Alvan Adams
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stoopified
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Only 73 games.......in other words over 75% of his games were double-doubles.Before anyone says Adams no talent around him so he was able to pad his numbers.There was at least one season in which Clifford Ray,Garfield Heard,and Bobby Jack were all playing with him. You may recall that Ray and Heard had solid and long NBA careers while my homeboy Bobby Jack is still one of OU's all-time leading scorers.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/adamsal01.html
Alvam was no slouch as a pro. Rookie-of-the-Year.
Alvam was no slouch as a pro. Rookie-of-the-Year.
No, Adams did not play with any of those guys in college. Probably the second best player during his tenure was a guy name Tom Holland. Another guy named Bob Pritchard was solid during Adams last year, but no one he played with would make anyone's top 100 all-time Sooners. In other words, he was a one-man team. However, I find that even more impressive because there was no one to take any pressure off him.
As best I can determine, the following are all the players who lettered during any of Alvan's seasons of '73, '74 & '75:
Melvin Baker
Mike Bell
Dean Blevins
Johnny Breathwitt
Russell Burks
Paul Crowell
Ted Evans
Eddie Fields
Randy Gentry
Lee Gilbert
John Gordon
John Gorman
Billy Graham
Tom Holland
Theodis Johnson
Kevin Lane
Mike McCurdy
Rick McNeil
Bob Pritchard
Mark Sooter
Jerry Vest
Jay Williams
John Macleod, Ou's coach in the late 60's and early 70's was a great/ smart coach. He recruited some good players Gar Heard, Clifford Ray, Bobby Jack. All three of these players were gone in 1972. He also recruited A Adams for 1973-75 season, but left to go to the Phoenix Suns in 73 or 74. Macleod then drafted Adams in 75.
Adams was a great jumper and effective offensive and defensive rebounder. He always played under control and was a great pro.
Adams was a great jumper and effective offensive and defensive rebounder. He always played under control and was a great pro.
BigTime
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NickZepp
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Actually I believe 72 was the first year freshmen were eligible to play college sports outside of war periods in the 40s and 50s.
That's right. Alvan got to play his true freshman year, but he declared for the NBA after his junior season so he ended up only playing 3 years for OU. Talking about double-doubles, Adams had 21 of them in the 73-74 season and the team only played 26 games. As previously pointed out, he had 57 double-doubles in 73 games. Also, he is one of the 3 OU players to score over 40 points and 20 rebounds in a single game.
Note: OU played 73 games during Adam's years but they played 100 games over the past 3 years. They just play a lot more games now
Alvan Adams article
DenverSooner
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That is impressive. As a point of reference does anyone know how many Blake Griffin had?
Wikipedia says he had 30 his sophomore season but I did not see a total for his freshman season. OU played 36 games that year. So he did it in 83.33% of his games.
I don't think he did that often as a freshman because he only averaged 14.7 ppg and 9.1 rpg as a freshman. That means a lot of games with under 10 rebounds.
Wikipedia says he had 30 his sophomore season but I did not see a total for his freshman season. OU played 36 games that year. So he did it in 83.33% of his games.
I don't think he did that often as a freshman because he only averaged 14.7 ppg and 9.1 rpg as a freshman. That means a lot of games with under 10 rebounds.
NickZepp
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Well only having 7 conference teams limits your games. And also you didn't have preseason tournaments and post season tournament was only 32 teams. I believe we did get a conference preseason tournament back then. Not a post season one though.
SilliSooner
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I followed the team on their trip to California in Alvan's last year. First game was at San Diego State which we won, but the second game was in Pauley Pavilion against one of John Wooden's high scoring championship UCLA teams. We lost 66-111. I had a second row baseline seat and was shocked how good it was.
They had several players who could sky, specifically Richard Washington and Marques Johnson. But I remember Alvan holding his own against their front line. He scored over 30 points and had a bunch of rebounds.
Alvan was one of my early Oklahoma born favorites. I had gone to games since the sixties but most of our stars were out of staters like Garfield Heard and Clifford Ray. Of the players playing with Adams, Eddie Fields was the best. He later became a Harlem Globetrotter. But, we do have to remember, the teams that Adams played on had tough schedules but whether it were John McLeod or Joe Ramsey teams, they weren't very good.
They had several players who could sky, specifically Richard Washington and Marques Johnson. But I remember Alvan holding his own against their front line. He scored over 30 points and had a bunch of rebounds.
Alvan was one of my early Oklahoma born favorites. I had gone to games since the sixties but most of our stars were out of staters like Garfield Heard and Clifford Ray. Of the players playing with Adams, Eddie Fields was the best. He later became a Harlem Globetrotter. But, we do have to remember, the teams that Adams played on had tough schedules but whether it were John McLeod or Joe Ramsey teams, they weren't very good.
I have always included Alvan as a native Oklahoman, but he was actually born in ------Lawrence, Kansas.
I didn't miss a home game his freshman year. His first game was sensational for a kid entering college. He had 28 rebounds, still an OU record?
There wasn't a player on the OU team that would have been a reserve for Kansas or UCLA other than Alvan. But, he made that team respectable. Good teams had to take us seriously.
I didn't miss a home game his freshman year. His first game was sensational for a kid entering college. He had 28 rebounds, still an OU record?
There wasn't a player on the OU team that would have been a reserve for Kansas or UCLA other than Alvan. But, he made that team respectable. Good teams had to take us seriously.
Sooner04
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1. I'm thrilled Alvan's name was spelled correctly in the subject line.
2. In a different era, AA would've made a couple of NCAA Tournament trips. The Sooners went 18-8 in both '73 and '74 and finished with winning Big 8 records in each year. The Tourney only took 25 teams back then.
3. 28 boards in his collegiate debut, which is STILL the record.
2. In a different era, AA would've made a couple of NCAA Tournament trips. The Sooners went 18-8 in both '73 and '74 and finished with winning Big 8 records in each year. The Tourney only took 25 teams back then.
3. 28 boards in his collegiate debut, which is STILL the record.
Max Power
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This is just insane for a true freshman in any era, that fact that he did it at a time where no-one left after 1 or 2 years for the NBA and freshman just got the opportunity to play is one of the most incredible feats of all time.
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