Nadav Henefeld

[AZHuskiePop]

The quickest hands I ever saw.
I swear he was plastic man the way his arms extended.
He was also a veteran of the Israeli army , so BB was nothing to get excited about
A Georgetown team with Mourning and Mutumbo finished behind us in league play.
We tied with Derrick Coleman's team for first. They were preseason number 1
We beat them at home with our D.
We ended up beating them on successive days to win our first Big East Tourney.
Too me an incredible achievement . That was an incredible Big East.

 

[Adesmar123]

That guy was awesome in just one season. Maybe the best player on the best UConn season ever (but let's not debate either of those statements). My question for all of you junkies out there: what could have been if he stayed more than one season? What would have come of Nadav - in college & NBA? How would he had impacted UConn teams into the mid 90's? I've been thinking about this all off season since we did the fantasy draft. But c'mon, you gotta admit, that guy was something special!

Anyone remember Bill Brasky? He had 138 steals in one game. He could do a windmill from half court. He only played 1/2 of a season but broke all the NCAA scoring records.

https://screen.yahoo.com/tales-bill-brasky-airport-bar-000000422.html

 

[Gurleyman]

JC wrote in his book that the way he left was almost the way it had to be - he became almost like a mythical figure. Was he really here? Did that really happen? Another season might have seen him plateau or fans might have started picking apart his flaws when expectations were a lot higher and we lost a couple games.

Other than steals, there's nothing in his stat line that screams "legend", but you needed to be there. You needed to see this team come from out of nowhere, picked dead last In the Big East with virtually no hope, led by this guy who came from out of nowhere (nowadays recruits can't just descend from the sky - everybody at the very least has a chair and a YouTube account). Many of us even gave up on the season after a 40-point loss to St. John's, but then they just kept winning and winning and winning, and this swarming press kept giving guards fits and no matter where they threw it, #40 was in the passing lane. A rebound in traffic, a clever pass, a crafty move off the ball - he'd give you a little of everything. He was so good at being a glue guy that nobody thinks of him as a glue guy - they just think he was a stud.

 

[intlzncster]

JC wrote in his book that the way he left was almost the way it had to be - he became almost like a mythical figure. Was he really here? Did that really happen? Another season might have seen him plateau or fans might have started picking apart his flaws when expectations were a lot higher and we lost a couple games.

Other than steals, there's nothing in his stat line that screams "legend", but you needed to be there. You needed to see this team come from out of nowhere, picked dead last In the Big East with virtually no hope, led by this guy who came from out of nowhere (nowadays recruits can't just descend from the sky - everybody at the very least has a chair and a YouTube account). Many of us even gave up on the season after a 40-point loss to St. John's, but then they just kept winning and winning and winning, and this swarming press kept giving guards fits and no matter where they threw it, #40 was in the passing lane. A rebound in traffic, a clever pass, a crafty move off the ball - he'd give you a little of everything. He was so good at being a glue guy that nobody thinks of him as a glue guy - they just think he was a stud.

Amazing thing about Nadav is that he just fell into our lap. Wanted to play in the BE because it was the best conference. Didn't want to play on the best teams, because he wanted to play and to be able to play AGAINST the best players. Visited St Johns, and realized it sucked as a place to be. Took a trip up to UCONN because it was close by....and loved it. JC visits in Israel, and it's all over.

 

[#1 PA Husky Fan]

There have been post on this board about the loudest home crowds in our history. The crowd at the '91 Georgetown game was so loud that I couldn't hear my my wife, who was yelling to me in the next seat. Nadav was a special player that led a special team. Was a treat to watch him play. One of the best all-around players that we have had at UConn. He may not have been a big scorer, but he scored in the big moments.

 

[NightDog]

Boy the feeling was so different back then. Expectations were still on the tarmac, wanting to take off but always being called back to the gate.

Now: the captain has turned off the seat belt sign and you are free to move around the cabin. We will be cruising at 38,000ft on our way to the post season.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

My memory is a bit foggy, but I think the NCAA changed the eligibility rules for foreign players around 1996, and the Israelis could no longer get eligible because they were all under contract to foreign teams. I honestly don't understand how they got eligible in the first place, but I am happy Henefeld and Scheffer did.

 

[DogMania]

Nada was hands down the player who left too soon who saddened me most.

He was such game changer and so much fun to watch.

It's rate to have a one-and -done player who left such a huge impression. We got one year from Drummond and two from Villanueva and I can barely remember them, but I'll never forget Dove.

 

[CallMeBruce]

My memory is a bit foggy, but I think the NCAA changed the eligibility rules for foreign players around 1996, and the Israelis could no longer get eligible because they were all under contract to foreign teams. I honestly don't understand how they got eligible in the first place, but I am happy Henefeld and Scheffer did.

I've still never really understood how that worked.

 

[J-dog]

Nada was hands down the player who left too soon who saddened me most.

He was such game changer and so much fun to watch.

It's rate to have a one-and -done player who left such a huge impression. We got one year from Drummond and two from Villanueva and I can barely remember them, but I'll never forget Dove.

I remember being blindsided by the news he was leaving… Social media had yet to explode (certainly no twitter, etc…) & I don't really remember any banter or discussion contemplating whether there was even a possibility he would not be coming back for his second year. I do remember Calhoun was pretty pissed-off at Nadav when he heard the news...

 

[intlzncster]

I remember being blindsided by the news he was leaving… Social media had yet to explode (certainly no twitter, etc…) & I don't really remember any banter or discussion contemplating whether there was even a possibility he would not be coming back for his second year. I do remember Calhoun was pretty pissed-off at Nadav when he heard the news...

The internet had yet to explode. 1990.

 

[J-dog]

The internet had yet to explode. 1990.

True… All the madness started in 1991… But Social Media/Networking does pre-date the World Wide Web…

 

[CallMeBruce]

True… All the madness started in 1991… But Social Media/Networking does pre-date the World Wide Web…

I don't know what any of this post means.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I've still never really understood how that worked.

Calhoun either commented in an interview in the late 90's or wrote in his biography that he would never be able to get another Israeli player again because of eligibility issues with kids coming out of Israel as a result of changes in NCAA regulations. I don't remember the exact problem though.

 

[puppygenius]

Ahhh "The Dove". Thing of beauty his game was!

 

[ColoradoUCFan]

I enjoyed reading all the comments. I was 13 years old when that season started. It's all a little blurry, yet holds an important place in my memory. But I loved those guys. Nadav has always been a mystique in my mind because of his amazing year...and then he disappeared. I think he could have been a college legend had he stayed, but like Hendrix and Marley we'll never know what could have been

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Eddie Williams? Maybe he was never a freshman here but he was one of our older players ever…….

Had I read one post further I could have saved some frantic Googling. I was looking for "Fast" Freddie Williams and then recalled it was Eddie. I believe he came to us after military service and had a reduced amount of eligibility due to his age. Good call on him MA.

 

[intlzncster]

I enjoyed reading all the comments. I was 13 years old when that season started. It's all a little blurry, yet holds an important place in my memory. But I loved those guys. Nadav has always been a mystique in my mind because of his amazing year...and then he disappeared. I think he could have been a college legend had he stayed, but like Hendrix and Marley we'll never know what could have been

I was right there with you. It's still fairly clear for me though, because that sparked my obsession with UCONN bball.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

For that season was blessed and cursed
I had gone to a significant number of games with my friends , from the early 80's in New Haven to that season. You actually could get decent tickets. Somewhere I have a program with Carl Hobbs autograph.
After that season the price and availability of tickets went through the roof.
With kids in college getting a hold of tickets became a luxury. In some sense many hardcore UConn fans of the Subway Alumni type were driven off replaced by the casual fashionista, who sat on his hands during the game.
Luckily UConn's frequent TV appearances salved the wound for us tough time supporters.