I was thinking of my all time favorite UCONN players and I keep going back to Bazz.
Not only did he bring home an unprecedented NC victory- he called out the NCAA on the biggest stage- with the president of the NCAA standing right next to him. I think I cheered nearly as loud when he did that as I did when we won the NC.
I am routing for him big time in the NBA and think all college basketball fans should be grateful he had the testies to say what he did.
Based on the draft game we played (poorly) earlier in the year, it seems most people would take Kemba before Bazz as their starting PG and most people game Kemba more weight in determining outcome as well. But it's like deciding between a Corvette ZR1 or Porsche 911 Turbo. Both world class cars in terms of performance, but the Porsche is just a little more refined.
However you have to give Bazz extra points for staying with the program when he could have bailed twice - once for not being eligible for the tourny then coming back when he could have been drafted possibly in the first round. He's a huge part of the reason that UConn has remained relevant after a crumby break in conference realignment. He's made it so that even though we're stuck in the AAC for the foreseeable future, it's not as bad as it could have been. I think he also made UConn's brand a little more likely to hopefully get into a P5 conference. Football drives the bus, but having multiple Men's and Women's National Championships in basketball helps tip our value and maybe drags the football team kicking and screaming into a new conference. It certainly can't hurt and it would be a lot worse if not for Napier.
If we get into a P5 conference in the next couple years, you can thank Calhoun for making us a national power, Ollie for keeping us there and Napier more than any for not letting us slide into oblivion.
