Friday Five: My Five Favorite College Basketball Players

I love watching March Madness. It's not always kind to me, but it's still one of the best sporting events around. This year, I have a few different rooting interests that are floating around in both the men's and women's tournaments. I thought it would be fun to post my favorite college basketball players for this week's Friday Five post.

Unfortunately, not all of these players have cards.  

Honorable Mention - Elissa Cunane - NC State 2018-2022 

The best sports team at NC State over the past decade has been the women's basketball team. They are consistently ranked, play at a high level, and compete for titles at both the conference and national level. Elissa Cunane was their center the last few years and was a big part of the reason the team won three consecutive ACC Championships. She's a skilled big person who scored around the basket, but also shot three pointers and could run the floor. Elissa was drafted by an WNBA team, but ended up playing this past year in Europe. The Wolfpack women's team is playing Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. A bit of a down year without Elissa this year.  

Honorable Mention - Lorenzo Brown - NC State 2010-2013 

NC State was horrible while I was in school there. The team was coached by Sidney Lowe, who was the point guard on the 1983 National Championship team. The biggest problem was that he could not develop a point guard. The last year I was in college and Sidney Lowe coached State, he brought in Lorenzo Brown as the team's star recruit. Too bad Sidney got fired, because he actually got a good point guard with Lorenzo.   

I am not going to go look up his stats, because they don't matter. Lorenzo Brown just played basketball the right way. He was good on defense, great passer, and he scored when the team needed some points. If you made a list of the attributes for the ideal college point guard, Lorenzo Brown would have them all. The team ended up making a Sweet 16 run while he was there. 

Not as flashy as some of the other players on this list, but still ended up playing in the NBA for a few years with the Toronto Raptors.  Lorenzo is also on the Puerto Rican National Team has had some big games in World Cup and Olympic-type events.  

5. Cat Barber - NC State 2013-2016 

Cat deserved better. He was a great player who was at NC State while the team was filled with underachievers and crappy coach. Cat is from the Hampton Roads region in southeast Virginia, same as Allen Iverson. As shifty, quick point guards, the two drew a lot of comparisons. In my opinion, the comparison hurt Cat. He got a bad rep at times and it was not deserved. Cat grew a lot as a player during his years in Raleigh and ended up averaging 23 points per game and almost 5 assists per game their senior year. Cat was a dominant college player who probably could have done a lot of damage in the NCAA Tournament with a better coach who could have utilized the supporting cast a little better.  

Cat was drafted by the 76ers, but never really stuck in the NBA. He played a few games with the Atlanta Hawks, but has been a fixture in the G League and Europe. Panini made a bunch of cards of Cat when he was first drafted, almost all NC State cards. The Panini cards list him as "Anthony Barber", but he signed all of his autographs as just "Cat".  

Mike Krzyzewski heading back to the locker room after his press conference and walks up to Markell Johnson, hugs his and says “you played a great game... not a good game but a great game.” #DUKEvsNCST @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/TPFyrpXriZ

— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) February 20, 2020

4. Markell Johnson - NC State - 2016-2020 

Markell does not have a basketball card, which stinks. Of the players who have been at NC State under their current coach, Kevin Keatts, Markell Johnson is my favorite player. He stayed in college all four years, did not transfer, and got better every year he was in college. Best thing about Markell was that he showed up in big ways when State played big games. 

Markell was a great passer. He averaged more than 5 assists per game for his college career and is third all-time in school's history. Markell also has 4 of the 10 highest assist games in the history of the school.  He's not in the NBA or G League, but has spent time playing professionally in Turkey.  

3. William "Bud" Eley - Southeast Missouri State 1995-1999 

The Ohio Valley Conference has Belmont, Murray State, and Austin Peay. It's a tough league. Southeast Missouri is always a step below those schools, which stinks when you're a conference that only sends one team to the NCAA Tournament. While I was in school there, the team had Bud Eley. He was a 6'10 center who was an all-conference player three years, conference player of the year. He led the conference in scoring, rebounds, and block shots. I believe he lead Division I basketball in double-doubles his last two years. If you went to a SEMO basketball game in the late 1990s, Bud was going to score his points, get his rebounds, and block a bunch of shots. Was anyone else going to help him?  

Depends on the night.  

Bud never made the NCAA Tournament.  

Thanks, Murray State. 

Bud Eley never played in the NBA, but had a long career playing in Spain. He even has basketball cards, but I cannot find any of them online. Panini has made several sets for the ACB, Spanish Pro League, and Eley has cards in the set.  

Southeast Missouri did make the tournament this year.  

They did not win their game in the First Four against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and their mascot may or may not have broken a Pitt Panthers sign in the arena.   

2. Anthony Peeler - Missouri - 1988-1992 

Anthony Peeler rolled out of bed in the morning and was good for 20 points. I grew up watching the Norm Stewart era Mizzou teams, there were other good players, but Peeler was the best of the group. Peeler could shoot from the perimeter or drive to the basket. I know Doug Smith was at Mizzou around the same time as Peeler, but he did not have the excitement factor of Peeler. He could do it all and won Big 8 Conference Player of the Year in 1992.  

Anthony Peeler played in the NBA for a long time and has a lot of basketball cards. I like this 1994 Topps cards with Charles Barkley's head in the background. Peeler's crowning achievement as an NBA player was probably punching Kevin Garnett in the face during a playoff series game 6 in 2004. 

Peeler and Garnett were teammates for a few years on the Timberwolves.  

1. T.J. Warren - NC State - 2013-2014

Long ago, when players stayed in school for four years, T.J. Warren would have set every offensive record at NC State. He played two years at State, didn't start his freshman year, and still averaged 12 points per game. In his sophomore year, Warren averaged 25 a game and was the ACC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. Warren is a bit of a throwback with most of his points coming on runners and mid-range jumpers.

T.J. is still playing in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns. He's been injury-prone as a pro, but still has his good scoring touch. For his career, T.J. is averaging a little over 25 minutes per game while scoring 15 points per game. 

2023 Blake Snell Autograph Count: 1

I have a few Blake Snell posts to make over the next few weeks. My favorite former Durham Bulls pitcher has not autographed cards for any 2023 products yet, but Snell had a few that I missed last year. The quantity of Snell autographs has definitely slowed over the past few years, which is helping me catch up.  

The first one for 2023 is from last year's Triple Threads set.  

Not sure about the purple frame and gold background for a San Diego Padres card. Seems like an odd color combination between the purple, gold, and Padres brown. The picture looks like it is from the team photo shoot and the autograph is Snell's typical signature. Unfortunately, the signature is on a sticker, although it is blended decently. Triple Threads is such a nice product, I wish that these were on-card autographs.

I guess the highlight here is the jersey swatch. 

I am not sure I have a Padres swatch on a Snell card. It's not like I collect relic cards either. Anyway, it's a large brown swatch with two pinstripes. This is about as good as it gets without specifically trying to find a patch card.  

Back of the card.  

Nothing special here. Standard card back for an autograph with a relic piece.  

“And you, Larry Hockett, should recognize me"

"and you Larry Hockett should remember me, 'cause about five moths ago in the Triple A National Championship Game you were pitching for Reno and I was batting clean-up for Durham. You hung 0 and 1 curve ball in a 6-4 game in the bottom of the 9th and I roped it down the line to tie the game and win the Triple A National Championship Game MVP Award" 

It was actually J.B. Wendelken, but that does not fit the theme of the blog as well as Larry Hockett.  

Continuing my work on cards from last year's Durham Bulls Triple A Championship team, I added two new cards this weekend. Both pretty significant contributors to the team and both really nice looking baseball cards.  

First up, Vidal Brujan.  

Brujan was Robin to Wander Franco's Batman a few years back and he has been hanging out in Durham ever since. He actually spent a fair amount of time in Tampa last year and is still listed on several of those top prospect rankings. 

I have a few Brujan autographs floating around the collection already. I just decided to get another one, because the prices of his cards are now more in line with the average anonymous Rays utility player and not Wander Franco. I like this hazy blue Topps Finest card. The surface is shiny and the background color matches the Rays uniform.  

Hazy Shade of Devil Ray?

Susanna Hoffs owes me royalties if she ever uses this on stage.  

Next.  

Triple A Championship Game MVP, Bligh Madris.  

This card is a bit of a head scratcher. Madris was on the Pirates for part of the 2022 season, but was put on waivers and claimed by the Rays. The Rays sent him down to Durham where he had a great few weeks playing with the Bulls.  Bligh Madris played in 10 regular season games for the Bulls and hit 4 home runs, 3 doubles, and drove in 15 runs.

It was a Ruthian performance.

Best of all, the Triple A Championship Game was in Las Vegas last year.  

Bligh Madris is from.......

Las Vegas.  

Sorry, I cannot fit another Bangles meme into this post.  

Friday Five: My Favorite 1988 Topps and Topps Traded Cards

I got a copy of the 1988 Topps set from my parents for Christmas that year. I was excited about getting a complete set, so I opened the set box and sorted out all of the cards. Everyone from the 1980s knows you are supposed to leave your complete Topps sets sealed, right? I was in fifth grade and baseball cards are fun, of course I opened the box. Also, it's the 1988 Topps set.  You can probably find a copy of the set at your local thrift shop for $5.  

There are probably multiple copies for less than $5 at your thrift shop.  

Is the 1988 Topps set unpopular because it's really that bad, or because it lacks a signature rookie card Truth be told, I kind of dig the 1988 Topps set. The design is underrated.  

Topps is using the 1988 design as an insert set with the 2023 Topps set. Many have not liked the 1988 Topps set for the past thirty years, but you're going to love it now and buy all the retail packs from Target and Wal-Mart.  

I personally like the Nolan Arenado card.  

Now, let me get to the countdown. I am going to include cards from the 1988 Topps Traded set in this post, because there are some good cards in there and it is also a $5 set.  

Shall we?  

5T. 1988 Topps Traded Andy Benes #14T 

5T. 1988 Topps Traded Ron Gant #39T 

I did not touch the 1988 Topps Traded set until the Cardinals signed Andy Benes and Ron Gant as a free agents before the 1996 season. There was a high-end card store that was a few minutes from my house back in the 1990s. When the Cardinals signed Benes and Gant, they set out a huge stack of 1988 Topps Traded sets on one of their counters with all the sets costing $10. I bought the set expecting it to have a Ron Gant rookie and a bunch of junky cards. 

Not the case.  

As a Cardinals fan, I got cards of Jose DeLeon, Luis Alicea, and Tom Brunansky on top of Gant and Andy Benes. There was also David Wells, Jim Abbott, and Roberto Alomar amongst others. It's a pretty good set and I have no idea how it is only crispy Alexander Hamilton.  

4. 1988 Topps Traded Robin Ventura #124T

Robin Ventura is not quite a Hall of Famer. One of the best third baseman from the 1990s and early 2000s, just a step below players like Scott Rolen. In the aftermath of the 1982 Topps Traded set, every Topps Traded set had a potential Cal Ripken waiting to rising from the checklist. This was the "it" card from the 1988 Topps Traded set. Not sure it was every really all that expensive at any point, but the fact that the card costs less than a dollar is insanity.  

This card should cost at least a dollar at a minimum.  

3. 1988 Topps Vince Coleman #1 

I loved the design of the Record Breakers cards in the 1988 Topps set. That red background really pops and it was great to see a Cardinals player on the first card of a Topps set.  The Record Breaker was for Coleman's third consecutive season with more than 100 stolen bases. I believe that Topps has reused this design in one of their Throwback/Customer Direct products.  

Here is the moment.......

The previous record was held by Rickey Henderson.  

2. 1988 Topps Mark McGwire #580 

Mark McGwire with a Topps All-Star Rookie logo in the corner. It was a no-brainer. No goatee or crazy muscles, just skinny Mark McGwire holding a bat and posing for a picture. This is one of my favorite early McGwire cards. Topps also used a picture from this same photo shoot on McGwire's 1988 Glossy Mail-In card and the A's Team Leaders card.  

I am sure if I looked hard enough, Topps has probably recycled these photos on modern McGwire cards as well. It would be borderline shocking if they have not.  

1. 1988 Cardinals Leaders #351 

Great picture here with long-time Cardinals player, manager, and coach Red Schoendienst standing next to catcher Tony Pena. Most coaches do not get cards, so it was nice to see someone as high-profile as Red get the nod from Topps. It is somewhat surprising that Pena appeared on this card over some of the more popular 1980s Cardinals players like Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, or Vince Coleman. 

Still, not a complete reach.  

If you weren't around for 1980s baseball, Pena was the premier defensive catcher in the league and the Cardinals were loaded with Gold Glovers. The Cardinals had outfielders to spare, but no catcher. Prior to the 1987 season, the Cardinals traded Andy Van Slyke to the Pirates for Pena. The Cardinals ended up winning the National League that season, but injuries caught up with them in the World Series and they lost in seven games. 

A card back.  

Solid numbers on the Cardinals Team Leaders. I am sure Red helped somehow, someway. 

Bullish

The Durham Bulls won the Triple A Championship last year.  

The @DurhamBulls are the 2022 Triple-A National Champions!#TripleAWeekend | @raysbaseball pic.twitter.com/VSOl4qbUVc

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) October 3, 2022

That's two Triple A Championships in a row.  

I did not write much about it last year, but it was a pretty impressive group of prospects. Come to think of it, I did not write about much of anything last year. Several of the Bulls players will graduate to the Majors and will be with the Rays this summer. The team did have a few of the younger players might who might be back in Durham for another year. Either way, I have started working on putting together cards of the players.  

Today, I am starting out with two of the better Major League prospects on last year's Bulls team.  

First up, pitcher Taj Bradley.  

I have been meaning to pick up a card of Taj Bradley for awhile, but just did not get there until recently. He is only 21 and was only with the Bulls for the second half of last season, so there is a chance that he is back in Durham to start this season. Taj is a hard thrower with control. He's on most Top 100 prospect lists and has autographs on Ebay for less than $20.  

You should probably buy one and thank me later.  

Next.  

Jonathan Aranda.  

He hits and gets on-base. Reminds me a lot of Allen Craig, but he's left-handed.

Aranda has been a good player in the Minors for the past few years, but strangely has almost no cards outside of a base card and an autograph in the 2023 Topps set. He had less than 100 at-bats in the Majors last year, so I was a little surprised that he showed up on cards this year. 

Not going to complain.  

Big on both of these players for the coming year.  

Around The Card Room, Take 3

So, my card room is not only about baseball cards. The room also doubles as a family room on the second floor of our house.  My wife will hang out in the card room from time to time, but my kids are in there all the time. I have a six year old daughter and a twelve year-old son. They generally respect my baseball cards and leave them alone, all while adding their own touches to the space.  

Currently, one of the end tables in my card room is doubling as the home space of the My Little Pony Castle. Who is your favorite My Little Pony?  

Answer in the comments.  

Each of my kids also has a space on the wall in the card room.  

I took my son to his first game a few months before his first birthday. I printed off a picture, framed it, and included the ticket stub in the frame. While other pictures have come and gone from the card room, wall space is finite, this one has stayed right outside the closet for the past decade plus.  

The ticket stub has teeth marks.  

I decided to give my daughter the same treatment, but it took a little longer to get my daughter to a game.  She is not quite 2 in this picture.  

The ticket stub was a challenge here. The Durham Bulls do not do physical tickets unless you have them held at Will Call. All of their tickets are electronic. I ended up taking a screen shot of the e-ticket, shrunk it down slightly, and printed it off in color on card stock.  

Yes, she is wearing a lei and adult sunglasses.  

This is where she spent a large portion of the game, but it was still fun to take her. 

Both pictures are amongst my favorite items in the card room.  

Random Ray- 1992 Upper Deck FanFest

Ray Lankford was not on the 1991 National League All-Star team, but somehow managed to get a card in the 1991 All-Star Game FanFest set, which was produced by Score.  

Here is the card, which I blogged about last year.  

Ray Lankford was not on the 1992 National League All-Star team, but somehow managed to get a card in the 1992 All-Star Game FanFest set, which was produced by Upper Deck.  

Here is the front of the card.  

I like the picture on the front of the card with Lankford taking a swing in his road uniform at Wrigley Field. I miss the days when the Cardinals would wear the blue hats and batting helmets on the road. The player in the background is second baseman Luis Alicea. Trying to track the picture to a specific game, Lankford and Alicea only hit together in a game at Wrigley Field once in 1991, which took place on October 5th. 

The design is decent. It's a FanFest card, so it's going to include the All-Star logo. The pinstripes at the bottom are not my favorite, but this was the year the Padres switch to blue and orange pinstriped uniforms. It's a crime the Padres stopped wearing brown.  

Back of the card.  

Upper Deck included a nice summary of Ray Lankford's Minor League career, along with some highlights from his rookie season. I like that they mention his cycle game at the bottom of the card. Upper Deck always did a good job with player write-ups, so not surprised by the quality here.  

Overall, I really like this card. Still feels really odd that young Ray Lankford was not in All-Star Games, but appeared in a bunch of All-Star sets.  Prime of his career Ray Lankford was in the All-Star Game and there are almost no cards to recognize the accomplishment. 

Seems like it should be on a baseball card.