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Roundtable Friday: 3-on-3 OSU team with your life on the line

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Photo Attribution: USATSI

Photo Attribution: @carsonc5

We’ve had some fun with these roundtable Friday posts and this week is no different. Today’s question is as follows:

With your life on the line (your team wins, you live, your team loses, you die) in an Oklahoma State-only 3-on-3 basketball tournament[1. Best of seven, play to 15, win by two, make it-take it, twos and ones only.] what three guys are you taking?

Let’s get to it.

OKC Dave

Brooks Thompson – There is no place to hide in a three-on-three game, so you need someone who can run the team but also contribute in major ways (sorry, Doug). At 6’4”, he can use more of the court than any other OSU point guard this side of Marcus Smart. He’s also a deadly shooter (47% from three on 233 attempts in his senior year).

Desmond Mason – Lock-down defender, athletic freak, can take it to the hole better than anyone in OSU history. Play number A1 and A2 are back-door #Brooks2Desmond oops. Handles the post-game interview with ease.

Bryant Reeves – We’re playing half-court here, so he doesn’t have to run. He just posts up all day long, hitting 6-footers off the glass and tearing you up on the boards. Yes, I think this will work out just fine.


@CarsonC5

Big Country – Hard to pick any team and not take the pride of Gans, Oklahoma. His dizzying array of post moves, combined with his sheer size, is nearly unguardable. Anytime we need a basket, in a tight game, we’re tossing it down to Big Country on the block. Ask Tim Duncan and Marcus Camby how that worked out for them.

Desmond Mason – His game was better suited for a playground, 3-on-3 style game so this is perfect. He’s The Godfather of Lob Stilly, if you will[1.One of Eddie’s biggest mistakes ever was not letting Doug & Desmond run & gun for 40 minutes.]. Because of his dunks though, people forget how great Desmond was defensively.

He even guarded power forwards and was hilariously listed at 6’8 (he’s 6’6) because he was forced to play forward in college. His all-around offensive game kept him in the NBA for 10 years. There are no holes in 34’s game.

Marcus Smart – The best player in school history[2. Best player, not best career. Much like KD at Texas. He’ll be the highest OSU draft pick ever for a reason.], a winner. If my life is on the line, and I want Marcus Smart running point. I describe him as a Tornado: Looks so calm and peaceful in the distance, but leaves a path of destruction in its wake. I originally didn’t have him in my top three, thought about it, then realized that was clinically insane.

In summary: I have a 7-footer, who’s the best low-post scorer in school history. And I have two of the best two-way players ever. I would take these three and play them against any other three in school history, no question.

Honorable mention: Tony Allen (I’m sorry Grindfather, Marcus bumped you), Doug Gottlieb (those jaw-dropping passes were tempting), Randy Rutherford (Could get hot from mid-court).


Pistolsboy

Byron Houston – A lot of people will probably pick Big Country or I-Mac here but I’m taking Houston. He was more undersized than some of our other big guys[3. Probably a big three or small four in today’s NBA]. but the dude was mean. He’s going to out-muscle anybody els you send up against him in a halfcourt game and I trust him more in a do-or-die situation than I do any other big-ish man in school history.  

Marcus Smart – It’s so weird that probably all four of us are picking a guy who’s barely two weeks removed from his freshman season (and a first round tournament exit). He won’t shoot much (that’s what my next guy is for) but I can afford to go a little small with Houston because Smart can guard anybody you throw at him.

He’ll direct my guys, be lockdown on defense, and close if needed.

This tournament is all about who you trust and in a tight game late with a noose around my neck there is nobody I trust more than Marcus Smart to get to the rim[4. Plus with the way he flops I imagine he calls questionable touch fouls in pickup game which normally drives me crazy but I’m totally OK with in this situation.].

Joe Adkins – Everybody knows the easiest way to win a half court three-on-three tournament is to have a dude who’s just utterly lights out for multiple games in a row. I thought about going Rutherford here but his hottest was never as hot as Adkins’ hottest.

Granted, if Adkins is off, I’m a dead man (literally), but if he’s on, I won’t even have to break a sweat with Smart and Houston doing work and feeding him three balls. I’m rolling the dice for sure, but if I’m rolling it, I want it to be with the guy who once said this in an actual NCAA game after hitting a 35-footer for $1,700:

Ballgame, bitches.

Honorable mention: Tony Allen (scared he could lock down anybody on my team), Joey Graham (who’s going to guard him?), I-Mac, Rutherford, James Anderson (ultimate scorer), Glendon Alexander (ultimate gunner).


Amilian

Marcus Smart – We all know what Smart can do and there’s rarely a game when there’s another player on the court matching his effort. The three-on-three format highlights one of his greatest strengths (hustle) and minimizes his weakness (shooting). I considered Lucas and Vic, but Smart might be the best player to ever play at OSU. This was a no-brainer.

Tony Allen – The first two things I look at when putting together this team are athleticism and intensity/effort. Anyone capable of giving KD fits is a must have for your three-on-three squad. Good luck getting good looks with Tony & Marcus defending you. And don’t forget that although he’s no offensive threat in the NBA, Tony could score in college.

James Anderson – I changed this spot three times (Markel, James, Desmond, back to James). I needed to add some shooting ability while still maintaining athleticism at all spots. James was great, and I’ll forever wonder how much better he would have been under Eddie or with Smart, Vic or Gottlieb at PG. I guess if these three ever get together we’ll find out.

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