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Post by wilsu on Mar 1, 2016 17:05:00 GMT -5
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Mar 1, 2016 17:27:09 GMT -5
Bones was a great, great player, and is just a great guy in general. We've been fortunate to have him in our sport.
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Post by chicory on Mar 1, 2016 18:23:46 GMT -5
The game will miss you, Emanuel. Gold medalist, Three-time World Champion, only player to play in every beach Olympics.
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Post by guest2 on Mar 2, 2016 1:18:30 GMT -5
Thats a shame. Emmanuel is special for so many reasons.
Greatest non-US player ever without a doubt. Last active player to have won an old school tournament. Maybe the most important guy in making (on the competition side) bvb an international rather than US sport.
Would have been great to see him finish his career at the Rio Olympics but I don't think everyone will agree that seeing an African team lose 21-4 and 21-6 will more than make up for missing that.
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Post by guest2 on Mar 2, 2016 1:25:42 GMT -5
...
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Post by beavis on Mar 2, 2016 2:56:56 GMT -5
I really think he might have been the best defensive/side-out player ever? We remember first watching him play with Loiola on the AVP - he was a rock, and was such a calming influence on Jose - I think it may have been a coin toss between he and Dodd as far as their ability to make the dig and then also get the kill? Said hey to him in Long Beach at the FIVB last year and thanked him for all of the great play and memories through the years, and he was just as gracious as ever - what a class act!
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Post by guest2 on Mar 2, 2016 3:37:18 GMT -5
Its really hard to compare players from Emmanuel's era, because of how the FIVB has changed things in terms of partners. Imagine how many tournaments Emmanuel would have won if he had spent the first part of his career playing with Kent, and the middle part with Phil?
How much success would Stoklos for example have had if rather than Sinjin, he had been forced to play with Jon Stevenson? Or Kent if rather than Karch he had to play with Ricci Luyties, because Karch wasn't from his country.
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Post by swift on Mar 2, 2016 5:52:14 GMT -5
such a great player and sad to see him retire (even though we all knew he would retrie soon). It^s a pity he didn't get a chance to play at the Olympics in Rio.
Not only has he been a great player but he's also been a class act on the court. I don't think I've ever seen him go ballistic on the court. That's something you can't say about Karch, Sinjin, Todd and most of the other successful players.
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Post by love2vball on Mar 2, 2016 11:42:31 GMT -5
He was without a doubt one of the most gracious players to respect the fans, the game and the other players to ever walk onto the sand. Other than the talent speaking for itself, he just genuinely loved the sport and made every pass, set and swing count. I hope that his country pays him the tribute he deserves at the Olympics. Thanks, Bones!
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Post by beavis on Mar 2, 2016 12:47:13 GMT -5
Good points, Guest2 - I seem to remember Kent playing with Jose for awhile after his breakup with Karch, and they had tremendous success - I think Emanuel is one of those Karch/Dodd type players who just simply made anyone he played with that much better because of his incredible all-around skills - before he settled on Kent, it seemed like Karch could (and did) win with almost anyone he played with - Ack, Fro, etc. - to me, Emanuel is that type of player! I wonder how Stokie, in his prime, would have meshed with a guy like Emanuel - would they have been as successful as he and Sinjin were, or perhaps even more so?
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Post by gr8ful on Mar 3, 2016 10:16:00 GMT -5
Class act and incredible player, would have been sweet to see him go out playing the Olympics on his home soil
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Post by guest2 on Mar 3, 2016 11:32:16 GMT -5
Good points, Guest2 - I seem to remember Kent playing with Jose for awhile after his breakup with Karch, and they had tremendous success - I think Emanuel is one of those Karch/Dodd type players who just simply made anyone he played with that much better because of his incredible all-around skills - before he settled on Kent, it seemed like Karch could (and did) win with almost anyone he played with - Ack, Fro, etc. - to me, Emanuel is that type of player! I wonder how Stokie, in his prime, would have meshed with a guy like Emanuel - would they have been as successful as he and Sinjin were, or perhaps even more so? When that Jose/Kent team broke up I absolutely hated it. If they had stayed together or if Kent had eventually gone to Emmanuel, he may have won 175 events (if the AVP also survived) Karch won with a lot of guys, as did Kent, but Karch and Brent (and others in the pre-Kent era) were always just a little behind Smith/Stoklos. Thats what I mean about integrating a second tier player. Brent was a top 10 player, but he wasn't one of the elite 5 (S/S, H/D, and KK) and that held Karch back. I think Mike Lambert when he was playing with Stein was the same. He could have been a top 10 international player but he didnt have a partner who could get there with him Stoklos/Emmanuel would have been insane. Do you serve Emmanuel and watch him hit those sets? Or Stoklos and risk your life? The defense and blocking almost wouldnt matter because you would never score on them. |
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Post by beavis on Mar 4, 2016 3:21:53 GMT -5
Ah, the days of Miller Lite big money sponsorship and 25-30 tourneys a year! You are right – Emanuel/Stokie would have been something to see – Emanuel digging everything and then being able to convert Stokie’s sweet hand sets in transition!!! I often wonder (as I am sure many folks do) what would have happened if Karch would have come full-time to the beach before his early 30’s – would the long-term partnerships like Sinjin/Stokie and Hovland/Dodd have been turned upside down? And what if someone like Emanuel had stayed in the States like Jose did – would Karch have tried to latch onto a 21 year old Emanuel in 1994 when Kent had his shoulder issues? I guess the Olympics were always going to come calling and change things, but kinda fun to think about how different things could have been! OK, I’ll quit rambling like a typical old guy, but one last thought – I really miss the KOB and seeing what were considered two bigs back then (Stokie/Whitmarsh) playing against Fro/Lewis, etc. – wonder how Emanuel would have fared in those???
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