Power Rankings as 90’s Alternative Bands

Last time the player rankings came out, it featured a list of 1980’s sitcoms and I accidentally added one that started at the very tip of the 1990’s. Today, we rate our players according to 1990’s “alternative” bands. A few notes before we start: I added only bands that put out the bulk of their material/best known material in the nineties, so you won’t see Foo Fighters, REM, or U2 on there for that reason. And while I wanted to let my inner music nerd shine, sadly, you won’t see Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, Quicksand, Guided by Voices, or Neutral Milk Hotel on this list. You might also wonder where your favorite band is. Well, there were too many choices, so some had to be left out. Thems the breaks. Anyway, onto our player ratings after Saturday’s win over Syracuse to the theme of 90’s-era “alternative” bands

5 Stars: Fugazi

Simply one of the best bands of all time with an ethos to match (all records and CDs were cheaper than competitors and all shows were all-ages and under $10). No one else was like Fugazi (relive their live experience here), and no one on this list put out a more solid catalog of records than the Washington, DC punk rock four-piece. I mean, Repeater, Steady Diet of Nothing, and In on the Kill Taker might well be the best one-two-three punch of music made in the decade. While they might not be as well known as any of the other acts in these rankings, if you are to play basketball to the level that Fugazi write music or put on a show, you have earned it.

Devonte Graham. 35 points. Seven of thirteen from three-point land, 10 for 17 from the field. Devonte closed out the first half with 14 straight points. A huge performance from the star senior.

4.5 Stars: Nirvana

Obviously, Nirvana are one of the most well-known bands in history, and they're rightfully almost top this list. Nevermind came out in 1991 and changed the face of popular music forever. However, if I had my way, I’d listen to the follow up, 1993’s In Utero on repeat over Nevermind. That record never gets old. Every song on there is damn near perfect. Oh, and their debut, Bleach, isn’t bad either.

Lagerald Vick. This guy is an athletic freak. And besides making acrobatic dunks look routine, he is a stat line stuffer. Twenty points, seven assists, and eight boards. Another great performance from Lagerald.

4 Stars: Pearl Jam

Man, you’re still pretty good if you’re a 4-star rating and the comparison is 1990’s Pearl Jam. Obviously, Ten is a great record, but 1993’s vs. and 1994’s Vitalogy rock even harder (at least to this music critic). And as a personal side note, I remember watching the video for Jeremy when it first came out on MTV. Powerful stuff. Nothing else like it at the time.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. Hit a few big three pointers to spread the advantage in KU’s favor. His 11 points, four rebounds, and four assist are a little pedestrian by Svi’s standards, but overall, the Ukrainian was pretty good against Syracuse.

Udoka Azubuike. Considering that the Orange are a huge team, we knew that Dok might not fill the stat sheet, but he held his own in his biggest test of the year. Udoka made all three of his field goal attempts and grabbed a team high nine boards.

3.5 Stars: Smashing Pumpkins

Alright, now we’re getting to that part of the list where people might dispute the rankings because I know that there are a whole lotta people that would rank the Pumpkins higher and a huge group that would rank them lower. Let me tell you this: Gish and Siamese Dream are amazing records. I couldn’t quite get into the double length Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and their live show leaves a lot to be desired on most nights. Anyway, 3.5 for Billy Corgan and company.

Clay Young. The MVP of the game according to multiple Jayhawks. His team high 12 minutes off the bench were key when Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot were in foul trouble. Nice job from the walk-on.

Marcus Garrett. The freshman was tasked with guarding Syracuse’s Tyus Battle for a good chunk and neutralized him pretty well. No stats to show, but this illustrates that Bill Self has the utmost confidence in Garrett.

3 Stars: Everclear

Back to the middle of the road, and who can be more generically in the middle than Everclear? Their stuff is catchy, and they played lots of large venues in the 1990’s because of the popularity of bands before them on this list. Fun fact: I saw them do an in-store performance at The End, a former record store in Lawrence. I think it’s an Indian buffet now. Anyway, the place was packed and I left after one song.

Mitch Lightfoot. Clay Young was better than Mitch in this one.

2 Stars: Collective Soul

These guys are terrible. Talk about a band that only made it because record labels were desperate for anything that sounded like they could be considered “alternative.” God, “Shine” was a horrible song.

Malik Newman. Just not a very good day for Malik against the Orange. He missed all six of his three point attempts, but luckily for Newman, Devonte and Lagerald were there to pick up the slack.

1 Star: Candlebox

The only thing that can top Collective Soul in terms of suckiness is Candlebox. I can’t believe that these dudes conned their way onto a Metallica tour. For shame.

Luckily, no Kansas player was as bad as Candlebox

Again, down in the comments section, please tell me why I’m wrong and I’m always up for suggestions for future lists as well.