Players that just had "game"

[nelsonmuntz]

The best athlete thread got me thinking of this. Which players had the most "game"? By that I mean they weren't necessarily the best shooter or dribbler or dunker or athlete or defender, but they just had mad game. Maybe it was force of personality or smarts or just gymrattness, but they could just play. These are the kind of guys that look much better playing in a game than they probably did in practice.

1) Chris Smith - is there any debate? Look at some of the rosters he took to the NCAA tournament, but he wasn't good enough at anything in particular to hang on more than a handful of years as a backup in the NBA.

2) KEA - how does a guy that is 25 pounds overweight with a 5' wingspan dominate like he did?

3) Bazz - he has some big measurable skills, particularly with his shooting, but the whole is certainly much, much bigger than the sum of his component parts.

4) Henefeld - there were games where he would have a very thin stat sheet and still seem to dominate. Turned a bubble team into a Dream Season.

5) KFree - no one worked harder and seemed to do more with modest natural ability and skill than KFree. It was certainly a little dusty in my living room the afternoon he walked off the court for the last time into Calhoun's arms.

6) Selvie - how was an undersized guy that was an OK athlete by Big East standards such an instrumental part of a team that was a Steve Blake 3 away from the Final 4? He was a complete black hole offensively, but he scored with a high shooting percentage and rebounded well.


Who am I missing?

Guys not on the list:

Scheffer - very quick first step and he was tall. Smart player, but the funky shot actually held him back. This was a guy that had all the pieces to be a star college player, and he was.

Tate - tall guard that was a decent athlete if not super fast.

Kemba - Everyone knew Kemba was going to be a star.

 

[UConNick]

The KFree mention makes me think of Adrien. 6'6" power forward that ate up bigger and more athletic players through hard work and a mean streak. I know he was a top 60-ish recruit, but who would've thought he'd be an NBA four at that size?

 

[FeedTheDove]

I think A.J. Price deserves to be on this list.

He didn't have great size or athleticism but man he could lead the team to a win any day. He could straight up ball out. He's often overlooked because of the history of such great guards to come through UConn, but A.J.'s importance to that 2009 final four run was immeasurable.

-His ankle breaker at Marquette
-His game tying 3 in the Battle for Seattle.

2 plays i'll never forget

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Caron Butler

 

[J187Money]

Madison Square Gordon.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Tony Hanson, more versatile than Smith, played where needed on the court. No pro career.

 

[dsturdy5]

At first look, maybe not, but Jake Voskuhl. He could board, keep guys off of the block, set mean screens, and as my high school coach once described someone, became a "veteran junk baller" with his put backs. No back to the basket game to really speak of, not a consistent face up threat but he did what you needed him to do on those teams. He could fill his role and without him, those teams are not as good.

 

[aceboon]

Chris Smith and Henefeld were before my time but I don't get Bazz or KEA being included here, both guys are incredibly skilled, I'm sure they looked like the best players in practice, skill competitions, games, etc, especially Bazz the last 2 years with this roster(KEA probably would've been even with Rip). I mean Rothstein went to one practice this year and then declared Bazz was going to be the best PG in college ball this year, their skillsets stand out from the rest.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Ricky Moore

 

[Chin Diesel]

KEA would have to be the captain. No way anyone looked at him physically and saw All-American, but he did it.

I'll second both the Caronimo and Voskuhl picks.

And I wouldn't put Bazz on the list. He didn't have the explosive vertical for throw down dunks, but some of his up and under layups demonstrated superior athleticism. Also he didn't have problem getting dirty on the blocks for defensive rebounds.

 

[UChusky916]

Ahhh, off-season threads. How I've missed them.

/endsarcasm

 

[noeynox]

1. Nadav he was so slow and couldn't jump a lick, but impacted the game in so many ways. Also had the quickest hands ever.

2. Denham Brown wasn't the best shooter, slasher, leaper etc. Seemed to do everything at a competent level though. Thought he was really underappreciated on some loaded teams.

3. John Gwynn Mr instant offense he was a mini microwave, a collegiate version if you will.

 

[KennyD]

Tim Coles

I think I enjoyed watching the "undersize" Tim battle all of the Bigs in the league as much as any player that ever wore a UConn jersey!

 

[Palatine]

Jesus Shuttlesworth.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Bazz is so athletic that he might not qualify. Caron was a star from the minute anyone saw him.

I actually think Voskuhl was a prototype center, except for the hair. Incredibly strong and his picks were borderline felonies. Athletic guy that could run the court, pass well, and drain the mid range. Never really developed much in the way of moves though. I dont think he qualifies. Sellers is a better example, although he was just skinny and undersized.

Gwynn is a great example. His shot was so ugly that I would have had to see him hit 3 or 4 of them before I would have covered him outside if he was playing in a pickup game against me. I bet he holds the all time record for pinning the ball between the backboard and the rim. He must have done it 5 or 6 times in his career. But the team was definitely better (most of the time) when he was on the court.

I know KEA was a McD AA, but look at him. Really, look at him.

 

[BankShot]

Ben Gordon and AJ Price were straight up ballers. NYC G's who could dribble, drive, dish, and shoot with the moxy of a pimp

AJ deserved a championship and if it wasn't for Jerome's knee injury, he would have got one in 09

 

[nelsonmuntz]

1. Nadav he was so slow and couldn't jump a lick, but impacted the game in so many ways. Also had the quickest hands ever.

2. Denham Brown wasn't the best shooter, slasher, leaper etc. Seemed to do everything at a competent level though. Thought he was really underappreciated on some loaded teams.

3. John Gwynn Mr instant offense he was a mini microwave, a collegiate version if you will.

I think Denham Brown was the opposite of "game". I think he was an amazing athlete and at various times during his career he would look like he was ready to make the leap to star, but he never did. He wasn't blazing fast, but his biggest problem was his lousy handle. I put him in the Tony Robertson category of "the whole is less than the sum of the parts".

One of the things that you need to have to make this list is a well above average handle for your position. Henefeld had a tremendous handle for a 3/4, and Smith was insane, even if Packer thought he was cheating. Selvie was excellent at using 1 or 2 dribbles to get better position down low

 

[Excalibur]

Rip Hamilton. Not a great athlete, not particularly strong. But just seemed to know exactly when and how he could get his shot off. I think he's the best all around offensive player we've had. Underrated defensively, too.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Madison Square Gordon.

This is the first player I thought off. Probably the most versatile attacking guard I can remember at UConn. Great handle, could shoot, penetrate, distribute, and had that great floater. He was really a treat to watch. Has to be the best UConn player to never be the best player on a UConn team, right?

 

[bmayuc]

By "Game" I assume you mean the crafty/savvy/know-how that overcomes physical limitations.

If so, starting 5:

G: Marcus Williams - not an athlete, but used size and crafty left-handedness to destroy defenses with patience and skill. Never felt as comfortable with our offense than with Marcus running the show. best vision of all UConn PG.

G: Ricky Moore - Never was a great creator/scorer, but was a tenacious defender/rip artist and always made the plays that were there to be made. Occasionally would go off at opportune moments when he felt the game needed it(think NC game), but otherwise perfectly played his role and filled the stat sheet. Also showing his savvy as a recruiter now .

SF: Caron Butler - Not here for physical limitations but the opposite. Savviest player to walk through Gampel. Timed jumps, made tough Js. Nickname says it all: Tough Juice. Stat-sheet stuffer. Steals galore.

PF: Jeff Adrien - Craftiest post player to play at UCONN. made every inch of his 6'5'' count. Steady producer all 4 years. very high-skill. underrated passer.

C: Kevin Freeman - Kind of cheating putting him at C, but screw it. Heart/Tenacity carried him to the heights it did. no one was better at positioning/timing on rebounds. I will overlook his ill-intentioned attempt at transitioning to the perimeter for the sake of this discussion.


Here are the worst-savvy starting 5 :

G: Jerome Dyson - despite his prodigious athleticism and excellent defensive ability, tendency to make bone-headed plays, take bad fouls, and careen into the lane with no real plan leading to a ton of turnovers and missed layups. I loved Dyson despite all of this warts because when you mix his level of athleticism and effort, it helps a team. Just wish he had developed further during his time here.

G: Denham Brown - This may be unfair, but I always thought there was more to pull out of Denham, and it never really crystalized for him at UConn. He was a solid if streaky player, but never had teh in-between game that could have really put his game over the top. Never could distribute/assist with ball-handling. Still love Denham, but his 4-year tenure still had me asking a lot of what-if questions.

F: Rudy Gay - What an Athlete. What Tools. What a beautiful jumper. What defensive ability. But there was never the glue that was holding his game together. Lacked the savvy/skill to dribble through traffic, was out of position often on rebounds, never became a passer(even at the NBA Level). Floated in and out of games because he didn't have the savvy to get to the line or get in the lane when he shot wasn't falling. Great player at UConn, but we all knew even while he was here that the IT factor was often fleeting for Rudy.

F: Marcus Johnson - What an Athlete. What tools. What defensive ability. As you can tell this is going to mirror the Rudy Gay summary quite nicely. Marcus had all of the components of a good basketball player, but without the savvy/skill/BBIQ to know how to put anything together. Couldn't dribble or pass so unless he was getting lobs or in transition he just couldn't make an imprint on the game. Still, some of his dunks, yikes. Seemed like a great kid, great prospect, but couldn't match the athletic ability with the gametime production.

C: Tyler Olander - I'm not going to beat up on Tyler here. He is a two-time NCAA CHampion, for F86k's sake. I won't mention his inability to rebound or be in shape. I won't mention his world-class penchant for picking up cheap and-1 fouls. I won't mention that he was so uncoordinated that he failed a sobriety test while stone-sober. I kid, I kid. But he belongs on this list.

can you tell work is slow today?

 

[noeynox]

I think Denham Brown was the opposite of "game". I think he was an amazing athlete and at various times during his career he would look like he was ready to make the leap to star, but he never did. He wasn't blazing fast, but his biggest problem was his lousy handle. I put him in the Tony Robertson category of "the whole is less than the sum of the parts".

One of the things that you need to have to make this list is a well above average handle for your position. Henefeld had a tremendous handle for a 3/4, and Smith was insane, even if Packer thought he was cheating. Selvie was excellent at using 1 or 2 dribbles to get better position down low

I don't view Denham as a great athlete. When I think of great athletes at UConn I think Scott Burrell, Rudy Gay, Stanley Robinson, Tony Robertson, Ray Allen before he became the 3pt specialist. To me Denham had a well rounded game, and I think his biggest issue was fitting his skills into such a talented team. The team that lost George Mason seemed to have too many guys that demanded the ball to be effective.

 

[Husky1]

Agree with Tim Coles, who many may not remember but at 6'6" he outplayed patrick ewing a few times, amazing warrior!
Also loved Rashamel Jones game - He could make a jumper, defend like crazy, get a rebound and finish on the break - ultimate team guy who was on the court at end of game in St. Pete

And he always put team first, he was an elite recruit who lost some playing time over the years, but hung in there and just played hard.

 

[August_West]

Selvie?

If game means stepping on the end line, traveling, dropping entry passes and being a black hole with the ball then yeah, put him at number 1!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Selvie?

If game means stepping on the end line, traveling, dropping entry passes and being a black hole with the ball then yeah, put him at number 1!

Selvie had some issues, as do all the guys on this list, but look at his numbers in 2001-2002. He was a really big part of the team that year.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Marcus Williams couldn't stay in shape, so it is hard to argue whether his lack of leaping ability was athleticism or conditioning. He may be the nastiest passer I have ever seen in college. The dimes he would drop, 3/4 court no look off the dribble dropping it into Rudy or Denham streaking to the basket with 3 defenders between them and Marcus, were insane. He also had one of the quickest releases of any shooter in UConn history. What could have been with that guy.

Thing about Ricky Moore was that he was one of the fastest guys to ever wear a UConn uniform, so it is another case where the lack of a complete "game" held him back in a way.