If I had a dollar for every time the camera shows David Thompson at a home game followed by some lame color guy like the G-man going on about how DT was greater than Jordan in college, then I would have more money, and if I had more money the fridge would have beer in it, and if I had beer you would not get the fantastic trivia question below because I'd be too drunk to type right now.
The proprietor of basketball-reference.com, Justin Kubatko, modified Bill James' baseball stat, win shares (WS), for professional basketball. The stat is designed to be an easily digestible number that tells us how many wins a player contributes to his team in a given season. Yes, G-man, DT was better than Jordan in college, and DT was a pretty darn good pro before some bad choices and bad knees truncated his career. DT led the league in WS once, and his 22.7 points per game career average is good for 25th in the history of professional basketball (ABA included).
Now, the trivia: Thompson's 12.7 WS in 1977-78 is the highest single season total ever by a State alum. What player not named Thompson had the second highest total? The answer, and some nifty top 5 WS lists, after the jump.
Career WS1. David Thompson 63.3*
2. Nate McMillan 50.2
3. Thurl Bailey 45
4. Vinny Del Negro 40.6
5. Spud Webb 40.5
(edged out Googs at 40.2)
Average WS per Season
1. David Thompson 7*
2. Nate McMillan 4.2
3. Kenny Carr 3.6
4. Vinny Del Negro 3.4
4. Spud Webb 3.4
(edged out Tommy Burleson at 3.3)
Single Season WS
1. David Thompson 12.7 (77-78)
2. Vinny Del Negro 8.3! (95-96)
3. Tommy Burleson 8.2 (75-76)
4. Thurl Bailey 6.8 (87-88)
5. Kenny Carr 6.7 (83-84)
5. Googs 6.7 (96-97)
* includes ABA stats
If you said my cousin Vinny, next round's on you. Seriously, can I get a drink?