He Was An UNGUARDABLE Shooter... Until His Mind BETRAYED HIM | The Boneyard

He Was An UNGUARDABLE Shooter... Until His Mind BETRAYED HIM

Dude was a straight assassin and so fun to watch. That playoff series when he and Ray went head to head was probably the most entertaining and enjoyable thing I have ever seen watching the NBA.
I honestly forgot how amazingly skilled and clutch he was back then and maybe if his knees held up things could have gone differently for him. Hope he is able to continue to improve his mental health and accept the support he has been getting.
 
.-.
His career was basically over when he left the Bulls at 26 years old. He started playing for the Bulls almost exactly at the same time I moved to Chicago and I went to a lot of games during his years with the Bull, basically to watch him. He was incredibly clutch and dynamic shooting from beyond the arc. He would go on serious heaters often in the fourth quarter. He wasn't good finishing at the rim and it led to him basically being an iso guy who would create threes and jumpers/floaters for himself.

It sadly didn't end well for the Bulls or for Ben. He left for the same amount of money the Bulls were offering him but he felt like the Bulls didn't appreciate him. He ended up hurting his ankle that season with the Pistons and his career never got back on track.
 
My memory never serves me correctly as far as just how talented he really was. The video is an eye opener every time. He was incredible shooting over people, creating off the dribble and getting to the hoop. His touch was elite, even for a pro.
 
"But he's a real bipolar, it's not that Kanye bipolar, that fake one - this is a real bipolar" - Gilbert Arenas

Not sure when Gilbert got his medical degree, but I'd like to know what constitutes "real bipolar" if it's not Kanye.

As for Ben, he's one of the purest scorers to ever put on the Husky jersey. Not quite Kyrie, but in that mold. He was my favorite player, maybe in any sport, during that stretch from '04-'09. Bulls-Celtics is still the greatest first round series I've ever seen.

You hear a lot about prominent artists and writers dealing with things like bipolar, but not so much athletes (though it does happen). And while there's no excuse for putting his hands on his son (I'm a little surprised this wasn't a bigger point of contention with him joining the Huskies of Honor, but I don't know the details there), I'm glad he's been receptive to the help he's gotten. It was good to see the shot of him and Calhoun after he got inducted.
 
He was special….his ability at 6’3” to get his shot off either driving, off the dribble, or catch & shoot was spectacular. The quick release and elevation (point of release) on his jump shot made him unstoppable. HOF skills. Even w/ his issues he is over 40% 3-pt shooter for his NBA career.
 
.-.
He was known to be able to bench press well above the norm for his size and you can see his upper body strength on many of those drives where he could absorb contact and still stay in control.
 
I always felt that on any other college team Ben would have easily been a 1st team AA.

Also felt that he was the one UConn player who could have led the Nation in scoring, if on any other team.
 
champs99and04 said:
"But he's a real bipolar, it's not that Kanye bipolar, that fake one - this is a real bipolar" - Gilbert Arenas

Not sure when Gilbert got his medical degree, but I'd like to know what constitutes "real bipolar" if it's not Kanye.

As for Ben, he's one of the purest scorers to ever put on the Husky jersey. Not quite Kyrie, but in that mold. He was my favorite player, maybe in any sport, during that stretch from '04-'09. Bulls-Celtics is still the greatest first round series I've ever seen.

You hear a lot about prominent artists and writers dealing with things like bipolar, but not so much athletes (though it does happen). And while there's no excuse for putting his hands on his son (I'm a little surprised this wasn't a bigger point of contention with him joining the Huskies of Honor, but I don't know the details there), I'm glad he's been receptive to the help he's gotten. It was good to see the shot of him and Calhoun after he got inducted.
Expand ...

I think Gilbert was calling Kanye an attention seeking butthole with narcissism. He may be bipolar, but there's a whole lot more going on there. The opposite of Gentle Ben.
 
Kitaman said:
I always felt that on any other college team Ben would have easily been a 1st team AA.

Also felt that he was the one UConn player who could have led the Nation in scoring, if on any other team.
Expand ...
Ben was pretty much stretched into a double duty role, not very different than Diarra last year. No Marcus Williams, Rashad dribbled like a middle school forward and Taliek was a liability on the floor at times. All these things made Ben have to do more than any single player should have on a Team contending for a Natty.
 
.-.
OceanDoggie said:
Ben was pretty much stretched into a double duty role, not very different than Diarra last year. No Marcus Williams, Rashad dribbled like a middle school forward and Taliek was a liability on the floor at times. All these things made Ben have to do more than any single player should have on a Team contending for a Natty.
Expand ...
That's one way of looking at it. All of those guys were great pieces. The need for Ben to play some point, make big shots, create off the dribble and his ability to do it all, is what made him the the #3 pick in the draft. He was able to show he was a versatile talent on that team.
 
Last edited:
Ben was SO smooth. We have Ray Allen in our history and BG was the smoothest scorer I’ve ever seen in a Huskies uniform. And he’s not any more than 6’1 but he scored like he was 6’6.

He’s on our mt. Rushmore for scorers and probably underrated as well.

I was in college around his years so I really have fond memories of watching him and trying to emulate his pull up game.
 
His career is kind of like the basketball version of Timmy Linecum, if both had another solid 5 years similar to their peaks, they'd be HoF but injuries and an abrupt end made sure neither will be in the hall sadly. I wish Ben could have played until 2020 at least. His last 3 years in Chicago were 👨‍🍳 💋
 
Travelman6 said:
His career is kind of like the basketball version of Timmy Linecum, if both had another solid 5 years similar to their peaks, they'd be HoF but injuries and an abrupt end made sure neither will be in the hall sadly. I wish Ben could have played until 2020 at least. His last 3 years in Chicago were 👨‍🍳 💋
Expand ...
download.jpg

Ben Gordon was on a path to the Hall of Fame? Really? I guess Santa can scratch blue tinted glasses from your Xmas list since you already have a pair. 😉
 
FatElvis said:
View attachment 111366
Ben Gordon was on a path to the Hall of Fame? Really? I guess Santa can scratch blue tinted glasses from your Xmas list since you already have a pair. 😉
Expand ...

A healthy Ben would have pushed for that. You may need to watch some video. He was an incredible offensive talent. He just didn’t do it long enough. He was unstoppable for a decent spell.
 
.-.
FatElvis said:
View attachment 111366
Ben Gordon was on a path to the Hall of Fame? Really? I guess Santa can scratch blue tinted glasses from your Xmas list since you already have a pair. 😉
Expand ...
That's not at all what I said. He needed to have at least 5 more years at the same level as the height of the Chicago years and bring a team deep at least once or twice. But honestly I don't care so much that I'd be willing to get into any disagreement so I'll bow out 😉.

AIs take:

Verdict​

If Gordon had 5 extra prime years, he’d likely finish with 20k points, top-20 in threes, and a 15+ year run of scoring excellence.
That résumé would almost certainly get him into the Hall of Fame, even if he never made an All-Star team — the raw numbers would be too strong to ignore.
But — his narrative would still be “elite scorer, weak elsewhere.” He’d be a Mitch Richmond–lite Hall of Famer: not a transcendent player, but the numbers plus longevity would push him over the line.
 
Hoophound said:
A healthy Ben would have pushed for that. You may need to watch some video. He was an incredible offensive talent. He just didn’t do it long enough. He was unstoppable for a decent spell.
Expand ...
Ben was in the tier of guards with Jamal Crawford, Cuttino Mobley, Michael Redd, Jason Richardson, Monta Ellis...

They could all put up a lot of points but didn't give you all that much when it came to other things. Good scoring guards but nowhere near Hall of fame players.

With zero all-star appearances and zero all-nba teams he would've had to all of a sudden become a perennial all-star getting like 6 all-stars under his belt, and a couple all NBA selections.

Now Brandon Roy was a guard who was on the early path to being a Hall of Famer when injury ended things for him far too soon.
 
Yeah I love Ben but he was nowhere near a HOF. I have him behind Rip, Caron, and Kemba as NBA players. Kemba might've had an outside chance at the Hall if the knee issues hadn't derailed his career.

I'm sure there are a couple outliers, but generally I think of making several all-star games as a baseline for HOF consideration. Maybe if the Pistons win that second title in '05 Rip gets some consideration, but otherwise I've never felt like any of our alums sans Ray come close. It's just a really high bar. Ben was a really good scorer, but he would have needed to be elite to compensate for his other deficiencies.
 
superjohn said:
Ben was in the tier of guards with Jamal Crawford, Cuttino Mobley, Michael Redd, Jason Richardson, Monta Ellis...

They could all put up a lot of points but didn't give you all that much when it came to other things. Good scoring guards but nowhere near Hall of fame players.

With zero all-star appearances and zero all-nba teams he would've had to all of a sudden become a perennial all-star getting like 6 all-stars under his belt, and a couple all NBA selections.

Now Brandon Roy was a guard who was on the early path to being a Hall of Famer when injury ended things for him far too soon.
Expand ...
champs99and04 said:
Yeah I love Ben but he was nowhere near a HOF. I have him behind Rip, Caron, and Kemba as NBA players. Kemba might've had an outside chance at the Hall if the knee issues hadn't derailed his career.

I'm sure there are a couple outliers, but generally I think of making several all-star games as a baseline for HOF consideration. Maybe if the Pistons win that second title in '05 Rip gets some consideration, but otherwise I've never felt like any of our alums sans Ray come close. It's just a really high bar. Ben was a really good scorer, but he would have needed to be elite to compensate for his other deficiencies.
Expand ...

The big thing is it is hard to get into HOF in basketball. If Ben had played at the level he did in Chicago, especially in the playoffs, for 5 more years, he would have been a bit of a phenom offensively. That is why I said he might have been pushing for it. I guess the Hall of Fame was out of reach even if he sustained that, but 5 more years playing like that would have been something special. Fans love players like that, especially when they are smaller, as it makes them relatable. He’d be a much bigger name historically if he’d done that for 8-9 years.
 
Travelman6 said:
That's not at all what I said. He needed to have at least 5 more years at the same level as the height of the Chicago years and bring a team deep at least once or twice. But honestly I don't care so much that I'd be willing to get into any disagreement so I'll bow out 😉.

AIs take:

Verdict​

If Gordon had 5 extra prime years, he’d likely finish with 20k points, top-20 in threes, and a 15+ year run of scoring excellence.
That résumé would almost certainly get him into the Hall of Fame, even if he never made an All-Star team — the raw numbers would be too strong to ignore.
But — his narrative would still be “elite scorer, weak elsewhere.” He’d be a Mitch Richmond–lite Hall of Famer: not a transcendent player, but the numbers plus longevity would push him over the line.
Expand ...
I love what Ben brought to the program as much as any Yarder but no player in NBA history has ever make the Hall of Fame without being an all-star. Even at his peak he was a mediocre defender who was never among the NBA's best players, so to suggest five more years of prime Gordon would make him Hall-worthy is borderline silly.

It's also a far cry from being "...the basketball version of Timmy Linecum" who was a four-time all-star and winner of two Cy Young awards before injuries caught up with him – an important part of the statement that you conveniently left out.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,639
Messages
4,587,271
Members
10,497
Latest member
Orlando Fos


Top Bottom