Rod Strickland
Strickland was one of the most underrated players at his position of the 1990s. People didn't want to give him credit because he was a criminal and was always getting in trouble (which, in all fairness, was absolutely true), but he was talented. He was such an effective point guard -- had keen court vision; was a willing passer; always conscious of where all the other nine players were on the court at any given time; distributed shots for everyone evenly; and was so crafty and precise with the basketball, threading the needle through defenders and finding non-existent passing lanes. No lie, some of the things he did with the ball were downright Jason Kidd-like. And even though he didn't have much range (or much arc) on his jumpshot, he made up for that by being such an unstoppable penetrator and acrobatic finisher. A lot of people forget that Rod led the league in assists one year. It's just too bad he had a chronic (pun intended) habit of underachieving. Oh, and he also played college ball at DePaul, with Kevin Edwards as his backcourt mate.
And even if you don't care about basketball, these are two funny things you should know about him: one time, Rod got into a fistfight with teammate Tracy Murray (he showed up to the next game with a nasty black eye) over a stripper they were both sleeping with; and another time, he pounded down a bunch of hot dogs minutes before tip off and then puked them up while sitting on the bench.
Rod Strickland's career statistics
Here's a video of Wu-Tang's "Triumph." Peep Raekwon's line at the very end of the song: "Max mostly, undivided, then slide in, sickenin' / Guaranteed, made 'em jump like Rod Strickland."
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