Wednesday, March 16, 2011

PC Spotlight #12: Cal Bears Basketball PC

I know... the Bears aren't a part of this year's NCAA Tournament... but I'm still stoked that March Madness has arrived. Since none of the teams I normally support (Cal, Stanford, Santa Clara, or SJSU) aren't participating... I'll be rooting for the following teams:

East: Washington - I've gotta support the Pac 10 champs!
West: San Diego State - California Love!
SW: UNLV - I'm still ticked that Duke beat them 20 years ago... but still love 'em.
SE: Gonzaga & Butler - Gonzaga is a small school representing the West Coast & I rooted for Butler last year... so I'm pulling for them again.

But those aren't the teams I have in my bracket... Here's my Final Four:

East: Ohio St.
West: San Diego State
SW: Kansas
SE: Pittsburgh

I know... I know... cheese right? Three #1 seeds and a #2 seed. I know there are going to be some upsets... but when I have money on the line... I had to go with what my brain was telling me... not my heart. In the end... I have Ohio St. beating Kansas in the finals.

Honestly... as long as Duke doesn't win it... I'll be happy. So in honor of this year's NCAA basketball tournament... I'd like to show off my Cal Bears basketball PC. They didn't make the tournament this year, but they are currently playing Ole Miss in the NIT tournament. Go Bears!

Sports Illustrated March 29, 1993

I bought this recently at my local card shop for $1, because it captured a moment in sports history that I'll never forget.

The 1993 NCAA Tournament was one of the most memorable for Bay Area fans. That year Steve Nash and Santa Clara upset Arizona in the first round... and of course Jason Kidd led Cal over Duke in the second round. A few days later they got their bottoms whooped by Kansas... but at least they beat Duke.


1995 Superior Pix

This card is easily the centerpiece to my Cal PC... Jason Kidd was born and raised in the Bay Area, so he was a household name long before he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 1994.



Jason Kidd might be the biggest name in my collection, but Shareef Abdur-Rahim was one of my favorite players. In fact... had I invested as much money in Kobe... as I did on Abdur-Rahim, I'd be a rich man. Back in the day, I bought a ton of his rookie cards. I'd have to double check, but I'm sure that I have at least 100 of them sitting around somewhere. He had a solid NBA career but unfortunately he was never in a big market. Oh well... that's why you shouldn't buy cards for investment purposes.




And rounding out my collection of Cal ballers are Jamal Sampson, Francisco Elson, Sean Lampley, and DeVon Hardin.

Jamal Sampson was drafted in the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft. He played 72 games over 5 seasons with 5 teams from 2002/03 to 2006/07.

Francisco Elson is currently with the Utah Jazz. After being drafted by Denver in the 2nd round, he decided to play in Spain for four years before coming to the NBA. Since then, he has played in over 450 games for six different franchises.

Sean Lampley was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2001 NBA Draft. He played in 45 games during his two season tenure in the NBA.

Last... and sort of least... is DeVon Hardin. Hardin was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2007 NBA Draft. So far... he hasn't played in a regular season NBA game... and I think he's in Europe right now, so there's a chance his NBA career will never take off.

Tonight's question of the day is...

Who do you think is going to pull off the biggest upset in this year's tournament?

I've got Gonzaga beating St. John's in the the first round... c'mon... who you got?


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