There have been some great players to come into our town to face the Mean Green basketball team over the years. Mark Aguirre and No. 1 DePaul took on North Texas and a packed Super Pit in 1980, and “The Big O” Oscar Robertson dropped a career-high 62 points against NT at the Snake Pit back in 1960.
How about Michael Olowokandi, Lucious Harris, Lindsay Hunter, Chris Mihm or Wes Unseld?
James Anderson of Oklahoma State and Indiana’s Bracey Wright wowed crowds at the Super Pit, and plenty of fans will remember Kenneth Lyons battling Karl Malone and Louisiana Tech, as well as Joe Dumars and McNeese State in early ‘80s Southland Conference action.
Dumars, now the President of Basketball Operations for the Detroit Pistons, will be one of the 50-plus NBA scouts in attendance next Thursday (Dec. 20) when Lehigh comes to town. Tony Mitchell will, of course, be one of the players the NBA scouts will have their eyes peeled for, but the main attraction will be a player most folks in our neck of the woods probably haven’t heard of – C.J. McCollum.
McCollum, who led the Mountain Hawks to an improbable win over No. 2 Duke in the NCAA Tournament last season (he had 30 points), currently leads all of college basketball with 24.9 points per game on a gaudy 50.9 percent shooting. That’s right, the No. 1 scorer in college basketball will be at the Super Pit next Thursday. With 2,323 career points to his credit already, the 6-foot-3 McCollum has NBA scouts drooling.
With such a talent coming to town it got us wondering around the office, “Who is the best basketball player to ever play on our campus?”
Is it Robertson? Malone or Aguirre? If so, McCollum certainly belongs in the conversation. A quick check of his numbers and accolades show that they stand on their own. Is there anyone we are forgetting? Are we off base here?
No discussion like this would be complete without your feedback. We want to hear from you, the Mean Green fans, who is the best player to visit Denton? Please visit our Facebook and Twitter pages and let us know who you think the best opponent NT has ever faced!
