Sports World Nostalgia: Khalid Reeves, John Wallace, Harold Arceneaux, Miles Simon, Hanno Mottola, Damon Key, Scoonie Penn, Damon / Toby Bailey, et al

>> Wednesday


We haven't done a SWN in a while, and the NCAA tourney is the perfect occasion to bust one out. Since I'm lazy, I'll do a one or two sentence blurb about each of the players listed in the title and encourage our readers to add any further memories of these players to the comments section.

Even more so, I encourage our readers reminisce about any other favorite forgotten college hoops stars. I especically encourage the participation of those readers who aren't so young as to absurdly consider stuff from the last ten years "nostalgic."

Khalid Reeves: Reeves was the other star guard, alongside Damon Stoudamire, on the 1994 Arizona Wildcats final four team. Though a member of "the Association" for a few years, the only thing I remember about his pro career was David Stern pronouncing his name "KHAL-id" on draft night.

John Wallace: Wallace was the star of the '95-'96 Syracuse squad that lost to the Delk- and 'Toine-led Kentucky Wildcats in the national championship game. The words "star" and "championship" would prove less applicable to his NBA career.

Harold "The Show" Arceneaux: Let's just copy and paste his player bio from the ABA's Utah Snowbears website: "The Show" is a two time Big Sky MVP and averaged 22 and 23 points per game respectively in 98-99 and 99-00 for the Wildcats. Arceneaux has been playing overseas, averaging 22 points per for Leiria most recently. Harold is best known for his NCAA Tournament showcase game versus North Carolina where he lit up the scoreboard for 36 points in an upset win for Weber State.

Miles Simon: The other guard besides Mike Bibby on the 1997 Arizona Wildcats national championship team. He helped screw everyone's bracket the next year when the 1-seeded 'Cats fell in the second round.

Hano Mottola: One of roughly eleven white players on the '97-'98 Utah Utes squad that lost to Kentucky in the national championship game, he was a fitting compliment to current NBAers Michael Doleac and Andre Miller. He also has an umlaut over one of the syllables in his name, but I forget which one. I think it's the first "o."

Damon Key: I had to mention at least one Marquette player from the Warriors era. Key was Jim McIlvaine's low post partner on the MU team that knocked off Jamal Mashburn's Kentucky Wildcats to reach the Sweet Sixteen in 1994. These days, Damon is a big tub of goo--I'd guess 300 pounds or so.

Scoonie Penn: Penn was Michael Redd's forgotten sidekick on the 1999 Ohio St. team that went to the Final Four. That team knocked off a St. John's team featuring Eric Barkley, who also almost made this list.

Damon Bailey: The quintessential Indiana point guard stereotype, Bailey was Calbert Cheaney's backcourt mate on the Indiana Hoosiers team that reached the Final Four in 1992--unoffically the year my most remote NCAA tourney memories begin. Needless to say, his game didn't--as they say--translate well to the pro game.

Toby Bailey: Though less famous than teammate Tyus Edney for lack of late-game heroics, Toby Bailey was truly the straw that stirred the drink on the 1995 UCLA Bruins national championship squad. Along with all his fellow '94-'95 starters (Edney, the O'Bannon boys, and George Zidek), Bailey currently plays in Europe.

16 comments:

Unknown 10:08 PM  

Wally Sczerbiak-Wally World dominated at Miami-Ohio before being relegated to a Christian Laettner like NBA career

Bryce Drew-It's obvious, but still. The face of the upset to this day.

Casey Cavalry-Got to throw a Gonzaga guy in there, and the tip in to beat Washington highlighted the Zags first magical run.

Scotty Thurman-While his early exit to the NBA was a gigantically stupid move, he was a bigtime baller in college. Hit the winning shot for Arkansas to prevent the Duke empire from winning 3 titles in 4 years.

Ricky Moore-He shut down Trajan Landgon and played an awesome game in UConn thwarting Duke and helping mw to my only Tournament pool championships. For that, he will be forever remembered fondly by this big lug.

Anonymous,  11:50 PM  

Wow...just absolutely wow. Harold Arceneaux???? WOW.

I'm just floored. Congratulations Vinnie, you have made my night whole.

Again, wow.

Nathan 4:46 AM  

I vividly remember watching Miles Simon's Arizona team win the championship on a 13-inch TV, with the fuzzy reception that an adjustable antenna can provide.

In comparision: I'm watching this year's tournament on a 72-inch HD flatscreen...oh how the times have changed.

Nathan 4:48 AM  

Also, is this just me making shit up in my head, or does anyone else remember a vicious collision between Wally Sczerbiak and Mateen Cleaves that left both players unconcious for quite some time...am I just imagining this? Because I swear to god it happened, but no one else ever seems to remember it.

Ray 12:27 PM  

I thought that was Mateen Cleaves and Eduardo Najera. But I may be making shit up as well.

Mitchell-to-Moore (Circa '95) 12:43 PM  

How about Donald Williams - North Carolina '93? He shot 10-14 behind the arc in the 1993 Final Four and scored 25 points per game...in route to being named the MOP of the tournament.

Donte Jones - Mississippi State '96. He single handedly took down UCONN in route to a suprise Final Four birth, he was unstoppable, before losing to said John Wallace and Cuse.

Marcus Fizer? Iowa State 2000? - He almost took down Michigan State the year the Spartans won it all...Fizer then parlayed that success into a lottery pick...where he was never heard from again.

Mark Macon - Temple 88-91. Got Chaney all the way to the East Regional Final, where North Carolina couldn't stop him, but was able to stop his teammates.

Edgar Padilla- UMass '96.

Jeff Sheppard - Kentucky '98, another MOP.

Rumeal Robinson - Michigan '89.

Mark Alarie - Duke '86.

I could go on and on...and on..and on...

Anonymous,  1:15 PM  

What about Brian Tolbert from Eastern Michigan. Earl Boykins side kick on the team that beat Jeff Capel and Duke. Tolbert had a shootout with Ray Allen and UConn the next game, matching him point for point before coming up short in the end.

Also who can forget Derek Anderson coming back from ACL surgery to ice two meaningless free throws in a Kentucky blowout.

Anonymous,  1:18 PM  

jeff capel's freshman year performance deserves a mention.

Terry Dehere.

Darvin Ham & his teammate Sasser.

Anonymous,  1:19 PM  

wayne turner

Anonymous,  1:22 PM  

God Shammgod of the '97 Providence team that made the Final Four. An awesome player with easily the best name in the history of college basketaball. I believe he's now play in the Saudi Arabian pro league.

Anonymous,  1:32 PM  

No love for Fennis Dembo? 16 free throws in a row to lead Wyoming over Reggie Miller's UCLA team?

Mike 2:37 PM  

I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned yet.

Bryant "Big Country" Reeves, whose Oklahoma State Cowboys beat Tim Duncan's Wake Forest team on the way to the 1995 Final Four?

Man, Big Country totally had the last laugh on that one.

Vinnie 3:22 PM  

Man, how did I leave out Donte Jones? Wayne Turner narrowly missed the cut. And Marcus Fizer--no self-respecting Bulls fan could mention him (worse that he was recruited by Tim Floyd).

Also: Lou Roe, Arthur Lee, and Sam Clancy.

Anonymous,  3:26 PM  

ANDERSON HUNT!!! UNLV

Anonymous,  7:47 PM  

From a bit further back...

Tate George, UConn, 1990. Down one to Clemson with :01 left on the clock, hit a turnaround from ten feet off a perfect full-court inbound pass from Scott Burrell for a team that lost in the next round on Christian Laettner's "other" buzzer-beater. Played a few years of pro ball somewhere, but still beloved in Connecticut.

MJenks 10:39 PM  

I don't know if Damon Bailey's game didn't translate so well to the NBA, or if it was just his knees that didn't translate well to the NBA, taking his game down with him.

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