ALL-TIME BIG EAST TOP 50 PLAYERS, Chris Dokish, Pittsburgh News, St. John's News, Syracuse News

BIG EAST ALL-TIME TOP 50 PLAYERS: #26 – #24

Today we continue the countdown of the Big East All-Time Top 50 Players compiled by NBE Basketball Report recruiting analyst and staff writer Chris Dokish.

Over the course of four weeks, leading up to the start of the 2008-2009 regular season, our top 50 list will be revealed as we countdown to the #1 Big East player of all-time.

Today we continue with a look at #26, #25 and #24 on our list. Enjoy the trip through the history of the Big East.

26) Brian Shorter: Pittsburgh – (1988-91) Philadelphia, PA

Three years: 17.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 53.8% FG, 71.0% FT

Rookie of the Year (1989)

When talking about Shorter, one has to wonder what could have been had he had four years to work with. A top five prospect coming out of high school, Shorter was one of the first to be ineligible due to the old Prop 48 rule but he quickly made up for lost time. Unfortunately his career ended with him less than full strength.

Since he lost his first year because of Prop 48, his career started as a sophomore. He proved he was a star from the outset, hitting 60% of his shots from the field and averaging 19.6 ppg and 9.6 rpg. That great initial season earned him Rookie of the Year honors over fellow stars Billy Owens and Alonzo Mourning. His junior season was equally impressive as he averaged 20.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg, while making 53.2% of his field goals. Unfortunately for Shorter, the Panthers, and basketball fans everywhere, Shorter’s senior season was marred by a mysterious viral illness than caused him to miss most practices during the year, and sapped enough of his energy that he barely averaged a half of a game throughout the season. The result was a senior season of 13.6 ppg and 6.4 rpg. The respect from the rest of the league was evident as Shorter was named Second Team all-conference after previously receiving back to back First Team honors.

If Shorter had merely matched his junior totals, a very good possibility considering both his past success and the return of Sean Miller, his career averages would be 20.3 ppg and 9.5 rpg. All the more amazing was that the power forward was not highly athletic and was at least an inch shorter than his listed 6’6”.

“I can’t imagine a college player having worse luck,” Mike DeCourcy, national basketball writer of The Sporting News, tells NBE. “You could say his failure to qualify as a freshman was under his control, but he was among the first players affected by the new requirements. Not everybody knew how that rule was going to work, and it bit him first. When he was a junior and still playing well, his team lost its point guard, Sean Miller, to injury. When Miller returned to start feeding Shorter in the post again and Pitt figured to be excellent, Shorter became ill and Pitt stagnated.”

But DeCourcy, who was a Pitt beat writer when Shorter played, knows how good Shorter was, despite the bad luck.

“Brian was the most forceful low-post scorer I’ve ever seen, pound for pound. He didn’t have the most beautiful post moves. He just overwhelmed defenders, and most of them were much taller.”

Even though he basically played less than three full seasons, Shorter still managed to amass 1,633 points, 772 rebounds, and a highly impressive 31 double doubles. His 18.5 ppg conference average is the 18th best in league history and his 8.1 rpg average ranks 20th all-time. A bull in the paint, he was fouled often, resulting in him being 10th all-time in Big East history in made free throws, and 1st all-time for players with a career less than four years.
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25) John Wallace: Syracuse – (1992-96) Rochester, NY

Four years: 16.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 bpg, 1.1 spg, 53.3% FG, 39% 3FG, 73.8% FT

Second Team Consensus All-American (1996)

A starter for every game of his career, the 6’8” power forward could do a little, and in many cases, a lot, of everything. His career started off as a low post banger, but by the end of his four years, he turned himself into one of the most complete power forwards in Big East history.

As a freshman, Wallace led the team in rebounding with a 7.6 rpg average, plus added 11.1 ppg on 52.6% shooting from the field. As a sophomore, he concentrated even more on dominating down low with a career high 9.0 rpg to go with 15.0 ppg. Beginning to show his great versatility, Wallace also added 1.7 apg and 1.7 bpg, while shooting 76.1% from the line and an excellent 56.6% from the field. As a junior, he made a sky high 58.8% from the field while accumulating season averages of 16.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg. He also started to show off his passing skills with 2.6 apg, along with his defense, as he also averaged 1.3 spg and 1.8 bpg. As a senior Wallace truly showed what kind of talent he was by making Second Team All-American with a gaudy 22.2 ppg average and 8.7 rpg. Maybe the most impressive aspect of his senior season is that after making just 4 of 17 three pointers over the his first three seasons, he made huge strides as an outside shooter, making 37 of 88 threes for a 42.1% success rate. He also made 76.3% of his free throws, and averaged 2.4 apg, 1.2 spg, and 1.7 bpg. Despite not having a huge amount of talent around him as a senior, his college career culminated in a great postseason that ended with the Orange losing in the NCAA Championship Game. In the loss, Wallace came up huge with 29 points and 10 rebounds.

He finished his career with 2,119 points and 1,065 rebounds. His 1,170 Big East points is 10th all-time and his 582 conference rebounds ranks 5th best, while his 436 made field goals rank 4th and his 120 Big East blocks ranks 19th. He was drafted 18th overall by the New York Knicks. He played seven seasons for five different teams, mostly as a reserve, before playing in Italy. He averaged 7.6 ppg in his NBA career.
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24) Mark Jackson: St. John’s – (1983-87) Brooklyn, NY

Four years: 10.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 51% FG, 41.9% 3FG, 75.1% FT.

Defensive Player of the Year (1987)

Second Team Consensus All-American (1987)

His points per game average is the lowest on the list, but that can be deceiving. Jackson was instrumental to the team in his first two seasons, but it wasn’t until he became an upperclassmen was he truly allowed to shine.

Jackson averaged just 5.8 ppg as a freshman, but was named to the All-Rookie team. As a sophomore he dropped to 5.1 ppg, but that was as the sixth man on a Final Four team that included Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, and Bill Wennington. When he finally got the chance to be a full-time player as a junior, he took full advantage by raising his point production to 11.3 ppg. Jackson was slowly becoming dominant in other areas of his game as well by averaging 1.9 spg and a then NCAA record 328 assists, good for an incredible 9.1 apg. His 150 conference assists and 9.4 apg average that season are still the best in conference history. As a senior, Jackson finally blossomed into a big time scorer, thanks in part to the introduction to college basketball of the three point shot, with 18.9 ppg, while also adding 6.4 apg and 2.0 spg. His quick hands and smarts helped him become the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Always under control, Jackson only took good shots and his career FG% of 51% is excellent for a point guard. His 41.9% from three point range as a senior on 117 attempts shows Jackson could have done a lot more damage offensively if he had more than just one season with it.

“Putting Mark and Chris Mullin on the floor together made that St. John’s team the best ever at passing the ball,” Mike DeCourcy, national writer of The Sporting News, tells NBE. “You’re talking about two of the best and most willing passers in the past three decades, and they played together. People who wondered how Walter Berry could become such a star in college, then struggle in the NBA? There’s your answer. He was the beneficiary of so much generosity from his teammates.”

Former Big East announcer Mike Gorman added that Jackson “understood the point guard position better than 99%” of others.

His final totals included 1,338 points and 738 assists. In the NBA draft Jackson was the 18th overall pick by the New York Knicks and enjoyed an eighteen year career that resulted in him being second all-time in NBA history for assists.
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Note: The only criteria that was used to compile the list was how well a player performed in college, specifically in the conference, physically as well as the degree of impact he made for his program or the league. NOT taken into consideration was the general popularity of the player, how high he was drafted into the NBA, or even his pro career. Also, no current players are eligible.

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