<div><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/h6sLt79MttM&"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/h6sLt79MttM&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /></embed></object></div> He's one of my all time favorite Laker role players. His step back winner at the 28 second mark is classic Sedale Threatt!
Check out this old write up on the Lakers on the 1996 draft from a random Laker fan just prior to the Shaq Era. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The Lakers have the 24th pick. Their GM is: Lee Rusk The Lakers select: Vitaly Potapenko, C, 6-10, Wright State =========================================================================== Record 53-29 Lost in 1st round of playoffs to Houston, 3-1 Roster: Cedric Ceballos Nick Van Exel Vlade Divac Eddie Jones Anthony Peeler George Lynch Corie Blount Unrestricted FA's: Elden Campbell Sedale Threatt Frankie King Anthony Miller Fred Roberts Derek Strong Coach: Del Harris TEAM NEEDS: The Lakers have one glaring need, an inside physical presence. There were only 5 teams with less total rebounds than the Lakers. They were regularly dominated by skilled post up players such as Olajuwon, Robinson, and Malone. While the frontline combo of Campbell and Divac is skilled offensively, and blocks shots very well, they are both finesse players. Either player would be a better duo if teamed up with a more physical player (i.e. Divac with a Dale Davis, or Campbell with a Andrew Lang). The other area the Lakers need to develop in is maturity. Much has been made of the trials and tribulations of Van Exel and Ceballos. It was quite a circus this year, ending in a very dissapointing early exit in the playoffs. Hopefully, with Magic Johnson removed from the scenes this team will grow together and gel as a team. CENTER: Laker fans love to complain about Vlade. He takes bad shots, doesn't play aggresively enough, overplays on defense, rebounds poorly...etc. Bottom line though is he is a very skilled offensive player, who would probably start on about 15-18 other NBA clubs. He has an array of spin and post up moves that make him a very effective offensive force. Stat wise, his numbers look pretty good; 12.9ppg, 8.6rpg, 3.3apg, 1.65bpg. Definatley in the second echelon of centers. Still, the Lakers need an inside presence that Vlade doesn't deliver. As far as the Lakers back up goes that role was left to Elden Campbell. That's alright, but it leaves a big hole at power forward. Sam Bowie filled the backup role last year, and was sorely missed upon his retirement. Through the draft or free agency the Lakers need to address the back up center role. POWER FORWARD: Elden (or as Hubie Brown call him Elton) Campbell has improved dramatically in the last year and a half. Starting with the playoffs in 94-95, Elden has become option number one in the Lakers half court set. He's got some pretty good post up moves, combined with great leaping ability makes him tough to stop. Like Divac, he also has great shot blocking ability averaging 2.6bpg this year. Unfortunatley, also like Vlade he is very soft on the boards. The thing that really gnaws at you as a Laker fan is his inconsistency. Elden will look all-world one game, then completely uninvolved and uninterested the next. Fortunatley, these inconsistencies have occurred more and more infrequently in the last season or so. Jerry West must make a huge effort to resign Elden, as there is no real quality behind him. The back up role is filled by many; George Lynch, Corie Blount, Fred Roberts, Anthony Miller and Derek Strong. None of these guys have made major contributions. If Lynch only had another couple of inches, he could be a very successful player. As is, he is an undersized overachiever. SMALL FORWARD: Cedric Ceballos, the ultimate garbage man. Averaged over 21pts with virtually no plays being run for him. One of only a handful of players to average over 7rpg (actually finished the season at 6.8rpg) and over 20ppg. You will not find a harder working player, at least offensively, then Ced. Of course, CC does have his faults. His defense is adequate at best and he does like to water ski. Hopefully, Cedric has learned quite a bit from last year and has been able to mature. As far as backup goes, Eddie Jones will slide over from his 2-guard spot, as well as George Lynch. Both are not true small forwards, but play well in spurts in that spot. SHOOTING GUARD: The Lakers deepest and most talented position. The starter is Eddie Jones. Eddie is an extremely gifted player. Good three point shot, awesome finisher, tenacious on defense. Eddie is primed to have a major break through season. As long as he stays healthy, I see a big year for EJ. In the Houston playoff series, Eddie was one of the few bright spots. Hopefully, Del Harris will make Jones a focal point in the offense next year. Eddie's backup is the Lakers best pure shooter, Anthony Peeler. Anthony also seems primed to have a break through season. With his great shooting touch and explosiveness off the drive, Peeler has all the potential to be the leagues best sixth man. With Eddie able to play small forward, Peeler should see a lot of playing time. POINT GUARD: Nick Van Exel had a dissapointing year in a number of ways. There was the much publicised incident in Denver as well as a decline in productivity. Coming out of the 94-95 playoffs, Nick was THE MAN on the Lakers. Having outplayed Gary Payton in Round 1, and pushing the Spurs to 6 games with some heroics in Round 2, Nick was the unquestioned leader of the Lake Show. Nick got off to a slow start and with the combination of injuries, Magic's return, and the suspension was never able to live up to the lofty expectations of Laker fans. Nick certaninly has the talent to be one of the dominant PG's in the league. Hopefully, we will see a return to form in 96-97. Sedale Threatt has played an invaluable role of backup PG and occasional off guard. Sedale, or "The Thief" as Chick Hearn calls him, plays tough D and occasionally light it up from the outside. It is imperative that the Lakers re-sign him, or an equivalent backup for Nick. MY SELECTION: Vitaly Potapenko, 6-11, 250, C/F, Wright State. Moved up on draft boards with good draft camp showings. Should be effective offensively. Questions remain, as with most Euro players, as to interior defense and rebounding. He should get considerable PT rotating with Vlade and Elden at the 4-5 spots. OTHERS CONSIDERED: Efthimis Retzias: Highest rated true Center left. Steve Nash: Solid PG. Picked just two before my pick. Moochie Norris: Very tempted to take the best PG left. With Threatt an aging FA, Nick needs a back up. Moochie (I like the name) is the best one left. Thought he would be available, and may be in the real draft. Travis Knight: Liked how this guy improved greatly over his career. Good outside shot for a big man. Looking at how is FT % went up over his career (40-50-65-69), shows this guy will work on his game. Othella Harrington: Has talent and may flourish outside of Georgetown. If he was a tad taller than 6'9" I might have gone with him. WHO THEY'LL PROBABLY TAKE: I've heard they are looking at Norris, which would be a good pick. Jerry West has had tremendous success with late round picks; AC Green, Elden Campbell, Vlade Divac, and Nick Van Exel. So whoever they pick will have a good shot at getting some PT. A lot depends on what they think will happen in the FA market. If they're sure they will land a big man, that opens the door even more for a PG selection. OTHER MOVES: It's obvious....sign Shaq! It will be very interesting to see what develops on the FA market this summer. The Lakers have a lot of $$ to throw around, combined with the attractiveness of the LA market should enable them to land a high quality FA. Shaq, Howard, Mutombo, Antoine Davis, Dale Davis, and Brian Williams are obviously guys who would fill the Lakers need for inside strength. Jerry West also needs to sign Elden Campbell and Sedale Threatt. There have been several rumours, as there are every year, about trading Vlade. The only way I see doing that is if the Lakers land one of the top 3 big guys (Shaq/Howard/Mutombo) AND get quality player and/or pick(s) in return for Divac. All in all, in will be a very interesting summer for West and Co.</div> Source: http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1996_draft/draft/24.html
This was a fun team to watch. Sedale Threatt, Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Anthony Peeler George Lynch and “Pig” Miller
YES! I loved Threatt, with the Hawks though! EDIT: Just noticed this, no idea why I wrote the Hawks, had something else on my brain while I was typing, methinks. Sedale was awesome for the Lakeshow.
I've heard about those Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones teams, but I never had a chance to watch them. I didn't start following basketball until the 2000 playoffs
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 7 2008, 11:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I've heard about those Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones teams, but I never had a chance to watch them. I didn't start following basketball until the 2000 playoffs</div> you missed out .. the entire Lakeshow era, particularly the 94-95 team, has a special place in my heart. That first round series against the Sonics was one of the most underrated lakers playoff wins. Sedale was hurt and out for the year at that point, so Nick had to play 48 minutes a game during those playoffs. In the clincher against the Sonics, he hit 7 three's and dropped 35 points... mind you against the Glove. Early in the year, there was the NVE shot at the Garden, the Jones dunk on Andrew Lang, Ceballos' 50 on the Wolves .. classics Yet every year, they would lose in such heartbreaking fashion. But it was that era that made the next era feel so good.. when all those heartbreaks turned into championships in the early turn of the millennium.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate @ Jan 7 2008, 11:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>YES! I loved Threatt, with the Hawks though!</div> You definitely missed out. I've been a fan since the mid 80's and although Showtime was the greatest show on earth, and Kobe/Shaq was the dynamic 1-2 punch, the years when we had Cedric, Jones, Campbell, and Van Exel were some of the most exciting games I watched. They were the underdogs but it was just fun times for Laker fans.
<div><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BiltPWeQXYo&"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BiltPWeQXYo&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /></embed></object></div> Sweet! The Cedric Ceballos 50 point game! I love youtube.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Trench @ Jan 8 2008, 12:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate @ Jan 7 2008, 11:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>YES! I loved Threatt, with the Hawks though!</div> You definitely missed out. I've been a fan since the mid 80's and although Showtime was the greatest show on earth, and Kobe/Shaq was the dynamic 1-2 punch, the years when we had Cedric, Jones, Campbell, and Van Exel were some of the most exciting games I watched. They were the underdogs but it was just fun times for Laker fans. </div> Think you meant to quote someone else, I loved those Lakers teams. Easy E and Nick the Quick were money.
I love the 90's era Lakers, when Worthy would come off the bench, and Sedale was my favorite Laker player of all time. I miss being a kid sometimes..
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (notmuchgame @ Jan 8 2008, 12:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 7 2008, 11:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I've heard about those Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones teams, but I never had a chance to watch them. I didn't start following basketball until the 2000 playoffs</div> you missed out .. the entire Lakeshow era, particularly the 94-95 team, has a special place in my heart. That first round series against the Sonics was one of the most underrated lakers playoff wins. Sedale was hurt and out for the year at that point, so Nick had to play 48 minutes a game during those playoffs. In the clincher against the Sonics, he hit 7 three's and dropped 35 points... mind you against the Glove. Early in the year, there was the NVE shot at the Garden, the Jones dunk on Andrew Lang, Ceballos' 50 on the Wolves .. classics Yet every year, they would lose in such heartbreaking fashion. But it was that era that made the next era feel so good.. when all those heartbreaks turned into championships in the early turn of the millennium. </div> Maybe it's a good thing I missed out, because I would have hated to have my heart broken every year.
Did you know Sedale Threatt, Jr. is the QB for Lehigh? http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=161295
