Best WCBB Player of All Time: Breanna Stewart

[CocoHusky]

Breanna did not even make the top Uconn player according to the people who are pretty close to the program. SNY did a top ten shows last year

What in the hell are you talking about?
She was #2 and got votes for #1. Did you even watch the video?

 

[CocoHusky]

If championships and play in the FF were the most important criteria Stewart would have no equal and this would be a very short thread. However to echo, @bballnut90 it comes down to what you most value, be that, awards, stats, quality of teammates, ability to carry a team, or ability to come through in the big moments. Unlike @Carnac I did not have the pleasure of watching Miller play live. I did get to see everyone else mentioned here including 15 YO Stewie and 17 YO Maya. All the players mentioned here are capable of occasionally taking your breath away. For me Miller left you breathless most often, perhaps continuously.
Then again I might be getting too sentimental-Miller was my first love of WCBB.
Great discussion!

 

[Huskybass]

If championships and play in the FF were the most important criteria Stewart would have no equal and this would be a very short thread. However to echo, @bballnut90 it comes down to what you most value, be that, awards, stats, quality of teammates, ability to carry a team, or ability to come through in the big moments. Unlike @Carnac I did not have the pleasure of watching Miller play live. I did get to see everyone else mentioned here including 15 YO Stewie and 17 YO Maya. All the players mentioned here are capable of occasionally taking your breath away. For me Miller left you breathless most often, perhaps continuously.
Then again I might be getting too sentimental-Miller was my first love of WCBB.
Great discussion!

Thank you for your contributions to this thread. To me, it's stepping up big in the biggest spots that carries the most weight. In that regard Stewart is unmatched by any objective standard. But as you and others have outlined, Miller was spectacular in many ways.

This reminds me a little bit of the greatest QB debate people used to have. A man named Brady continued to pull away from the pack though, and virtually nobody questions his place at the top now.

 

[cohenzone]

Not to quibble over the GOAT, but the winningest players in the history of WCBB are Saniya Chong and Tierney Lawler with an all-time record of 152-2. Just sayin.

And they have the personal stats to back it up.

 

[CocoHusky]

Thank you for your contributions to this thread. To me, it's stepping up big in the biggest spots that carries the most weight. In that regard Stewart is unmatched by any objective standard. But as you and others have outlined, Miller was spectacular in many ways.
This reminds me a little bit of the greatest QB debate people used to have. A man named Brady continued to pull away from the pack though, and virtually nobody questions his place at the top now.

Aren't you contradicting yourself just a little bit there. Ya Boy Brady has lost 3 superbowls by my count. Bradshaw and Montana= 0 SB losses.

 

[Huskybass]

Aren't you contradicting yourself just a little bit there. Ya Boy Brady has lost 3 superbowls by my count. Bradshaw and Montana= 0 SB losses.

Well he has won 6 Superbowls and was MVP in 4 of them, so he must be doing something right.

 

[Ozimoto]

I think it is also important to factor in the level of competition that each of the candidates faced in their time.

 

[bballnut90]

You use this argument repeatedly, and have been deceptive repeatedly. Stewart and Taurasi both have a unique claim in winning a championship. As a freshman Stewart was able to put the team on her back in the FF, particularly the Notre Dame game, something neither Taurasi nor Moore were able to do in their situations. Taurasi definitely had a better cast of teammates than Stewart had as a freshmen. Charles and Montgomery also are a better duo than Dolson and Hartley (Jefferson had not yet come into her own, no matter how deceptively you want to present that). You can rationalize comparisons of Hayes v KML all you want but, particularly against Notre Dame, KML does not make such a comparison obvious.

On the other hand Taurasi did something Stewart did not do. Her teammates were much more inexperienced than Stewart's when she was an upperclassmen. Stewart did not accomplish what Taurasi did, but she did not have the opportunity to do so, so we do not know for sure that she could not. FWIW, I personally do not think Stewart or anyone else could instill the confidence in inexperienced players like Taurasi can, but we don't know for sure because the opportunity was not there. On the other hand Taurasi did have the opportunity to carry a team as a freshmen but, even though they were more talented than what surrounded Stewart at the time (Bird, Jones, Cash, Williams, Schumacher v Dolson, Hartley, KML, come on!) she did not succeed.

I agree it's not a slam dunk. Once again, you cannot know what Stewart would have done with Moore's or Taurasi's classes. For that matter you cannot know what Stewart would have done with any of Miller's classes, or the one year Holdsclaw did not win a championship, or the one year Parker didn't. But, one final time, Stewart won a championship under every condition presented to her, including carrying a team with a Notre Dame monkey on its back as a freshmen. So while it's not a slam dunk because you can't compare between different situations, Stewart is the only one who never faltered at whatever FF situation presented itself.

Moore may be the best all around college player for all four years (in a debate with Miller and maybe Holdsclaw), but she did not succeed at carrying a team as a freshmen like Stewart, despite playing with a future Olympian, nor could she carry an inexperienced as a senior like Taurasi, even though her inexperienced cast eventually became AAs.

You have to look at the quality of players they played with year by year. Comparing their freshman teams, you have:
DT-she had a ton of talent on her team but they mid-season lost a strong POY candidate in Svetlana Abrosimova, then they lost Shea Ralph who was a strong contributor as a RS-senior (averaged 11ppg). That was a huge blow. By the 2nd half of the season the team only had 1 player who would make an AA team, and that was Sue Bird on 3rd team. Sue Bird back then was not the Sue Bird she would be come.
Even more than that, the level of competition in WCBB that year was also at an all time high, as the incredible 2001 class were seniors and the loaded 2004 class were freshmen. The level of competition was deep and strong, with probably 7-8 teams all having a realistic shot of winning it all. DT famously came up short against ND with a dreadful shooting night, plus Bird was outplayed by Ivey and ND went on to win.

Moore-she had a talented roster, but Charles and Montgomery were not nearly as good in 08 as they were in 09. Despite somehow making an AA team, Renee shot 37% from the field and 31% from deep. She didn't have strong decision making or shot selection skills needed for UCONN to win it all. Tina Charles was inconsistent and in Geno's doghouse for much of the year. She clearly had potential but didn't start to put it together until her junior year where she took off after that. Back then she wasn't the consensus top player in her class. Maya Moore was far and away the team's best player, averaging 17.8 points, 7.6 rpg, 3 apg and shot 54% from the floor and 42% from deep. Also, the competition that year was particularly strong too. 2008 had 7-8 really really good teams capable of winning it all including Tennessee, Stanford, Rutgers, Maryland, UCONN, LSU and North Carolina. And Moore led them to a 36-2 record where they ran through several of these teams and entered the NCAAs at the #1 overall team. They came up short in the Final Four, but Moore had a strong game with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Montgomery was probably the biggest reason for their struggles that game, as she shot just 4-18 from the floor and 1-9 from deep.

Stewart-she came in and joined a roster with everyone back besides Tiffany Hayes from a Final Four team that lost in overtime to ND. Stewart had a very up and down freshman season. Spent time in Geno's dog house and had moments of brilliance and moments of really struggling. Keep in mind, back then a lot of people on this board were praising how good Tennessee's Bashaara Graves was in comparison to UCONN's freshmen. Funny to think about now.
There were a lot of moving pieces on the roster, but ultimately it was a loaded group of players, and they were very good. Stefanie Dolson started to really put it together as a junior and earned 3rd Team AP-AA honors, while KML broke out as the team's leading scorer and was a 2nd Team AP-AA while shooting 49% from deep. She also had Kelly Faris as a senior who was the ultimate glue player for UCONN and likely was in consideration for an AA team. Point being, UCONN was immensely talented and legitimate title threat in 2013 even without Stewart. In the Baylor game, UCONN led much of the way and lost a 6 point hard fought battle with Stewart playing 7 minutes and not scoring. UCONN also choked away a triple overtime loss to Notre Dame with just 5 points and 1-7 shooting from Stewart. Once Stewart found her stride, UCONN transformed and dominated the competition, with Stewart being the standout star in the NCAAs.

Also worth noting, there were only 3 title threats that year in Baylor, UCONN and Notre Dame. The three of those teams only had 2 combined losses to outside competition, and it was Baylor losing to Stanford with Sims missing, and the biggest upset in NCAA history when Louisville stunned Baylor. The competition was not deep that season.

Which season of the 3 is most impressive? I'd say Moore's, hands down, even with Stewart stepping up on the biggest stage. But that's up for debate depending on what you value most.

Now, if you look at their sophomore years...all 3 have similar resume's although DT's is probably weakest since she was only a 2nd Team AA and not a POY like Moore/Stewart. All 3 teams went undefeated. All 3 had multiple AA teammates (Cash/Bird, Montgomery/Charles, Hartley/Dolson). All 3 were excellent.

Fast forward to their junior years. All 3 again are comparable since they won a title and earned POY awards, but DT probably takes the cake here going 37-1 with a young roster and sweeping all the POY awards. Moore split POY awards with Charles in an undefeated campaign, and Stewart won almost all POY awards but didn't have an undefeated season. Moore/Stewart were playing with other AAs (Jefferson/KML) or another POY (Charles). Not a lot of differentiation between these three this year, but DT's route was the hardest so she gets a slight edge.

Senior year I'd give Stewart the nod for having the best season. Moore's was spectacular even though they were upset by ND and came up short. DT's was honestly underwhelming until UCONN went on to win the whole thing. That said, Moore and DT didn't play with any other AAs. Stewart played with the likely 2nd best player in the country in Jefferson and a 2nd team AA in Tuck. Still, I'd give the nod to Stewart.

Add all that up and what do you have? Not a lot of differentiation between the 3. Ultimately like I said, choosing the best comes down to what you value. Is it championships? Winning in the Final Four? Individual stats? Being able to carry a less talented team? Any of those players you can build a strong argument for based on their credentials and resumes. The fact that Moore's biggest negative is coming up short in 2 games where she scored a combined 56 points shows how little difference there is between her and Stewart or her and Taurasi or her and any of the other players I mentioned.

So in summary, while I think Stewart has a strong case for being the best WCBB player ever, so do several other players so it isn't cut and dry.

 

[diggerfoot]

Again, my issue is not with it being up for debate. Even if we agreed on the criteria in performing the best at the most important moments, there is debate. Certainly there is added debate over whether that should be the criteria. My issue is how deceptive you are in referring to Stewart's "luxury of teammates," and you did it again.

Only the freshmen year is pertinent to this. So what if Stewart played with Jefferson and Tuck her junior and senior years? Big deal. Certianly they could have won with Moore, Taurasi or a handful of others as well, just as the '09 and '10 teams could win with Stewart, Taurasi and a handful of others as well. The team of Taurasi's freshmen year? Well, that's where you are being most coy.

Bird was voted the best point guard in college basketball that year. The junior Bird was better than the junior Hartley. So what if Ralph and Abrosimova went down? The team played better afterwards with a simplified roster because they still had Cash, Williams, Bird and Jones. Let me repeat that, until the Final Four they played better without Abrosimova than with her, the '01 roster was just that stacked. The rest were not the AAs of Ralph and Abrosimova? Well of course not. They were juniors and no one is going to vote seven AAs for the same team. Had Ralph and Abrosimova not played that whole year, two or more of the remaining cast yet would have made at least 2nd team AA, at least one or more would have been first. No question as evidenced in their subsequent histories.

You are probably the only person who thinks that the future Olympians of Bird (also Lieberman award winner that year), Cash and Jones (with the injury prone Williams actually being the most efficient player and the record block holder Schumacher) was not as talented as the squad Stewart played with her freshmen year. But I don't think you really believe that, you are just being disingenuous to reinforce your point when you don't have to be. You are right, Stewart's claim is debatable, but not because she had the "luxury" of better teammates when she had her toughest mission to accomplish.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Indisputably the greatest. And Stewwie is why I'm a (all-but-vs.-Stanford) Huskies fan. First saw her play in person at the 2013 Big East Tournament Championship vs. Notre Lame. They lost, but it was close, and it was clear she was on the brink of greatness in WCBB, because she was doing things I'd never seen a 6'4" player do, not even Parker. I've been rooting for her, and for the Huskies, ever since. Four tournament runs later, the GOAT.

 

[bballnut90]

Again, my issue is not with it being up for debate. Even if we agreed on the criteria in performing the best at the most important moments, there is debate. Certainly there is added debate over whether that should be the criteria. My issue is how deceptive you are in referring to Stewart's "luxury of teammates," and you did it again.

Only the freshmen year is pertinent to this. So what if Stewart played with Jefferson and Tuck her junior and senior years? Big deal. Certianly they could have won with Moore, Taurasi or a handful of others as well, just as the '09 and '10 teams could win with Stewart, Taurasi and a handful of others as well. The team of Taurasi's freshmen year? Well, that's where you are being most coy.

Bird was voted the best point guard in college basketball that year. As a sophomore she was better than Hartley her junior year. So what if Ralph and Abrosimova went down? The team played better afterwards with a simplified roster because they still had Cash, Williams, Bird and Jones. Let me repeat that, until the Final Four they played better without Abrosimova than with her, the '01 roster was just that stacked. The rest were not the AAs of Ralph and Abrosimova? Well of course not. They were sophomores and no one is going to vote seven AAs for the same team. Had Ralph and Abrosimova not played that whole year, two or more of the remaining cast yet would have made at least 2nd team AA, at least one or more would have been first. No question as evidenced in their subsequent histories.

You are probably the only person who thinks that the future Olympians of Bird (also Lieberman award winner that year), Cash and Jones (with the injury prone Williams actually being the most efficient player and the record block holder Schumacher) was not as talented as the squad Stewart played with her freshmen year. But I don't think you really believe that, you are just being disingenuous to reinforce your point when you don't have to be. You are right, Stewart's claim is debatable, but not because she had the "luxury" of better teammates when she had her toughest mission to accomplish.

You're strongly over valuing how good UCONN's players were in 2001.

Here were the numbers for their junior (not sophomore) class:

Bird in 2001 averaged 11 ppg and 5 apg and had less than a 2:1 A/TO ratio. She shot 44% from the floor on the season, 43% from deep and was badly outplayed by Niele Ivey in the national semifinals where she shot just 7-21 from the floor. Good point guard? Absolutely. Signs of becoming a 4x gold medalist? Not that season.

Cash had a good year and averaged 12 points and 7.5 rebounds. Good player, yes. All American? No.

Asjha Jones averaged 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds on 44% shooting from the floor. All American? No way.

Tamika Williams averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds on 76% shooting from the floor. Great FG%, but not an All-American.

Kelly Schumacher (Sr) averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds on 52% shooting. Averaged 1.4 blocks per game. She had a career game in the 2000 title game which everyone remembers and also stepped up and had a huge first half vs ND in the Final Four. Besides that, she was not a standout player on either end.



To say the team was better without Abrosimova is laughable. Taurasi stepped up but Abrosimova was a lock for 1st Team All-America that season prior to injury. They badly missed her (and Ralph) in the semifinals when Bird/Taurasi couldn't throw it in the ocean and no one else on the team was capable of getting their own shot. They also lost Ralph who was one of their best players on both sides of the ball. Fact is, the 2002 senior class of Bird/Cash/Williams/Jones were all significantly better the following year as seniors than they were as juniors.

I'll agree that I'd take Bird in 2001>Hartley in 2013 (note: Hartley wasn't an AA in 2013), but I'd also take 2013 Dolson/Faris/KML hands down over 2001 Swin/Tamika/Asjha/Schumacher/Conlon, and I think most UCONN fans would.

 

[Vowelguy]

I thought Courtney Vandersloot was the greatest player of all time?

 

[Carnac]

Breanna did not even make the top Uconn player according to the people who are pretty close to the program. SNY did a top ten shows last year

Anytime a debate of this nature comes up, there will NEVER be a consensus. The person that sees the glass half full is correct as is the person that sees it as half empty. Until we can all agree on a standard of measurement
to use a measuring fairly across the board, we will NEVER come anywhere close to agreeing who is top 4 (Mount Rushmore), top 10 or even top 25.

Because we all have a different standard of greatness, a different memories of who what when why and how. This is a debate that could last the entire length of the season.........................and beyond. If someone has a different set of players that is different that yours, how can you call their list wrong?
It's all perception. Especially if you didn't see/remember an older player someone has listed.

Moriah Jefferson ( I love Mo. She is one of my all time favorites) came in at #10. How many of us would put her on the top 10 list? If we all posted who was on our respective Mount Rushmores, two players would be on every mount submitted, Taurasi and Moore. There would probably be 10-15 other players listed as the other two. My Mount Rushmore has 5 players on it.

In the SNY TV show that doggy posted, someone mentioned that they would like to know who Geno's top 10 players are, so would I.

 

[j66kicker]

Well I have to say this discussion has been entertaining, but if I was team captain and we were choosing up teams among Holdsclaw, Miller, Stewart, Parker, Taurasi, Moore, etc., and I was choosing first, I wouldn’t have to think twice. DT all the way, and we kick your ass.

I said, “and I was choosing first” because if I was choosing 2nd then DT would already be gone. Every time.

 

[diggerfoot]

You're strongly over valuing how good UCONN's players were in 2001.

Here were the numbers for their junior (not sophomore) class:

Bird in 2001 averaged 11 ppg and 5 apg and had less than a 2:1 A/TO ratio. She shot 44% from the floor on the season, 43% from deep and was badly outplayed by Niele Ivey in the national semifinals where she shot just 7-21 from the floor. Good point guard? Absolutely. Signs of becoming a 4x gold medalist? Not that season.

Cash had a good year and averaged 12 points and 7.5 rebounds. Good player, yes. All American? No.

Asjha Jones averaged 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds on 44% shooting from the floor. All American? No way.

Tamika Williams averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds on 76% shooting from the floor. Great FG%, but not an All-American.

Kelly Schumacher (Sr) averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds on 52% shooting. Averaged 1.4 blocks per game. She had a career game in the 2000 title game which everyone remembers and also stepped up and had a huge first half vs ND in the Final Four. Besides that, she was not a standout player on either end.



To say the team was better without Abrosimova is laughable. Taurasi stepped up but Abrosimova was a lock for 1st Team All-America that season prior to injury. They badly missed her (and Ralph) in the semifinals when Bird/Taurasi couldn't throw it in the ocean and no one else on the team was capable of getting their own shot. They also lost Ralph who was one of their best players on both sides of the ball. Fact is, the 2002 senior class of Bird/Cash/Williams/Jones were all significantly better the following year as seniors than they were as juniors.

I'll agree that I'd take Bird in 2001>Hartley in 2013 (note: Hartley wasn't an AA in 2013), but I'd also take 2013 Dolson/Faris/KML hands down over 2001 Swin/Tamika/Asjha/Schumacher/Conlon, and I think most UCONN fans would.

They had better seasons in 2002 than 2001 because they did not have senior All-Americans ahead of them. They also played better in 2001 when there were no longer senior All-Americans ahead of them. The team played strikingly below their capability, as was apparent to everyone at the time (except you I guess) because they could not gel as a team with the crowded rotation. That explains the numbers better than a magical development spurt from junior to senior years.

Laughable? Look at how UConn played Notre Dame with Abrosimova in the line-up v without in the Big East championship. They also played terrific in the NCAAs until the Final Four with Taurasi in her place. That is partly the point. In the biggest moment as a freshmen Taurasi did not deliver with a superb supporting cast while Stewart did, with players who subsequently would have no where near the success of the 2001 squad. Taurasi, however, was extraordinary in turning an inexperienced squad into champions. I'm not sure Stewart could do that.

The juniors played better without Abrosimova because a better rotation could be used with players that, in reality, were just as talented as the ones they replaced, as they proved as soon as they were given the rotation consistency to do so. You can only play five at a time. The ones you play the most, the seniors in this case, of course are going to have the better stats, including better efficiency stats from the rotation, whether they are really the best or not. Also, when everyone is great, as the drafts would verify, individual numbers will not be. Jumps in development performance usually come sophomore years, sometimes junior. The jump you cite for the senior year, a jump to being considered by many to being the best team ever, was not due to magical overnight development in their very last year, but opportunity. Once again, they proved this even during their junior year, when they had that "laughable" game against Notre Dame in the Big East championship without Abrosimova.

I'll take back and apologize for my disingenuous comment, as it really does seem you believe that, despite the advantages in rotation consistency they were provided, you really think the junior Dolson is better than the junior Jones, or the senior Faris is better than the junior Cash and the latter cases defied the norm of development by being so much better their senior years. I'll bet you a large pizza that most UConn fans think the 2001 supporting cast was better than the 2013 cast, if someone wants to take a poll.

 

[pvdoggy]

What in the hell are you talking about?
She was #2 and got votes for #1. Did you even watch the video?

I said she was not the top Uconn player, yeah, she is voted #2. What did I say that is wrong?

 

[Zanzman]

Your wording in the earlier post read more like you were saying she didn’t make the list at all not just the top spot which you appeared to mean. I think several people read it the same way coco did

 

[diggerfoot]

I'll agree that I'd take Bird in 2001>Hartley in 2013 (note: Hartley wasn't an AA in 2013), but I'd also take 2013 Dolson/Faris/KML hands down over 2001 Swin/Tamika/Asjha/Schumacher/Conlon, and I think most UCONN fans would.

I will make this my last post on the subject. It's because you are such a knowledgeable poster that I made my disingenuous comment. For WBB as a whole you are more knowledgeable than I am. I suspected you knew better. I retracted that comment but, after a night's sleep, I do not.

Part of the evidence you are so knowledgeable is that I have seen you consider the context of numbers over and over again. You even did so in this debate. Yet your argument is fortified only considering numbers out of context. I suspect you know better.

Let us start with Taurasi herself. Bird once claimed she was the best player on the team even as a freshman (as an aside, don't you think that just might possible cause unintentional chemistry problems?). She certainly seemed to be the best player in the Regionals that year, but she did not even make FOY for the Big East. That was Brunson, a good player, but no Taurasi. Were people fools to make Brunson FOY? No, because context matters. Taurasi was not in the context where she could overshadow a player like Brunson until late in the season.

UConn played it's worst against Notre Dame in Notre Dame, with Abrosimova, and in the final half of the season without her. In between they played Notre Dame than they had with Abrosimova, including the first half of the FF game. They played that first half well even with minimum help from Taurasi, who had shown in the Regionals she was the best player on the team, at least by Bird's estimation. My oh my, how could they have played that well in the first half without the "luxury" of a supporting cast like Stewart had her freshman year?

When Stewart stepped on the court for the Final Four there was only one of her teammates that had been in a championship game. Faris did play a role in that game as a freshman, but you could hardly consider Stewart's cast as battle tested. Taurasi stepped on the court for the Final Four with everyone of her fellow starters having already won a championship game, two of them as starters in that game. They played like it in the first half against Notre Dame, but then frankly relied on Taurasi too much in the second half, or at least Taurasi tried to take more on than she should have.

Notre Dame was a problem for UConn in 2001, but not the "elephant in the head" problem they had become for UConn in 2013. Yet here comes Stewart of having the "luxury" of only one experienced championship player as teammates instead of five who all played significant roles against a Tennessee team with champions themselves in Catchings and Randall. I guess you must see such an overwhelming advantage in previous championship experience as a handicap. Unlike with Taurasi in 2001, UConn absolutely needed Stewart in 2013 in order to win. Taurasi went on to pull off perhaps a greater feat in 2003 than what Stewart did in 2013, but no way, for whatever reason, did Taurasi rise to the occasion as a freshman in the Final Four as Stewart did. The greater championship experience and future college, pro and Olympic stardom of her teammates was in actuality a greater "luxury" than what Stewart had for her freshman year.

Stats used to be a big part of one of my jobs. I know the importance of numbers; I know the importance of context for those numbers. I know, for example, that neither Chong nor Faris are better distributors than Bird by virtue of their A/T numbers, but rather they played in the context of a perimeter oriented offense rather than the post oriented offense presented to Bird. You know the importance of context behind numbers in many of your arguments, it is "laughable" that you do not do so for this .... or disingenuous.

 

[CocoHusky]

I said she was not the top Uconn player, yeah, she is voted #2. What did I say that is wrong?

Nothing. Obviously a comprehension problem on my part and an over reaction. Mea culpa!

 

[CocoHusky]

Want to thank @Huskybass again for starting this thread. When you can get @diggerfoot & @bballnut90 to post multiple post with this many paragraphs of wisdom you have accomplished something. Hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am.

 

[JonathanXIV]

we will NEVER come anywhere close to agreeing who is top 4 (Mount Rushmore), top 10 or even top 25.

If we all posted who was on our respective Mount Rushmores, two players would be on every mount submitted, Taurasi and Moore. There would probably be 10-15 other players listed as the other two. My Mount Rushmore has 5 players on it.

UConn’s Mt. Rushmore of players has DT, Maya and Stewie on it. Spirited debate about the 4th on the Mount, or a player to be named later. I’ve long maintained UConn’s all-time starting 5 is Sue, DT, Maya, Tina and Stewie. And I guess I now have to make Phee the 6th man.

UConn is an embarrassment of riches. Life is good when you go to bed a UConn fan.

 

[DeeHusky]

Umm Diana Taurasi

 

[CocoHusky]

Moriah Jefferson ( I love Mo. She is one of my all time favorites) came in at #10. How many of us would put her on the top 10 list? If we all posted who was on our respective Mount Rushmores, two players would be on every mount submitted, Taurasi and Moore. There would probably be 10-15 other players listed as the other two. My Mount Rushmore has 5 players on it.

All of these subject have been covered in separate threads with a few controversial conclusions:
Moriah Jefferson better "collegiate" career than Sue Bird which makes her best UCONN PG ever.
UCONN Mount Rushmore=DT, Maya, Stewie, Tina, & Sue
UCONN 2nd Tier of Mount Rushmore= Rebecca, Kara, Precious, Jen, Swin would be better than any other school's top 5 with the exception of TN and USC.
UCONN 3rd tier of Mount Rushmore= Moriah, Dolson, Renee, Napheesa, Kerry never mind you get the point. UCONN has had some very very good players and it is very hard to achieve consensus on #1 so good luck with top 10-15.

 

[Viet Vet]

Stewie, Maya, Diana..................could argue who was BEST forever. Different question, who would be your first choice to start a team of UConn players from scratch? I'll go with Taurasi because she is the one whose hands I want the ball in at crunch time.

BTW (it's a no-brainer for me): UConn's all-time starting five? (alphabetical order) Bird, Charles, Moore, Stewart, Taurasi.

 

[CocoHusky]

UConn’s Mt. Rushmore of players has DT, Maya and Stewie on it. Spirited debate about the 4th on the Mount, or a player to be named later. I’ve long maintained UConn’s all-time starting 5 is Sue, DT, Maya, Tina and Stewie. And I guess I now have to make Phee the 6th man.
UConn is an embarrassment of riches. Life is good when you go to bed a UConn fan.

To your point about UCONN riches, Phee would have some very stiff competition for that 6th man spot:
Rebecca, Kerry, Swin, Svet, Morgan, & Nykesha.