Like every other upper class caucasian male watching the Louisville Cardinals topple the number one team in the country, I was drawn to one player: Kyle Kuric. The white sophomore guard who averaged 3.5 points and slightly over 5 minutes per game, came in during the second half and proceeded to score 22 points on 9-11 shooting. He also dove after approximately 105 loose balls and boxed out 78 shooters, most of whom have 5 inches and 40 pounds on him, which brings me to my point. Every basketball team needs to have a high energy white guard.
To quote the great Don "Moose" Lewis, founder of the AABA, white Americans are vital to any basketball team because they "play fundamentally sound basketball, which they enjoy." This could not be more true. Seriously, when was the last time you saw Travis Diener take an ill-advised jumper? White guards run the offense, make solid bounce passes, get a hand in the passing lane, and box out the shooter. Oh yeah, and they generally can shoot, too. But perhaps the most important aspect is the way the crowd gets behind these white guards. After watching Freedom Hall explode after each Kuric basket, I think it is safe to say that the crowd gets 150% more excited when a skinny white guy knocks down a three in front of them. They can relate to these players because of the many similarities. For example, many crowd members chuck up threes all the time in their intramural or rec-league games, often times yelling out "Korver" as they do so. Go ahead, compare crowd noise decibels when Brad Redford knocks down a long range jumper to when Dante Jackson does the same. Just saying. They get the crowd rocking. Think about it, there several reasons why the Lakers won the NBA Championship, none of which involve Kobe or Pau. They are Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic and Adam Morrison. Even Jordan Farmer is sort of white. Look at the Magic, also. Does anyone honestly think they would've made it to the Finals without JJ Redick? I think the point has been made, so here is a list of top high energy white guards who every team would be lucky to have.
Ben Woodside - the 5'11 guard from North Dakota St really defines the white guard. In the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Woodside scored 37 points for the 14 seed Bison, and nearly single-handily took out Kansas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXAgRIwEGS8 Seriously, watch it and then try to argue with me. He is a basketball god.
Matt Carroll - If there is one thing sweeter than a white shooting guard in the NBA, then it is a white shooting guard in the NBA who wears a sleeve. Why else would the Bobcats offer him $4.7 million? Because he he was the D-League MVP? Michael Jordan knows what I'm talking about...
Kyle Korver - Self-explanatory. 875 of his 1,703 career baskets have come from long range. The fans love him. Jerry Sloan benches him if he comes inside the three point line. Enough said.
Jeff Hornacek - A legend among white shooting guards, Hornacek walked on to Iowa St, became an all-conference player, onioned the Miami Redhawks in the 1986 NCAA Tourney, got drafted, traded to the Jazz, and the rest is history.
