts.
Taking
a look at the rosters, I’ll admit the freshmen team has more upside, but we’re
debating on a game being played now, not in five years. The experienced team
has been in big games and knows how to play basketball much better at this
stage in their careers. Plus their “know-how” easily overcomes the athletic
advantage the freshmen would have. I also think the experienced team has much
better shooting, they pass better, and they have much better scoring. All ten
of these experienced guys have been lighting it up this year… look up the stats
if you don’t believe me.
Most importantly, in college basketball, guard play is so
vitally important. The guards for the experienced team blow the youth guards
away. I also think depth is so much better for the upperclassmen here. When I
picked the freshmen team, I listed six guys easily, but struggled to come up
with 4 other guys worthy of this game. When I picked the experienced team, it
was hard to just pick ten guys out of 30-40 worthy of this game. All of them
are stars now, which can’t be said of the youth team.
So while Jabari Parker and even Randle individually would be
tough to handle, I don’t see the freshmen team being able to defend the
experienced team as a whole at all. They would eat up those young guys. So I’d
take your score and make it higher… 105 to 91, the upperclassmen win.
By: The Sports Guys
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