Huskies on SI.com 10 Greatest Huskies of All-Time Ranking | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Huskies on SI.com 10 Greatest Huskies of All-Time Ranking

My simple list consists of the following:

Six Championships, best player on each team:

Hamilton
Okafor
Walker
Napier
Sanogo
Newton

First Team All Americans:

Donyell
Ray
Rip
Emeka
Shabazz
Tristen

Conference POY:

Donyell
Allen
Hamilton (x2)
Butler
Okafor
Thabeet

That gives us a list of 10:

Hamilton
Walker
Napier
Newton
Okafor
Sanogo
Marshall
Allen
Butler
Thabeet

I know putting Thabeet on that list isn't particularly popular, but his team went to the final four, he was twice DPOY, All Freshman BE, and 2nd team All American. I'd be curious to see a list of other nationally recognized players who ended up flaming out of the NBA as spectacularly to see if it affects their recognition as college players by that school's fans the way it does Thabeet.

Next guys on the list would be first team all Big East that didn't make the previous 3 lists:

Chris Smith
Khalid El-Amin
Ben Gordon
AJ Price
Jeff Adrien
Jeremy Lamb
James Bouknight
RJ Cole
Jordan Hawkins
Cam Spencer

Then add Freshman of the Year and Defensive POY:

Nadav Henefeld
Doron Sheffer
Rudy Gay
Josh Boone (D)
Hilton Armstrong (D)
Isaiah Walley (D)
Stephon Castle

And after that, Honorable Mention All Americans:

Marcus Williams
Donovan Clingan

And, finally, 2nd team All Big East:

Earl Kelley
Cliff Robinson
Scott Burrell
Charlie Villanueva
 
Last edited:
I get that Ray didn’t win a championship but I still have a hard time putting anyone over him. Also how can anyone say this is based on college only and put Clingan over Sanogo? My top 6 are pretty easy:

1) Ray
2) Rip
3) Emeka
4) Kemba
5) Shabazz
6) Donyell
7) Caron
8) Adama
9) Ben Gordon
10) Chris Smith

HM: Rudy Gay, Donovan, Thabeet, Tristen, Cliff, Corny, Wes, Tony Hansen, Lamb, Khalid, Kelley, Burrell, Boatwright, Hawkins
 
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Love the list and I know bazz won 2 but have a hard time putting him ahead of rip and ray and prolly emeka ben and khaled as well. Bazz just outside of top 5 imo
 
Palatine said:
Has anyone even mentioned Cliff Robinson?

Bialosuknia played one season in the ABA where he finished second in the league in three point shooting. In one stretch he made 9 consecutive three pointers. At UConn in 66-67 he average 28 points a game -- with no three point line.
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Imagine how many career points Bialosuknia would’ve had with a three point line. WB also sank 43 foul shots in a row, that’s crazy. I’d like to see how close anyone on the UConn Great list came to that? I guess he got fouled so much because he wasn’t a First Team AA. :rolleyes:
 
Sonova said:
No one is arguing that they weren’t great players at that time in UConn history. But the accomplishments don’t compare to guys who were 1st team All Americans playing nightly against other All American level talent. It’s just not a realistic comparison to look at players who dominated the Yankee Conf and didn’t win much in the NCAA tourney.
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If you ask me, Bialosuknia’s in pretty good company in this list. The 1967 AA team honorable mention.

IMG_1633.jpeg
 
ucp990411 said:
They say it is based entirely their collegiate career. We have Tristen Newton who was The Bob Cousy award winner, first team all American, final 4 mvp, never lost a tournament game , Husky for 2 years and won championships both years. How the heck can he be 7th? In my opinion he should be first. I think the only one who might be above him is RIP.
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Or bazz.
 
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50cPitchers said:
Bazz is not top 5
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You’re high (which I’m not against). I was at every game in that tournament from Sweet 16 on and he willed them to victory against Michigan St (with a strong assist from DD) and made every big shot when they needed it in the Final Four. Even as a freshman you could see he had “it”. He was Kemba-lite in that championship run his senior year
 
willie99 said:
Not possible to agree on the top 10, too many players over several generations. And for as much as I love and appreciate Bazz, no way he's "my" number 2. Players to consider, and that list will probably omit someone

Wes Bialosuknia
Toby Kimball
Tony Hanson
Corny Thompson
Chris Smith
Scott Burrell
Donyell Marshal
Ray Ray
Special K
RIP
Caron Butler
Meka
MSG
Rudy
Marcus Williams
AJ Price
Thabeet
Kemba
Bazz
Giffey
Newton
Karaban
Clingan
Chaz

One hit wonders
Castle
Cam

Some combination of success, stats, longevity, game changers.... just impossible to measure really
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Ben and Sanogo
 
JB75 said:
Love the list and I know bazz won 2 but have a hard time putting him ahead of rip and ray and prolly emeka ben and khaled as well. Bazz just outside of top 5 imo
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How is KEA better than Bazz?
 
huskyjawz said:
Ben and Sanogo
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MSG is Madison Square Gordon

I suppose you can argue Sanogo belongs among the all-time greats, I love his development and work ethic. It's an impossible task, you will never get a unanimous consensus on 10 or 20 or 30 players. Nor should we
 
bigdog1002 said:
You’re high (which I’m not against). I was at every game in that tournament from Sweet 16 on and he willed them to victory against Michigan St (with a strong assist from DD) and made every big shot when they needed it in the Final Four. Even as a freshman you could see he had “it”. He was Kemba-lite in that championship run his senior year
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He was the best defender in the backcourt that UConn ever had, and it’s not even close, and maybe the best I’ve ever seen anywhere in college basketball. He seemed to have a 5th gear that we usually saw in OT or in games going down to the wire. Sadly, while in the NBA, his hernia that was surgically repaired, seemed to slow him down just enough to get him traded multiple times.
 
RuffRuff said:
Agree. I would personally move Emeka to 1 that said. Who had a better junior year? Title, 1st team AA, DPOY (2 years running), 2nd pick in the NBA draft, academic AA, was a hoops cover boy that year. Was there a more decorated player?
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Blue Blood issues, trying to get a consensus top 10…. Not gonna happen.
 
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willie99 said:
MSG is Madison Square Gordon

I suppose you can argue Sanogo belongs among the all-time greats, I love his development and work ethic. It's an impossible task, you will never get a unanimous consensus on 10 or 20 or 30 players. Nor should we
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I think underrated players - a top 10 would be more interesting…

Sanogo
Boatright
Taliek Brown
Niels Giffey
Khalid El-Amin
Ricky Moore

All these players in my opinion top notch. I especially like Brown because he took so much flack for shooting and FT and all he did was work in his game every year and become the best player he could be - a model for any BB player IMO.

Giffey was incredibly good - like a strep above everyone with BB IQ and clutch.

We also had a some great players on non-championship teams that get overlooked as well.
 
Palatine said:
Has anyone even mentioned Cliff Robinson?

Bialosuknia played one season in the ABA where he finished second in the league in three point shooting. In one stretch he made 9 consecutive three pointers. At UConn in 66-67 he average 28 points a game -- with no three point line.
Expand ...
Or shot clock
 
cullaville said:
My intent on posting about Tony Hanson, Tony Kimball and Art Quimby was to give some recognition to players from earlier eras. I did not try to fit them into a all-time top ten list. I think if i ever put together a top ten list the next time I looked at it I would probably want to change my mind.
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Don't apologize. They are among the greatest players the program has produced. They played at different time under different rules, tournament format and criteria and never had had the luxury of a like quality player on their teams that are populated on this si list.
 
JB75 said:
Love the list and I know bazz won 2 but have a hard time putting him ahead of rip and ray and prolly emeka ben and khaled as well. Bazz just outside of top 5 imo
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I know because he's not as handsome as those guys. But he was a Top 5 player in college as a junior playing for a team on probation. Kevin Ollie owes Bazz half his salary.
 
Palatine said:
Has anyone even mentioned Cliff Robinson?
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I don't think so. Probably because if you just consider his UConn career, he doesn't make the Top 20. We had players carry us to titles. Cliff couldn't even carry us to the Dance.
 
Chin Diesel said:
The criteria is based solely off of college career but Newton who is a 2-time champion and first team AA is listed below those without two rings.
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Because he happened to be on two great teams does not make him a better player. Ray, Rip, Shabazz, Kemba carried their teams. Tristen didn’t carry Uconn.
 
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storrsroars said:
If UConn wins a 3rd straight, I'd think AK has to make the list. And either Donyell or KEA comes off, which really makes the whole idea of a "top 10" an exercise in futility. Truly an embarrassment of riches.
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I don't even think another NC is necessary for AK to make the list. If stays healthy and finished the year more consistent which I think he will, he deserves to be up there. I love the little guy, but I think it's Khalid that comes off the list. He had RIP. Remember, Donyell was one of 8 freshman when he joined the team and was he headliner. He was every bit as good as advertised when he stepped on the floor. If he had hit one of those 2 free throws against Florida, I wonder how much differently some of the younger guys would look back at his career.
 
CONN78SEJ said:
He was the best defender in the backcourt that UConn ever had, and it’s not even close, and maybe the best I’ve ever seen anywhere in college basketball. He seemed to have a 5th gear that we usually saw in OT or in games going down to the wire. Sadly, while in the NBA, his hernia that was surgically repaired, seemed to slow him down just enough to get him traded multiple times.
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Ricky Moore would like a word with you.
 
willie99 said:
Not possible to agree on the top 10, too many players over several generations. And for as much as I love and appreciate Bazz, no way he's "my" number 2. Players to consider, and that list will probably omit someone

Wes Bialosuknia
Toby Kimball
Tony Hanson
Corny Thompson
Chris Smith
Scott Burrell
Donyell Marshal
Ray Ray
Special K
RIP
Caron Butler
Meka
MSG
Rudy
Marcus Williams
AJ Price
Thabeet
Kemba
Bazz
Giffey
Newton
Karaban
Clingan
Chaz

One hit wonders
Castle
Cam

Some combination of success, stats, longevity, game changers.... just impossible to measure really
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Don't forget Earl Kelley. He put UConn on the map during the Big East Hey Days. Still near the Top 10 in UConn all-time scoring, assists, FTs. I believe.
 
No matter how many times I make a list, I leave off Huskies that deserve to be in on. A top 25 would be easier to make.

Here's my stab in no particular order:
  • Rip Hamilton
  • Donyell Marshall
  • Ray Allen
  • Emeka Okafor
  • Ben Gordon
  • Kemba Walker
  • Shabazz Napier
  • Tristan Newton
  • Donovan Clingan
  • Khalid El-Amin
If I could list 5 alternates, they would be:
  • Rudy Gay
  • Caron Butler
  • Cliff Robinson
  • Chris Smith
  • Doron Sheffer
Damn, forgot Rip on my initial list! Edited now. Sorry Ricky Moore, you got cut from my alternates.
 
Waquoit said:
I don't think so. Probably because if you just consider his UConn career, he doesn't make the Top 20. We had players carry us to titles. Cliff couldn't even carry us to the Dance.
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Cliff was indifferent at times when I watched him play. Was declared ineligible with Gamble his soph year I believe(Calhouns first). Calhoun got more out of him in his last 2 years, but I remember a somewhat stormy relationship at times.
 
I'll be turning 69 is less than 100 days from now. This thread makes me hate old people.
 
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