Players that got away | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Players that got away

superjohn said:
What? No.

Drummond was the 4th best player on a UConn team that got smoked in the first round of the tournament.
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That's how it played out ... but he was the #2 recruit in the country, so I think that's his point.

Not to say I agree wholeheartedly with either sentiment, but I also don't disagree with either of you.

Chemistry, especially with a big time player like Camby, could have been mixed up with the squads we had that were already really good.

Again, not agreeing or disagreeing necessarily, but Drummond having an average year for an average team that was way beyond, talent-wise, is actually his exact point.

When push comes to shove, I think I'm rolling the dice with adding a stud player every day ... so I'm with you there.
 
August_West said:
Wasn’t Drummond best player in country?
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No, at least that's what the NBA scouts and NBA teams thought. Drummond went #9 in a weak draft year. Camby went #2 right after Iverson and ahead of Marbury, Ray, Kobe, Jermaine O'Neal, among others. Camby had a much more dominant college career than Drummond had.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
I’m too young, did we actually have a chance with KD?
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He visited and actually told the UConn coaches he was committing. Got that from a source at UConn that would know. Of course he told UNC the same thing. And then the Texas staff also. Unfortunately for us the Texas visit came after the UConn visit.
 
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rayrayfor3 said:
Remember when we lost out on Brandon Knight and Cory Joseph? We got stuck with that reclass guy Shabazz..
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This was when I really was getting into recruiting heavily, before that I only cursorily followed. I wanted Joseph BADLY. Was shook when we missed out on all 3 of the PGs, plus Doron Lamb. And it all ended up better than it would have with them, amazingly.
 
huskyrob1 said:
No, at least that's what the NBA scouts and NBA teams thought. Drummond went #9 in a weak draft year. Camby went #2 right after Iverson and ahead of Marbury, Ray, Kobe, Jermaine O'Neal, among others. Camby had a much more dominant college career than Drummond had.
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I’m talking recruiting rankings.
 
IMO any high ranked recruit out of CT that doesn't commit is someone who got away. Kris Dunn fits into that category. Also Hamidou Diallo. Thank god we are where we are at now but things could have been different for Ollie if that kid came through.
 
Mr. French said:
That's how it played out ... but he was the #2 recruit in the country, so I think that's his point.

Not to say I agree wholeheartedly with either sentiment, but I also don't disagree with either of you.

Chemistry, especially with a big time player like Camby, could have been mixed up with the squads we had that were already really good.

Again, not agreeing or disagreeing necessarily, but Drummond having an average year for an average team that was way beyond, talent-wise, is actually his exact point.

When push comes to shove, I think I'm rolling the dice with adding a stud player every day ... so I'm with you there.
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It's a hypothetical, that's the entire point of the thread. Drummond being ranked #1 or #2 coming out of high school isn't relevant, this isn't a thread about high school rankings. He is a state player who didn't get away, Camby is a state player who did get away and was the college player of the year and led UMass to the final 4. It's a fun thread to think what could've happened had we not missed out on certain players.

Back then the best college players stayed a few years. If Camby was UConn's starting center instead of Travis Knight, I think UConn has an extra national title or 2 and could've possibly had one of the best college bball teams ever with Ray and Camby as juniors together. Ray and Camby as freshmen alongside Donyell as a junior would've also been silly.
 
Rod Foster from St, Thomas Aquinas in New Britain would have been a tremendous get for us , He set a NCAA record for free throw shooting at the time .

Also , Austin Croshere who went to Providence was all but signed up. I thought Kirk King was going to be the better player,
 
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MTHusky said:
Walter Luckett, great baller but tore up a knee and never played in the NBA. Was almost a package deal with Tom Roy.
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Walter Luckett was the best high school basketball player in the entire country. I never understood why he chose to go to Ohio University and not one of the national powers?
 
superjohn said:
It's a hypothetical, that's the entire point of the thread. Drummond being ranked #1 or #2 coming out of high school isn't relevant, this isn't a thread about high school rankings. He is a state player who didn't get away, Camby is a state player who did get away and was the college player of the year and led UMass to the final 4. It's a fun thread to think what could've happened had we not missed out on certain players.

Back then the best college players stayed a few years. If Camby was UConn's starting center instead of Travis Knight, I think UConn has an extra national title or 2 and could've possibly had one of the best college bball teams ever with Ray and Camby as juniors together. Ray and Camby as freshmen alongside Donyell as a junior would've also been silly.
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Agree with everything. But you had a problem with @August_West hypothesizing that the team chemistry could have been broken. We’re all hypothetically discussing situations. Your hypothetical isn’t a fact just bc he was great at UMass... that’s HIS POINT. So I’m not sure why that’s confusing.

Like I said, I’d overall agree that Camby makes that team insane (and probably vacated and who knows the future after that stain) but a hypothetical can have multiple outcomes.
 
glastonbury50 said:
IMO any high ranked recruit out of CT that doesn't commit is someone who got away. Kris Dunn fits into that category. Also Hamidou Diallo. Thank god we are where we are at now but things could have been different for Ollie if that kid came through.
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Dunn was one I was going to mention, as I’m not local and wasn’t following recruiting as closely in the 90s.
 
Mr. French said:
Agree with everything. But you had a problem with @August_West hypothesizing that the team chemistry could have been broken. We’re all hypothetically discussing situations. Your hypothetical isn’t a fact just bc he was great at UMass... that’s HIS POINT. So I’m not sure why that’s confusing.

Like I said, I’d overall agree that Camby makes that team insane (and probably vacated and who knows the future after that stain) but a hypothetical can have multiple outcomes.
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It's just a weird way to look at it, with that outlook we didn't really miss out on anyone if we're going to say team chemistry might have been ruined if we add national college players of the year to teams.
 
superjohn said:
It's a hypothetical, that's the entire point of the thread. Drummond being ranked #1 or #2 coming out of high school isn't relevant, this isn't a thread about high school rankings. He is a state player who didn't get away, Camby is a state player who did get away and was the college player of the year and led UMass to the final 4. It's a fun thread to think what could've happened had we not missed out on certain players.

Back then the best college players stayed a few years. If Camby was UConn's starting center instead of Travis Knight, I think UConn has an extra national title or 2 and could've possibly had one of the best college bball teams ever with Ray and Camby as juniors together. Ray and Camby as freshmen alongside Donyell as a junior would've also been silly.
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Lol you say “ this isn’t a hypothetical “ and then make it a hypothetical.

Never change stupendousjuanita
 
superjohn said:
It's just a weird way to look at it, with that outlook we didn't really miss out on anyone if we're going to say team chemistry might have been ruined if we add national college players of the year to teams.
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Dude, come on. It was a pretty nuanced point in a hypothetical that you’re pretending is impossible.

Those teams were excellent teams. That is when it could actually affect things. Adding a big name, high level recruit to an already great team.

Doesn’t mean he’s 100% right but you’re acting like adding a talented player is 100% linear and always will work in a vacuum.

Plus, he was crooked and would have ruined our reputation and maybe our future on the recruiting trail, WHO KNOWS!

You don’t need to agree, you clearly don’t... but why are you acting like his hypothetical is preposterous but yours (winning 2 titles and being one of the greatest teams EVER) is how it would definitely be?
 
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Mr. French said:
Dude, come on. It was a pretty nuanced point in a hypothetical that you’re pretending is impossible.

Those teams were excellent teams. That is when it could actually affect things. Adding a big name, high level recruit to an already great team.

Doesn’t mean he’s 100% right but you’re acting like adding a talented player is 100% linear and always will work in a vacuum.

Plus, he was crooked and would have ruined our reputation and maybe our future on the recruiting trail, WHO KNOWS!

You don’t need to agree, you clearly don’t... but why are you acting like his hypothetical is preposterous but yours (winning 2 titles and being one of the greatest teams EVER) is how it would definitely be?
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You don't have a thread or anything to talk about if you say the best players in the country in an era where they stuck around a few years would've ruined team chemistry. Camby might have hated Ray and never averaged a point, Tim Duncan might have hated Calhoun and never started. Odds are the best players in the country are going to make you a lot better.
 
superjohn said:
You don't have a thread or anything to talk about if you say the best players in the country in an era where they stuck around a few years would've ruined team chemistry. Camby might have hated Ray and never averaged a point, Tim Duncan might have hated Calhoun and never started. Odds are the best players in the country are going to make you a lot better.
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No ... you don’t have a thread about hypotheticals if you completely discount hypothetical outcomes. If we KNEW the answer, then yes, Camby is probably the answer. No more talking, no more discussion!

I don’t care either way, I said up front that I’d take the best recruit every day, all day. But Drummond not making us better is a valid point, and you discounting each valid point discussed, on a thread about hypotheticals with no right answer, is what bothered me.
 
Mr. French said:
No ... you don’t have a thread about hypotheticals if you completely discount hypothetical outcomes. If we KNEW the answer, then yes, Camby is probably the answer. No more talking, no more discussion!

I don’t care either way, I said up front that I’d take the best recruit every day, all day. But Drummond not making us better is a valid point, and you discounting each valid point discussed, on a thread about hypotheticals with no right answer, is what bothered me.
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In a thread about the players who got away I'll always take the kid who grew up 30 minutes away from Storrs and became the best player in the country.

You can argue with yourself about it, I'm out.
 
superjohn said:
In a thread about the players who got away I'll always take the kid who grew up 30 minutes away from Storrs and became the best player in the country.

You can argue with yourself about it, I'm out.
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Congrats, you agreed with me for the 50th time while still somehow arguing.
 
August_West said:
I’m talking recruiting rankings.
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Felipe Lopez was the "best player in the country" too, was worshipped like LaBron coming out of high school, but where does he figure in the history of St John's. My point is recruiting rankings don't mean anything in this argument. To compare Marcus Camby with Andre Drummond and how each would have helped UConn win extra national titles based on recruiting rankings is silly. Was Pearl Washington the best player in the country coming out of high school? Was he better than Iverson as his career unfolded? Did Syracuse or St John's win extra national titles when they had these guys?
 
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CardiacAndre7 said:
I’m too young, did we actually have a chance with KD?
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Yes.
His final two were UConn and Texas. The rumor was he told Tom Moore that he would be choosing UConn. Phil Chardis of the JI even had an article saying sources told him he was committing to UConn. Shortly thereafter he committed to Texas. A week later Andrew Bynum decided to stay in the NBA draft. A bad month for the Huskies.
 
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CbbisGreat said:
Rod Foster from St, Thomas Aquinas in New Britain would have been a tremendous get for us ,
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True, but I don't think the idea of attending UConn ever crossed his mind. He made the right choice. During their big title run, I remember a seeing a photo of Rod in SI that took up a page and a half. That was never happening to a UConn player back then.
 
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