Derek Harper was the partner in crime and backcourt mate of Rolando Blackman for almost a decade in Dallas.  Ironically the closest they ever came to a title is when they were both traded to the Knicks and they came within one game of winning the championship in 1994.  Harper was one of the best all around point guards of his era as he was a great defender who had size and quickness and could both score and distribute.  Harper is widely regarded as one of the best players to never make an All-Star game and when he retired he was 11th in steals and 17th in assists in NBA history.  1,200 regular season games and over 16,000 points don’t hurt his argument either.  Is a solid and consistent career with good overall stats enough to get him in?

The image most of us have of Big Bill is getting an entry pass from the wing and throwing his turnaround jumper over some defender and watching it bounce around four or five times and go in; or of course elbowing someone in the face (inadvertently of course) while going for the rebound.  Bill Cartwright was the very definition of old school 70’s and 80’s basketball which carried over to the next decade.  It was also his trade from the Knicks for Charles Oakley that put the Bulls over the top and was the catalyst for the Bulls first three peat.  That seems to be forgotten for some reason.

Sidney Wicks was the UCLA big man who led the Bruins to numerous NCAA titles and was selected College Player of the Year.  He would be drafted by the Blazers and would become the centerpiece of the franchise.  Later went to Boston where he was a solid contributor.  No it’s not Bill Walton; it’s the forgotten star of the UCLA dynasty, Sidney Wicks.  Wicks is one of those great 70s players that time has seemingly forgot.  A four time All-Star and consistent 20/10 guy for the Blazers, Wicks was a dominant big man.  A three time champion at UCLA who was the star of the teams in between Alcindor and Walton, Wicks never got their publicity.  The obstacles holding him back from the Hall is a shortened career and playing for bad teams that happened to get a lot better right after he left.

Glenn Robinson is a player whose college career seemingly eclipsed his professional career; but if it did, it isn’t by much.  Robinson was the Player of the Year for Purdue in 1994 after leading the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding and taking the Boilermakers to an Elite 8. Professionally, Robinson had to go to San Antonio late in his career to get that coveted championship as a role player, but lest we forget Robinson was one of the most consistent scorers in the league with the Bucks from the time he was drafted number one overall in 1994 until his departure in 2002.  Sure, there were no finals but the Bucks won many games.  He may have only had two All-Star game appearances but he should have had more as his 20.7 point per game will attest to.  Glenn Robinson had one of the best mid range games ever and was a true superstar at both Purdue and Milwaukee.