All Larry Bird Team

Larry Legend was known as a great shooter, a great trash-talker, and a great player in crunch time. But what really set Bird apart was his desire to win, his drive to motivate his teammates and the fact that he never took a play off. In today’s game, there are a lot of great players, but very few who really put it all on the line every night. Below is this year’s All Larry Bird team in college basketball:

PG – Aaron Craft, Ohio State – I remember watching Aaron Craft play at the beginning of his freshman season last year and thinking to myself, “Is this little kid Thad Matta’s nephew? Otherwise, how the hell is he starting on the best team in America?” Forty minutes later, I had my answer. Aaron Craft is all over the place, all the time. He throws his body around with reckless abandon and has to be the most annoying guy in basketball to bring the ball up the court against. He is top-20 in the nation in steals per game and needs to get some more shots to boost his scoring (8ppg).

SG – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky – Even though this kid is just a freshman, he brings the type of energy and effort to the court each night that I would expect from a 5^th year senior. He’s a stat-sheet stuffer (averages 13, 8, 2, 1, and 1) and it’s amazing to watch him play in stretches where he literally dominates all aspects of the game on the both the offensive and defensive sides of the floor.

SF – Robbie Hummel, Purdue – You have to give Hummel a ton of credit. Two years ago, people were talking about him being a first round draft pick. Two knee surgeries later, Hummel is back on the court doing work, getting over 15ppg. The rest of his stats might not be as gaudy as these other guys, but he nailed a huge game-winner on Saturday against Northwestern that would have made Larry Legend proud.

PF – Kevin Jones, West Virginia – Kevin Jones is only 6’8” and is never the most gifted athlete on the floor, but the guy leads the nation in offensive rebounding. He has improved every year that he has been at West Virginia and plays the type of tough nosed ball that Bob Huggins teaches his kids. He’s putting up Player of the Year type numbers (21 and 12) and still plays harder than anyone else on the court.

C – Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State – As is the case with many transfers, Moultrie showed up this year with something to prove. And boy, has he made a statement. After putting up pedestrian stats at UTEP the last two years, Moultrie is averaging 17 and 11 and has 5 straight double doubles. Unfortunately for Moultrie, he plays with (hands down) the laziest player in college basketball in Renardo Sidney, so he has to play with enough effort to make up for 2 people.