NCAA Basketball: Top 10 programs that can be called ‘Big Man U’

7. NCAA Basketball “Big Man U” programs – LSU Tigers

Before Shaquille O’Neal publicly proclaimed himself the most dominant force in basketball history, another LSU alum could’ve made a convincing claim for that title during his heyday.

Bob Pettit was a two-time All-American who averaged 27.4 points and 14.4 rebounds per game in three years for the Tigers before an even more successful NBA career. The 6’9″ power forward won two league MVPs, led the league in scoring twice, and won a championship with the St. Louis Hawks in 1958. Pettit is still considered one of the greatest big men to ever play the game.

Shaq, meanwhile, was a different kind of problem. The “skinny” college version of Shaq was a 7’1″, 325-pound behemoth who put up 21.6 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game in three years at LSU. He was AP Player of the Year in 1991 and two-time SEC Player of the Year, led the nation in rebounding as a sophomore and in blocks as a junior. His pro career is arguably top-10 all time.

In Shaq’s freshman year he teamed up with 7’0″, 285-pound sophomore center Stanley Roberts, an All-SEC pick who averaged 14.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Roberts went pro after that season and was a first-round NBA pick.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis weighed somewhere between Roberts and Shaq on the scale, but he stood lower to the ground as a 6’9″ power forward. Davis earned SEC Player of the Year and All-America honors in 2006 when he led LSU to the Final Four.

Big Baby and Shaq were teammates on the Boston Celtics in Shaq’s 2010-11 farewell season. Big Baby won a championship with the Celtics in 2008.

Ben Simmons was, like Shaq, a No. 1 NBA draft pick out of LSU. Simmons has become an All-Star point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, but in his lone college season with the Tigers, the 6’10” talent played more of a power forward role.

Other notables: Brandon Bass, Stromile Swift, Tyrus Thomas, John “Hot Plate” Williams, Johnny O’Bryant