STAR POWER - Which is the better Conference?
Apr 26, 2013 11:50:45 GMT -6
Berlin, Tel Aviv, and 2 more like this
Post by London on Apr 26, 2013 11:50:45 GMT -6
LONDON [AP] -- In the middle of the sixth round of the ABCA Legends Creation Draft most people aren't expecting big-time, high-impact playmakers to be available. At this point most teams are what they are. Most teams have their franchise player and some complimentary pieces surrounding him.
I'd like to take the time and compare which conference has the most star power and what we can expect from both conferences in the coming 2013-14 ABCA Season.
American Conference
By my count the American Conference has roughly 11 franchise players. I was kind of hoping to see a pattern where teams on that side of the pond would be drafting to combat Wilt Chamberlain. Teams like Atlanta (Walt Bellamy), Mexico City (Maurice Stokes), and New York (Dolph Schayes) all took a Center early but the Americas only have 4 of the top 7 Centers in the league. I might expect to see most like 5 or 6 but instead where the managed to corner the market was on franchise wings.
Alex Groza (Buenos Aires) and Neil Johnston (Chicago) are the two elite Power Forwards in this conference. I think when teams decided to get size they were more concerned about Wilt over here and that makes a lot of sense.
Guys like Boston's Elgin Baylor, Toronto's Bailey Howell, and Cordoba's Jack Twyman have no equal in the Eurasian Conference. It's kind of surprising to see such disparity in the rankings on a couple of positions but here we are. The American Conference managed to draft almost every elite wing in the game.
Where the Americans really lack depth is at the Point Guard position. Of the top 6 PGs the Americans can only account for two of them, though, they are the two most recognizable names at the position in San Antonio's Bob Cousy, and Washington's Alexander Nikolic.
Eurasian Conference
Even without Wilt the Centers were a position of need for a lot of teams. Bill Russell (Cairo), George Mikan (Tokyo), and Walter Dukes (Tehran) are all fairly different players at different points in their careers but they all are capable of leading a team deep into the playoffs as long as the squad is build to utilize their strengths.
The Eurasian Conference is set up with most of the best Power Forwards in the league - Bob Pettit (Lagos), Bob Boozer (London), and Ray Felix (Sydney) are some of the most dynamic post players in the league. Pettit has a scoring touch from around the court while guys like Boozer and Felix like to mix it up in the paint.
I think it's pretty hands down the Eurasian Conference has no great Small Forward or Shooting Guards. This might bode well for some teams who feel like their team is weak there. Apparently everyone's is. At least everyone you'll play for 75% of the year.
It's actually the Point Guards that are the most intriguing players in this conference. Lead by Moscow's Gennadi Volnov, Beijing's Don Sunderlage, Tel Aviv's John Beckman, and Berlin's Albert "You can call me Al" Bianci (who secretly might be the best defender, certainly perimeter defender in the league) - this conference is going to give you a number of different looks. Will you get a lockdown defender, a high volume scorer, a distributor? What?!
Wrap-up
If you were keeping track at home the end score was American Conference 11 Franchise Players and the Eurasian Conference 11 - but where does one draw the line at a true franchise player? And who is to say that one great guy is better than 2-3 very good guys?
I anticipated seeing more size or a style in one Conference over the other but I don't know that I can pick that out just yet. Perhaps after a few more trades and some actual games being played we'll have an idea of how this league will shake out.
Until then I guess we'll just keep reading and writing articles hypothesizing about it.
I'd like to take the time and compare which conference has the most star power and what we can expect from both conferences in the coming 2013-14 ABCA Season.
American Conference
By my count the American Conference has roughly 11 franchise players. I was kind of hoping to see a pattern where teams on that side of the pond would be drafting to combat Wilt Chamberlain. Teams like Atlanta (Walt Bellamy), Mexico City (Maurice Stokes), and New York (Dolph Schayes) all took a Center early but the Americas only have 4 of the top 7 Centers in the league. I might expect to see most like 5 or 6 but instead where the managed to corner the market was on franchise wings.
Alex Groza (Buenos Aires) and Neil Johnston (Chicago) are the two elite Power Forwards in this conference. I think when teams decided to get size they were more concerned about Wilt over here and that makes a lot of sense.
Guys like Boston's Elgin Baylor, Toronto's Bailey Howell, and Cordoba's Jack Twyman have no equal in the Eurasian Conference. It's kind of surprising to see such disparity in the rankings on a couple of positions but here we are. The American Conference managed to draft almost every elite wing in the game.
Where the Americans really lack depth is at the Point Guard position. Of the top 6 PGs the Americans can only account for two of them, though, they are the two most recognizable names at the position in San Antonio's Bob Cousy, and Washington's Alexander Nikolic.
Eurasian Conference
Even without Wilt the Centers were a position of need for a lot of teams. Bill Russell (Cairo), George Mikan (Tokyo), and Walter Dukes (Tehran) are all fairly different players at different points in their careers but they all are capable of leading a team deep into the playoffs as long as the squad is build to utilize their strengths.
The Eurasian Conference is set up with most of the best Power Forwards in the league - Bob Pettit (Lagos), Bob Boozer (London), and Ray Felix (Sydney) are some of the most dynamic post players in the league. Pettit has a scoring touch from around the court while guys like Boozer and Felix like to mix it up in the paint.
I think it's pretty hands down the Eurasian Conference has no great Small Forward or Shooting Guards. This might bode well for some teams who feel like their team is weak there. Apparently everyone's is. At least everyone you'll play for 75% of the year.
It's actually the Point Guards that are the most intriguing players in this conference. Lead by Moscow's Gennadi Volnov, Beijing's Don Sunderlage, Tel Aviv's John Beckman, and Berlin's Albert "You can call me Al" Bianci (who secretly might be the best defender, certainly perimeter defender in the league) - this conference is going to give you a number of different looks. Will you get a lockdown defender, a high volume scorer, a distributor? What?!
Wrap-up
If you were keeping track at home the end score was American Conference 11 Franchise Players and the Eurasian Conference 11 - but where does one draw the line at a true franchise player? And who is to say that one great guy is better than 2-3 very good guys?
I anticipated seeing more size or a style in one Conference over the other but I don't know that I can pick that out just yet. Perhaps after a few more trades and some actual games being played we'll have an idea of how this league will shake out.
Until then I guess we'll just keep reading and writing articles hypothesizing about it.
