Alltime Uconn starting lineup

[Tk79]

We've had 6 1st team AAs, correct? Bazz, Kemba, Emeka, Rip, Ray, Donyell. Am I missing anyone?

That group includes guards, wings, a PF, and a center - so good mix of positions to fill out a team. All were among the best in CBB during their peak season. Therefore, I don't see how any starting 5 doesn't come from those 6 players, with the last one being the sixth man.

 

[NotADimeBack]

Not having donyell Marshall anywhere on first 8 teams nullify's all selections.

I've seen clips of him dunking. Before my time

 

[August_West]

I've seen clips of him dunking. Before my time

ah, I assumed because you had Ray in there. They were contemporaries and played on the same team in 94 , so i figured if you went far enough back for Ray, then Yell would be a no brainer. My bad.

 

[Inyatkin]

We've had 6 1st team AAs, correct? Bazz, Kemba, Emeka, Rip, Ray, Donyell. Am I missing anyone?

Rudy Gay. First team all-American on a 30-win team, which explains why everyone hates him, I guess.

 

[NotADimeBack]

ah, I assumed because you had Ray in there. They were contemporaries and played on the same team in 94 , so i figured if you went far enough back for Ray, then Yell would be a no brainer. My bad.

I don't remember ray allen either tbh besides that msg game vs gtown on espn classic

 

[tzznandrew]

Rudy Gay. First team all-American on a 30-win team, which explains why everyone hates him, I guess.

He was NABC First Team AA, but he was "only" a consensus Second Team AA.

 

[Inyatkin]

He was NABC First Team AA, but he was "only" a consensus Second Team AA.

Yes but he didn't make all my hopes and dreams come true so I must hate him forever.

 

[Joobie]

I think you gotta choose Andre Drummond over Thabeet...right? I have to go with:

Kemba
Bazz
Rip
Ray
Emeka

 

[Deadrody]

My thinking regarding the guys on the first team vs. Donyell are that they were all first team all americans as well. That's the first point. Second, this is not about who had the single BEST season, least of all statistically. I think any player in the game would agree that they would gladly give up personal numbers or achievements for team success. And this IS a team game, so team success has to play a part.

And, honestly, if you think about it, why are we having this discussion in the first place ? Because UConn just won their FOURTH national championship. There is simply no way in hell you can leave a final four most outstanding player off the first team. NO.WAY. Thus leaving the discussion down to Ray Allen vs. Donyell Marshall. Ray is a TWO TIME first team all american. Neither of them got to the final four, but Ray took his team further, and played a sizable part in getting Donyell's team as far as it got in 1994. Ray was the #2 scorer on that team in case you forget.

I think its a close call, but Ray Allen is first team, Donyell is just on the outside looking in. And I was 25 in 1994, so I remember it well. To the point I remember the bar I was in watching a regular season game in 1993 when the light may have come on for Donyell in a win at Syracuse.

I mean, you have to remember that Ray averaged 21 pts in 1995 on possibly THE best non-final four team in UConn history. And he averaged over 6 rebs per game in his sophomore and junior seasons. And I kinda hate to say it, but who else was going to score or rebound in 1994 ? Freshman Ray Allen was the second leading scorer and Donny Marshall at 6-7 was the second leading rebounder. You have to admit that when you look at teams that had multiple high level players, you can't expect one guy to carry the load quite as much.

Bottom line ? I don't think Donyell's one season is anywhere near as superior to Ray's two seasons as people would have you believe.

 

[Deadrody]

I think you gotta choose Andre Drummond over Thabeet...right? I have to go with:

Kemba
Bazz
Rip
Ray
Emeka

Drummond... sorry, he just did not do enough in his one season to do anything but make honorable mention. Hasheem Thabeet was a major contributor on a team that went to the final four. Thabeet was also a two time NATIONAL defensive player of the year and Big East Conference player of the year in 2009. No way does Andre Drummond make any All Husky team over Hasheem Thabeet.

By the same token, I didn't put Nadav Henefeld higher than honorable mention, despite ridiculous standing in Husky lore.

 

[Deadrody]

Rudy Gay. First team all-American on a 30-win team, which explains why everyone hates him, I guess.

Indeed. I've got him on the third team. Second team is Ben Gordon, Caron Butler, Donyell Marshall, Cliff Robinson, and Khalid El Amin. Tell me who you bump off second team for Rudy Gay ? We just went over how Donyell could have made first team, so its not him. Butler was also second team All American and Big East Tournament MVP and Conference player of the year. So not him. Cliff Robinson put UConn on the map with the 1988 NIT championship and averaged over 17 pts and 7 rebs for 3 years - in a conference that included Alonzo Mourning, Charles Smith (Pitt), Walter Berry, Rony Seikaly, and Derrick Coleman. Ben Gordon would be borderline first team if that team didn't also have Emeka. And then there is Khalid. Tell me he isn't second team all husky after shocking the world and being the piece that turned an NIT team in 1997 into the best team in the Big East and shocked the world. And some people forget that 1998 team was no slouch. One flu bug from getting past Jamison and Carter's UNC team.

I don't disagree that Rudy gets a bit of a bad rap, but that's what happens when you leave after your sophomore year and your team dramatically underachieves. And, granted, if you look back at the game, one of the last guys you might blame for the George Mason loss is Rudy Gay, but so be it.

 

[uconNYC]

If I had to pick a starting five:
PG - Shabazz
SG - Gordon (this is the tough one. Feel Gordon more clutch than Allen and better shooter than Kemba)
SF - Hamilton
PF - Donyell
C - Emeka

Here's my top 10 Huskies since I've been following the team:

Shabazz
Emeka
Hamilton
Kemba
Gordon
Allen
Donyell
Khalid
Smith
Burrell

 

[Husky999]

Boat if he stays > williams. Thought about ed n ed; both won championships if i remember right
but g.edwards to me had more wide range skill; he could shoot, defend, rebound
rashad jones was a tough player; shef & king are before my time tbh I've seen others play all 4 years

No… Marcus Wil

Based on since I've followed uconn basketball
1st team
Bazz
Kemba
El Amin
Rip
Okafor

2nd team
Boatright
Taliek
B.Gordon
Ray
Caron

3rd team
M.Williams
Price
Rudy
Adrien
Thabeet

4th team
R.Moore
J.Lamb
Giffey
DD
Jake

5th team
J.Dyson
R.Anderson
S.Robinson
K.Freeman
Boone


6th team
TSam
D.Brown
T.Robertson
Charlie v
H.Armstrong


7th Team
A.Mouring
G.Edwards
R.Smith
A.Oriahki
Drummond

8th team
D.Beverly
R.Jones
E.Saunders
Ed Nelson
A.Brimah


thoughts?

I assume you just forgot about Donyell Marshall right?? Hands down the best statistical season of any Uconn player in history. 25, 9 and 3. If the guy didn't go out and smash hoe's and drink and smoke all night the night before the Sweet 16 game against Florida game we're in our first final 4 5 years earlier. Taliek Brown? Guy isn't even our 5th best pg ever… common?? Get out of here with this list.

 

[Husky999]

No… Marcus Wil


I assume you just forgot about Donyell Marshall right?? Hands down the best statistical season of any Uconn player in history. 25, 9 and 3. If the guy didn't go out and smash hoe's and drink and smoke all night the night before the Sweet 16 game against Florida game we're in our first final 4 5 years earlier. Taliek Brown? Guy isn't even our 5th best pg ever… common?? Get out of here with this list.

I would like to amend my statement.. Donyell had the best statistical season of any player in the 64 team modern era. Art Quimby had the best statistical season of any Husky ever….. 23 and 24… yes 23ppg and 24 boards. I don't care what era it is… 24 boards a game is just plain stupid. I mean.. How many shots were thrown up per game back then? Has to be less than now. 50 FGA / game if that? I still think he's among the top 5 RPG in a single season ever for his 1955 campaign.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

First Team
PG Kemba
SG Ray
SF Rip
PF Caron
C Okafor

Second Team
PG Bazz
SG Ben
SF Rudy
PF Nadav
C Cliffy

Probably the exact lineups I'd have with 'yell

 

[2UCONN04]

Walker: leadership and defense to go along with his offense
Ray: greatest pure shooter ever but could take any defender off the dribble during his college days.
Caron: physical SF who could post up or play the perimeter
Donyell: our first true All American. Offensive game and long arms to get into the passing lanes to lead to 360 dunks at the other end
Emeka: Defensive terror/Rim protector/rebounding machine.

I love bazz, but his defense wasn't any better than Ray's and Ray was light years ahead of bazz on the offensive end during their UConn days. Ray would probably hold all of UConn's scoring records if he stayed all 4 years.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

Well, considering Ray shot 47% from the field, and 46% from 3, compared to Shabazz's 43% and 40.5%, and not entirely convinced. He likely would, because he got to the line 238 times compared to Ray's 147...but remember that when you are fouled, it takes away a shot attempt. In all likelihood, they're actual attempts were a little closer (Shabazz averaged about 6 FTs per game, to Ray's 4).

I get your point on pacing. I even acknowledged it (becuase it cuts both ways) when looking at the defense. The other thing to keep in mind is that Ray averaged that many rebounds despite having someone on the team average 9.5 rpg. And Ray's job was to score, not to distribute, so it is no surprise that Shabazz averaged more assists, although Ray was second on the team.

Ray is the best player that UConn has produced. His NBA succeses are thus far unparalelled. And no one on this team will match it...the only player out there right now who might be a HOFer in the same category is Drummond...but he is far away from that at the moment.

I think Ray had two better college seasons than Shabazz's best--which is no discredit, in my opinion, to Shabazz's greatness. If I'm making a team to play a game, I can't leave off Ray Allen. His team didn't win a title, but that wasn't because of him. He was just unreal in college.

Ray also played 31 MPG his jr season compared to 35 MPG for Bazz this year. That mitigates the pace of play argument.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Walker: leadership and defense to go along with his offense
Ray: greatest pure shooter ever but could take any defender off the dribble during his college days.
Caron: physical SF who could post up or play the perimeter
Donyell: our first true All American. Offensive game and long arms to get into the passing lanes to lead to 360 dunks at the other end
Emeka: Defensive terror/Rim protector/rebounding machine.

I love bazz, but his defense wasn't any better than Ray's and Ray was light years ahead of bazz on the offensive end during their UConn days. Ray would probably hold all of UConn's scoring records if he stayed all 4 years.

I dislike this on so many levels.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I dislike this on so many levels.

Everyone loves Bazz but people like you need to get a grip and learn to differentiate career vs peak. Also people need to stop acting as if Bazz was arguably the best player on the 2011 team when he was no higher than 4th.

Everyone loves what he did this year and he is and will always be one of the pantheon of greats for UConn, just stop trying to argue ridiculous things like Bazz being better than Ray or Kemba at their respective peaks.

 

[tzznandrew]

Everyone loves Bazz but people like you need to get a grip and learn to differentiate career vs peak. Also people need to stop acting as if Bazz was arguably the best player on the 2011 team when he was no higher than 4th.

Everyone loves what he did this year and he is and will always be one of the pantheon of greats for UConn, just stop trying to argue ridiculous things like Bazz being better than Ray or Kemba at their respective peaks.

I have thoughts on this, obviously, that I'm looking forward to sharing once we start the voting.

Needless to say I love Bazz, and think that being a 2x national champion gives him the greatest career. But, yeah...greatest career vs. greatest individual season is an important distinction.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I have thoughts on this, obviously, that I'm looking forward to sharing once we start the voting.

Needless to say I love Bazz, and think that being a 2x national champion gives him the greatest career. But, yeah...greatest career vs. greatest individual season is an important distinction.

I doubt any of us participants would be able to vote on any matchups, at least within our own bracket.

Bazz case for greatest career ever really depends on how much weight you give to his 2011 contribution. I'm assuming you're just getting each player at their peak in this lineup thread, in which case I can't see how Bazz cracks the starting 5. That's obviously less about him than the greatness of Kemba/Ray/Rip, but there's clearly some extreme recency bias going on here.

 

[JaYnYcE]

Everyone loves Bazz but people like you need to get a grip and learn to differentiate career vs peak. Also people need to stop acting as if Bazz was arguably the best player on the 2011 team when he was no higher than 4th.

Everyone loves what he did this year and he is and will always be one of the pantheon of greats for UConn, just stop trying to argue ridiculous things like Bazz being better than Ray or Kemba at their respective peaks.

He's the only UCONN player with 2 ring s and an MOP. No one has ever done that before him, you don't sit him for any other alum. And Caron over RIP? Really? YOU need to get a grip fella.

 

[tzznandrew]

He's the only UCONN player with 2 ring s and an MOP. No one has ever done that before him, you don't sit him for any other alum. And Caron over RIP? Really? YOU need to get a grip fella.

If I'm starting a team where we're picking a player's peak, then I'm picking Kemba as my starting PG, and probably Ray as my starting SG. That's not a knock on Shabazz, who I think had the greatest UConn career, and had a very special 2014.

But yeah, Rip is there over Caron. And this is coming from someone who loves Caron.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

If I'm starting a team where we're picking a player's peak, then I'm picking Kemba as my starting PG, and probably Ray as my starting SG. That's not a knock on Shabazz, who I think had the greatest UConn career, and had a very special 2014.

But yeah, Rip is there over Caron. And this is coming from someone who loves Caron.

I'd love to know where either of you see me saying Caron>Rip or that I'd place him in the starting 5 over Rip.

But @JaYnYcE being the 4th best player on a title team doesn't count if we're just talking about these guys at their best. At their best, Kemba is the pg over Bazz, and it's really the obvious choice. You're also not putting Bazz at the 2 and leaving out Ray or Rip, so unless you're going super small, then yes, Bazz is your 6th man.

 

[tzznandrew]

I'd love to know where either of you see me saying Caron>Rip or that I'd place him in the starting 5 over Rip.

But @JaYnYcE being the 4th best player on a title team doesn't count if we're just talking about these guys at their best. At their best, Kemba is the pg over Bazz, and it's really the obvious choice. You're also not putting Bazz at the 2 and leaving out Ray or Rip, so unless you're going super small, then yes, Bazz is your 6th man.

No one said you said this. But look at this.