There are flaws to the formula, which I readily admit throughout my book. As I wrote, it's the worst way of coming up with a threshold for admittance to a Hall of Fame, except for all the others that have been tried.
To my mind, the formula is far better for determining who should be in the Hall of Fame than it is for judging the best against the best. And by playing all four years, and for receiving decorations and accolades pretty much from the day he arrived, Hansbrough did end up with more points than DT.
If Thompson had been able to play as a freshman, when he probably was the best player in the league, he'd have blown the top off my formula. And I would have loved that.
The reason I didn't, in the end, adjust the formula to reflect the advantage a four-year player had over those who came before was that freshman eligibility came along just about the same time blacks were becoming a real force in the league. Art Heyman and Len Chappell were greats, but it's hard to tell how great because they never played against the likes of Len Bias or Michael Jordan or, that's right, David Thompson.
So as a peace offering to the Wolfpack faithful, and to ask that they read the book before the pass too harsh a judgment on it, I'm uploading my song about David Thompson. Hope you enjoy.
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