Pat Riley, Larry Bird, Barkley quotes on this guy..

[maximusss]

Pat Riley: "He's the greatest clutch player I've ever seen. The hell with Jerry West!"

Larry Bird: "I wish we would've had him. He was a killer... every time he got a hold of the ball we knew he was going to score. He was the absolute best I've ever seen at shooting the ball at crucial times. We had nobody who could come close to stopping him. Nobody."

Danny Ainge:" I tell you, ____ was giving you nightmares when you thought about playing against him."

Charles Barkley: "_____ was amazingly strong, he and Moses were the only ones on the team that could post me up!" Barkley went on to say in the book, "I thought he was the best player on the team when I got here. We had Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving, but the only one I was in awe of was _____."



OK, the Barkley quote maybe gave it away alittle, but how many guessed Andrew Toney from the other 3 quotes??

Is Toney possibly one of the most underrated players to play the game? He got overshadowed by all his HoF sixers teammates for sure but his talent was there just not the recognition. Hes hardly ever mentioned anywhere now but his peers do seem to acknowledge him. What are your thoughts on him?

Heres a nice old gem article that covers him: (where I found the quotes for as well)

http://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php ... ew&id=2918

[Minge]

Andrew Toney was the real Laker Killer in 1983.

[Swift924]

reason why the Celtics traded for Dennis Johnson

[Frank Mulely]

Players with two first names are usually excellent.

[MrBigShot]

I knew it was him after the Larry Bird quote...

[maximusss]

Glad you guys remember him. What is the consenses on him as a player now?

[G35]

Andrew Toney was dope. Too bad about injuries....

[koko88]

Andrew Toney was dope. Too bad about injuries....

Unfortunately, Toney's greatest challenge came when stress fractures developed in his feet. To make matters worse, the Sixers team doctors could not detect the injuries. This led management and former Sixer owner Harold Katz to believe that Toney was faking his injuries to hold out for a bigger contract. The rift between Toney and Katz got so bad that Katz told the NBA to test Toney for drugs. The test came out negative but this only illustrates how intense the feud between the two became.

Toney stayed in the league for 3 more seasons, hobbling along, never staying healthy, and far from the glory days of his offensive dominance and brilliance. Before the 1989 season began Toney retired without much of a farewell or any sort of fanfare. He vowed never to step foot into a Sixers' arena again until Katz was no longer the owner.

[ClintonDemocrat]

Players with two first names are usually excellent.

If Shaq's biological father woulda bothered, his last name would've been Toney (yes, really).

Conclusion: Draft anyone w/ the last name Toney.

Is he one of the most underrated players ever? The amount of recognition he gets is probably deserved because he only had a 5 year run of success before injuries. Shortened career. A lot of the 80s guys are forgotten, however. There were a lot of good players like Moncrief and Michael Ray Richardson who would be well-hyped today. Alex English scored a load of buckets and he's an afterthought outside of Denver. Blackman is Dallas' version of English -- hardly ever mentioned anymore, but had a long, steady career as a 1st/2nd option.

Vinnie Johnson had a long run as a player who was Toney-like. He used to be known as a streakier shooter, but he was one of those guys who would beat the top teams coming off the bench if you didn't stick to him. Guys like Toney and Vinney or a young version of D-Fish or Horry or Paxson/Kerr, etc would kill title contending teams with open shot after open shot because you gotta double the main guys. Toney could score one on one in the midrange and beat guys off the dribble as well as hit open shots, though, so he was a more versatile threat than most.