https://www.si.com/college/cal/basketball/shantay-legans-winning-at-ewu

I think he is actually from Goleta, home of the best damn Muni you'll ever play, Sandpiper.








* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

bearister said:

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I think he is actually from Goleta, home of the best damn Muni you'll ever play, Sandpiper.

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Channeling Shocky?

Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

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Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

Legans interview, yes.

Info on who gave up 61 pts to Harden [or House], not so much.

I blame Braun for not double-teaming/trapping House. Make someone, anyone besides House beat you.

Well he mentioned Gates and Wethers, and then himself in OT

Civil Bear said:

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Legans interview, yes.

Info on who gave up 61 pts to Harden [or House], not so much.

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This. Half court shot to beat Usc in Los Angeles.

HoopDreams said:

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Well he mentioned Gates and Wethers, and then himself in OT

Civil Bear said:

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Legans interview, yes.

Info on who gave up 61 pts to Harden [or House], not so much.

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Ah, I only read the article...didn't notice the video. I stand corrected.

Civil Bear said:

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HoopDreams said:

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Well he mentioned Gates and Wethers, and then himself in OT

Civil Bear said:

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Legans interview, yes.

Info on who gave up 61 pts to Harden [or House], not so much.

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Ah, I only read the article...didn't notice the video. I stand corrected.

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no prob. I thought the video was the interesting part as he talked about how they (teammates) constantly talk about that game and poke at each other about how many points they gave up

calumnus said:

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Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

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Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

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Let's not leave out Dennis Gates, or Circus King (a senior when Shantay was a freshman), or Ronnie West.

Seriously, none of Shantay's teammates played the point better than he did when they played on the same team. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could do, and he distributed the ball better than any of them. Most of them were better than Shantay on defense, which is why Gates and Diggs especially got some quality playing time. Ben Braun was not the best on strategy, or tactics, or coaching most of his players to improve over time, but as far as judging talent, he usually had his best players playing the most minutes, IMO. I'll trust Ben Braun on this one.

And if Shantay Legans had been playing for Cal the last three seasons, he would have started, and those three teams would have been better, also IMO.

SFCityBear said:

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calumnus said:

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Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

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Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

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Let's not leave out Dennis Gates, or Circus King (a senior when Shantay was a freshman), or Ronnie West.

Seriously, none of Shantay's teammates played the point better than he did when they played on the same team. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could do, and he distributed the ball better than any of them. Most of them were better than Shantay on defense, which is why Gates and Diggs especially got some quality playing time. Ben Braun was not the best on strategy, or tactics, or coaching most of his players to improve over time, but as far as judging talent, he usually had his best players playing the most minutes, IMO. I'll trust Ben Braun on this one.

And if Shantay Legans had been playing for Cal the last three seasons, he would have started, and those three teams would have been better, also IMO.

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I don't recall Gates playing much point at Cal and I barely recall Ronnie West (wasn't he a rarely used walk-on?). I do recall that when Diggs and Legans played together it was Legans that moved over to the 2 (and his mom complaining on cyberbears.org (not.com) about him losing minutes to a walk-on (Diggs). I also recall reports of him getting worked-over during the summer by incoming frosh Midgley, which likely helped spark his defection to Fresno.

PS: I had to look up Ronnie West. Turns out he is the younger brother of Kevin Johnson!

Civil Bear said:

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SFCityBear said:

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calumnus said:

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Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

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Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

---

Let's not leave out Dennis Gates, or Circus King (a senior when Shantay was a freshman), or Ronnie West.

Seriously, none of Shantay's teammates played the point better than he did when they played on the same team. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could do, and he distributed the ball better than any of them. Most of them were better than Shantay on defense, which is why Gates and Diggs especially got some quality playing time. Ben Braun was not the best on strategy, or tactics, or coaching most of his players to improve over time, but as far as judging talent, he usually had his best players playing the most minutes, IMO. I'll trust Ben Braun on this one.

And if Shantay Legans had been playing for Cal the last three seasons, he would have started, and those three teams would have been better, also IMO.

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I don't recall Gates playing much point at Cal and I barely recall Ronnie West (wasn't he a rarely used walk-on?). I do recall that when Diggs and Legans played together it was Legans that moved over to the 2 (and his mom complaining on cyberbears.org (not.com) about him losing minutes to a walk-on (Diggs). I also recall reports of him getting worked-over during the summer by incoming frosh Midgley, which likely helped spark his defection to Fresno.

PS: I had to look up Ronnie West. Turns out he is the younger brother of Kevin Johnson!

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You are probably right. Amazing what things I learn reading this forum.

".. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could.."

His 3 point basket percentage had to be 60%....in garbage time of games Cal was blown out in.

He is also famous for being the victim of a criminal assault by Matt Barnes. Barnes forearm smashed him in the back of the head as he was bringing the ball up court, rendering him unconscious and giving him a concussion. The Alameda County DA's Office should have filed a criminal complaint.

bearister said:

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".. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could.."

His 3 point basket percentage had to be 60%....in garbage time of games Cal was blown out in.

He is also famous for being the victim of a criminal assault by Matt Barnes. Barnes forearm smashed him in the back of the head as he was bringing the ball up court, rendering him unconscious and giving him a concussion. The Alameda County DA's Office should have filed a criminal complaint.

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Couldn't find a video, but there is this
https://pac-12.com/article/2002/02/22/shantay-legans-miss-usc-game

SFCityBear said:

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calumnus said:

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Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

---

Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

---

Let's not leave out Dennis Gates, or Circus King (a senior when Shantay was a freshman), or Ronnie West.

Seriously, none of Shantay's teammates played the point better than he did when they played on the same team. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could do, and he distributed the ball better than any of them. Most of them were better than Shantay on defense, which is why Gates and Diggs especially got some quality playing time. Ben Braun was not the best on strategy, or tactics, or coaching most of his players to improve over time, but as far as judging talent, he usually had his best players playing the most minutes, IMO. I'll trust Ben Braun on this one.

And if Shantay Legans had been playing for Cal the last three seasons, he would have started, and those three teams would have been better, also IMO.

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Agree Shantay was our best PG on that roster, disagree about Braun playing the best players in general. I think that was often one of his biggest flaws (besides poor offensive schemes, poor use of time outs, automatically sitting players with two fouls...).

calumnus said:

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Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

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Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

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Shantay also heard footsteps with PG Richard Midgley coming in, who had a lot of recruiting hype despite being ruled ineligible for his senior HS season. Midgley wound up starting most games at point as a frosh and hit the big shot against NC State in the tourney. He's one of my favorite all-time underrated Cal players. Can you imagine a backcourt of him and Bradley?

IMO, Midgley wasn't underrated; he was rated just about right: a pretty decent player. He had a good freshman year, then never really got much better, no disrespect to him. Good defender. Also a better shooter than our recent PGs, so, yeah, he would've been good playing with Matt Bradley.

Big C said:

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IMO, Midgley wasn't underrated; he was rated just about right: a pretty decent player. He had a good freshman year, then never really got much better, no disrespect to him. Good defender. Also a better shooter than our recent PGs, so, yeah, he would've been good playing with Matt Bradley.

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Midge is a legend for the game winning shot v. NC State in the NCAAs. The game where Sol Hughes decided to be an All-American.

Big C said:

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IMO, Midgley wasn't underrated; he was rated just about right: a pretty decent player. He had a good freshman year, then never really got much better, no disrespect to him. Good defender. Also a better shooter than our recent PGs, so, yeah, he would've been good playing with Matt Bradley.

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Despite being a good shooter, Midge didn't transition well from the 1-2. He was a bit like Ed Gray, he was a scorer who needed to have the ball in his hands.

calumnus said:

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Big C said:

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IMO, Midgley wasn't underrated; he was rated just about right: a pretty decent player. He had a good freshman year, then never really got much better, no disrespect to him. Good defender. Also a better shooter than our recent PGs, so, yeah, he would've been good playing with Matt Bradley.

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Despite being a good shooter, Midge didn't transition well from the 1-2. He was a bit like Ed Gray, he was a scorer who needed to have the ball in his hands.

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Agreed. It was unfortunate with Ubaka coming in with his AA credentials that Midgley automatically moved to the 2, but as it turned out it was Ubaka who was more suited to play the 2.

calumnus said:

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bearister said:

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".. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could.."

His 3 point basket percentage had to be 60%....in garbage time of games Cal was blown out in.

He is also famous for being the victim of a criminal assault by Matt Barnes. Barnes forearm smashed him in the back of the head as he was bringing the ball up court, rendering him unconscious and giving him a concussion. The Alameda County DA's Office should have filed a criminal complaint.

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Couldn't find a video, but there is this
https://pac-12.com/article/2002/02/22/shantay-legans-miss-usc-game

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I remember watching that game. Barnes gave the forearm shiver to Legan's chest as he was inbounding the ball after a made basket, which knocked him to the ground and knocked him out cold.

Civil Bear said:

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calumnus said:

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bearister said:

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".. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could.."

His 3 point basket percentage had to be 60%....in garbage time of games Cal was blown out in.

He is also famous for being the victim of a criminal assault by Matt Barnes. Barnes forearm smashed him in the back of the head as he was bringing the ball up court, rendering him unconscious and giving him a concussion. The Alameda County DA's Office should have filed a criminal complaint.

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Couldn't find a video, but there is this
https://pac-12.com/article/2002/02/22/shantay-legans-miss-usc-game

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I remember watching that game. Barnes gave the forearm shiver to Legan's chest as he was inbounding the ball after a made basket, which knocked him to the ground and knocked him out cold.

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" With 2:25 left, UCLA's Matt Barnes was ejected for a flagrant foul on Shantay Legans. Barnes appeared to throw a forearm to the head of Legans, who laid face down on the court for more than five minutes. He eventually got to his feet and was helped into the locker room."

Cal Better Than Average Bruins - University of California Golden Bears Athletics


https://calbears.com/news/2002/2/21/207736830.aspx?path=mbball


* He hit him in the back of the head, which is why Shantay did a face plant and why I characterized it as a criminal assault. Barnes always was and always will be a coward and a punk.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/mar-2002-matt-barnes-of-ucla-moves-against-the-defense-of-shantay-of-picture-id72463924

bearister said:

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".. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could.."

His 3 point basket percentage had to be 60%....in garbage time of games Cal was blown out in.

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You may be right about Legans. I confess to sometimes not watching garbage time of blowout games. I leave the gym or change the channel when I get disgusted enough.

bearister said:

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Civil Bear said:

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calumnus said:

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bearister said:

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".. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could.."

His 3 point basket percentage had to be 60%....in garbage time of games Cal was blown out in.

He is also famous for being the victim of a criminal assault by Matt Barnes. Barnes forearm smashed him in the back of the head as he was bringing the ball up court, rendering him unconscious and giving him a concussion. The Alameda County DA's Office should have filed a criminal complaint.

---

Couldn't find a video, but there is this
https://pac-12.com/article/2002/02/22/shantay-legans-miss-usc-game

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I remember watching that game. Barnes gave the forearm shiver to Legan's chest as he was inbounding the ball after a made basket, which knocked him to the ground and knocked him out cold.

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" With 2:25 left, UCLA's Matt Barnes was ejected for a flagrant foul on Shantay Legans. Barnes appeared to throw a forearm to the head of Legans, who laid face down on the court for more than five minutes. He eventually got to his feet and was helped into the locker room."

Cal Better Than Average Bruins - University of California Golden Bears Athletics


https://calbears.com/news/2002/2/21/207736830.aspx?path=mbball


* He hit him in the back of the head, which is why Shantay did a face plant and why I characterized it as a criminal assault. Barnes always was and always will be a coward and a punk.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/mar-2002-matt-barnes-of-ucla-moves-against-the-defense-of-shantay-of-picture-id72463924

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Matt Barnes should have been banned from basketball.

Maybe Barnes got irritated with the hand-check by the little guy, as shown in the photo. Whatever happened to hand checks? How do they expect a defender to be able to guard anyone effectively?

I lost a lot of respect for the NBA when they gave Matt Barnes a stage to continue his career. And a long career it was, 14 years and 9 NBA teams let him play for them, including our beloved Warriors for 3 years.

Another thing I never understood is all these lists over the years of the dirtiest players who ever played never seems to have Matt Barnes in the top 10.

Philbert is right: Braun, more than any player, is responsible for House scoring 61 points that day. I was there that day. Braun refused to double-team House the entire game. Never pressed the entire game. Never once used a zone. House was from Hayward. Boizeman didn't offer him a scholarship. ( Bozeman) Sad.

calumnus said:

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SFCityBear said:

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calumnus said:

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Bearister said:

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* Sorry about the thread hijack, Shantay, but you did dump us for Fresno State, even though Ben gave you way more PT than you merited.

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Donte Smith or AJ Diggs? I'm thinking Donte, right?

---

Let's not leave out Dennis Gates, or Circus King (a senior when Shantay was a freshman), or Ronnie West.

Seriously, none of Shantay's teammates played the point better than he did when they played on the same team. He was a much better offensive player than any of them. He could put the ball in the basket, which none of the others could do, and he distributed the ball better than any of them. Most of them were better than Shantay on defense, which is why Gates and Diggs especially got some quality playing time. Ben Braun was not the best on strategy, or tactics, or coaching most of his players to improve over time, but as far as judging talent, he usually had his best players playing the most minutes, IMO. I'll trust Ben Braun on this one.

And if Shantay Legans had been playing for Cal the last three seasons, he would have started, and those three teams would have been better, also IMO.

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Agree Shantay was our best PG on that roster, disagree about Braun playing the best players in general. I think that was often one of his biggest flaws (besides poor offensive schemes, poor use of time outs, automatically sitting players with two fouls...).

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Which of Braun's players do you think he didn't play enough?