Name your all-time UConn Defensive Team | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Name your all-time UConn Defensive Team

I’m a sucker for recency bias myself but you have to include Thabeet, Boatright, Okafor, Ricky Moore and Nadav. Donovan is the only player I’d put in my all time 1st or 2nd team from the last two years. Steph would be my all time defensive freshman.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
Well you can have 2 bigs on either team. Regardless, Thabeet as 2x dpoy, over 4 blocks a game and similarly shut down everything at the rim is as good as Clingan if not slightly better. Both are behind Emeka for me. Thabeet also did it averaging like 32-33 MPG.
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I’m not sure when, but it suddenly became fact that Clingan was more dominant than Thabeet…I remember a 2 year span where they won a lot of games and he was the best shot blocker in the country for every minute of that.

He went #2 overall with ZERO offensive game. Just the fact he did it 2 years should put him in any conversation.

They didn’t finish, but his teams were a 4 seed and injured PG then 1 seed and injured 2G.

Someone mentioned team accomplishments as though Thabeet was padding stats on a loser!
 
Ricker said:
No balance with respect to position in my list - just defensive impact

Castle (shut down every key scorer on the biggest stage)
Depreist (shut down pg [Scoonie Penn?} & defended Shaq) (who can deal man/man w/ a top center or top PG)
Clingan
Oakafor
Thabeet

Henefeld (passing lane steals virtually a career of steals in 1 year)(has to still hold record)
Brimah (a Defensive Player of the year)
Diarra (clear defensive disruption)
Whaley (impact protecting the rim, mid court steals trapping, and high hedge the best)
Moore or Jackson toss up reputation picks that are less firm with me
(Ricky by reputation but I can't think of specific top scorer shut downs, and Jackson was abused by both Gillespie and Richmond unable
to deal with getting isolated and backed down)

Maybe Sanogo who stood like a brick wall when post players tried to back him down, then collected the rebound.
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Per Allen Iverson, Ricky Moore was the only college player in the country capable of guarding him.
 
Mr. French said:
I’m not sure when, but it suddenly became fact that Clingan was more dominant than Thabeet…I remember a 2 year span where they won a lot of games and he was the best shot blocker in the country for every minute of that.

He went #2 overall with ZERO offensive game. Just the fact he did it 2 years should put him in any conversation.

They didn’t finish, but his teams were a 4 seed and injured PG then 1 seed and injured 2G.

Someone mentioned team accomplishments as though Thabeet was padding stats on a loser!
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Saying that Thabeet is behind Okafor and Clingan is hardly an insult to Thabeet.
 
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auror said:
Modern era 1985+

1st Team:
Ricky Moore
Nadav Henefeld
Emeka Okafor
Donovan Clingan
Hasheem Thabeet

2nd Team:
Steph Castle
Scott Burrell
Andre Jackson
Jake Voskuhl
Amida Brimah

Honorable Mentions: Travis Knight, Donyell Marshall, Jeff Adrien, Josh Boone, Christian Vital, Isaiah Whaley, Hilton Armstrong, Ryan Boatright, Jeff Adrien
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Criminal no mention of Depriest. He's first team all time just for what he did to Dana Barros in the NIT semis 2nd half
 
Iluvsuebird said:
Lyman de priest is not in your list. You lost me.
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Lyman is HM
The guy started only a few games although a great 1v1 defender .he only played 10-12 minutes a game his entire career
comparisons to 30+ min guys is unfair.
Thabeet vs Clingan was tough
because Clingan was a better player snd defensively hid some team weaknesses
However I think HT was a better natural shot blocker .
Emeka wasnt as big but was among the strongest players we ever had , with the reach of a 7 footer , cat like reflexes and an IQ through the roof .
Except for a bad back he is probably a HOF player
The 1990 team was special because they lacked a 5 stopper a the 5 . but getting the ball over the half court line and making an entry pass was almost impossible. . For a defensive first guy like me that was very special .
They still have the record for steals
and Burrell is the all time leader
The 2014 Run was based on the ability of Bazz and Boat destroying the opponents ability to even run offense very remarkable with a shout out to DD, Giff, and especially Brimah who best out some good guys for HM
Jackson was remarkable and the effect on the defensive intensity was visible when he was on the floor.
 
Excalibur said:
Saying that Thabeet is behind Okafor and Clingan is hardly an insult to Thabeet.
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Definitely not. But people acting like he is clearly 3rd when he was at least as dominant and for longer than Clingan is a bit of recency bias and probably marred by his (and ‘09 team) history compared to the others.

I’d think you’d agree that there’s a good bit of that going around the last few years, no?

Clingan is a monster, probably more impactful overall because of the end results. But look at individual and team success, hard to say he’s not at least 2.
 
Mr. French said:
Definitely not. But people acting like he is clearly 3rd when he was at least as dominant and for longer than Clingan is a bit of recency bias and probably marred by his (and ‘09 team) history compared to the others.

I’d think you’d agree that there’s a good bit of that going around the last few years, no?

Clingan is a monster, probably more impactful overall because of the end results. But look at individual and team success, hard to say Thabeet is not at least 2.
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Edited above.
 
Scottzer said:
Per Allen Iverson, Ricky Moore was the only college player in the country capable of guarding him.
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I forgot about that. I don’t think AI qualified it as just about college players. Perhaps he didn’t want to acknowledge a current NBA opponent but still, maybe he did include everyone he had faced.
 
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I'd have to go with:

R. Moore
S. Castle
L. Depriest
E. Okafor
D.Clingan

C. Smith
R. Jones
N. Henefeld
I. Whaley
H. Thabeet


I would not have Brimah on my list at all. I liked him, but he would go for everything and if you just got the ball over him it was an easy offensive rebound and put back. I'd go with Boone before Brimah. Jones became a pretty good defender by the time he was done. Catch me tomorrow, and Scotty B. might be there ahead of him for me. It's close between him and Jones.
 
With proper positions but some switchability. 2nd five is challenging.
1st
PG Ricky Moore
SG Nadav
SF Depriest
PF Doneyll
C Emeka

2nd
PG Castle
SG Andre J
SF Burell
PF Corny Thompson
C Clingan
 
The two most overrated defenders appearing on people's lists are Donyell and Andre. Andre was a decent defender -- not great on the ball but used elite athleticism to recover and disrupt passing lanes. Donyell was a great weak side help defender and shot blocker, but subpar one on one defender and got pushed around in the post a bit.
 
Excalibur said:
The two most overrated defenders appearing on people's lists are Donyell and Andre. Andre was a decent defender -- not great on the ball but used elite athleticism to recover and disrupt passing lanes. Donyell was a great weak side help defender and shot blocker, but subpar one on one defender and got pushed around in the post a bit.
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I think Freeman is also underrated. He was undersized, but was very solid. You don't start that many game for Calhoun if you can't defend. He might have a little trouble with your really big and tall PF, but he could guard you from the 3-pt line to the rim.

I give the edge to Clingan over Thabeet because nobody is pushing Clingan around. Blair would have had problems with Clingan, but he was able to push Thabeet around a bit.
 
Excalibur said:
The two most overrated defenders appearing on people's lists are Donyell and Andre. Andre was a decent defender -- not great on the ball but used elite athleticism to recover and disrupt passing lanes. Donyell was a great weak side help defender and shot blocker, but subpar one on one defender and got pushed around in the post a bit.
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Agreed on Andre. He went for highlight plays far too often instead of sticking with fundamentals.

I’m just surprised on how many lists Boat is being left off of.

Not old enough to give a real evaluations on Donyell lol

Hurley may coach guys to not take as many risks defensively as in the past though. Because the run of Kemba, Bazz, and Boat as full court press swipers was pretty crazy to witness. Vital followed suit too.
 
Top 3, regardless of position are Donovan(1st), Hasheem(2nd) and Emeka(2A). These guys just changed the whole game on the defensive end. Opposing teams entire offensive game plans ( cept Illinois, but we know how that worked out) were seriously altered just by them being in the game. As Dickie V said, I think speaking of Thabeet, “Thou shall not enter thy lane.” For me these 3 are unquestionable as the top 3. Thabeet was more imposing, although Emeka was the better one on one defender due to strength. Donovan was great at both. Final 2 for me are Castle and Moore. Just exceptionally talented and fierce as one on one perimeter defenders. Second team gets murky for me, so I’ll say Boatright, Taliek, Adrien, Adama, and Burrell. Lots of room for some others. Maybe Amida, Shabazz, Jackson, Nadav, Diarra, Dyson, Tyrese, Sellers, Whaley probably others. Just a thought reading the comments: I think some are letting offensive output work in analysis as tiebreakers/added pluses in a defensive exercise. It’s best defensive team, not who you’re starting a team with. Obviously completely different takes. My list is positionally independent, more like a first team All American list than a starting five.
 
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Gotta say, it was Lyman Depriest who gets my #1 defender vote. What he did against Dana Barros was a thing of beauty and he dealt with a knee injury that would have been the difference in his trajectory.

Good luck with this group...

All time top 5 defenders:
1. Depriest
2. Clingan
3. Okafor
4. Castle
5. Ricky Moore
 
Ricky and Emeka are obviously on first team without question , but after that prolly go with some combo of depreist, Clingan, castle, ajax
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
I’m just surprised on how many lists Boat is being left off of.
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I think 2nd team is the right spot for Boatright. Incredibly quick perimeter defender, who excelled at doubling post players and getting steals, and recovering if he didn't. I have to put him behind Castle and Moore, though, due to both of their abilities to guard multiple positions.

Moore was like Deion Sanders in his prime. You could just pick one guy on the other team and decide that he wasn't going to impact the game.
 
I might put Emeka over Clingan. I get that Emeka didn’t alter as many shots as Donovan, but he blocked a ton, was a better rebounder, and was strong.
 
Scottzer said:
I might put Emeka over Clingan. I get that Emeka didn’t alter as many shots as Donovan, but he blocked a ton, was a better rebounder, and was strong.
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Difference is that teams did not try to challenge Okafor as much as they bewildering challenged Clingan.
I was on the fence about which until the Illinois game when after 7 blocks "He's playing tennis!" was heard about Clingan and the team was 0-19 on shots where he challenged.

I really, really liked Okafor as a champion and person but for a single dimension (defensive presence and execution) I have Clingan a hair higher.
 
auror said:
Depriest didn't play enough to make the top 10 All-time list, for me. He could be on HM.
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Read this on The News Times (Danbury, 2008):

BEST DEFENDER: 1. Ricky Moore -- He was often matched up against the opposition's top gun during his UConn days. And it's no coincidence that gun often misfired.

2. Emeka Okafor -- Okafor redefined the way the Huskies played defense. And he may have changed the way coach Calhoun and company recruited.

3. Lyman DePriest -- He guarded everyone from BC guard Dana Barros to LSU center Shaquille O'Neal during his UConn career, with plenty of success in doing so along the way.

Honorable Mention -- Donyell Marshall for leaving his man at the drop of a hat to block the shot of your guy's attempt.
 
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JerseyAlum said:
3. Lyman DePriest -- He guarded everyone from BC guard Dana Barros to LSU center Shaquille O'Neal during his UConn career, with plenty of success in doing so along the way.
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Lyman played 19 minutes in the game against Shaq as part of a zone defense. Shaq had 27 and 16, shot 50% from the floor. He mostly played in the wing in the zone while Shaq was guarded by Sellers or Cyrulik. Occasionally had him as the low man or doubling. Shaq dunked over him a couple times on passes over the top of the zone. You don't get just credit for doing it. It has to be effective. He had moments and games in his career (Barros in the NIT), but All-Time top 10 is a tough bar at a place like UConn. He played 14 minutes or less a game his last 3 years. 8th, 9th, and 8th on the team in minutes. There are just better candidates to me who played more for better teams and were thus overall more impactful defenders over their careers. That's how I based the criteria.

From the same team, Scott Burrell led the nation in steals. And in that game against LSU had 2 sick chase-down block. That's more deserving of a spot than a bench spot defender, but he's still only 2nd team. Other 2nd team guys for me: Andre Jackson was the best defender in the starting lineup on a title team with a top 10 defense. Steph Castle was a defensive stopper in the starting lineup on a title team with a top 5 defense. Brimah is 40th in the NCAAs over the last 43 years in total blocks and was a league DPOY and also averaged 2.3 blocks a game on a title team off the bench. There have been something like 150,000+ players during that span. That's 99.97% percentile. He has a better career block rate than Clingan or anyone on UConn over the last 15 years (though I had Clingan on 1st team for a reason). I'm not pulling any of those guys for Depriest.
 
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Spaceman213J said:
I think Freeman is also underrated. He was undersized, but was very solid. You don't start that many game for Calhoun if you can't defend. He might have a little trouble with your really big and tall PF, but he could guard you from the 3-pt line to the rim.

I give the edge to Clingan over Thabeet because nobody is pushing Clingan around. Blair would have had problems with Clingan, but he was able to push Thabeet around a bit.
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That was the old Big East where take downs we allowed
 
auror said:
Lyman played 19 minutes in the game against Shaq as part of a zone defense. Shaq had 27 and 16, shot 50% from the floor. He mostly played in the wing in the zone while Shaq was guarded by Sellers or Cyrulik. Occasionally had him as the low man or doubling. Shaq dunked over him a couple times on passes over the top of the zone. You don't get just credit for doing it. It has to be effective. He had moments and games in his career (Barros in the NIT), but All-Time top 10 is a tough bar at a place like UConn. He played 14 minutes or less a game his last 3 years. 8th, 9th, and 8th on the team in minutes. There are just better candidates to me who played more for better teams and were thus overall more impactful defenders over their careers. That's how I based the criteria.

From the same team, Scott Burrell led the nation in steals. And in that game against LSU had 2 sick chase-down block. That's more deserving of a spot than a bench spot defender, but he's still only 2nd team. Other 2nd team guys for me: Andre Jackson was the best defender in the starting lineup on a title team with a top 10 defense. Steph Castle was a defensive stopper in the starting lineup on a title team with a top 5 defense. Brimah is 40th in the NCAAs over the last 43 years in total blocks and was a league DPOY and also averaged 2.3 blocks a game on a title team off the bench. There have been something like 150,000+ players during that span. That's 99.97% percentile. He has a better career block rate than Clingan or anyone on UConn over the last 15 years (though I had Clingan on 1st team for a reason). I'm not pulling any of those guys for Depriest.
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Agree to disagree: love this video...
 
auror said:
Brimah is 40th in the NCAAs over the last 43 years in total blocks and was a league DPOY and also averaged 2.3 blocks a game on a title team off the bench. There have been something like 150,000+ players during that span. That's 99.97% percentile. He has a better career block rate than Clingan or anyone on UConn over the last 15 years (though I had Clingan on 1st team for a reason).
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I loved the energy Brimah brought, but he was often out of position or created opportunities for the other team on the offensive board by going after everything and getting out of position on many shots that he had no chance at. I would take Sanogo ahead of Brimah. I've been rewatching a lot of the last 2 seasons and it was noticeable how many times opposing centers tried to bully Sanogo or Clingan and it was like watching a guy trying to move a concrete wall.
I wouldn't have Brimah in my top 5 UConn low post defenders, but that's less of a knock on Brimah than a show of the abundance talent we've had down low... Emeka, Clingan, Thabeet, Sanogo, Boone, Armstrong, Whaley, Adrien, Brimah
 
Palatine said:
How about Dom Perno?

He stole the ball from Bill Bradley to send the Huskies to the Elite Eight.
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I'll give Perno a vote. He did more to derail the offensive production of the Thompson-McKay teams than anyone.
 
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