Best natural Athlete

[Danzz]

Burrell by 100 miles and then the others. Scott was an amazing football, basketball and baseball player and was drafted in the first round of two major league sports. End of discussion.

This discussion should be about #2 because nobody came close to Scotty.

 

[Matrim55]

This discussion should be about #2 because nobody came close to Scotty.

It should be, but a lot of the kids on this board don't remember him. And unfortunately we don't have youtube highlight compilations of most of the greats of yesteryear.

If Scotty played today, he'd actually be more highly valued than he was 25 years ago - he's the ideal 3&D guy, a superior passer who didn't need the ball to change the game. Basically Kawhi Leonard.

EDIT: With smaller hands.

 

[methodology]

No mention of Doug Wrenn?

Definitely one of the best natural athletes to put on a UConn uniform.

 

[rip81]

Doug Wrenn, while troubled, was an incredible athlete

 

[methodology]

Not sure if anyone has video of Sticks windmill dunk vs. Cuse in the 6 OT game but if someone can post it Sticks takes 1 dribble from half court to throwing down his windmill.

 

[intlzncster]

Burrell by 100 miles and then the others. Scott was an amazing football, basketball and baseball player and was drafted in the first round of two major league sports. End of discussion.

Donny Marshall was also an all state soccer player.

 

[Stinger92860]

Earl Kelly

 

[mauconnfan]

Love Sticks as pure athlete form a basketball perspective but it's not close as to "best pure athlete"………..Scottie Burrell

A pure athlete would be able to play other sports at a high level and he did just that……minor league baseball in which he probably could have gone to the bigs eventually if it weren't for basketball…….football was recruited by Miami and ND out of HS but opted to stop playing for the others……..PURE as pure gets!!

 

[mauconnfan]

Earl Kelly

"….leaps tall buildings in a single……"

 

[David 76]

Don't mean to hijack this thread but drummond has a ridiculous nba highlight reel ALREADY. he is a badass, thanks sheed.

Wow! Great to see. Thanks

But I still vote for Scotty. He was a very good football player in H.S. beside being drafted in two other sports

 

[johnhuskies95]

What is a better definition of natural athlete than someone who can be world class in multiple sports?

1. We must have a different definition of "world class".
2. If all-sports prowess is what defines an athlete, then Bruce Jenner is the most athletic person in the history of the world.

I consider a natural athlete to be someone who possesses agility, strength, speed, coordination, and leaping ability. And not many people are better than Drummond when you take those into account.

People don't consider LeBron to be maybe the greatest athlete of all time because he was an all-state football player.

 

[nomar]

I think most people assume LeBron could be an All-Pro TE because he is one of the greatest athletes of all time. At least I do.

Count me as another vote for Burrell. If he was 6'8" or 6'9" he'd have been sainted by now.

 

[tdrink]

You're not supposed to use the term TE( tight end) in the post Aaron Hernandez era. (Especially in a thread that has mentioned Gay penetration.)

Guys are now calling themselves "pass catchers."


True story.

 

[CAHUSKY]

1. We must have a different definition of "world class".
2. If all-sports prowess is what defines an athlete, then Bruce Jenner is the most athletic person in the history of the world.

I consider a natural athlete to be someone who possesses agility, strength, speed, coordination, and leaping ability. And not many people are better than Drummond when you take those into account.

People don't consider LeBron to be maybe the greatest athlete of all time because he was an all-state football player.

Scott was drafted in the first round of two major American sports and could have been a high major college player in a third. Being a first round draft pick is "world class". Bruce Jenner was a remarkable athlete but his skill set was specic to 10 track and field events, none of which he was individually world class in.

 

[Hoophound]

Scott's only problem was that his jumper wasn't reliable enough. He had a slightly off release where he would spin the ball too much leading to inconsistency. If he had corrected it, his basketball career would have have gone to a much higher level. In the end, his legs failed him too early though.

Aside from being a stellar athlete, he is a great person and oozes class. I'd like to see him around the program often.

 

[CAHUSKY]

People don't consider LeBron to be maybe the greatest athlete of all time because he was an all-state football player.

Had Lebron done that and been drafted in the first round of another major sport they surely would. I've often heard people refer to Lebron as a freak of an athlete and best physical specimen in sports. I'd say that's akin to him being one of the best athletes

 

[johnhuskies95]

Scott was drafted in the first round of two major American sports and could have been a high major college player in a third. Being a first round draft pick is "world class". Bruce Jenner was a remarkable athlete but his skill set was specic to 10 track and field events, none of which he was individually world class in.

Jenner was also selected in the NBA draft, and played football in college. My point is that there are a number of athletes that have had success in multiple sports, but that's not necessarily the end-all be-all when measuring athleticism.

 

[mauconnfan]

Jenner was also selected in the NBA draft, and played football in college. My point is that there are a number of athletes that have had success in multiple sports, but that's not necessarily the end-all be-all when measuring athleticism.

Outside the program Dave Winfield as a pretty special "athlete" especially when you look at how large the man was…….

As far as Bruce Jenner: In 1977, the Kansas City Kings selected Jenner with the 140th pick of the NBA Draft. Jenner had not actually played basketball since high school; the closest he came to a roundball career was when he sank a basket in the "YMCA" sequence of the film Can't Stop the Music in 1980

Didn't know he was drafted until you wrote that looked it up - also sad to see his brother was killed in an accident in Canton CT soon after his Olympic feats…...

 

[johnhuskies95]

Had Lebron done that and been drafted in the first round of another major sport they surely would. I've often heard people refer to Lebron as a freak of an athlete and best physical specimen in sports. I'd say that's akin to him being one of the best athletes

I think you misinterpreted my post. I was probably a little unclear. I'm saying that LeBron is one of the best athletes of all time, but it's not because of what he did in football.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Jenner was also selected in the NBA draft, and played football in college. My point is that there are a number of athletes that have had success in multiple sports, but that's not necessarily the end-all be-all when measuring athleticism.

Jenner was a mediocre football player who got a scholarship to a school you've never heard of and never played basketball. He was a great decathlete. I agree being mediocre in football, never playing hoop and winning the decathlon doesn't necessarily make you a terrific natural athlete. Being drafted in the first round of two major league sports and being an a fantastic HS QB who could have played D1 football does.

 

[superjohn]

Drummond is a really good athlete for a 6'11 guy. If the question was who was the best athlete over 6'10 ?, I'd agree. But, for best overall athlete, I'm stunned anyone would pick him over Scott. You say you can only judge by what you saw on the court but I think the fact that he was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft gives you another data point. He was also one of the top QB's in the state. He was incredible.

I guess I just don't understand the question, if you are just going with who played multiple sports at a high level and had an opportunity to play two sports at the professional level then Burrell is obviously the choice. I define athleticm by speed, size, strength, leaping ability, agility etc. There hasn't been too many players anywhere ever that have the combination of those characteristics at the level Drummond does. People say Daany Ainge could have played the 3 major sports at the professional level but I still say without a doubt Michael Jordan is a better athlete than him.

 

[CAHUSKY]

I guess I just don't understand the question, if you are just going with who played multiple sports at a high level and had an opportunity to play two sports at the professional level then Burrell is obviously the choice. I define athleticm by speed, size, strength, leaping ability, agility etc. There hasn't been too many players anywhere ever that have the combination of those characteristics at the level Drummond does. People say Daany Ainge could have played the 3 major sports at the professional level but I still say without a doubt Michael Jordan is a better athlete than him.

If Drummond was 6'6 would he be an nba first round pick or first rounder in another sport. Hard to say. Scott was. I think there are plenty of folks who would argue that Ainge was just as good an athlete as Jordan. Being a HS all-America in 3 sports is pretty strong supporting argument. I'd say Burrell was just as good an athlete as Jordan but not as good a basketball player.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Jenner was a mediocre football player who got a scholarship to a school you've never heard of and never played basketball. He was a great decathlete. I agree being mediocre in football, never playing hoop and winning the decathlon doesn't necessarily make you a terrific natural athlete. Being drafted in the first round of two major league sports and being an a fantastic HS QB who could have played D1 football does.

Fine, we can pick another guy. I don't think Charlie Ward is a better athlete than a guy like Lawrence Taylor or David Thompson just because he happened to play two sports.

As for your second post, I think you're seriously underrating Drummond's athletic ability. Just watch that highlight tape that's been posted.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Fine, we can pick another guy. I don't think Charlie Ward is a better athlete than a guy like Lawrence Taylor or David Thompson just because he happened to play two sports.

As for your second post, I think you're seriously underrating Drummond's athletic ability. Just watch that highlight tape that's been posted.

I said Drummond was a great athlete. Just not as good as Scott. Ward, Taylor and Thompson were all great athletes and would be in the running for best athlete ever to attend Uconn had they went here. Since they didn't, I'll stick with Burrell.

 

[superjohn]

The size thing is a bizzarre hypothetical, If Burrell was 5'10 instead of 6'5 would he have been a D1 level athlete in any sport? I never understand it when people do this with players, people say Shabazz could have been a top 5 pick if he was 6'4, well he would also probably be a completely different player. I judge players on what their actual size, speed and strength is. I think Shaq is a freak of an athlete because he was 7'1 350 lbs. And had amazing agilty and body control for his size. If he had the same agility and body control at 6'1, I wouldn't be too impressed. My guess there has been plenty of freak athletes throughout the nba and nfl over the years who could have played multiple sports at the highest levels but if a kid thinks he has a good chance at a professional career in a sport he's almost always going to totally focus on that sports and forget about the other sports.