Greatest Gamecock Professional Athlete? Gotta be Alex English IMO

[ipull4usc]

For a Little Perspective on Alex English's great pro career: Last night Tim Duncan passed Alex English for 16th place on the NBA All-Time scoring list. Duncan, who is widely considered the Greatest Power Forward of All-Time, who's considered a Top 10 NBA Player of All-Time, who's in his 18th season in the NBA, is just now passing Alex on the scoring list. And Alex only played 15 seasons in the NBA.

In my opinion, Alex is without a doubt the Greatest Gamecock professional athlete in any sport.

 

[_NOVA_]

That's an easy call.

Sterling Sharpe and Big George fight it out for second.

 

[blackmagic1984]

The highest-scoring player of the 1980s.

 

[Garnet chicken]

I think Roche and Winters had good careers. Roche played a lot of his career in the old ABA, though.

 

[ncgamecock77]

I'd have to say John Abraham


He was an all pro four different times.

 

[bucketdad]

Although he may not have accomplished what English did, as an athlete, I'd probably go with Dan Reeves. QB at Carolina, all-purpose back in the NFL. Guy could throw, run and catch. Not a bad career for a free agent on "America's Team".

 

[CockofEarle]

"stick" , class of '76, hands down*


*

 

[pepsicock]

1. Alex English
2 . Sterling Sharpe
3. Bobby Bryant
4 Harold Green
5 Dan Reeves
5 George Rogers
6 Brad Edwards
7 Sidney Rice
8 Duce Staley
9 Steve Courson
10 Robert Brooks


Damn shame that Steve Wadiak died before he played in the NFL . He was before my time but my dad said he was awesome
This post was edited on 2/20 12:20 PM by pepsicock

 

[USCBatgirl21]

I gotta admit...I still get star struck when I see Alex English at the CLA.

 

[76gintcock]

Re: "stick" , class of '76, hands down*

I completely agree that Alex gets this award. But we called him "Flick," not "Stick." That went back to high school, to describe his incredibly high release on his jumper. But we were worried that he was too thin in high school to make it in college. Wrong. Then we were worried in college that he was too thin to make it in the NBA. Seriously wrong

I just wish he had played for the Celtics or the Knicks or the Lakers or one of the other teams that was constantly on TV.

He's a fine guy, and he always has been. When race riots broke out at Dreher his senior year, he did everything he could to stop them. Then he participated for the rest of the week in biracial "rap sessions," where he was a moderating voice among some truly radicalized students.

Or so I've heard.

 

[DarkHorse2001]

Re: "stick" , class of '76, hands down*


How did you guys forget about George Rogers ?

#1 pick in the NFL draft
NFL rookie of the year
NFL pro bowl as a rookie
7 years as a pro, rushed for over 7000 yards
Helped Washington win The Super Bowl in 1987

 

[atl-cock]

Originally posted by pepsicock:

1. Alex English
2 . Sterling Sharpe
3. Bobby Bryant
4 Harold Green
5 Dan Reeves
5 George Rogers
6 Brad Edwards
7 Sidney Rice
8 Duce Staley
9 Steve Courson
10 Robert Brooks


Damn shame that Steve Wadiak died before he played in the NFL . He was before my time but my dad said he was awesome
This post was edited on 2/20 12:20 PM by pepsicock

Hope we can add JBJ to this list in the years to come.
What about Alex Hawkins?

 

[captiva73]

Bobby Bryant is often forgotten - great Carolina and NFL DB - who was also a very good college baseball player and
might have made it to the majors. While Canadian football doesn't compare with the NFL - the best kick and punt returner
I ever saw at Carolina was Dickie Harris - who went on to a stellar CFL career - may be in their Hall of Fame.
Jim Fox and Brian Winters had solid NBA careers.

 

[Palmetto1984]

Even though he wasn't here his entire college career, Brian Roberts has had a pretty nice career in the MLB

 

[Mr CockStrong]

Re: "stick" , class of '76, hands down*

Originally posted by 76gintcock:
I completely agree that Alex gets this award. But we called him "Flick," not "Stick." That went back to high school, to describe his incredibly high release on his jumper. But we were worried that he was too thin in high school to make it in college. Wrong. Then we were worried in college that he was too thin to make it in the NBA. Seriously wrong

I just wish he had played for the Celtics or the Knicks or the Lakers or one of the other teams that was constantly on TV.

He's a fine guy, and he always has been. When race riots broke out at Dreher his senior year, he did everything he could to stop them. Then he participated for the rest of the week in biracial "rap sessions," where he was a moderating voice among some truly radicalized students.

Or so I've heard.

You are right that it went back to high school -- and even further.

As skinny a kid as he was, and viewing his playing style as awkward on the basketball court, people said that Alex looked as if he was "afflicted." Given that nicknames sometime come from shortened or change words by the person giving the nickname, "afflicted" was just shortened to "Flick".

 

[Golden Cock]

Re: "stick" , class of '76, hands down*

Originally posted by 76gintcock:
I completely agree that Alex gets this award. But we called him "Flick," not "Stick."

COE has his private pet names for everyone.

 

[pepsicock]

Originally posted by atl-cock:

Originally posted by pepsicock:

1. Alex English
2 . Sterling Sharpe
3. Bobby Bryant
4 Harold Green
5 Dan Reeves
5 George Rogers
6 Brad Edwards
7 Sidney Rice
8 Duce Staley
9 Steve Courson
10 Robert Brooks


Damn shame that Steve Wadiak died before he played in the NFL . He was before my time but my dad said he was awesome

This post was edited on 2/20 12:20 PM by pepsicock

Hope we can add JBJ to this list in the years to come.
What about Alex Hawkins?

These are the players I saw play. I know Mr Hawkins was great player but that was before my time .

 

[CockofEarle]

hey, its been 40 yrs....so much 4 the knees being 1st thing to go. *


*

 

[tampacock]

My college roommate ( who I have mentioned twice on here today - kinda odd ) played against English in the state championships when English was a junior. His team Orangeburg won BTW.

Our freshman year at Carolina my roomie said " you gotta see this kid that plays at Dreher, his nickname is flick."
The idea of giving up a Friday afternoon's drinking to see a high school game that I did not care about was not very exciting, but he dragged me to the game anyway.

English was everything my roommate said he was and more. I had never seen a player who released a jumpshot at the height of his jump and had so much touch. Had the privilege to see English play all four years.

 

[Yellow Fin Fan]

John Abraham was no slouch. I haven't seen him on anyone's list of even top 10.

 

[legalsizecock]

Yes on Alex. But any list should have Mookie Wilson on it.

Mookie had a long, solid career in MLB. Heck, as Pepsi can relate, in the early 1980s, Mookie was really the Mets best player until the Strawberrys, Goodens and the like came up.

At Carolina, Mookie and Mark Van Bever at the top of the order wreaked havoc on opposing teams. If either got on, it was almost a sure thing they'd quickly run themselves to third base. That team came within an eye lash of our first NCAA baseball championship.

Very fast team. Chuck McLean could fly around the bases as well, and Randy Martz came off the football team to be the best NCCA pitcher that year.

Ah, good memories. The Sarge rocked in the mid-to-late 70s.

 

[legalsizecock]

Gene "Stick" Michael - mediocre SS for bad Yankee teams??*

nm

 

[CockofEarle]

stick & lou used the same showers @ kent. *


*

 

[legalsizecock]

Thx for that visual COE. Ruined my weekend. ;^0 ***

nm

 

[cockycurran]

No doubt that English is #1, and think Mookie Wilson should be there as well.

Going in a totally unique direction, Brad Guzan is a top keeper in the English Premier League, and right now, he is the #1 keeper for the US team. Josh Wolfe and Clint Mathis had pretty good pro soccer careers, too, and both played on the national team. Clint even scored a goal in the 2002 World Cup!

 

[Gamecock Lifer]

I have on multiple occasions met and interacted with Alex English, Sterling Sharpe and George Rogers... All three have been very nice to me every time we spoke. And in my opinion they are Gamecock royalty!

It is hard to compare across multiple sports, and for me- knowing those guys- I am hard pressed picking between them. It is also hard to do considering George and Sterling both started their pro careers with insane success and had early endings to their pro careers... Who knows what they could have accomplished had they had 15 year careers?...

I didn't see many Baseball players on the lists mentioned this far either.

Can we call Dawn Staley a "Gamecock professional athlete"? She is one of the greatest women basketball players ever, I think most would agree. She may not have played her college ball here, but she is DEFINITELY A GAMECOCK NOW!

How about John Abraham? Did I miss it or has nobody mentioned him yet?

 

[bhsrebel]

Since the title of this thread is Greatest Gamecock Professional Athlete and isn't specific as to whether he or she played at Carolina I'll suggest Bobby Richardson, who coached at USC after a pro career and is the father of modern Gamecock baseball.

 

[Palmetto1984]

Originally posted by Yellow Fin Fan:
John Abraham was no slouch. I haven't seen him on anyone's list of even top 10.

Good call, Abraham is definitely in the top 10.

 

[coxman]

Originally posted by pepsicock:

1. Alex English
2 . Sterling Sharpe
3. Bobby Bryant
4 Harold Green
5 Dan Reeves
5 George Rogers
6 Brad Edwards
7 Sidney Rice
8 Duce Staley
9 Steve Courson
10 Robert Brooks


Damn shame that Steve Wadiak died before he played in the NFL . He was before my time but my dad said he was awesome

This post was edited on 2/20 12:20 PM by pepsicock

To be #4 Harold Green would have had to see the hole and score to beat Miami in '87.

 

[ReadR00ster]

Alshon already has played in the Pro Bowl. He should probably be on the list. Johnathon Joseph, Travelle Wharton, Marcus Robinson... a few more guys to think about.

 

[pisgah]

It's hard to pick one, multiple sports , different eras. I definitely agree with the posters who mentioned that Dan Reeves and Bobby Richardson should be remembered, they are one of the best of all time.

 

[WinthropCock]

Alex English, John Abraham, and Sterling Sharpe. People often overlook Abraham's quiet, but very steady career. He's currently 10th on the NFL career list for sacks (133.5), which is very impressive. There's a good chance that Abraham will be the first Gamecock inducted into Canton.

 

[uscg1984]

Originally posted by blackmagic1984:
The highest-scoring player of the 1980s.

This says it all. Think about that. In a decade that saw a whole lot of points scored by legends like Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kareem, Dominique, Dr J, Charles Barkley, Drexler, Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, and others, English outscored them all. The only reason he isn't a household name today like those other guys is because he played most of his career in Denver and never once played for a team on the east coast. Make no mistake, English was a superstar in his sport as his selection to 8 NBA All-star teams would attest. He remains Denver's all-time leading scorer.

This one is easy. No other former Gamecock achieved as much in their respective sports as a professional than English did. Sterling certainly had the potential to do it in Green Bay had his career not been cut short, but nobody else has come close. . . yet.

 

[stevestrat2]

 

[IrmoRed]

Bobby Bryant is in Canton. Has Emglish NOT been inducted? "Amazing grace and Chuck" was a solid movie Alex starred in during the 80s.

 

[WinthropCock]

Actually Irmo, Bryant is not in Canton.

 

[section2cock]

English is an easy one. I had to guard him in practice and scrimmages. Impossible task.

 

[CockIt75]

Allen Johnson... World class hurdler with Olympic gold.

 

[wycombecock]

Seems like we always forget Alex Hawkins
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[cockynSC66]

I'd say Clowney or Sidney Rice