Provo Region Final: (1) John Stockton vs. (2)Chris Mullin

To the 2nd round/Elite 8 we go! This Provo Regional final pits two of the most dominant players of the 90's. The winner of this short shorts duel will advance with a coveted spot in the Final 4 which will be hosted by the beautiful city of Farmer City, Illinois. Just like the 1st round, votes should be based off of ability to play fundamentally sound basketball, goofiness, upside, and most importantly, token white boy swag. A poll will open up on the right hand column for the next seven days. At the end of the week, the player with more votes obviously moves one step closer to the title.



John Stockton
(click name for highlight video)
College: Gonzaga
Years in League: 1984-2003
Teams: Jazz

Playing his career right around the time that NBA execs realized that they were better off signing athletic black guys, Stockton made a statement to the league that white men were here to stay, thus becoming the godfather of white men in the league. He played his entire career in Utah, and is worshiped all over the state. Visitors can check out his statue in front of Energy Solutions Arena while driving on John Stockton Drive. His pick and rolls with Karl Malone (and occasionally Greg Ostertag) became the essence of fundamentally sound basketball. He also repped Team USA by winning two gold medals for the greatest country ever. Not only was Stockton one of the greatest basketball players ever, but he was arguably the whitest. In the early 90s, Michigan's Fab Five revolutionized the basketball world with their long, baggy shorts. This quickly caught on, and by the middle of the decade, just about everyone in the NBA was wearing them. Not John Stockton. Stockton pulled the ultimate white boy swag move by rocking short shorts long after everyone else went baggy. He was dominating opponents with fundamentally sound basketball while wearing short shorts in the middle of Mormon country. Not sure how you get more white than that.

Provo Region : (2) Chris Mullin vs (3) Toni Kukoč

Our second matchup of the Provo Regional brings us a battle of 90s swingmen with the legendary Chris Mullin taking on The Croatian Sensation, Toni Kukoc. These two left-handed sharp shooters practically define white boy swag, but in a battle for the best, one player will have to pack their bags. The winner will face either John Stockton or Steve Blake in the West Region final. We remind you the votes should be based off of ability to play fundamentally sound basketball, goofiness, upside, and most importantly, token white boy swag. A poll will open up on the right hand column for the next seven days. At the end of the week, the player with more votes obviously moves one step closer to the title.

Chris Mullin
(Click name for highlight video)
College: St. John's
Years in the League: 1985-2001
Teams: Warriors, Pacers

Straight out of Brooklyn, no I'm serious, Chris Mullin was one of the most dominant players in the league when he stepped on the court. After winning the Big East player of the year award 3 straight years at St. Johnny's, Mullin took the league by (red) storm with his pure left-handed stroke. As if his flat-top wasn't enough to elevate him to ultimate bro status, Chris also battled through alcoholism in the early stages of his NBA career. Meanwhile, he won two gold medals for the US of A, including 1992 on the dream team, and along with Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond he made the Golden State Warriors a relevant squad. Fittingly, Mullin spent the latter portion of his career as an Indiana Pacer where he continued to overcome his obvious lack of speed with hustle and above all else, white boy swaggin. Bottom line, whether it was the bottom of the bottle or the bottom of the net, Chris Mullin did work.



Toni Kukoc
(Click name for highlight video)
College: None (Croatia)
Years in the League: 1993-2006
Teams: Bulls, 76ers, Hawks, Bucks

Dubbed "The European Jordan" while playing professionally in Italy, Kukoc came into the NBA with some pretty high expectations. These were so high that he signed a 5 million dollar offer to promote Microsoft before he even came to the states. While he didn't really meet these expectations, he was pretty funny to watch on the court. Kukoc was among the first 6'11 guys to decide he wanted to play on the perimeter and shoot threes, and he looked very goofy doing this with limbs flying everywhere. He also trademarked the oversized wrist band look, which somehow never really spread. His whiteness carried far off the court, however, as he was the Croatian national table tennis champion of his age group at one point. While Kukoc's talent may have been questionable, his swag was undeniable.

That's all folks, now VOTE!

This matchup concludes the first round of the Provo, Utah-West Regional, tomorrow we will move East to cover the first matchup in the Shady Springs, WV-East Region.