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UConn990411 said:Why would we count AJ Price? And I think the talent on that team has become slightly overrated. I would not put that team over 2003-04 on paper, though I do that they had more talent than the '99 team.
A lot depends on how you define talent. Ricky isn't thought of as talented, but he was the best I've ever seen in college at what he did. At 6-2 that didn't translate to the next level (without some offensive punch to go with it). Moxie and creativity didn't translate for Khalid either at 5-10. Jake wasn't immensely talented, but as a positional defender he was as good a big as we've ever had - just not a shot blocker. Freeman was more talented than Hilton or Boone - just a few inches shorter.
We also remember Rashad way more fondly than Albie - part personality, part clutch gene (although Albie had a few moments of his own), part disappointing senior year for Albie. But talent wise, there's not much difference. Albie shot threes at a high clip, as a junior especially, and could create off the bounce a little better. Rash Jones was a double digit scorer at one time who we brought off the bench as a senior as a role player.
I think there is a case to be made for 1999 being a case study in winning with the pieces fitting more than winning with supreme talent - so I get the flip side of the argument. Just in some ways we underrate the talent in 1999 and overrate it in 2006 because guys were drafted higher who weren't really more talented than counterparts on other teams.