Most of my favorites have been mentioned, but a few haven't. Mike Newlin has to be one of my top five, regardless of position. He was a super intelligent guy who was very physical and hard as nails. For those of you who don't know, his front teeth are false. Got them knocked out a long time ago. Very good shooter. Obviously, you couldn't put him above Hakeem or Moses, but who didn't like the Whopper? Hey, a big fat white center who was really effective. Lastly, I think Tom Henderson was the best pure point guard the Rockets have ever had. He could shoot when he needed to, but always looked to set someone up first. He had a big body for a guard and used it well to shield the ball and defend. Oh, by the way, he could run a fast break. No need for a point forward. Of course, you can put me down for Calvin, Rudy, Hakeem, Moses, Clyde and the Big E as all time favorites. No one on the current squad, yet, although I think Eddie will be in the future.
I'm with Jeff. Watching Moses and Hakeem play is as goodas it gets. I don't think any player played as hard as Moses. Whats funny is he never fouled out of a nba game. .I find that pretty amazing.
C/ Hakeem Olajuwon PF/Charles Barkley SF/Robert Horry SG/Clyde Drexler PG/Sam Cassell Other Favorites-- Mario Elie, Mad Max, Steve Francis, Chucky Brown, Sam Mack, and Brent Price.
C - Moses Malone : The work ethic, the sweat, the rebounding. The guy would sweat like a river and was just a hard worker. He is the definition of "blue collar". I cried as a kid when I heard he had been traded. PF - Charles Barkley : Ass kicking, rebounding, trash-talking machine that could back it up. In his prime, there was no more lethal a PF with the exception of maybe McHale. And don't even give me that Karl Malone crap. Barkley ran the break faster than most guards did, and he took it coast to coast resulting in some of the most thunderous dunks the NBA has ever seen. If you've never watched Barkley play until the last few years of his career, check out some games from the first 2 or 3 seasons - he was unbelievable. He also backed up his teammates which was cool. Barkley was like a buffalo-turned-ballerina when he played, and damn it was sweet to watch. SF - Robert Reid : It was sad when he got busted for possession, but when he played, he was one of the most eloquent and well-spoken Rockets to ever play. When jocks are often looked at as illiterate goons, he was definitely an exception. He was also one of the few guys in the league that could body-up on Magic. He also just seemed like a nice guy. I hope he's doing well. SG - Lew Lloyd : A team with Barkley and Sweet Lew on the fast break would be lethal. Maybe they could each teach Francis how to run a break. Yeah, that's right, have your PF and SG teach a PG how to run the break. Anyway, Lloyd was unstoppable in the open court and you had to love that big-ass smile of his. wrath_of_khan's description of Lew's layup was so sweet because it was a perfect description and immediately reminded me of the shot. Good job khan! Oh, and Elmer Bennett... mad skills in high school; too bad he didn't pan out. PG - Calvin Murphy : Don't even fool yourself into thinking we've had a better PG in the history of the Rockets (yet). At 5'-9" - 5'10", this guy was solid and sound. He had an outside shot, a mid-range jumper, could drive, could dish out assis... oh wait, nevermind. Anyway, Murph also had a toughness about him. In an age when a PG going into the paint meant he would get his head handed to him, Murph had no reservations. Murph was a scoring PG that didn't get too many assists... hmmm... sounds familiar. Except this one's in the HOF. Gotta pull for the little guy with a big man's heart. And just like Robert Reid, he seems like a nice guy.
C - Dream (who else?) -- Sorry, Moses PF - Elvin Hayes -- Sorry O.T. the First SF - Clyde the Glyde -- Sorry, Rudy T. SG - Pocket Rocket Calvin Murphy -- Sorry Mike Newlin (the Shark) PG - Cool Hand Luke (John Lucas) -- Sorry, Sam and Stevie True warriors all, and true team players. (Okay, Clyde primarily played guard, but he also played SF at times and I couldn't push Murph out of the picture).
Tell me about it ... I got dunked on by him during a full court 3 on 2 drill when I was a soph and he was a junior ... As for panning out ... .depends on your definition. I'm sure he would have liked to have been Stephon Marbury, and that didn't work out. But he did get a degree from an excellent university (Notre Dame), made a living for several years playing ball both in America and Europe (or somewhere overseas), and even got to play in the NBA for a few 15-day contracts. More than many people ever achieve.
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 PG - Sam, Franchise, Kenny, Sleepy Floyd, Moochie SG - Clyde, Mad Max, Mobley C - Dream, Tree, Larry Smith, Charles Jones PF - OT, Herrera, Horry, Chucky Brown, Barkley (KW, KT, Othella) SF - Elie, Bullard, Chilly Pete, EJ, Sam Mack
Favorite Rockets 1st Team: PG: Kenny Smith SG: Clyde Drexler SF: Robert Horry PF: Charles Barkley C : Dream 2nd Team: (small ball) PG: Steve Francis SG: Vernon Maxwell SF: Mario Elie PF: Sam Mack C : Otis Thorpe
Ah, memories... C) Hakeem Olajuwon PF) Charles Barkley SF) Clyde Drexler SG) Mario Elie PG) Sam Cassell Honorable mention: Eddie Johnson Kevin Willis Cuttino Mobley
pg-steve francis sg-drexler sf-robert horry pf-barkley c-by all means, i follow my dreams hands down these are my favorite players
point guard. brent price. seriously shooting guard. eddie johnson small forward. eddie griffin. i might be jumping to conclusions but i love him already. power forward. maurice taylor. sweet jumper, hell get the rebounding eventually. center. olajuwon. but let me tell you, i hope it changes to ming
I went to see Elmer a couple of times and played against him....There is a reason why he never much mattered at ND. ...because his HS coach sucked, really ... really bad...really bad no use of Elmer.....I was not impressed playing against him at Autry. Elmer was no David Rivers...that's for sure!!!
Couldn't agree more, HP, and I was part of the program. Elmer's senior year the entire offense consisted of getting Elmer the ball and ... well, that was it. Poor guy never had a chance to develop any skills that year other than running around like a chicken with his head cut off and finding the stamina to play 40 min ppg. He and the team were actually much better when he was a soph/junior and he had a big man to balance out the squad. It was as if the entire point of Elmer's senior year was to inflate Elmer's scoring average, bring attention to the program, so hopefully some college coach would decide to snap up our varsity coach and make him an college assistant. But that never happened because the coach, as you say, sucked. We had one of the best players in the state, and I'm not sure we even had a winning record Elmer's senior year. Pathetic. Guess this makes us about the same age, HP!
cool idea for a thread! PG - Lew Lloyd SG - Mad Max (duh!) SF - Bob Horry PF - Charles Barkley (so funny to hear me say this now since I didn't want him when we made the trade!) C - Chuck Nevitt (JUST KIDDING!! OBVIOUSLY DREAM!!)
