Best UConn combo guard? | The Boneyard

Best UConn combo guard?

Kitaman

Kitaman

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Saw the recruiting thread on 2019 Al-Amir Dawes touted as a combo guard. Who would you say was our best combo guard, which I assume is double duty (point/2-guard).

I'm thinking Ben Gordon, although he primarily played the 2. I'm at a loss figuring out a perfect example of this definition, and who was our best player fitting this category. Maybe Chris Smith?
 
Jalen would be a combo guard if the team was healthy, so Jalen.
 
Dawes is more of a point guard than a combo guard.
 
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Earl Kelly and John Gwynn are high on my list. If you look at 99 squad, a guy wearing #42 filled that role. I give him the nod for his role in "shocking the world"
 
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Dyson , Super Tone, Boat

Kemba wasn’t a combo guard. He was a scoring point guard in a two point guard system.
 
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Kitaman said:
Saw the recruiting thread on 2019 Al-Amir Dawes touted as a combo guard. Who would you say was our best combo guard, which I assume is double duty (point/2-guard).

I'm thinking Ben Gordon, although he primarily played the 2. I'm at a loss figuring out a perfect example of this definition, and who was our best player fitting this category. Maybe Chris Smith?
Expand ...
You got it, it’s Gordon for sure.... Kemba is a scoring pg, BG fits combo better (maybeRip, but he’s more of a 3)
 
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To me combo guard as a term has lost popularity because it was always an insult. Not good enough handle to be a 1, not good enough shooter to or a 2. So the epitome of a 'combo guard' when I hear the term and think of UConn players is Tony Robertson.
Khalid - definitely a PG
Smitty - Scoring PG, played some 2 but mostly was our PG
Gwynn - 2 guard, 6th man, too small to be a combo guard
Sheffer - PG
Gordon - 2G
Earl Kelly - PG, SG (as frosh) - Earl played both but was good at both positions and to me a combo guard means someone that can't play either. So like Smitty Earl was good at both making him a scoring PG
Dyson was a combo guard
 
I think combo guards are different than scoring point guards. Kemba, Smith, Earl Kelly, Shabazz, KEA...all were scoring point guards. Gordon was called a combo guard but was mostly a SG. Playing two scoring PGs doesn't make one of them a combo guard.

So the question is really whether Gordon played enough PG to warrant the combo label? Looked up his 2004 stats and he averaged 18.5 and 4.5 assists. I think maybe he qualifies, but Taliek played a lot of minutes. If not, I think @Dogdeacon is probably correct with Tony Robertson.

Wow, we've had a lot of great scoring point guards, even before it was the norm.

Earl Kelly
Chris Smith
AJ Price
KEA
Doron Sheffer
Kemba Walker
Shabazz Napier
Maybe even Tate George. Scored more than most remember.
 
Isn't the basic definition of a combo guard that he is primarily a "2" but also serves as a backup "1"? Smitty was a "combo" his frosh and soph years and then was a scoring PG. He had the ball in his hands, initiated the offense, etc. When Kemba and Bazz or Boat and Bazz were on the court, the off guard was playing the combo role. In those instances, I feel like it was always Bazz as the pure "1" but that was really more of the dual PG setup as they were more or less interchangeable. Same deal with KO and Sheffer for two years. Dyson ran very little PG from what I remember - we had Austrie as the backup PG and then Kemba during JD's time. TRob was most definitely a combo as was Ben.

So long story short... Our best combo guard was far and away Ben followed soph year Smitty then TRob. I feel like everyone else mentioned was distinctly a 1 or 2.
 
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It's Walker. Kemba started at the point in 2010-11 and shifted to the 2 when Napier came in, virtually every time.

Ricky Moore would be my choice for 2nd best.
 
I would put Boat up there too. Boat played the two when Bazz was on the court and took over PG when Bazz was off the court. He also played a little bit of the two his senior year
 
Let’s not get two scientific with this definition.
A combo guard simply means someone capable of playing both positions .
Virtually every shooter PG was a combo because the skill set at the 2 is much less demanding .
Ricky wasn’t really a combo he couldn’t shoot very well, he was a PG whose defense was so good you could play him at the two because we had enough scoring options and our
one could shoot.
Looking back it’s easier to identify pure two’s
Like ,Lamb, Vital ,or Purvis.
They typically can’t create.
Or in Dysons case his attempted creatively exceeded his skill.
Rip,Caron , and Ray defy description but I like to call them 2/3 ‘s or super two’s
Ryan was a position defier . He had PG ball skills ,could shoot some, but was only a poor passer who improved by his senior year. He typically played the two guard but took the point as a means to rest Bazz without sitting him.
Something Calhoun did with Kamba
The two is a bunch easier to play .
 
Gordon over Smitty

When Taliek got hurt in 02-03 Gordon filled in at point and played well beating eventual National Champion Cuse
 
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