You just keep killing it johnnymac! Another great series for us to follow, thanks for doing all of these lists, it helps us recall and relive some great players, teams and moments.
I remember seeing all of the players mentioned in this post play, except for Bill Hewitt. I remember seeing Mack Calvin play in the ABA with the Denver Nuggets in the late seventies right before I matriculated to SC. I grew up mostly in Colorado and the Nuggets had a great team in ’77-‘78 with players like David ‘Skywalker’ Thompson, Dan Issel, Marvin ‘The Human Eraser’ Webster, Paul Silas, and Bobby Jones. They were awesome, but my ABA team was the New York Nets with Dr. J and Mr. K (Larry Kenon), ‘Super John’ Williamson, Rich Jones, Swen Nater, Al Skinner and Brian Taylor. My NBA Team was the NY Knicks - still is.
Fight On!
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History of SC Hoops- Top 10 Pro Careers, #s 4-10
SC fans are enjoying a pretty cool period with around 7 to 9 players in the league, so to end the Summer let's look at the Top 10 Pro Careers for SC players, stating with 4 thru 10
Honorable Mention: Harold Miner (2 time dunk champion), Robert Pack, O.J. Mayo, Brian Scalabrine,, Bill Hewitt, DeAnthony Melton, John Lambert and Evan Mobley (rising quickly)
10) Taj Gibson - 26th overall pick in 2009, he is number 2 for USC players in minutes played, and is still going. Was All Rookie his first year when he played all 82 for the Bulls, averaging 9 points and 7.5 rebounds. His best year was 13-14 when he was second in 6th man voting, averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds. He leads all former SC players in blocks, and is second in rebounds.
9) Nick Young - 16th overall pick in 2007, Swaggy P played 12 years in the league. Started in Washington, and had his best year there in 11-12, when he averaged 17 ppg. Bounced around but found a home with the Lakers, where he averaged 18 points in 13-14, before DeAngelo Russell stabbed him in the back. One of the four players on this list to have a Ring, which he won in 17-18 with the Warriors, averaging 17 minutes and 7 points a game.
8) John Block - 27th overall pick in 1966, and played ten years in the league. He was drafted by and played one year for the Lakers, then moved to the expansion franchise San Diego Rockets (bet you didn't know the Rockets started in San Diego). Averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds his first year there, and 16 points and 9 rebounds his first three years there. He then backed up Jabbar with the Bucks in 71-72, before moving on to the Sixers in 72-73, where he was an All Star selection, averaging 15 pts and 8 rbs. He hung 35 and 15 on KC, who then traded for him. Played 82 games twice, and in his career scored 7,106 total points with 3,965 rebounds
7) Cliff Robinson - The number 11 pick in the 1979 Draft, Robinson was supremely talented, but was cursed by bad teams. He is one of seven SC players to score over 10k points in the League, one of three with over 5k rebounds, and is third in pts per game average. Over a ten year stretch he averaged 18 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. He only made it to the playoffs three times, but showed out averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds, including in 1986 when he averaged 21.4 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Bullets. Led the NBA in defensive rebounding % twice.
6) Mack Calvin - One of the great players of the ABA. Started with the Los Angeles Stars, coached by Bill Sharman, played all 84 games, and averaged 17 points and 6 assists. The next year he moved to the Floridians, and had a phenomenal year. He played 81 games, and averaged 42 minutes per game, 10 FT attempts per game, 27 points, and 7.6 assists. He was 6th in the MVP voting, an All Star and All ABA first team. Over the next four years he played for three teams (it was the ABA) and finished third in the MVP voting once, was All ABA three times, and an All Star all four years. After the ABA folded he started the 76-77 year with the Lakers and had some solid games before he was traded to the Spurs. He led the ABA in assists once, and FT % twice. In 1997 he was named to the All Time ABA team.
5) Nikola Vucevic - One of the three active players in the top ten, Vooch continues to play at a high level going into year 14. Selected 16th overall in 2012, Vooch played one year with the Sixers, then moved to the Magic where he was 4th in Most Improved Player voting his first year. From 2015 to 2021 he averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists per game. His best season was 2021, where he averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, making his second all star team and leading the league in FG attempts. He had a monster playoff series for the Magic in the Bubble, averaging 28 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists against the Bucks. For SC players in the Pros, he is third all time in games, second in minutes, second in FGA, third in 3FGA, first in rebounds, fifth in assists, second in blocks, second in points, fourth in PPG and first in RPG.
4) DeMar DeRozen- picked 9th in the 2009 draft, DeRozan is by far and away the leader in all statistical categories among SC players, and the only reason he isn't higher is he doesn't have the awards or rings the players in front of him do. Among USC players DeRozan is first in games, minutes played, FGA, FG, points, minutes per game and points per game. He is the only SC player to average over 20 points per game for his career. He is also second all time. He is also second all time in assists and steals, and third in rebounds. He is a six time all star, made the all NBA 3rd team once, and 2nd team twice. His best year was 2017 when he averaged 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The knock on DeRozan, fair or not, is he has not had success in the playoffs, with the farthest he's ever gone is the Eastern Conference Finals once. He has led the league in 2 point FGA three times, 2 point FG once, and minutes played once. Right now he is a little less than 50-50 to make the HOF, but the final chapter of his story isn't written yet, as he gets one more shot at greatness with the Kings.
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