Alltime Uconn starting lineup | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Alltime Uconn starting lineup

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SkyWalker2011 said:
If we're talking about all time greats, these guys need to be on that team.

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Stellar, absolutely stellar. It's funny, too... I've seen some of these lists that make me scratch my head. How do you NOT start with the guys who were Final Four MOP. There are four - Rip, Emeka, Kemba, and Shabazz. Period. The best all time has to start with these guys, and, frankly, has to include the next best guy ever, a 2 year first team all american - Ray Allen.

Simple. Yeah, its a 3 guard, 1 wing, 1 F/C lineup, but so be it. The UConn all time team: Ray, Rip, Emeka, Kemba, and Shabazz.

And you really do have to give more consideration to the 2009 team that, WITH Jerome Dyson was the best team in the country and it really wasn't close. If Dyson stays healthy, that team should have won it all and then AJ Price, Jeff Adrien, Stanley Robinson, and Thabeet all get that much more consideration. And for as good as that team was at getting up and down the floor, when it came down to half court offense, it started and ended with AJ Price.
 
Husky999 said:
NO AJP in any of this? I think he's 3rd… just behind Kemba and Bazz and a notch above KEA. Might have been the all time greatest had he not had the medical and legal setbacks.
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AJP over KEA is wrong on so many levels.
 
NotADimeBack said:
Based on since I've followed uconn basketball (96')
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
T Sam
D.Brown
R.Anderson
K.Freeman
Boone


6th team
J.Dyson
T.Robertson
S.Robinson
Charlie v
H.Armstrong


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

thoughts?
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I think you weight too much towards the later years. You have Samuel already on a team but leave off Doron Sheffer (96), Rash Jones, (96-99) and Kirk King (96-97) the list? How about Ed Nelson and Edmond Saunders? I'd put both up there over Gavin Edwards. And Williams was a better point guard than Boatright, and Mouring was much better off the bench than Samuel (so far).
 
Husky25 said:
I think you weight too much towards the later years. You have Samuel already on a team but leave off Doron Sheffer (96), Rash Jones, (96-99) and Kirk King (96-97) the list? How about Ed Nelson and Edmond Saunders? I'd put both up there over Gavin Edwards. And Williams was a better point guard than Boatright, and Mouring was much better off the bench than Samuel (so far).
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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
 
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Pg: Napier-KEA-Brown
Sg: walker-Gordon-Moore
Sf: Allen-Hamilton-Caron
Pf: Marshall-Robinson-Adrian
C: Okafor-Thabeet-Drummond
 
At the very least I personally would absolutely include Rash over Mouring and/or Robertson, but that is getting down into 5th, 6th, 7th team.
 
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Huskyforlife said:
Pg: Napier-KEA-Brown
Sg: walker-Gordon-Moore
Sf: Allen-Hamilton-Caron
Pf: Marshall-Robinson-Adrian
C: Okafor-Thabeet-Drummond
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Here's what I like about this one: after each position is listed, I can close my eyes, construct a mental picture & go "WOW, I saw that guy play across the span of his formative career, in a team setting." That's the most special sports fan experience I've eve had. I don't mind one bit that I don't have a top 5 to offer, though the 4 Champion MOPs guarantee that any second team is gonna be pretty great.
 
Caron's 2002 team went 27-6 and won the Big East. That team was the weakest Final 8 team UConn has had BY FAR. Selvie was the second best player on that squad. Okafor was a completely one dimensional player, Gordon was still Gentle Ben, and Taliek was still learning how to play the point, to put it mildly. We were a couple of calls and a Blake 3 from going to the Final 4. It was an amazing, season long performance by Butler.
 
NotADimeBack said:
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?
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Not having donyell Marshall anywhere on first 8 teams nullify's all selections.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Caron's 2002 team went 27-6 and won the Big East. That team was the weakest Final 8 team UConn has had BY FAR. Selvie was the second best player on that squad. Okafor was a completely one dimensional player, Gordon was still Gentle Ben, and Taliek was still learning how to play the point, to put it mildly. We were a couple of calls and a Blake 3 from going to the Final 4. It was an amazing, season long performance by Butler.
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This isn't quite so. That team beat a very highly ranked Arizona team on the road and Butler wasn't a standout. It was a team effort, five players scored in double figures, IIRC. And Butler wasn't all world all season. I distinctly remember a switch turning on in his game after the first of the year.
 
Waquoit said:
. I distinctly remember a switch turning on in his game after the first of the year.
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I remember it a bit later even, when his outside shot started dropping and he seemed then to be the best player in college basketball and an utter joy to behold. There have been other players with identifiable 'switch ON' moments. It's one of my favorite fan delights.
 
Waquoit said:
This isn't quite so. That team beat a very highly ranked Arizona team on the road and Butler wasn't a standout. It was a team effort, five players scored in double figures, IIRC. And Butler wasn't all world all season. I distinctly remember a switch turning on in his game after the first of the year.
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I would guess you are remembering back to the embarrassing home loss to the Bonnies that year. Had to find the box score to confirm it since the score shows it was close, but it really wasn't. UConn was down 14 at the half, though Butler ended up with 24 pts and 13 boards and was 11-18 from the floor. Two games prior, Butler had just 13 pts at UMass and shot 3-12, so your memory is pretty accurate, generally.
 
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My take on this list... I'm open to suggestions. I've been adjusting the list all day. First two teams are fairly set, I think. If you think someone should move up, just tell me who they replace and why. Did I miss anyone ? Hard to keep them all straight. For a while I had Rashad missing. Fairly serious oversight! The way I did it was to list out the best teams, and each player on each team, then go from there. I stopped at Sixth Team because it started to get really subjective at that point and much less about accomplishments and team success.

First Team All Husky
Shabazz Napier
Kemba Walker
Emeka Okafor
Ray Allen
Rip Hamilton

Second Team All Husky
Ben Gordon
Khalid El Amin
Cliff Robinson
Donyell Marshall
Caron Butler

Third Team All Husky
Rudy Gay
Jeff Adrien
Chris Smith
Ryan Boatright
Ricky Moore

Fourth Team All Husky
AJ Price
Kevin Freeman
Jeremy Lamb
Doron Sheffer
Hasheem Thabeet

Fifth Team All Husky
DeAndre Daniels
Donny Marshall
Taliek Brown
Jake Voskuhl
Rashad Anderson

Sixth Team All Husky
Rod Sellers
Al Mouring
Niels Giffey
Tate George
Stanley Robinson

Honorable Mention All Husky
Charlie Villanueva
Jerome Dyson
Nadav Henefeld
John Gwynn
Kevin Ollie
John Selvie
Tony Robertson
Hilton Armstrong
Phil Gamble
Scott Burrell
Torraino Walker
Josh Boone
Rash Jones
Brian Fair
Lyman Depriest
Travis Knight
Marcus Williams
Denham Brown
Alex Oriakhi
Roscoe Smith
Andre Drummond
Kirk King
 
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It's incredible we are so stacked that its plausible to put Donyell on the second team. His junior year he averaged 25, 9 and 3 blocks. He was first team all American and finalist for player of the year. It was statistically the best season ever for a Husky but I can see the argument for putting him on the 2nd team.
 
CAHUSKY said:
It's incredible we are so stacked that its plausible to put Donyell on the second team. His junior year he averaged 25, 9 and 3 blocks. He was first team all American and finalist for player of the year. It was statistically the best season ever for a Husky but I can see the argument for putting him on the 2nd team.
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I agree. I just think the people do not have him on the first team are too young to remember him. He was the most dominate husky and did it on both ends of the floor.
 
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 said:
I've seen clips of him dunking. Before my time
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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.
 
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Tk79 said:
We've had 6 1st team AAs, correct? Bazz, Kemba, Emeka, Rip, Ray, Donyell. Am I missing anyone?
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Rudy Gay. First team all-American on a 30-win team, which explains why everyone hates him, I guess.
 
August_West said:
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.
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I don't remember ray allen either tbh besides that msg game vs gtown on espn classic
:(
 
I think you gotta choose Andre Drummond over Thabeet...right? I have to go with:

Kemba
Bazz
Rip
Ray
Emeka
 
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.
 
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Joobie said:
I think you gotta choose Andre Drummond over Thabeet...right? I have to go with:

Kemba
Bazz
Rip
Ray
Emeka
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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.
 
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Inyatkin said:
Rudy Gay. First team all-American on a 30-win team, which explains why everyone hates him, I guess.
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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.
 
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
 
NotADimeBack said:
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
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No… Marcus Wil
NotADimeBack said:
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?
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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 said:
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.
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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.
 
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