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Is DE the most complete Billiken of modern times


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I never got to see Larry Legend in a SLU uni, and the fact he was a one-and-done might make his stats v. DE's a bit skewed, but is DE a more complete player than Larry? This is on all ends of the ball.

Would like some analysis from those who are lucky enough to have seen both play. Thanks!

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LH never got blocked repeatedly and had a lot of games over 25 points: I like DE a lot but in the Bonner years a lot of people said he was greatest Billiken ever forgetting Bob Ferry and Easy Ed (still the greatest) I doubt DE will ever play in the NBA

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I never got to see Larry Legend in a SLU uni, and the fact he was a one-and-done might make his stats v. DE's a bit skewed, but is DE a more complete player than Larry? This is on all ends of the ball.

Would like some analysis from those who are lucky enough to have seen both play. Thanks!

The only thing Hughes wasn't great at was 3-point shooting, but he could do just about everything else. Not a knock on DE, but he's not Hughes. Larry could single-handedly win games. Evans is more of an outstanding player, but within the framework of a structured team.

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The only thing Hughes wasn't great at was 3-point shooting, but he could do just about everything else. Not a knock on DE, but he's not Hughes. Larry could single-handedly win games. Evans is more of an outstanding player, but within the framework of a structured team.

agreed.Larry would have broken every SLU record except rebounding had he played 4 years.
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I wouldn't say Larry Hughes was great at everything. He wasn't a particularly great passer or defender. He was a good rebounder for a guard. He was not a good long range shooter. What he was, was an elite scorer at the college level that could generate high volumes of shots whenever he wanted.

He had 40 points against Marquette. If you fed someone on the current roster a ton of shots, could they get 40? I really doubt it.

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I remember the one game Hughes played in Carbondale. We were down something like 15 with about 2 or 3 minutes left. The crowd was singing the "Hey, hey goodbye" song. Then... Hughes took over. I swear he scored like 18 points in two minutes. It was unreal. When we won, the Saluki fans just filed out in stunned silence like they were leaving a wake. I will never forget that. I don't think any other Billiken in my 30 plus years has been capable of that.

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I remember the one game Hughes played in Carbondale. We were down something like 15 with about 2 or 3 minutes left. The crowd was singing the "Hey, hey goodbye" song. Then... Hughes took over. I swear he scored like 18 points in two minutes. It was unreal. When we won, the Saluki fans just filed out in stunned silence like they were leaving a wake. I will never forget that. I don't think any other Billiken in my 30 plus years has been capable of that.

That's an awesome story! Thanks for sharing that...the closest I've seen him play was at Simon Rec over the summer when I was an undergrad.

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Disagree about defense.Lots of steals. I believe he made the all defense team in the NBA. Always drew Koby.If anything he was a better defensive player then offensive.

He led the NBA in steals one season. That doesn't necessarily make him a good defender and he had a reputation as a river boat gambler out there. You can chase steals by gambling on defense.

He always drew Kobe because they played the same position.

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Disagree about defense.Lots of steals. I believe he made the all defense team in the NBA. Always drew Koby.If anything he was a better defensive player then offensive.

Also, better defensive player than offensive? Seriously?

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Hughes was much more explosive than Evans, but Evans has one thing going for him than Hughes did his freshman year: teams could use a "Jordan rules" type of game plan, like Kentucky did in the second round of the 1998 Tourney, to neutralize him, but Evans is stronger and has more help from teammates.

Evans is definitely a great Billiken, but he's not necessarily far ahead of players like Bonner, Claggett, Highmark, Love, or Jeffers. But he has more talent around him than any of those past stars.

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I remember the one game Hughes played in Carbondale. We were down something like 15 with about 2 or 3 minutes left. The crowd was singing the "Hey, hey goodbye" song. Then... Hughes took over. I swear he scored like 18 points in two minutes. It was unreal. When we won, the Saluki fans just filed out in stunned silence like they were leaving a wake. I will never forget that. I don't think any other Billiken in my 30 plus years has been capable of that.

Lisch came REALLY close to singlehandedly erasing a double digit against X at home a few years ago. Like he couldn't miss-and X couldn't do a thing about it.

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I remember the one game Hughes played in Carbondale. We were down something like 15 with about 2 or 3 minutes left. The crowd was singing the "Hey, hey goodbye" song. Then... Hughes took over. I swear he scored like 18 points in two minutes. It was unreal. When we won, the Saluki fans just filed out in stunned silence like they were leaving a wake. I will never forget that. I don't think any other Billiken in my 30 plus years has been capable of that.

I was also at this game in Carbondale. Best single player performance in my 45 years of watching Billiken basketball. I don't have stats handy but I recall he had 37 or 38 points. About half of the Saluki fans were stunned silent, the other half angry. I was happy to get out alive.

Made for enjoyable 2-hrl ride home!

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I think Larry Hughes was a better player and more exciting to watch, but he was only here one year to pick up a heart transplant. Dwight Evans is probably a better Billiken...it would be hard to find a better Billiken than him.

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I think Larry Hughes was a better player and more exciting to watch, but he was only here one year to pick up a heart transplant. Dwight Evans is probably a better Billiken...it would be hard to find a better Billiken than him.

Factually incorrect.

DE is having a great run, but come on The Legend was the best frosh in the country, a first round pick, NBA all defensive team a couple of years, and earned tens of millions of dollars.

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