In a never-ending attempt to recognize great American water polo players, I’m working on an article discussing my list of the top 25 American male players. When evaluating a player, I’m considering the player’s college, senior national team, Olympic team, and international (if any) careers. I am restricting my list to individuals who played at least one year of college water polo during the NCAA era (1969 to the present). When I have completed this article, I intend to write a second article discussing my list of the top 25 American female players.
If you wish to help me with this project, please send me (offline would be great) your list of the top 25 (or any smaller number) American male players. If you prefer not to send me a list of players, I am interested in knowing whether you think any goalies other than Craig Wilson and any left-handed attackers deserve to be on the list.
In addition to including factual information about a player, I hope to include a story or stories of interest about the player. Therefore, please feel free to share any stories you have about players you believe should be listed. Here is an example of a write-up from my tentative list:
Jon Svendsen – center defender, Miramonte and Cal (3x NCAA champion, 3x All-American, NCAA player of the year in 1975, 2x Olympian and would have been a 3x Olympian if the United States had qualified for the 1976 Olympics, Hall of Fame, 2x NCAA swimming All-American). Svendsen started as a freshman on Miramonte’s first team in 1967, one of only two freshmen to start during Bill Brown’s 38 years as Miramonte’s coach. Svendsen was known for his physical play. As fellow Miramonte and Cal player John Schnugg told me: “Jon was a mean son of a bitch who was feared the world over as an asshole to play against. Every team needs one. John Mann, Carlos Steffens, Greg Boyer, and Paul Becskehazy all come to mind, but Jon was in a class by himself. The USA team was at its best with him in the pool. He once kicked me in the face during practice for having the temerity to counter him. He was 6-years older, 40-lbs heavier, and 6-inches taller. And he was a friend! His game was brute force, speed, and length with a great arm. His hands and balance were all world.”
Why is this attitude celebrated? I can think of lots of coaches and players that are the same way - they had oodles of skill, cannons for arms, fundamentally sound, great hands - but beating you wasn’t enough, they had to hold your head underwater while scoring on you, or slip an elbow, foot, or punch in. Like being an asshole, injuring your opponent, and getting one over on the Ref is somehow an accolade.
John Schnugg didn’t say this “attitude” was “celebrated.” His point is that great teams of his era had physical players like Jon Svendsen, just not as good.
Chris Humbert – 6’7” LH center, Lodi and Tokay High Schools and Cal (3x NCAA champion, 4x All-American, 3x 1st team All-American, NCAA player of the year in 1990, NCAA co-player of the year in 1991, 3x Olympian, 2x FINA World Cup champion, Hall of Fame). Humbert, perhaps America’s greatest offensive player, is Cal’s all-time leading scorer with 296 goals, scored 37 goals in the Olympics, and usually led his teams in scoring. During Humbert’s four years at Cal, Cal won three NCAA championships, finished second once, and had a won/loss record of 114 and 9. He won two Italian League championships during his two years with Posillipo; a Greek Cup championship during his two years with Ethnikos Piraeus; and a LEN Super Final, Greek Championship, and Greek Cup championship during his one year with Olympiacos. Humbert was a freakish athlete. Russ Stryker, one of Humbert’s teammates at Cal, told me: “Humbert was probably the greatest athlete to play water polo in the United States. He could have played on the Cal basketball team, would have been a starting pitcher on the baseball team, and could have been a sprinter on the swim team. He was that talented.” Pete Cutino did not see Humbert play water polo before offering him a scholarship to Cal. Instead, he offered Humbert a scholarship after watching him play a high school basketball game. During the recruiting process, Humbert’s mother asked Cutino whether Humbert would receive much playing time if he went to Cal. Cutino answered, “Mrs. Humbert, if Jesus Christ were on my bench and the starters were playing well, he wouldn’t get into the game.”
Craig “Willy” Wilson – 6’5” LH goalie, Davis High School and UCSB for 2 years (1x NCAA champion, 1x All-American, 3x Olympian, 2x silver medalist, 1x FINA World Cup Champion, Hall of Fame). Wilson, voted the top goalie in the world on two occasions, is generally considered to be one of the top 4 or 5 goalies of all time. He played professionally for three years, two years for CC Ortigia in Italy and one year for CN Barcelona in Spain. Wilson recorded the most saves in the 1984, 1988, and 1992 Olympics. After winning the silver medal at the 1988 Olympics, United States coach Bill Barnett said, “Without Craig, we would have never gone as far as we did. He was our saving grace.” One of Wilson’s teammates at UCSB and on the senior national team said this about Wilson’s shot-blocking skills: “During shooting warm-ups before games at UCSB, it was not uncommon for Craig to block 100% of the team’s shots. The opposing teams noticed this and nobody was confident shooting against him. He also knew my shooting tendencies very well. He would guess where I was going to shoot, and not only block a good shot with two hands, but catch it with a laugh. He often blocked shots that looked like certain goals. Wilson made every good team he was on a great team.” Wilson was also an outstanding passer. Rich Corso, the goalie coach on the 1984 Olympic team, said, “Craig was incredible at getting the ball out fast during the counterattack. He was aggressive. He was never afraid to throw the long touchdown pass.” Wilson describing one of his greatest Olympic performances: “Sometimes the water polo ball looks like a beach ball coming in slowly. Sometimes it looks like a golf ball coming in quickly. That day was a beach ball day.”
Relax. Water polo is a physical sport…lots of contact. Some intentional, most not. Players tend to get chippy at times, and yes there’s even the element of dirt bag in our sport…just like any other. Nobody celebrates dirty players, but we all like to tell our war stories.
Tony Azevedo – 6’1" attacker, Long Beach Wilson High School and Stanford (4x California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Division 1 champion, 3x CIF Southern Section Division 1 Player of the Year, 2x NCAA champion, 4x 1st team All-American, 4x Cutino Award winner, 3x NCAA Player of the Year, 5x Olympian, 1x silver medalist, Hall of Fame). Azevedo, the son of a Hall of Fame coach and the only person to win four Cutino Awards, is the most highly-decorated American water polo player. He scored 61 goals in the Olympics, the 4th most in Olympic history. He had a long international career, playing for Can Bissolati in Italy, JK Primorac in Montenegro, Fluminense in Brazil, VK Jug in Croatia, and Sesi in Brazil, and is probably better known internationally than he is in the United States. Hall of Famer Dante Dettamanti recruited Azevedo to Stanford and coached him in his redshirt freshman year in 2001 when Stanford won the NCAA championship. Among other things, this is what Dettamanti has said about Azevedo: “The reason Michael Jordan is a great player is the same reason Tony is a great player. He’s a natural leader. In my 32 years as a college coach, I’ve never had an athlete like this. I’ve never had a freshman selected by his teammates as team captain. He’s a lot like Jordan in that if you drop off him, he’ll shoot from outside and if you press him, he’ll drive on you. He can create things on his own. He’s impossible to guard.” Hall of Famer John Vargas followed Dettamanti at Stanford, coaching Azevedo for three years in college and on the 2000 Olympic team. Vargas on Azevedo: “He’s the best player the United States has had. No one’s done what Tony has done. He knows where everybody is at all times. We’ve seen other guys with the same physical ability, but his knowledge of the game separated him from all the rest. He made all his teammates better.”
Kevin Robertson – 5’9” LH attacker, Newport Harbor High School and Cal (1x NCAA Champion, 4x 1st team All-American, NCAA Player of the Year in 1980, 3x Olympian, 2x silver medalist, Hall of Fame). Robertson, an Olympian before he played his last season at Cal, is generally considered to be the greatest American LH attacker of the NCAA era. One of his Newport Harbor High School teammates told me: “Robertson excelled in a big man’s game by taking advantage of his quickness and intelligence. I (remember) him swimming across my back, picking off his defender, and then shoving off me to create space for his shot. It was like the ‘pick and roll’ in basketball but spontaneous. I still have his handprint on my back. That creativity is just one of the many facets of his greatness.”