Best Opposing Players UConn faced when in Yankee Conference | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Best Opposing Players UConn faced when in Yankee Conference

First, UConn's YC basketball years were 1946-47 through 1976-77.

If you're talking best YC opposing players, I would suggest:

Dr. J (UMass)
Steve Chubin (Rhody)
Art Stephenson (Rhody)
Sly Williams (Rhody)
Skip Chappelle (Maine)
Clyde Lord (Vermont)

If you're talking any opponent played in the YC years, here's a possible Top Ten from just the 50's and 60's.

Elgin Baylor (Seattle)
Tom Heinsohn (HC)
Bill Bradley (Princeton)
Jeff Mullins (Duke)
Tom Sanders (NYU)
Vinnie Cohen (Syracuse)
Ed Conlin (Fordham)
Hal Lear (Temple)
Guy Rodgers (Temple)
Matt Goukas (St. Joe's)
Stephenson and Larry Johnson were a tough duo for Rhody back then. Stephenson was an undersized center who played much bigger than his height. He was listed at 6'6" but was probably no more than 6'3". Rhody was our arch rival in those days.

Not to forget a kid who played for UMass with Dr. J while I was a UConn student. Rick Pitino.
 
Stephenson and Larry Johnson were a tough duo for Rhody back then. Stephenson was an undersized center who played much bigger than his height. He was listed at 6'6" but was probably no more than 6'3". Rhody was our arch rival in those days.

Not to forget a kid who played for UMass with Dr. J while I was a UConn student. Rick Pitino.

Wasnt there a Mahaney or something at UMass in the Yankee Conference days that could score it?

Pitino wasn’t any good though right? I mean maybe he had game on the restaurant tables like Rafters but basketball not so much.
 
He had a real similar game to another Fairfield County BC star a few years later in John Bagley.
Bagley was a great college player, my favorite all-time from BCU. Won a Big East title and led a team of players that couldn't get into UConn to the Elite 8.
 
Wasnt there a Mahaney or something at UMass in the Yankee Conference days that could score it?

Pitino wasn’t any good though right? I mean maybe he had game on the restaurant tables like Rafters but basketball not so much.
Murphy. He was good. Played with Skinner. After them it was Jim Towne and Mike Pyatt as a tough duo.
 
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Bagley was a great college player, my favorite all-time from BCU. Won a Big East title and led a team of players that couldn't get into UConn to the Elite 8.

Bagley was the main guy but you're off a little on the team itself. Actually they blew the Jay Murphy (HS teammate and friend) recruiting by Dom Perno sending a volunteer assistant to watch him at Maloney and this kid walked away saying he's "never going to make it in the Big East" to me as I asked him sitting near him at a game after I graduated LOL, clueless. He would've gone to UConn if offered and let's see he averaged 9.3, 11.5, 17.7 and 19.8 in his 4 years I think we could have used him. Also missed on Garris who certainly could have played at UConn as well as Michael Adams. Shrigley and Clark were nice players also all could've played at UConn. BC was solid then, although Bags was our biggest miss no doubt.
 
Bagley was the main guy but you're off a little on the team itself. Actually they blew the Jay Murphy (HS teammate and friend) recruiting by Dom Perno sending a volunteer assistant to watch him at Maloney and this kid walked away saying he's "never going to make it in the Big East" to me as I asked him sitting near him at a game after I graduated LOL, clueless. He would've gone to UConn if offered and let's see he averaged 9.3, 11.5, 17.7 and 19.8 in his 4 years I think we could have used him. Also missed on Garris who certainly could have played at UConn as well as Michael Adams. Shrigley and Clark were nice players also all could've played at UConn. BC was solid then, although Bags was our biggest miss no doubt.
Mau, several of those players from CT that played at BC were inadmissible to UConn at the time.
 
Was there for the best ever. Two of the top three scorers in the country, put on a show with UConn upsetting favored Rutty.
If I recall correctly, there was a a day in which in the afternoon, Wes scored enough points to become the NCAA Div 1 leading scorer, and that evening Lloyd scored enough points to regain the lead.

Can you, @oldschool, or anyone else, confirm this?
 
Mau, several of those players from CT that played at BC were inadmissible to UConn at the time.

Oh really... so reading Waq's reply it does say "couldn't get in to" not couldn't play at UConn. That would be my bad, my apology to Waq and thanks for the clarification. Not sure on who or why but that's whacked now that I think about it.

I do need to edit on this with Murph though, a complete swing and miss by the staff is all that was period! Didn't know about Garris and Adams, maybe even Bags. But why was BC more lenient than us at the time for accepting student athletes?
 
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Not the Yankee Conference, but Villanova's 1985 National Championship team featured three players from Connecticut - Howard Pressley, Harold Jensen and Steve Pinone. Head bang Good job recruiting in-state Dom . . . . known as "Dim Porno" in the 4/1 edition of the "Daily Scampus" :p
 
If I recall correctly, there was a a day in which in the afternoon, Wes scored enough points to become the NCAA Div 1 leading scorer, and that evening Lloyd scored enough points to regain the lead.

Can you, @oldschool, or anyone else, confirm this?
Not sure about that. But I do recall Wes scored 40 and Lloyd 39. Wes owned the first half and Lloyd the second.

Believe it or not, UConn fans haven’t typically been rah-rah except during games. Wes was in a class of mine at the time. The guy who taught the class, Louie Gerson was a big hoops fan. The class was in the big lecture hall in what we called the Social Sciences building and happened to be the morning after the game. Class had started and Wes came in a few minutes late. Gerson, still reliving the game, said something like “Amazing game Wes”. Total silence in the room. Gerson shrugged and said, “well, nice game Wes.” You had to be there.Pretty awkward.

ETA: this spurred me to Google Gerson. I think I knew he had escaped the Holocaust. He lived until 2016, age 94. He outlived Wes.
 
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Not sure about that. But I do recall Wes scored 40 and Lloyd 39. Wes owned the first half and Lloyd the second.

Believe it or not, UConn fans haven’t typically been rah-rah except during games. Wes was in a class of mine at the time. The guy who taught the class, Louie Gerson was a big hoops fan. The class was in the big lecture hall in what we called the Social Sciences building and happened to be the morning after the game. Class had started and Wes came in a few minutes late. Gerson, still reliving the game, said something like “Amazing game Wes”. Total silence in the room. Gerson shrugged and said, “well, nice game Wes.” You had to be there.Pretty awkward.

ETA: this spurred me to Google Gerson. I think I knew he had escaped the Holocaust. He lived until 2016, age 94. He outlived Wes.
I think that I was at that shootout, head-to-head game, but at my stats-obsessed young age, UConn having the nation's #1 scorer was a big deal, so that other day sticks out as an 'easy come, easy go' kind of thing.
 
Mau, several of those players from CT that played at BC were inadmissible to UConn at the time.
UConn took pride in not letting in BB players in those days. Gave them an excuse for mediocrity.
 
First, UConn's YC basketball years were 1946-47 through 1976-77.

If you're talking best YC opposing players, I would suggest:

Dr. J (UMass)
Steve Chubin (Rhody)
Art Stephenson (Rhody)
Sly Williams (Rhody)
Skip Chappelle (Maine)
Clyde Lord (Vermont)

If you're talking any opponent played in the YC years, here's a possible Top Ten from just the 50's and 60's.

Elgin Baylor (Seattle)
Tom Heinsohn (HC)
Bill Bradley (Princeton)
Jeff Mullins (Duke)
Tom Sanders (NYU)
Vinnie Cohen (Syracuse)
Ed Conlin (Fordham)
Hal Lear (Temple)
Guy Rodgers (Temple)
Matt Goukas (St. Joe's)
Dr J stands above them all! Saw him 3x vs UConn in the 2 years he was at UMass Drove up to Amherst his Soph year.
 
Not sure about that. But I do recall Wes scored 40 and Lloyd 39. Wes owned the first half and Lloyd the second.

Believe it or not, UConn fans haven’t typically been rah-rah except during games. Wes was in a class of mine at the time. The guy who taught the class, Louie Gerson was a big hoops fan. The class was in the big lecture hall in what we called the Social Sciences building and happened to be the morning after the game. Class had started and Wes came in a few minutes late. Gerson, still reliving the game, said something like “Amazing game Wes”. Total silence in the room. Gerson shrugged and said, “well, nice game Wes.” You had to be there.Pretty awkward.

ETA: this spurred me to Google Gerson. I think I knew he had escaped the Holocaust. He lived until 2016, age 94. He outlived Wes.
Yes, he taught political science and was quite the lecturer. He used to describe the dormitory rooms as "palatial suites," to add a little humor to his lecture. Lots of good political science teachers then, like Alvin Dozeman, Max Thatcher, to name a few.
 
Wasnt there a Mahaney or something at UMass in the Yankee Conference days that could score it?

Pitino wasn’t any good though right? I mean maybe he had game on the restaurant tables like Rafters but basketball not so much.
Brian Mahaney from Manhattan. Google description below:

Brian Mahaney (born December 17, 1948) is an American retired college basketball coach and former professional player. He was head coach of the St. John's Red Storm team from 1992 to 1996, as well as the Manhattan Jaspers from 1978 to 1981.

Mahaney played collegiately at Manhattan College. A 6'3", 175-pound shooting guard, he was drafted in 1971 by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fifth round of that year's NBA draft; however, he played instead in the rival American Basketball Association as a member of the New York Nets (now the NBA's Brooklyn team) for only 19 games in the 1972–73 season. That was the only time he played professionally. After that he went into coaching.
 
Yes, he taught political science and was quite the lecturer. He used to describe the dormitory rooms as "palatial suites," to add a little humor to his lecture. Lots of good political science teachers then, like Alvin Dozeman, Max Thatcher, to name a few.
Had em all. I helped Dozeman organize Vietnam discussions before the war got super hot. Thatcher was a bit of a misogynist. He would refer to females as pin heads with women sitting there. I liked Gerson. I was a polisci major. My two favorite profs were Staton (sp?) Watts and Richard Turner. Both taught comparative government and were so interesting I’d forget to take notes. Also Fred Kort who outlined his lectures on the board, very structured right down to how he rolled up his sleeves. His son was (is?) an orthopedist in Vernon who treated a tendonitis issue I had years ago. Major digression from the topic.
 
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Had em all. I helped Dozeman organize Vietnam discussions before the war got super hot. Thatcher was a bit of a misogynist. He would refer to females as pin heads with women sitting there. I liked Gerson. I was a polisci major. My two favorite profs were Staton (sp?) Watts and Richard Turner. Both taught comparative government and were so interesting I’d forget to take notes. Also Fred Kort who outlined his lectures on the board, very structured right down to how he rolled up his sleeves. His son was (is?) an orthopedist in Vernon who treated a tendonitis issue I had years ago. Major digression from the topic.
I must digress too if I am permitted, and say about Dr. Kort (who I had as an instructor in the late 1960's) that he was brilliant and organized, and when I revisited UConn maybe in the late 1980's or early 1990's, about 20 or more years after my graduation, I saw him at the then new and beautiful indoor pool at UConn. I introduced myself though I don't think he remembered me. I chatted with him and his wife. He was an avid swimmer she told me and that he went every day to the pool. He appeared fit and trim. He was gracious and though he did not remember me, asked about what I had been doing since graduation. In every way, he was a distinguished gentleman. At the website, UConn Advance - August 30, 2004 - Emeritus Professor Fred Kort Dies At 85 is his obituary I found online. A very interesting life story.
 
Bagley was a great college player, my favorite all-time from BCU. Won a Big East title and led a team of players that couldn't get into UConn to the Elite 8.
I knew Bagley, a really nice guy. Saw him all the time at the Fitness Edge gym in Fairfield just after his playing career. Use to fly out to Chicago two or three times a week for a business he had based out there.
 
This includes non-Yankee conference opponents during those years

I think of the following:

Steve Chubin : Rhode Island
Dr. J: UMass
King Gaskins and Ron Texiera: Holy Cross
Jimmy Walker, Ernie D, Marvin Barnes: Providence
John Austin: BC
Dave Bing: Syracuse
Chris Dudley: Yale

I cannot think of any from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire
Makes me wonder, did UConn ever play Fairfield Univ during the Joe DeSantis - Mark Young era?
 
One of the great frustrations of my 67 seasons following UConn basketball is that we never evened the score with Holy Cross.

We held ground with them in the early-mid 50's, but then they dominated us from 1958-59 into the early 70's, until we drew a little blood in the Tony Hansen era. We played them twice a year for much of that period, winning only three times. We lost to them at Storrs even in the Kimball-Bialosuknia year, when both Toby and Wes were injured and missed the game. We did win the return match at Worcester a couple weeks later. For them, it was the great Blaney-Shea-Brandt teams, then the Keith Hochstein teams, then the Buddy Venne, Jack Foley and Ron Perry Jr. teams.

We entered the Big East when Holy Cross turned down Gavitt's invitation, making the fundamental decision to de-emphasize basketball. We went power conference and they went mid-major. To my recollection we never played them in the Perno-Calhoun era, when we might indeed have evened the score. So sad. I remember the lie-awake nights in the 60's, plotting ways to poison Keith Hochstein's water bottle.
 
One of the great frustrations of my 67 seasons following UConn basketball is that we never evened the score with Holy Cross.

We held ground with them in the early-mid 50's, but then they dominated us from 1958-59 into the early 70's, until we drew a little blood in the Tony Hansen era. We played them twice a year for much of that period, winning only three times. We lost to them at Storrs even in the Kimball-Bialosuknia year, when both Toby and Wes were injured and missed the game. We did win the return match at Worcester a couple weeks later. For them, it was the great Blaney-Shea-Brandt teams, then the Keith Hochstein teams, then the Buddy Venne, Jack Foley and Ron Perry Jr. teams.

We entered the Big East when Holy Cross turned down Gavitt's invitation, making the fundamental decision to de-emphasize basketball. We went power conference and they went mid-major. To my recollection we never played them in the Perno-Calhoun era, when we might indeed have evened the score. So sad. I remember the lie-awake nights in the 60's, plotting ways to poison Keith Hochstein's water bottle.
Perno played them throughout his tenure. Calhoun played them early in his.
 
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I remember a game in the very early 70's against Manhattan at the Garden - we were the undercard to the highly anticipated game between Notre Dame and Fordham - and a guard named Henry Seawright (sp? ) had a career game, pouring in 30+ points, handing Dee Rowe's Huskies a painful loss. It's hard to believe, given all the recent success, that UConn had ONE winning season in my four years (1968-72) and went 5-19 my freshman year. Dee always said his biggest mistake at UConn was going 14-9 his first year (1969-70). It took him a couple-three years to post his next winning season.
 
Makes me wonder, did UConn ever play Fairfield Univ during the Joe DeSantis - Mark Young era?
Corny's freshman year he beat the DeSantis-led Stags by a point in the Field House. It was pandemonium! I think Young had moved on.
 
Oh really... so reading Waq's reply it does say "couldn't get in to" not couldn't play at UConn. That would be my bad, my apology to Waq and thanks for the clarification. Not sure on who or why but that's whacked now that I think about it.

I do need to edit on this with Murph though, a complete swing and miss by the staff is all that was period! Didn't know about Garris and Adams, maybe even Bags. But why was BC more lenient than us at the time for accepting student athletes?
Mau
In the early to mid 70s BC was facing bankruptcy and possible acquisition by area schools. Not sure if it had the academic reputation it has today. They may have started turning it around about Bag's time.
Edit; I meant and Cobb's time.
 
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I remember Yale beating uconn at new haven coliseum late 70’s. Sucked.

House of Horrors. Lost to Fairfield at the Coliseum in 83 or 84. Great place to see the GD or WWWF, not so much for UC
 
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