LSU All-time basketball team vs. anyone else's

I was thinking the same thing. That would be a tough team for anyone to beat with simply the Pistol and Shaq.

and 0 NCAA Championships with these guys, which is truly a shame, cuz that really is a freaking great all-time starting 5....not like I have any room to talk FSU doesnt really have any kind of basketball tradition to speak of...but still.

IMO, that LSU team would beat anything Duke had either. UCLA and UNC both would be a push IMO.

I remember a few years ago, someone (maybe ESPN) had an all-time NCAA tournament. They took the best 5 players for each school and played a mythical tournament. I can't remember how many teams, maybe 32 or 64. Anyway, they had LSU making the final four with (Shaq, Pistol, CJ, Macklin and Pettit). UNC and UCLA were 2 of the schools in the final four but I can't remember the other one.

That would be tough to beat.

No doubt, we'd have an impressive starting five. But you've also got to consider chemistry, bench strength, and coaching. Our all-time team might actually improve if you took out one or two of the superstars and replaced them with a Blanton, Singleton, Martin or Taylor, or even Mike Hansen. Those were TEAM guys that really made the TEAM better.

Pick the top five from any decent program and you'd get a pretty good roster.

No question LSU would have highlight moments, but against the top 5 in UNC/Duke/Indiana/etc. history? A good placing but not a winner.

I don't believe so. I've had this argument many times with people who just can't accept that a program as historically mediocre as LSU's can legitimately argue for the best All-Time starting 5 ever.

Pistol
Shaq
CJ
Maclin
Stro/Bass/Petit/John Williams/Howard Carter/Shawn Griggs/Garrett Temple/Tyrus Thomas/etc.

The fourth and fifth are really interchangeable with the same result. With Pistol Pete and CJ on the perimeter, and Shaq underneath, there's barely any all-time 5 that can cover just those three. Add in any two competent 3 or 4 spot guys and it's absolutely unstoppable.

There has never been anyone who can stop Pete. There have only been a few guys ever who could stop CJ one on one and a few guys ever who could stop Shaq one on one, and I don't think any of them went to the same schools. So pretty much anyone's team is going to have to doubleteam Pete and either Shaq or CJ, which means there's nobody left over to guard our 4th and 5th men. And we've certainly had some guys that can score uncovered.

Defense could be a difficulty (Pete was not exactly famous for his tenacious D), which is why Griggs, Temple and Thomas are on the list.

But I honestly do not believe any other team could put together an all-time starting 5 that would beat ours. After that . . . well, we run real thin, real quick compared to the true historical powers.