This past month, legendary hip-hop artist and actor Ice Cube announced that he would be launching the first ever professional 3 on 3 basketball league in 2017. Scheduled to begin its inaugural season in late June, BIG3 has already promised high level 3v3 action from a very talented cast of former NBA players; including Allen Iverson, Jason Williams, Chauncey Billups, Stephen Jackson and other notable ballers. If you are even the most mild of basketball fans, this league format has to excite you.
So with all the talk of 3v3 basketball, a couple of writer’s here at Student Union Sports decided to draft their Three-Man Dream Team. However, this is STUDENT Union Sports, so any player selected for our teams must have played at least one year of College Basketball (Sorry LeBron). Other then that, any College player from the past or present is fair game for our respective squads. So without further ado, lets get into the 3 man teams our writing staff hear at Student Union Sports would love to see hit the court.
Liam Smith
Grayson Allen, JJ Redick and Christian Laettner
Are they the most talented group of guys I could have assembled? Probably not. Are they the most stylish group of players to ever hit the court? Hard no, I mean come on, combined these three guys have about as much swag as a bowl of Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. But when it comes down too it…will they lie, cheat and steal to get ahead? Will they bully refs into calls with entitled, cry baby tactics? Will they do absolutely anything in their god-given ability to win a game of basketball and silence a stadium full of haters? You can bet your private school tuition they will, and thats exactly the kind of guys I want on my squad. Duke has probably had at least one hatable player in their lineup for the past 25 years, and I’ve selected three of the most hated (and arguably most talented) players to ever lace up for the Blue Devils.
Running the offense is one of the most physically dominant players to ever play the game…JJ Redick. Standing at 6’4 and weighing in at a generous 190 lbs, JJ is probably one of the most hated/envied players in college basketball history. The thing about Redick is that he looks more like a fan then a player, and when you see a guy who looks like you out on the court playing with 250 pound freaks of nature, you can’t help but get a little jealous. But I cannot hate a man who has one of the most beautiful jumpers ever witnessed by man, and for that reason, he’s on the squad. The captain of the squad is obviously Christian Laettner, the absolute O.G. of Duke basketball villains. This man paved the way for a whole generation of hated, preppy, white basketball players… and that’s why he’s the perfect captain for this team. He’s would also definitely pair well with, and provide the proper guidance needed for the young gun of our squad; Grayson Allen. Besides Donald Trump, Allen was probably the most hated man in America this past year, or at least that’s what the internet would lead one to believe. The man, would probably stick out his leg to trip Mother Teresa if it meant it would prevent an easy two points…and I don’t I personally don’t hate that about him. I do have a problem with the fact that his dirty antics have been brought to national attention much too often, as cheater’s who get caught normally aren’t as successful as the ones who don’t. Hopefully this is something that will improve throughout the season under the guidance of JJ and Laettner.
Cody Goggin
Jimmer Fredette, Wilt Chamberlain and Ralph Sampson
I may have chosen differently if this league played under normal rules, but these selections are largely strategic. For starters, the games are only half court, so I plan on dominating with shot blocking and rebounding. Ralph Sampson is one of the greatest college big men of all time, standing at 7’4. Pair him with the towering Wilt Chamberlain, and you have the most talented front court in the history of basketball. Another caveat in the rules is the 4 pointer. Because there are long shots that are worth more, give me one of the most prolific shooters in NCAA history, a man who needs no last name: Jimmer.
Frank Fanelli
Evan Turner, Allen Iverson and Bill Walton
The reason why I picked my main guy Evan here was simple if I am being honest with you guys. Well, actually it was for a couple reasons. The first reason is I am a DIE HARD and I mean huge Buckeyes fan so I had to at least pick one Buckeye to represent the squad here. Turner was my go to guy to watch when he was on the court for the Buckeyes, he had a knack to shoot from deep and always could find a way to the basket and put it up and in. Turner, nicknamed “The Villain”, opened his junior season (his last) by recording the first triple double by a Big Ten player since January 13, 2001, and the second in school history. This earned him his fourth career Big Ten player of the week honor and first of this season. The following week, he ran his streak of double doubles to four to earn back-to-back player of the week honors. Two weeks after his first triple-double, he repeated the feat at home again. This earned him his third consecutive Big Ten player of the week award. Turner earned his fourth Big Ten Player of the Week of the season award on the after leading his team to wins over two ranked conference foes. Then on a little weeks later, Turner established a new Big Ten Conference record with his eighth career Conference Player of the Week award, his fifth of the season also tied a single-season record. Two weeks after tying the single-season record, he broke the record when he averaged 24.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists against two ranked conference opponents he won the award again on March 1. Turner helped lead the Buckeyes to the regular-season co-championship of the Big Ten Conference and helped them earn the number one seed in the 2010 Big Ten Conference Championship and eventually win the tournament. He won the 2010 John Wooden Award, Naismith College Player of the Year, USWBA Robertson Trophy, Fox, Associated Press and Sporting News selected him as their National Player of the Year, NABA D1 Player of the Year, Turner was also selected as the Big Ten Conference male athlete of the year for all sports.
I picked my boy Allen Iverson for many reasons and I’ll tell you just that! The first reason and the biggest reason is because I am also a diehard Philly sports team, and yes, I know the Sixers aren’t the best team but he played for them when they were good. I also picked him because he TORE it up over in Georgetown and the Big East, literally no would could stop him at all. The last reason is because he is my all-time favorite player so I had to get him on here. So, AI’s freshman year at Georgetown in 1994-1995, Iverson won the award for Big East Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Rookie Tournament First Team. That season, Iverson led the Hoyas to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament, where unfortunately they lost to North Carolina. In his second and final season at Georgetown in 1995-1996, Iverson led the team to the Big East championship game and all the way to the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament where they lost to a good UMass (Massachusetts) team. He ended his college career as the Hoyas’ all-time leader in career scoring average, at 22.9 points per game. Iverson was named as a First Team All American and First Team All-Big East. He was drafted first overall with the first pick in the draft by the Sixers and became the shorted first overall pick in history, but that didn’t let him stop him. Iverson quickly became one of the NBA’s must-see miracles on the court. Barely 6 feet tall, he blew past defenders with his lighting fast speed and fearlessly attacked the much larger players guarding the basket without hesitation. What he lacked in size, he made up for in heart, as Allen is still regarded as one of the best NBA players to ever touch the court.
I decided to go with Bill Walton as my last guy because this guy was a complete animal when he played for UCLA and that is all I have to say to tell you why I picked him! He played college basketball for John Wooden at UCLA 1971-1974, winning the national title in 1972 over FSU (Yes I can’t believe FSU was good back there either) and again in 1973 with an 87–66 win over Memphis State (Yes I can’t believe that was a good team either) in which Walton made 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scored 44 points, representing more than half his team’s total points!
Walton was the 1973 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States of America. He also received the USBWA College Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year as the top college basketball player in the country three years in a row while attending UCLA. Some college basketball historians rate Walton as the greatest who ever played the game at the college level. In Walton’s senior year during the 1973–74 season, the school’s 88-game winning streak ended with a 71–70 loss to Notre Dame. (No wonder why no one likes ND) During the same season, UCLA’s record seven consecutive national titles was broken when North Carolina State defeated the Bruins 80–77 in double overtime in the NCAA semi-finals. So as you can see just by his college stats, he was a fantastic player.
Anthony Ventura
Aaron Craft, Jerry West and Lew Alcindor
In a three on three tournament if I want to win, the clear option would be to have a point guard, a scorer and a big man. So to do this my three man team would be Aaron Craft, Jerry West, and Lew Alcindor. I chose Aaron Craft out of Ohio State, because being the all time Big Ten leader in steals he would bring a defensive force to my team. He is known as one of the best on ball defenders in Big Ten history, plus he is a great leader. To makeup for his offensive deficiencies I need a good scorer, so to compliment Craft I decided to go with Jerry West from West Virginia University. He averaged over 24 PPG as a member of the mountaineers before becoming the silhouette of the NBA logo so he would be able to compliment Craft’s defensive prowess with pure offensive skill. To finish off my 3 I went with big man Lew Alcindor from UCLA. The most dominant player in College basketball history, they had to ban the dunk for a year because he was that good at it. Other teams can’t block his skyhook, can’t stop him from dunking, and can’t rebound over his massive frame. With these 3 leading my team there’s no way this team doesn’t win the championship.
