Indiana faces tough test in New York

By Mark Tennis
ESPNRISE.com
Updated: February 3, 2009, 8:57 PM ET

After getting into ESPN RISE’s Great State Debate for boys’ basketball by placing second among six states in last week’s vote, Indiana and its passionate fans will now try to take a bite out of a Big Apple.

This week’s vote, which is the first involving one state directly opposed to another, pits No. 8 Indiana against top-seed New York.

At its core, it’s a pick between the raw power and sheer numbers of legendary New York basketball, not just in the city, against the homespun, almost farm-boy image of Indiana basketball.

All-time best New York players
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Power Memorial, NYC)
Kenny Anderson (Archbishop Molloy, Briarwood)
Nate Archibald (DeWitt Clinton, Bronx)
Elton Brand (Peekskill)
Roger Brown (Wingate, Brooklyn)
Bob Cousy (Andrew Jackson, Bronx)
Billy Cunningham (Erasmus Hall, Brooklyn)
Julius Erving (Roosevelt)
Lloyd “World B” Free (Canarsie, Brooklyn)
Connie Hawkins (Boys, Brooklyn)
Mark Jackson (Bishop Laughlin, Brooklyn)
Bernard King (Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn)
Christian Laettner (Nichols, Buffalo)
Bob Lanier (Bennett, Buffalo)
Felipe Lopez (Rice, New York)
Stephon Marbury (Lincoln, Brooklyn)
Jamal Mashburn (Cardinal Hayes, Bronx)
Chris Mullin (Xaverian, Brooklyn)
Lamar Odom (Redemption Christian, Troy)
Sam Perkins (Shaker, Latham)
Dolph Schayes (Dewitt Clinton, Bronx)
Kenny Smith (Archbishop Molloy, Briarwood)
Sebastian Telfair (Lincoln, Brooklyn)
Dewayne “Pearl” Washington (Boys & Girls, Brooklyn)
Lenny Wilkins (Boys, Brooklyn)

All-time best Indiana players
Steve Alford (Chrysler, New Castle)
Damon Bailey (Bedford North Lawrence, Bedford)
Larry Bird (Spring Valley, French Lick)
Louie Dampier (Southport, Indianapolis)
Eric Gordon (North Central, Indianapolis)
Shawn Kemp (Concord, Elkhart)
George McGinnis (Washington, Indianapolis)
Kyle Macy (Lebanon, Peru)
Rick Mount (Lebanon)
Greg Oden (Lawrence North, Indianapolis)
Oscar Robertson (Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis)
Glenn Robinson (Roosevelt, Gary)
Scott Skiles (Plymouth)
Dick Van Arsdale (Manual, Indianapolis)
Tom Van Arsdale (Manual, Indianapolis)
John Wooden (Martinsville)

Top five current Indiana players
(Based on ESPNU Scouts Inc. rankings)
DeShaun Thomas (Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne) 6-8 Jr.
Marquis Teague (Pike, Indianapolis) 6-1 Soph.
Stephan Van Treese (Lawrence North, Indianapolis) 6-9 Sr.
Derek Elston (Tipton) 6-8 Sr.
D.J. Byrd (North Montgomery, Crawfordsville) 6-5 Sr.

Top five current Indiana teams
(Based on ESPN RISE FAB 50)
Bloomington South (Bloomington)
Lawrence North (Indianapolis)
New Albany
Marion
North Central (Indianapolis)

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