Hey, TM - - you are spot on. Hakeem did peak in mid-'90s as THE #1 PLAYER IN THE WORLD! And he was terrific until then, as well. Dream, in fact, took 2nd seat to no other 5 in his first decade in the League. Better than Kareem, certainly during their years together, the Admiral, Patrick of NYC etc. Keep it up, Tinman, the past - - is prologue!
Tinman enjoy your thread. Most don't realize Dream's play was always solid. Most don't know how the League never gave Dream the respect, like they did to Ewing or Robinson when they came into the league. I remember how the Dream never had the hype those two did from the league. Being 46 I grew up watching the Dream dominate and was spoiled for it:grin:
I watched Hakeem from his days of ridiculous blocking into row 5, and dunking on everyone as ferociously as possible all the way to his 90's days of cultured low post, back to basket play. The most versatile player ever, a true 2 way player, and for my money the best to ever play the game at any position. Sometimes i do feel frustrated that he was never given the box office treatment that Ewing/Robinson et al were given, but because of that, when you show someone a highlight reel like the one in the OP, you can see peoples opinion change on the spot, they are truly surprised, thats a great feeling.
Dalembert's play is almost Olajuwon-like, I'm talking about the defensive side. Not only does Samuel go for 1 block, he goes after it until he gets it. Many times, I've seen him jump and jump trying to block. The stamina of Samuel is almost like Dream, except Hakeem would try to block you even if you try to dunk. One reason, I love Hakeem is he is fearless, nowadays players just let them dunk.
Hey Tinman, here's a history lesson for you. Who was the only player to be named NCAA's Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament? Spoiler
<object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iRLWShrCTsY&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iRLWShrCTsY&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></embed></object> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vc-zZNDdCsU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Now when you watched Akeem when he was number "35" - than you know who Akeem is!
this is part of your education and history as a Rockets fan Kinda like Outkast didn't just show up for "Hey Ya!" they've been dropping hits for along time <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eIUzq7X020A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Anyone who can't revel in some Dream related history should be perma-banned from this site. Shut up, watch and learn. Dream.
See stuff like this something a fan should learn or know. To know just Dream's championship years is the Cliff's notes of Rockets History not the full story.
I moved to Houston in June 1986 and had the pleasure hitting the clubs with Dream and catching the fall off jump offs. That's when Houston didn't shut down until 4am.
How many know that Akeem was redshirted by Guy Lewis his freshman year, and that the NCAA attempted to disallow it, because he'd practiced with the varsity for 15 minutes? Coach Guy V appealed the ruling and Dream was able to get 4 years of eligibility. So, although leaving UH after his junior season to be the #1 pick in the draft, Akeem spent 4 years on the UH campus. The funny thing is that he initially thought being redshirted meant he couldn't practice or play with the varsity for 4 years, and he nearly returned home to Nigeria. And man, was he skinny that first year on campus!
