Bazz best UConn point guard ever! | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Bazz best UConn point guard ever!

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I wouldn't trade him for any other player in the country. Also, I think his game translates well into the NBA. I think he could be a Chris Paul type player in the NBA.
 
Shabazz's contributions to the program supersede's pretty much everyone else with possibly the exception of Kemba. He wins the all time loyalty award for sticking around through the APR bs and coaching change among other things while others quit on the program and bailed. I don't think people realize how easily UConn could have fallen off the map without him. Thanks to him this program is on solid ground with a chance to go really deep in the tourney this year. By the way Bazz IS a National Champion
 
RichZ said:
The fact that those same players were team players under Kemba's leadership, and cancer under Bazz's has to either reflect positively on Kemba or negatively on Bazz.

You put me in the very uncomfortable position of having to argue against Bazz. I think that Bazz is very close to being Kemba's equal. But he is in the unenviable position of needing to eclipse a legend to gain the top spot. He will never have the opportunity to lead the team to a post season 11 for 11. No one ever will.
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Yeah, but is easier to follow a proven upper class-man than someone who was one of the ducklings with you. I think they are the 2 best PGs in UCONN history. I give the nod to KW but I think it has gotten closed. I can't imagine anyone matching Kemba's 2011 season. I think Kemba is the better player, as in he will have the better NBA career. But for college career, Napier is pretty tough.
 
If he carries the team to a NC it would have to be SN! Like KW performance he would equal and surpass him with 2 NC's.
 
Scot-e said:
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.
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GlastonTim said:
How far does Bazz have to take this team to reach Kemba status? Win it all? Final Four?
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AAC championship final 4 and we have a discussion
 
Career numbers at UCONN
Points/game: Bazz 13 Kemba 16
Shooting %: Bazz .410 Kemba .428
3pt, shooting %: Bazz .375 Kemba .326
FT/game: Bazz 3.3 Kemba 4.4
Assists/game: Bazz 4,6 Kemba 4.1
TOV/game: Bazz 2.4 Kemba 2.3
Rebounds/game Bazz 3.7 Kemba 4.4

Interesting. Biggest surprise to me is that KW out-rebounded SN. The other thing that stood out is how much SN had a significant increase year by year.
 
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Statistically, you guys might be underrating him. There really isn't another uconn pg that holds a candle to his efficiency. As far as right now, is there another pg playing at his level ? Only perhaps Thames from SDSU. He's starting to look 100% healthy since that florida spill, very engaged late in games. Curious how much better he can play.
 
These stats are good for something I guess. The only one I care about is the W. Now I love Bazz and his loyalty is not to be minimized. But Kemba should have been POY and coming in second was close. So if Bazz wins the last 11 games of his college career I will anoint him the best! And it won't even take 11 just using that to compare.
 
UConnDad said:
These stats are good for something I guess. The only one I care about is the W. Now I love Bazz and his loyalty is not to be minimized. But Kemba should have been POY and coming in second was close. So if Bazz wins the last 11 games of his college career I will anoint him the best! And it won't even take 11 just using that to compare.
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If he wins the last one, he goes right to the top.
 
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Shabazz is nothing short of amazing, but until he wins 11 straight in March, nothing touches Kemba's junior year. That was just ridiculous and I am pretty sure something none of us will ever see again.
 
In the past, I have agreed with the comparison with Mo Williams (NBA starter for several seasons and All-Star one year IIRC) thinking that Bazz had a little bit better point guard skills but wasn't as talented at creating offense himself. However, this year it is apparent that Bazz is a much better passer and ball-handler than Williams and at least his equal at creating his own shot. I think he could start on a few NBA teams and be a very solid back up point on most others. If he were two inches taller, he would be a lottery pick this year.
 
I'd take Walker in this debate.

The thing I don't get is how Price
ended up mentioned with KEA, Walker and Napier.
 
Sort of a side note here, but I'm reminded of our tournament games in 2011 when the national commentators would say something to the effect of "Good move by Jim Calhoun here bringing in Shabazz Napier and letting Walker work without the ball." As if that wasn't what happened in every single game the entire year.
 
In regard to KEA, in many ways he can be seen as the single most important player UConn has had in terms of giving the team what was needed to get over the hump and become national champions. He was the perfect piece ... exactly what was needed for the group that came in with Rip. He was the one who made the others see they could be the best. In terms of leadership, no one has come close until Kemba. I think that AJ Price put himself into the discussion of best UConn PG's. He could do a lot of things extremely well and he was the clear leader that made the '09 team Final Four material. I feel like his positive leadership and clutch plays moved him ahead of Marcus Williams by a bit. At this point, Shabazz seems to me to be the most skilled all-around PG. He does not quite have the charisma that Kemba and KEA had, but he is a better shooter and can be a great passer. We'll have to see how things play out, but Shabazz is right up near the top in my book right now.
 
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Kemba could take over a game against top shelf talent. Shabazz continues to getter better, so anything's possible, but he would need to dominate the tourney to displace Kemba. Having said that, the fact that he's in the debate is a tribute to how well he's been playing.
 
champs99and04 said:
Not really sure where you're coming from here, Bazz is definitely better than KEA IMO.
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I guess I'm coming from the place that thinks KEA was better than Napier. Anyone who thinks that's denigrating Napier forgets how good El-Amin was. His last year they beat 2 teams that ended up as 1 seeds in the Big Dance. He outplayed Gibert Arenas head-to-head. He put the team on his shoulders like Bazz is doing and they were on the way to an FF before he got hurt.
 
Bazz is absolutely tremendous and not that he wasn't a big part of 2011, but that run goes down as legendary in not only UConn basketball lore but in all of college basketball.

Kemba based on the fact he did what nobody else had ever done and likely will ever do again.
 
Inyatkin said:
Sort of a side note here, but I'm reminded of our tournament games in 2011 when the national commentators would say something to the effect of "Good move by Jim Calhoun here bringing in Shabazz Napier and letting Walker work without the ball." As if that wasn't what happened in every single game the entire year.
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Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, lol, clearly no homework was done. I remember during the halftimes of both the SDSU and Zona games the both of them applauding JC for his "adjustments", when like you said it would be almost like clockwork that the offense would start to run smoother once Bazz came in and Kemba went off the ball.
 
To say kea was more important is not valid. I mean , not only did Napier play a key role in a ring ; he's been steering us through these trecherous waters of realignment and irrelevance. He is also playing at the same level that walker was in 2011, we'll see if it ends that well though.
 
James said:
To say kea was more important is not valid. I mean , not only did Napier play a key role in a ring ; he's been steering us through these trecherous waters of realignment and irrelevance. He is also playing at the same level that walker was in 2011, we'll see if it ends that well though.
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Not valid? If Napier played a "key role" in a ring (which he did), how can you describe KEA's role? Key times three? I don't think "steering us through these trecherous waters of realignment and irrelevance" remotely compares to what Khalid accomplished. He moved this program from good to great. That's a huge leap. He was the leader of the teams he was on from his first school visit. He accomplished things that Ray Allen and Donyell Marshall couldn't do with more talented squads. Before KEA, UConn was a trivia question - "What team has been to the most NCAA's without making the Final Four?" He moved JC from a respected program builder that couldn't win the big one to Hall of Fame coach. As a freshman, he led a team that went toe-to-toe with a Vince Carter-Antione Jamison team coming up a bit short. As a sophmore, his team wins it all against Elton Brand and Shane Battier. UConn made it to the promised land on his shoulders. Of course he had plenty of help, but he was the straw that stirred the drink. That matters. He belongs on the Wall.
 
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Waquoit said:
I guess I'm coming from the place that thinks KEA was better than Napier. Anyone who thinks that's denigrating Napier forgets how good El-Amin was. His last year they beat 2 teams that ended up as 1 seeds in the Big Dance. He outplayed Gibert Arenas head-to-head. He put the team on his shoulders like Bazz is doing and they were on the way to an FF before he got hurt.
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KEA was obviously a great player, but Napier is just better than he was. He scores more efficiently, he's a better passer, he's a better rebounder, and just a better overall player. As far as intangibles/leadership is concerned, it's probably a draw - as much as Khalid showed up for big games, Bazz does the same. 27 against Indiana, 26 against Florida, 17 and 10 @ Memphis, 30 against Louisville. We're watching one of the best of all-time this season, regardless of what the team ends up accomplishing.
 
Waquoit said:
Not valid? If Napier played a "key role" in a ring (which he did), how can you describe KEA's role? Key times three? I don't think "steering us through these trecherous waters of realignment and irrelevance" remotely compares to what Khalid accomplished. He moved this program from good to great. That's a huge leap. He was the leader of the teams he was on from his first school visit. He accomplished things that Ray Allen and Donyell Marshall couldn't do with more talented squads. Before KEA, UConn was a trivia question - "What team has been to the most NCAA's without making the Final Four?" He moved JC from a respected program builder that couldn't win the big one to Hall of Fame coach. As a freshman, he led a team that went toe-to-toe with a Vince Carter-Antione Jamison team coming up a bit short. As a sophmore, his team wins it all against Elton Brand and Shane Battier. UConn made it to the promised land on his shoulders. Of course he had plenty of help, but he was the straw that stirred the drink. That matters. He belongs on the Wall.
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People underestimate him. That team the year before he showed up was a third-placed NIT team. Now, there would obviously be some improvement because their best players were freshmen and sophomores, but let's not kid ourselves. As much as we love Ricky Moore, he wasn't a great primary point guard or vocal leader. El-Amin showed up, ran the show, and the team went 32-4 after going 18-15...and let's be honest, a 14-14 team doesn't make the NIT anymore, and certainly doesn't start with 3 home games (two against mid-majors) like that team did.

El-Amin's three UConn teams won 2 BET titles and made the championship game of another. And they had an E8 and Championship run in the two tournaments he was healthy.

I think Napier's having a better year this year than KEA had, but I'm hesistant to put him above KEA overall right now.
 
I'm with Waquoit re KEA vs. Bazz. Bazz's numbers are going to be insane, but unless he leads us to another FF I can't see putting him above KEA.

KEA knew how to flip the switch. Sure, he had a better supporting cast; all I know is that there were a lot of better players and teams to come through campus before him, but no one who had what he had. I've said it before, but I knew as soon as I saw him that he was the difference maker for us--exactly what we needed to get over the hump and to the promised land.

Kemba is obviously tops for what he did, but I still have KEA next in my book. Nothing was ever the same after he came, and that matters in my book, whether you can measure it with stats or not.
 
This debate has me wondering if age of the posters has anything to do with their preferences. I think KEA was an important player, but best PG???? He and Ricky complimented each other nicely, had a good jump shot, was pretty clutch, had a winning attitude and bigger testiculos than most any other player in UConn history. But, as a PG, I have him behind, Kemba, Bazz, Price, Williams, Ollie, Sheffer, and Chris Smith in some order.

Plus I still blame him for that silly shock the world comment. Uconn was ranked #1 for more weeks than Duke in 99. I'm not sure how beating them was shocking to anyone paying attention. An upset, sure they're Duke, but it was hardly shocking.
 
SubbaBub said:
This debate has me wondering if age of the posters has anything to do with their preferences. I think KEA was an important player, but best PG???? He and Ricky complimented each other nicely, had a good jump shot, was pretty clutch, had a winning attitude and bigger testiculos than most any other player in UConn history. But, as a PG, I have him behind, Kemba, Bazz, Price, Williams, Ollie, Sheffer, and Chris Smith in some order.

Plus I still blame him for that silly shock the world comment. Uconn was ranked #1 for more weeks than Duke in 99. I'm not sure how beating them was shocking to anyone paying attention. An upset, sure they're Duke, but it was hardly shocking.
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Wow...I can't go with that order at all
 
Napier is as good as it gets. Despite a drop in talent the last two years, he has become the unquestioned alpha dog while producing career years. His efficiency is other worldly (somehow still on the rise), but most important his growth as a leader is remarkable. The team thrives off his energy. talent level is just higher than KEA.
 
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