Cleanthony Early - All American

[WuShockFan]

Cle was truly a special player. I personally think a case could be made that he was the best player to ever put on a Shocker uniform. Only here for two years, but those were the best two years in program history. Not a coincidence.

[Shockm]

I like Cle. He was a really good player. He was the best forward that we’ve had in the last 35 years. But one can’t make a strong case for the best Shocker ever imo. Dave Stallworth, Fred, X, Antoine Carr l, and Cleo are all head and shoulders above Cle in the area of best Shocker. He imo would rank up there with Cliff, Ron, and warren Armstrong ........ on a 2nd tier of Shockers.

[Veritas]

I like Cle. He was a really good player. He was the best forward that we’ve had in the last 35 years. But one can’t make a strong case for the best Shocker ever imo. Dave Stallworth, Fred, X, Antoine Carr l, and Cleo are all head and shoulders above Cle in the area of best Shocker. He imo would rank up there with Cliff, Ron, and warren Armstrong ........ on a 2nd tier of Shockers.

Didn’t Warren Armstrong drop the football program? Do you still say Lew Alcindor? Warren Jabali however was a phenomenal player. I’ve heard perhaps even an inimitable player for his size and I would include him with the best of the best.

[WuShockFan]

They are all great players. But in terms of output per amount of seasons played, it's hard to find a player who impacted the program more than Cle did. Leading scorer AND rebounder in the two best seasons in program history. That says a lot. Yes he had great teammates during those years. But the team never would have gone to the heights it did without him. He was unquestionably the best player on those two seasons and the stats bear it out. I guess that's how I'm looking at it. Who impacted the most during their time here. Not any disrepect to the greats like Cleo, Dave the Rave, X, or Antoine Carr.

[ShockTalk]

1. First, and foremost, WSU has set the standard for getting ones jersey hung. No, it's not AA status unless you consider Playboy as a quality standard. Personally, I questioned the hanging of Cliff's jersey, but hung it is. Therefore, players like Cle (who is a true AA), Warren, and Ron should be shoe-ins. Fred is unquestioned in my mind.

2. Dave, AC, Cliff, and X all had other quality players around them. Some even had each other. The same goes for Fred, Cle, Ron, and Warren (probably had the least "help" of any of the players mentioned).

3. My order for getting their jersey hung: 1. Fred 2. Cle 3. Warren 4. Ron. Think for a minute how WSU would have done without each. Cle may very well be the most important in that category.

Lastly, does anyone know how long after their last season it was before AC, Cliff, and X got their jerseys hung?

[shoxtop]

Didn’t Warren Armstrong drop the football program? Do you still say Lew Alcindor? Warren Jabali however was a phenomenal player. I’ve heard perhaps even an inimitable player for his size and I would include him with the best of the best.

This entire thread:

[Ashockalypse]

Warren should have been in a long damn time ago. When are they going to right that wrong? Ridiculous!

[rjl]

I will forever wish we had Cle for 4 years and not just 2. The guy was just special. You could have put him on any team in the Valley and that team would be in contention for the league title. We just happened to have him along with two other NBA players at the same time.

[Topshock]

1. First, and foremost, WSU has set the standard for getting ones jersey hung. No, it's not AA status unless you consider Playboy as a quality standard. Personally, I questioned the hanging of Cliff's jersey, but hung it is. Therefore, players like Cle (who is a true AA), Warren, and Ron should be shoe-ins. Fred is unquestioned in my mind.

2. Dave, AC, Cliff, and X all had other quality players around them. Some even had each other. The same goes for Fred, Cle, Ron, and Warren (probably had the least "help" of any of the players mentioned).

3. My order for getting their jersey hung: 1. Fred 2. Cle 3. Warren 4. Ron. Think for a minute how WSU would have done without each. Cle may very well be the most important in that category.

Lastly, does anyone know how long after their last season it was before AC, Cliff, and X got their jerseys hung?

The Playboy list was considered as a quality standard at that time.

[Topshock]

And yes, to this point in time, All American has been the standard for a retired jersey.

[ShockTalk]

The Playboy list was considered as a quality standard at that time.

I must have missed it, but apparently WSU didn't think so as they don't list it.

[Shockm]

These guys are all special players. I still remember Dave Stallworth (with the Valley as the Top basketball conference in the country) taking over games against other Top 10 teams with players like Cassie Russell and Oscar Robertson and scoring 30+ points. He is the greatest Shocker ever, hands down.

[B1ShockFan]

I believe getting your jersey hung is what that player did to improve the Shocker program not what the player did to improve himself during or after his Shocker days. With that being said Fred and Ron's jerseys need to be hung at the same time and next in line probably should be HCGM.

[ShockTalk]

And yes, to this point in time, All American has been the standard for a retired jersey.

I guess that depends on what you call "All American". There are a lot of sources that give out AA, however, since 1964, only 4 of 5 sources have been used to determine Consensus All American -- the AP, NABC, and USBWA all of those years and either the Sporting News or UPI. No "points" are given for Honorable Mention in the Consensus AA determination, only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

Cliff only had an HM in the AP (as did Paul Miller, Cheese Johnson, Ron Baker, and Landry Shamet).

AC had an HM AP in 1982, and a 3rd AP in 1983 along with a 1st in Sporting News (SP was not one of the 4 that year).

Fred had a 3rd NABC and Sporting News (was 1 of 4 that year) and HM AP in 2014, HM AP 2015, and HM AP 2016.

Cle had a 2nd NABC and USBWA and a 3rd AP in 2014.

X had 1st AP and USBWA, 2nd UPI, and a 3rd NABC in 1985.

By these standards, only AC, Fred, Cle, and X had point receiving level of AA from the sources that counted.

Our only Consensus All Americans are: Ross McBurney (1st team), Dave Stallworth twice (1st and 2nd team), Xavier McDaniel (1st team) , and Cleanthony Early (2nd team).

[Aargh]

Cle would not have been as good had FVV not been on his team. FVV made EVERYBODY else on the team better, and he's still doing it in the NBA with a championship ring to show for it. Making others better instead of trying to pump your own stats is a decent way to make a living playing basketball.

Too bad we had a couple of players last year who hadn't learned that. FVV never had the kind of eye-popping stats some players think they need to go to the next level.