Bazz best UConn point guard ever!

[Kitaman]

Props to him. He can certainly rank at/near the top of our all time great point guards. KEA, AJP, Taliek, Marcus, and even Kemba were surrounded with good and great NBA talent. Bazz's teammates, sophomore to right now couldn't even start for any of those teams. None will even make an All Conference Team. He has no one right now that is remotely NBA ready. I'm talking readiness, not potential or draft selection ready.

Bazz can shoot, rebound, pass and last night added blocking shots to his UConn resume. The kid can take over games at will, and hit the winning shot when needed. He's the leader and it shows. Some may shoot better, pass better, defend better but when you look at the aggregate, he's the complete package in a point guard. He is unstoppable with his variety of getting open moves and ball handling. First or second team AA for sure.

No Bazz this year and I'm sure we are fighting to stay out of last place in the new conference. Last night proved it (again).

Oh and he has an 'earned' Championship that Kemba would not have gotten without him, equal to our other point guards in consideration.

Before the season is over I just want fans to watch our best point guard ever, as I'm not sure another will come close for many years. I would like to label him now while he's still playing for us. Sorta like smelling the roses while alive.

So to me he is the best, especially with all things considered. He can however thank Kemba (his mentor) and NBA point guard coach for 'the best ever' title. Its one thing to learn from the best but its another thing to apply that knowledge.

Let the debate begin!

 

[maineuconnfan]

Well his sophmore year he had lamb, drummond, oriakhi and roscoe

 

[BoatShow]

How about 30, 27, 26 pts the last 3 games? Pretty damn good. Not saying he will keep that pace over the next 11 games of the regular season but if he keeps his scoring up he keep push towards the magic 20ppg mark, at 17.8 now. Toss in 6 boards 6 assists and 2 steals per game too. Not even the holy one Russ Smith approaches what Bazz brings to the table.

 

[BoatShow]

Well his sophmore year he had lamb, drummond, oriakhi and roscoe

Yeah that was an interesting comment.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I've found myself reluctant to elevate him in my mind to the top spot all-time UConn PG and it's going to be hard with Kemba's magnificent final season, but Shabazz' overall body of work now puts him in the "at least as good as anyone else" and probably the best overall. I'm very, very surprised at how great he has become. As a freshman, I thought he would be way too undisciplined to ever reach these heights. Wrong.

It is a joy to watch him.

 

[upstater]

Vomit blouse though doesn't have him on the All-Captain America Team.

 

[mauconnfan]

Not for nothing but the lead announcer just alluded to the fact how great a job Segears was doing on him then he went off……..never a mention of his timing as a good announcer would have done.

Boom, Bazz went off, amazing show too……..he's up there with the best no doubt and for now I'll hold off. But man, he's WAY up there and the legend is rising…….

 

[UC990411]

Best ever? Better than kemba?

 

[Scot-e]

I love Bazz. One of my all time favorite Huskies.

But Kemba put us on his back and carried us all the way to the promised land. Kemba is the stuff of legends as far a I am concerned and Bazz would have to do the same to be in his league. Just MHO.

 

[Kitaman]

Well his sophmore year he had lamb, drummond, oriakhi and roscoe

Thanks sometimes I get too excited and obviously blinded. Drummond was a college project his freshman year but Lamb was legit. Chemistry ruined that squad.

 

[RichZ]

I want to agree, but I'm not sure I can. I'll compare only to Kemba, as he is the reigning champion in my book.

They both bring a very high level of excitement to the game. In both Kemba's junior season and Bazz's senior season, watching a Husky game has been largely a matter of waiting for Kemba's or Bazz's next spectacular play.

They also tie in the all important cool middle name category. Kemba Hudley Walker, and Shabazz Bozie Napier. We don't ever want to see KO recruiting a PG with a middle name like John or Mike. The good ones have cool middle names.

Your contention that Bazz has never had the quality of players around him that Kemba did is flat out wrong. His sophomore season, he was surrounded by the same quality players that played in the championship year, and the season turned out to be pretty disastrous.

We'll never know what 11/12 would have been like if Kemba had stayed for a senior season, but we do know that he climbed to the very top of the list in 3 years. If Bazz had left after 3 years, I don't believe that he would be in the top five.

Personal stat-wise, they are close enough to justify calling it a wash - except for Kemba's 6 point-plus lead in scoring.

Walker's junior year stats ( 23.5p, 5.4r, 4.5a, 1.9s)
Napier's senior year stats (17.1p, 6.0r, 5.9a, 2.0s) so far.

Bazz is close, but he's got an impossible challenge ahead if he wants to go in the books as Walker's equal. Kemba left us on top of the world. Yes, Bazz contributed to it, but it was Kemba's team.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I love Bazz. One of my all time favorite Huskies.

But Kemba put us on his back and carried us all the way to the promised land. Kemba is the stuff of legends as far a I am concerned and Bazz would have to do the same to be in his league. Just MHO.

I think that there has to be a "Greatest Season/Accomplishment" "Best Ever" and a "Greatest Career" "Best Ever" category. I doubt that anyone will ever match Kemba's "Greatest Season/Accomplishment," but I would not put Shabazz at the top for "Greatest Career" PG. Having played 4 seasons helps, but he was a big contributor to the 2011 championship and was amazing as a junior. Now he often seems to be on another level compared to the players he is up against.

 

[UConn990411]

He probably won't ever pass Kemba, but he's definitely propelled himself into the same tier as El-Amin and Price.

Depending on how this season shapes up, he could rank anywhere from the fourth- to second-best point guard UConn has ever had. That's pretty good.

 

[David 76]

He is, at least, Kemba-like.

 

[CTBasketball]

If the season ended today, Kemba by far. But if Shabazz takes us to the promise land he might go down as the best Husky of all time.

 

[tcf15]

In terms of stats, Shabazz will be pretty impressive, given that he has produced all 4 years he has been here. I posted this a week or so ago when he joined the 1500 point & 500 assist club:

Right now, he has 1512 points, 557 assists, and 448 rebounds. By seasons end, he could end up close to 1800 points (good for 6th all time), 650 assists (good for 3rd all time), 550 rebounds, and 250 steals (good for 2nd all time). Wow - imagine he would be the only UConn player to finish their career with 1500+ points, 500+ assists, 500+ rebounds, & 200+ steals. Wonder how many other players throughout NCAA history have put up those numbers.

Also, it's very possible that he surpasses Kevin Freeman for most games played at UConn. Kevin Freeman played 140 from 1997-00. Shabazz is currently at 120, with 17 regular season games left.

​

 

[SubbaBub]

He's at least as good as his coach was. Which is a pretty high bar in my book.

 

[David 76]

KO was very steady but not a star.

 

[Waquoit]

Bazz isn't better than KEA. Not even close.

 

[caw]

Kemba vs AJP vs Napier vs El-Amin - EDIT:FF starters at this point of the year, vs this year

SN/JL vs JD/CA vs RB vs RM - not sure which SG group is best JL came on like gang busters by the end, JD got injured (let's not argue about him right now) RB is probably the best second ball handler and maybe the most consistent offensive player. RM the best defender. Interesting group because all brought different things to the table.

RS/NG vs JD/SR vs NG/LK/OC vs RH. Obviously Rip is the star here and SR brought tremendous athleticism. This current group is the best shooting group though. I think I'd give third place to this group over freshman RS/NG.

RS/TO vs JA vs DD vs KF. Now of course JA and KF brought it on the boards, RS was often tremendous defensively. DD is probably the best offensively, he's also pretty solid defensively. His lack of strength and rebounding are behind JA, KF. It would be fun trying to watch JA and DD defend each other though. Can't think of much of a worse matchup for either.

AO vs HT vs JV vs AB/PN/TO. Obviously the biggest difference between those three teams and this one (Rip aside). Those centers would crush UConns starter. I love ABs potential but he wouldn't outplay any of the others. JV may not have put up amazing stats or been a great athlete but I dot think UConn has ever had a better screener or positional player. He also knew how to box out.

Fun to talk about and obviously the three other teams were at least FF teams, so it's not a fair comparison yet. Kembas team may be the only one this team is close to. I think the 2-4 are actually pretty close if not in this years favor (for starters) vs Kembas. We are obviously arguing KW and SN but AO is much better than this years centers. JL turned out great but he hadn't come on at this point of the year yet.

I don't think it's fair to look at how these players ended up in subsequent years bc then we are left guessing at AB/PN/DD/etc future growth. For example, RS turned into a fantastic rebounder, NG into one of the best 3PT threats in the country and SN into a likely All-American but as freshmen they weren't nearly that good. Even JL hadn't really come on yet at this point in the season (or had just started to) but maybe the same kid of thing is happening with AB.

2004 wouldn't be fair to discuss with BG, RA/DB, JB and EO they had a crazy amount of talent.

 

[ctchamps]

I want to agree, but I'm not sure I can. I'll compare only to Kemba, as he is the reigning champion in my book.

Your contention that Bazz has never had the quality of players around him that Kemba did is flat out wrong. His sophomore season, he was surrounded by the same quality players that played in the championship year, and the season turned out to be pretty disastrous.

Bazz is close, but he's got an impossible challenge ahead if he wants to go in the books as Walker's equal. Kemba left us on top of the world. Yes, Bazz contributed to it, but it was Kemba's team.

That sophomore season Bazz gutted it out on a foot injury. It plagued him all season. Two of the important players in that Kemba group had major problems with JC during Bazz's sophomore season. One aired it out publicly, the other kept it to himself, but their actions the following season supports evidence IMO that there were issues with these players and JC.

JC constantly claimed he was the same coach before his first NC. The NC did not prove he was a better coach than before. I agree with him. Focusing on the prize eliminates analysis of players/coaches and their body of work. It eliminates match ups and that little bit of luck that goes in one and done scenarios. The fans are gratified by outcomes, but a lot of those participating in the events have a different set of qualifiers.

The argument of Kemba getting a NC and Bazz not having one is akin to saying Kevin Durant is a step down from Carmelo because Carmelo has a NC and Durant doesn't.

My feeling is that Bazz and Kemba are very similar in that they both make the players around them much better than they would ordinarily be. They just do it in different ways. We debate the ranking of players on various parameters. But in the end it becomes subjective comparing the best ones. UConn has been blessed with a lot of point guards that have made their teams play at a higher caliber. We have our preferences. We have differences with the parameters we chose and how much weight we assign each parameter. But in the end UCONN FANS have something that very few college programs have. WE have a lot of players that are/were special.

 

[Waquoit]

Kemba vs AJP vs Napier vs El-Amin - final year teams' starters at this point of the year.

I don't think your breakdown covers KEA's final year.

 

[caw]

I don't think your breakdown covers KEA's final year.

Ha, I like to believe he left after the championship. Lol I'm still drinking my coffee. Good catch.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

SN has had a 4 year career. That makes comparison really difficult.
Kemba playing with such a young team was the most amazing performance by a point guard ever.
If Kemba stayed for his senior year it could have been back to back NCs.
That team would have been unstoppable.

 

[tzznandrew]

I don't think your breakdown covers KEA's final year.

People really do forget how good KEA was...and I think part of that is that he got injured in a 5-12 matchup with Utah State. Had he been healthy...there was a very good chance of back-to-back final fours, as that bracket was destroyed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_N...l_Tournament#South_Regional_-_Austin.2C_Texas