duffy ranks top 20 calhoun players of all time

[8893]

Donyell was absolutely unstoppable. Well, the free throw line stopped him but if there was a draft and I could have any UCONN player in their collegiate prime I would take Donyell.

Kevin McHale on line 1 for you. He'd like you to travel back in time to 1994 and be the GM of Milwaukee, Dallas or Detroit.

 

[8893]

Was Henefeld better in one year than Lamb or Gay were in two?

You know, I think he was.

With you on Rudy. Being key to a National Championship (an improbable one at that) makes the call very, very closely in Lamb's favor imo.

ETA: Although, now having written that, I think about Rashad. Could the same be said about him as Jeremy? Tough call there imo. Both disappointed after, Rashad probably more so, but his was because of injury. Very different players, but both invaluable to National Championships. Yep, tough call.

 

[Wise2]

21. Nadav Henefeld
22. Talik Brown
23. Jake Voshkul
24. Rashad Anderson
25. Kevin Ollie
26 Jeff Adrien
27. Rod Sellers
28. Donny Marshall
29. Charlie Villenueva
30. Travis Knight
31. Denham Brown
32. Rash Jones.
33. Hilton
34. Jerome Dyson
35. Albert Mouring
36. Ed Saunders
37. Kirk King
38. Jeff King
39. Phil Gamble
40. Shabazz
41. Tony Robertson
42. AO
43. Lyman Depriest
44. Gerry Bessilink
45. Ed Saunders
46. Steve Pikiell
47. Dan Cyrulik
48. Stanley Robinson
49. Murray Williams
50.Omar Calhoun

Did I miss anyone that should be in the 10 50?

 

[Waquoit]

Did I miss anyone that should be in the 10 50?

I put Johnnie Selvie ahead of Omar Calhoun. He was a key player on a team that won in Tucson against a stacked Arizona squad and gave the eventual NC's all they could handle in the Big Dance while Calhoun has yet to play.

 

[Wise2]

I put Johnnie Selvie ahead of Omar Calhoun. He was a key player on a team that won in Tucson against a stacked Arizona squad and gave the eventual NC's all they could handle in the Big Dance while Calhoun has yet to play.

Johnnie was too much a black hole. To be the best, you also have to been a team player. Omar is wishful thinking....

 

[nomar]

I wonder what the average time on this board between Dan Cyrulik references is. Two weeks? Two months?

 

[selles]

Did I miss anyone that should be in the 10 50?

It's a good list. Once you get to 46-50, a lot of guys could be in the discussion. Johnny Gwynn and Rudy J come to mind.

 

[8893]

It's a good list. Once you get to 46-50, a lot of guys could be in the discussion. Johnny Gwynn and Rudy J come to mind.

Good calls there.

 

[husky99]

I was talking with duffy (he is great with fans, reminds me of mike A) said he has a cool list he is working on for next week with old/new beat writers.. nice guy

 

[Stinger92860]

Is Lyman Depriest number 21? I loved his lock down D.

 

[Stinger92860]

This is going to keep me up all night...

Ray Allen, 1993-96 — Allen drilled 200 3-pointers in his final two seasons and the Huskies lost just eight games in that span. They ran into a juggernaut (UCLA) in his sophomore season, and fell one game shy of the Elite Eight despite 36 points from Allen. UConn earned the No. 1 overall seed in Allen’s junior year, but stumbled to a Sweet 16 loss to Mississippi State.

Damn you Tynus Edney!!!!

 

[Fishy]

With you on Rudy. Being key to a National Championship (an improbable one at that) makes the call very, very closely in Lamb's favor imo.

ETA: Although, now having written that, I think about Rashad. Could the same be said about him as Jeremy? Tough call there imo.

Actually, yes, you could.

I think I'd agree - with Jeremy and even Rudy, we're really giving them a lot of credit for their talent rather than their actual play.

Someone mentioned Taliek - he probably belongs in the top 20. Ricky Moore is top 20.

Now that we get into it, that list sucks, damned it.

 

[Huskies4ever]

This is going to keep me up all night...

Ray Allen, 1993-96 — Allen drilled 200 3-pointers in his final two seasons and the Huskies lost just eight games in that span. They ran into a juggernaut (UCLA) in his sophomore season, and fell one game shy of the Elite Eight despite 36 points from Allen. UConn earned the No. 1 overall seed in Allen’s junior year, but stumbled to a Sweet 16 loss to Mississippi State.

Damn you Tynus Edney!!!!

He got that wrong, too. They fell one game short of the Final Four in Ray's sophomore year.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Did Nadav Henefeld make the list? I don't care if it was just one season, he's on my list.

 

[OkaForPrez]

LOVE seeing AJ at #11! Hes the most underrated player of the last 10 or 15 years in my opinion. Not really sure how hes ahead of Khalid tho, but I do love seeing that Duffy gave him props.

Amen. Price is criminally (no pun intended) underrated. He was a great player. That final four team had the chops. Between Price, beet and Adrien. They just didn't have the right chemistry.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Did I miss anyone that should be in the 10 50?

Bad boy toraino walker...

 

[Ts5034]

I could easily make the case for Rashad Anderson being in that list. He hit a lot of clutch shots (3 pointers) in his 4 year career. The guy could get hot from behind the arc and i just remember at some points during games where he would nail a three on 2-3 straight possessions to blow open a game. He played a big role in the 2004 title run especially during the comeback vs Duke. We have not had a player that was such a threat from behind the arc since he left. Some of the teams since 2006 could have used a player like him.

 

[mauconnfan]

Donyell WAS the best college player and had the most dominating season as a Husky for JC........you could toss the rest of the guys around like a salad but Caron, KEA, Rip all need to be up there as well as Ray.......

For those who don't like Thabeet being up there it's simple, that team is not FF material without him protecting the rim and he did that with dominating fierceness and he improved offensively so his Jr year was one of significance......also Sheffer is well deserving as he was a glue on all the teams he played for, simply unflappable.....

Could argue the list all day but that's why they have them........lucky to have so many impact players to even have a "list"......Thanks JC

 

[8893]

It definitely gets a lot harder and more subjective after the top seven. I agree that there's no argument with who is in his top seven, but the order within that seven is a tougher question. For me, it's actually the top five--I think Caron and Ben are where they should be, although there are good arguments for flipping them. Here's my take on ordering the top five:

1. Rip: Highest average of all the criteria I would consider. Critical to the first NC, great talent made even better by great work ethic. Improved under JC and mastered what may be the hardest part of the game, the mid-range jumper. Being the first one on the moon means something, imo. Harder to get there, and made it easier for those who followed.
2. Kemba: The single most impressive run in college basketball history was made on his back.
3. Emeka: Just a ridiculous trajectory during his time here. JC pushed him to the fullest of his potential, and he may never get that close to it again.
4. Donyell: A force at both ends, unlike any player we've ever had. Bad ending notwithstanding, arguably the best overall individual season ever by a Husky.
5. Ray: I'll admit it: I don't give Ray enough credit. I always thought he was a bit soft when he was here. I thought he camped out too much, waiting to be set up for a three-pointer, but I realize that JC probably designed the offense that way. Whatever the reason, he didn't reach the promised land, and he was less well-rounded than Donyell, so that lands him fifth on my list as among this august company.

 

[UConn990411]

Kemba had the best, most incredible single season. His overall career was not as good as the other top few, IMHO. So, I would move him down a little based on that distinction.

I agree with Jake over Josh, would move KEA up some on general principles, and move Rudy down some.

Fair point, but Kemba was also a key contributor (even if not a star) on another Final Four team as a freshman. No other UConn great went to more than one FF, and no player did anything close to what Kemba did in 2011.

 

[mauconnfan]

Fair point, but Kemba was also a key contributor (even if not a star) on another Final Four team as a freshman. No other UConn great went to more than one FF, and no player did anything close to what Kemba did in 2011.

That's not true.......Donyell will forever have to live with missing 2 FT's his Jr year against Florida but had he made one of those things may have been different. They still had 4 more games to win and maybe they wouldn't have, but I still think he was the most dominant player......Kemba created the most success with very little and threw them in his back no doubt so him at #1 is easy to handle!!

 

[Silk City]

You could easily put 4 guys in the #1 spot.

He was getting some heat for Kemba at #1, because obviously despite having the best individual season by far his other two years were more pedestrian. Still, Kemba accomplished more in 2011 than a lot of these guys did in their career, and he put the team on his back like no NCAA player, let alone Husky, that I can remember.

Okafor at #2, and the only other spot I'd consider putting him at is 1. This is another case of a modest NBA career making people forget absolute dominance in college. You also can't discount the PR he gave our university with his academic prowess. Watching the second half against Duke tells you all you need to know. Side note: it's really a damn shame that two mid-major guys caught fire and stole the Naismith in Walker and Okafor's stellar seasons. Both of these guys deserved the trophy, and it's eerily similar how they got robbed by small school guys but then rallied their teams to titles.

I can agree with Ray/Rip at 3/4; but after the top 8 or so it gets hazy. Putting AJ Price over Rudy Gay is a joke. Putting AJ over Hasheem is equally bad. However, the cloudiness is going to come with the territory after the first couple guys. I think overall this was a great list.

 

[Waquoit]

Donyell will forever have to live with missing 2 FT's his Jr year against Florida but had he made one of those things may have been different. They still had 4 more games to win and maybe they wouldn't have, but I still think he was the most dominant player!

They only had three more games to win for the whole thing and the next game would have been against BCU. That's why Donyell will always be a notch below for fans of that era. UConn was desperate for a Final Four at that time. It may be hard to believe, but the doubters were getting vocal at the time about JC's ability to take a team to the next level. Missing those two FT's when earlier that year he went 20-20 in the Garden was tough to take. You follow that up with the reports of him out partying until the wee hours the night before and you have the reasons why he wasn't ranked higher.

 

[mauconnfan]

They only had three more games to win for the whole thing and the next game would have been against BCU. That's why Donyell will always be a notch below for fans of that era. UConn was desperate for a Final Four at that time. It may be hard to believe, but the doubters were getting vocal at the time about JC's ability to take a team to the next level. Missing those two FT's when earlier that year he went 20-20 in the Garden was tough to take. You follow that up with the reports of him out partying until the wee hours the night before and you have the reasons why he wasn't ranked higher.

I was including that one you are correct in 3........having said that along with the "rumors" of partying all night, his season was easily the best in college hoops that season, and Kemba's was also. The winner of the NC deserves the nod........but 1 & 2 for sure.......Emeka sliding into #3 and easily.......

 

[UConn990411]

That's not true.......Donyell will forever have to live with missing 2 FT's his Jr year against Florida but had he made one of those things may have been different. They still had 4 more games to win and maybe they wouldn't have, but I still think he was the most dominant player......Kemba created the most success with very little and threw them in his back no doubt so him at #1 is easy to handle!!

He probably was more dominant, but he didn't deliver in the way Kemba did (Maui, BET, and Final Four MVP). And that's not a knock on Donyell. We may never see anything like Kemba's tournament performances again at UConn.