Post by sonofbarcelonabob on Aug 27, 2004 13:33:09 GMT -5
Ever since the USA men first unleashed the 2-passer system on the world in the early 80's, the OPP position has become the "glory"position in men's volleyball - the place where you put your alpha-male, big banging, match-dominating, kill every ball in sight player.
Thought I would compile a top ten list of those OPPs who I think were the best ever. Here's my list in rank order along with a brief description of each athlete and why I think they rank where they rank:
1. Steve Timmons (USA) - From 1986 till about 1992, the most dominating hitter in the game. Played middle in the 84 Olympics and won the MVP award for that tournament. Took over at OPP when Pat Powers retired in 1986. Along with Dusty Dvorak, pioneered the concept of broadjumping into the set from behind the 10-foot line, and demonstrated to the world how lethal a weapon that could be. Backrow hitting existed before the Timmons era in volleyball, but it was nothing like it became after Timmons showed everyone how to do it.
2. Andrea Giani (ITA) - The OPP position is sometimes called the "universal" or "diagonal" player in FIVB terminology. Giani is the personification of the "universal" title. There has never been a better all-around player than Giani - never. He does everything well - pass, set, hit, block, serve, and play defense. He's played every position for ITA in his 16+ years with their National Team except setter and libero - and he can probably play both equally as well as anyone on their roster. And he friggin' hits the snot out of the ball.
3. Rafael Pascual (ESP) - Even though he plays for a non-top tier team like Spain, this guy is dominating. Fiery, intense, and with a whip of an arm. In the sideout era, it wasn't unusual for him to rack up 30-40 kills a match, even with the opponents loading everything up against him.
4. Pat Powers (USA) - USA's first OPP player when they went to the 2-passer system. Byron Shewman's Volleyball Centennial book has a picture of PP with a caption "Best high ball hitter on the planet - 1986". That pretty much sums it up. High ball hitting is akin to an art form, and Powers was the Picasso of high ball hitting. It's a skill that is lost in today's speed game, where setters are jacking everything to the pins on a tightrope. Powers hit a back-2 set in 1984 against Brazil that still stands in my mind as the singular most spectacular hit I've ever seen hit by a volleyball player in a match.
5. Marcos Milinkovic (ARG) - a 6'9" guy who looks like an NBA power forward, he is DA MAN for Argentina. If you look at the ARG roster you wonder how the hell they can compete at the International level (they have a starting setter who plays all the way around that is 5'7", along with guys that look older than the hills). The answer is simple - Milikovic singlehandedly keeps them competitive. Is usually the top scorer in any FIVB tournament in which ARG participates in.
6. Clay Stanley (USA) - He's brought the glory back to the OPP position in Team USA. Still a young guy who's gonna get even better. He hits an extremely heavy ball, and is one of the all-time great jumpservers in US history. He gives the current USA team something they haven't had in awhile, a true go-to hitter at the OPP position.
7. Pavel Shishkin (USSR/CIS) - Played for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at Barcelona '92, which was what they called the Former Soviet Union teams that participated in the 1992 Olympics. In a long line of great Soviet/Russian opposites (Storokolet, Fomin, Iakovlev, Dineikine) I like Shishkin the best. He wasn't your typical Soviet hitter, he was extremely quick and he had one hell of an arm.
8. Yuval Katz (University of Hawaii) - The only non-national team OPP I put on the list. Unorthodox but extremely effective lefthander. The best collegiate hitter I've ever seen play. Ever. Remarkable ability to see the block - he could kill just about anything. Probably the best I've ever seen at taking a crappy set, off a crappy approach, against a well-formed block/defense by the opponent, and still get a kill.
9. Yuiichi Nakagaichi (JPN) - not your typical Japanese men's volleyball player. Nakagaichi walked the walk, talked the talk, and pretty much put any ball set at him straight down to the floor on the opponent's side. He had the USA's number everytime the two teams played, he must have gotten an extra pump or something playing the USA, because he decimated their block and defense for years. He and Bob Samuelson had an intense rivalry in the early 90's.
10. Joel Despaigne (CUB) - back in the days where CUBA was an international power year in and year out, Despaigne was the heart and soul of those teams. Dynamic, high-flying, and LOUD, Despaigne was probably the most spectacular OPP on this list.
Honorable mentions - Dmitry Fomin (RUS), Marcelo Negrao (BRA), Olaf Van der Meulen (NED), Lubomir Ganev (BUL)
There's still the semis and finals of the 2004 men's tournament to be played. I suggest trying to catch as much of those matches as you can - there's some really good OPP playing in those matches Dineikine (RUS), Stanley (USA), Sartoretti (ITA), and Nascimento (BRA).
Thought I would compile a top ten list of those OPPs who I think were the best ever. Here's my list in rank order along with a brief description of each athlete and why I think they rank where they rank:
1. Steve Timmons (USA) - From 1986 till about 1992, the most dominating hitter in the game. Played middle in the 84 Olympics and won the MVP award for that tournament. Took over at OPP when Pat Powers retired in 1986. Along with Dusty Dvorak, pioneered the concept of broadjumping into the set from behind the 10-foot line, and demonstrated to the world how lethal a weapon that could be. Backrow hitting existed before the Timmons era in volleyball, but it was nothing like it became after Timmons showed everyone how to do it.
2. Andrea Giani (ITA) - The OPP position is sometimes called the "universal" or "diagonal" player in FIVB terminology. Giani is the personification of the "universal" title. There has never been a better all-around player than Giani - never. He does everything well - pass, set, hit, block, serve, and play defense. He's played every position for ITA in his 16+ years with their National Team except setter and libero - and he can probably play both equally as well as anyone on their roster. And he friggin' hits the snot out of the ball.
3. Rafael Pascual (ESP) - Even though he plays for a non-top tier team like Spain, this guy is dominating. Fiery, intense, and with a whip of an arm. In the sideout era, it wasn't unusual for him to rack up 30-40 kills a match, even with the opponents loading everything up against him.
4. Pat Powers (USA) - USA's first OPP player when they went to the 2-passer system. Byron Shewman's Volleyball Centennial book has a picture of PP with a caption "Best high ball hitter on the planet - 1986". That pretty much sums it up. High ball hitting is akin to an art form, and Powers was the Picasso of high ball hitting. It's a skill that is lost in today's speed game, where setters are jacking everything to the pins on a tightrope. Powers hit a back-2 set in 1984 against Brazil that still stands in my mind as the singular most spectacular hit I've ever seen hit by a volleyball player in a match.
5. Marcos Milinkovic (ARG) - a 6'9" guy who looks like an NBA power forward, he is DA MAN for Argentina. If you look at the ARG roster you wonder how the hell they can compete at the International level (they have a starting setter who plays all the way around that is 5'7", along with guys that look older than the hills). The answer is simple - Milikovic singlehandedly keeps them competitive. Is usually the top scorer in any FIVB tournament in which ARG participates in.
6. Clay Stanley (USA) - He's brought the glory back to the OPP position in Team USA. Still a young guy who's gonna get even better. He hits an extremely heavy ball, and is one of the all-time great jumpservers in US history. He gives the current USA team something they haven't had in awhile, a true go-to hitter at the OPP position.
7. Pavel Shishkin (USSR/CIS) - Played for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at Barcelona '92, which was what they called the Former Soviet Union teams that participated in the 1992 Olympics. In a long line of great Soviet/Russian opposites (Storokolet, Fomin, Iakovlev, Dineikine) I like Shishkin the best. He wasn't your typical Soviet hitter, he was extremely quick and he had one hell of an arm.
8. Yuval Katz (University of Hawaii) - The only non-national team OPP I put on the list. Unorthodox but extremely effective lefthander. The best collegiate hitter I've ever seen play. Ever. Remarkable ability to see the block - he could kill just about anything. Probably the best I've ever seen at taking a crappy set, off a crappy approach, against a well-formed block/defense by the opponent, and still get a kill.
9. Yuiichi Nakagaichi (JPN) - not your typical Japanese men's volleyball player. Nakagaichi walked the walk, talked the talk, and pretty much put any ball set at him straight down to the floor on the opponent's side. He had the USA's number everytime the two teams played, he must have gotten an extra pump or something playing the USA, because he decimated their block and defense for years. He and Bob Samuelson had an intense rivalry in the early 90's.
10. Joel Despaigne (CUB) - back in the days where CUBA was an international power year in and year out, Despaigne was the heart and soul of those teams. Dynamic, high-flying, and LOUD, Despaigne was probably the most spectacular OPP on this list.
Honorable mentions - Dmitry Fomin (RUS), Marcelo Negrao (BRA), Olaf Van der Meulen (NED), Lubomir Ganev (BUL)
There's still the semis and finals of the 2004 men's tournament to be played. I suggest trying to catch as much of those matches as you can - there's some really good OPP playing in those matches Dineikine (RUS), Stanley (USA), Sartoretti (ITA), and Nascimento (BRA).
