Poll: Greatest Husky of All Time

[uconnfan68]

You can't compare any of them to Dropo, he graduated as UConn's all time leading scorer in basketball, was drafted by the Chicago Bears for his football exploits at UConn, but decided to play baseball in which he was the first ever Boston Red Sox player to be named AL Rookie of the Year in 1950, also an All star as a rookie, set the Boston Red Sox record for most home runs by a rookie with 34, and tied the AL record for consecutive hits with 16 in four games in 1952.

As an all around athlete, no one comes close.

I think Scott Burrell comes close... but different times.

 

[Mr. French]

Men's basketball players only considered.

I included all the #1 and #2 seeds from the brackets and listed them in alphabetical order. I was very close to adding Khalid as my personal favorite, but that would have been biased and opened the door to all the #3 seeds, which I don't think is realistic for the GOAT, no matter how you characterize it.

Obviously this is not just stats. Not just championships. Not just college and not just NBA. Not just on the court but off the court, too; i.e., who do you think is the greatest Husky of all-time? All things considered, who do you think is the single greatest representative of all the things you think it means to be a Husky?

You cannot change your vote.

You can only view the results after voting.

Poll will close in seven days.

I'm glad you laid it all out, because those are the types of things that weigh on my decision in this type of situation.

There's multiple ways you can go, obviously.

I think based on everything, all things equal, I have to say Kemba. He encompasses EVERYTHING. Ray is missing some major things in the form of championship or even a F4. Plus he didn't have that personality, leadership, pizzazz if you will. Kemba is who anyone over the last 10 years thinks of first when talking UConn (not diehards like us, but general fans).

Shabazz and Rip are the 2 most overlooked in this type of question, but that's just how it goes.

I think Ray Allen is the best player to ever lace em up for UConn. I think Shabazz and Rip had the best overall careers. But Kemba embodies it all.

Shabazz will always be a mount rushmore guy for me (my son's nickname is Baz) but I feel like he's hurt by Kemba in this regard ... Kemba was the main reason for his first chip and probably takes away some of the glory of his spectacular run since it just happened in a more dramatic way 3 years earlier.

 

[JimHurley]

For reference, I pulled this from Okafor’s Wikipedia page.

• NCAA champion (2004)
• NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2004)
• NABC Co-Player of the Year (2004)
• Consensus first-team All-American (2004)
• Third-team All-American – NABC (2003)
• 2× NABC Defensive Player of the Year (2003, 2004)
• Chip Hilton Player of the Year (2004)
• Pete Newell Big Man Award (2004)
• Big East Player of the Year (2004)
• 2× First-team All-Big East (2003, 2004)
• 2× Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2003, 2004)
• NCAA blocks leader (2003)

Here is Wikipedia for Shabazz:
Career highlights and awards
2× NCAA champion (2011, 2014)
NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2014)
Consensus first-team All-American (2014)
Bob Cousy Award (2014)
AAC Player of the Year (2014)
First-team All-AAC (2014)
First-team All-Big East (2013)

Damn impressive.

 

[Mr. French]

No way Bazz, whom I love, is better than Mek.

"better" depends on how you view it. Better overall player? You're probably right, but that's not the question. Best overall player is Ray, Emeka, Rip, Donyell in that order. But they aren't the greatest Husky (all IMO of course).

In a "greatest Husky ever" discussion, EXACTLY as it is laid out here, Bazz is at least on par with Emeka. He's got 2 rings, signature moments, a conference player of the year trophy, big time numbers ...

 

[JimHurley]

I love Bazz, but I look at it this way: if all these players were lined up in a gym (their peak college version), Bazz isn’t one of the first four taken. I think I would go Okafor but trying to pick between him, Ray, Rip, and Kemba is really tough.

Now that I’ve said that, I really want to see that pick up game!

That’s fair, but we’re talking greatest Husky not best. Greatness is determined by the legacy you left behind. Being the best is simply being the best. My argument is Shabazz’s UConn legacy is as great as any. He was far from the best player in UConn history, but his legacy is up there.

 

[JimHurley]

"better" depends on how you view it. Better overall player? You're probably right, but that's not the question. Best overall player is Ray, Emeka, Rip, Donyell in that order. But they aren't the greatest Husky (all IMO of course).

In a "greatest Husky ever" discussion, EXACTLY as it is laid out here, Bazz is at least on par with Emeka. He's got 2 rings, signature moments, a conference player of the year trophy, big time numbers ...

You posted this one second before I did! We’re talking greatest, not best. I’d never argue Shabazz is the best Husky. That’s easily Kemba, Ray, Rip, and Okafor. I might put Ben, Caron, and Donyell over Shabazz too if we’re talking best. But greatest? The only ones that compete with Bazz are Kemba and Mek.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Kemba
Ray
Bazz

 

[Jbirdp5]

Rip is criminally underrated......first title is the hardest to win and he got us there....his college resume Stacks up with anyone and he got us over the hump that Donyell and ray couldn’t

 

[huskyrob1]

That’s fair, but we’re talking greatest Husky not best. Greatness is determined by the legacy you left behind. Being the best is simply being the best. My argument is Shabazz’s UConn legacy is as great as any. He was far from the best player in UConn history, but his legacy is up there.

Shabazz was certainly one of the best UConn ever had on defense. Wish I had $20 for every time I saw Shabazz pick an opposing guards pocket.

 

[huskyrob1]

I think Scott Burrell comes close... but different times.

If Burrell had starred at UConn playing for Randy Edsall or Skip Holtz or whoever, and was a Major league All star, I'd say ok.

That being said, as a great all around athlete, Burrell comes closer than anyone else I can think of.

 

[CTBasketball]

The voting on this started, lots of questionable votes.

 

[8893]

The voting on this started, lots of questionable votes.

Why?

 

[Jbirdp5]

Why?

Lots of the more recent players are beating players from back in the day who were probably considerably better

 

[David 76]

You can't compare any of them to Dropo, he graduated as UConn's all time leading scorer in basketball, was drafted by the Chicago Bears for his football exploits at UConn, but decided to play baseball in which he was the first ever Boston Red Sox player to be named AL Rookie of the Year in 1950, also an All star as a rookie, set the Boston Red Sox record for most home runs by a rookie with 34, and tied the AL record for consecutive hits with 16 in four games in 1952.

As an all around athlete, no one comes close.

Best all-around athlete likely. Only Scotty comes close. But in basketball, what did he win? A Yankee Conference championship? Ray was the leader of one of the best teams in the country.

 

[superjohn]

If this is just UConn career the 4 #1 seeds are Kemba, Rip, Okafor, Shabazz. That's your Mount Rushmore.

 

[fatlucy]

I wouldn't do it, but it is definitely not insane. Bazz has the extra natty. He stuck with team during the ban and more importantly was a leader during the ban year and the championship year. And then there's this...

It’s insane.

 

[fatlucy]

"better" depends on how you view it. Better overall player? You're probably right, but that's not the question. Best overall player is Ray, Emeka, Rip, Donyell in that order. But they aren't the greatest Husky (all IMO of course).

In a "greatest Husky ever" discussion, EXACTLY as it is laid out here, Bazz is at least on par with Emeka. He's got 2 rings, signature moments, a conference player of the year trophy, big time numbers ...

Not even close. Emeka was the best player in college ball. Bazz was/is awesome. Mek dominated college basketball. He was the best player on the best team that destroyed and humiliated the rest of college basketball. On par with Gordon but not Mek.

 

[UKemba15]

Clearly, given my username, I voted for Kemba. His accomplishments are laid out by others in this thread, and to me his leadership is unmatched (I give him a lot of credit for the incredible leadership skills Shabazz displayed - as does Shabazz himself in a number of interviews).

I just want to shoutout Ben Gordon here because he hasn’t gotten any votes. Before Kemba came along, Gordon was far and away my favorite Husky. He was such a great complement to Emeka, and he played with a “quiet cool” demeanor that made it even more outstanding when he would dial it up to 11 and just humiliate defenders. It was also very cool to have that Gordon/Okafor duo right on the heels of the Kobe/Shaq 3-peat; Kobe was a legit hero to me growing up, and Gordon was like “our Kobe” during his time here (or he was to me, at least). I had a similar feeling about Rip, but Ben was an idol to me during the time that I really started developing as a basketball player myself, so he had more of an impact on me personally. I wouldn’t make the argument that Gordon is the “greatest Husky” by any means, but I just wanted to give him some love because he was a big inspiration to me. (Plus he rocked the UConn jersey like an absolute boss.)

Also, if there was a poll for “greatest Husky parent fan,” the lovely Andrea Walker would run away with it, right? Maybe “greatest fan” period...

 

[JimHurley]

You ever see Ray or Rip or Oak ? or were you to young to understand.

Bazz is not there he is the next tier below.
Gordon is on that level too.

It’s absolutely insane to put Bazz above Kemba.

Here are Kemba’s Wikipedia highlights:
NCAA champion (2011)
NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2011)
Consensus first-team All-American (2011)
Bob Cousy Award (2011)
Big East Tournament MVP (2011)

vs. Shabazz’s Wikipedia highlights:
2× NCAA champion (2011, 2014)
NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2014)
Consensus first-team All-American (2014)
Bob Cousy Award (2014)
AAC Player of the Year (2014)
First-team All-AAC (2014)
First-team All-Big East (2013)

You can make the argument that Kemba is the better player, because he is, but as far as college career accomplishments...this makes it crystal clear Shabazz was on Kemba’s level.

 

[huskyinfl]

Rip isn't getting enough love. NBA championship + 1st NCAA Championship, the mask.

 

[lavuuk153]

Here is Wikipedia for Shabazz:
Career highlights and awards
2× NCAA champion (2011, 2014)
NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (2014)
Consensus first-team All-American (2014)
Bob Cousy Award (2014)
AAC Player of the Year (2014)
First-team All-AAC (2014)
First-team All-Big East (2013)

Damn impressive.

Oh it totally is because Bazz is a beast. I just wanted to show that Okafor had tons of accolades that, outside of 2 titles (which is obviously huge), he did actually have accolades that you could argue are better. If someone is going to place titles as the most important factor, I won’t say that’s wrong. I just think Okafor was the perfect embodiment for what you’d want as a student athlete.

For funsies, below are Rips.

• NCAA champion (1999)
• NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1999)
• Consensus first-team All-American (1999)
• Consensus second-team All-American (1998)
• 2× Big East Player of the Year (1998, 1999)
• 2× First-team All-Big East (1998, 1999

 

[huskyrob1]

Best all-around athlete likely. Only Scotty comes close. But in basketball, what did he win? A Yankee Conference championship? Ray was the leader of one of the best teams in the country.

Dropo was good enough to get drafted in the BAA which was the precursor of the NBA, and he left Storrs it's all time leading scorer. Again, this is along with getting drafted by the Chicago Bears to play football, and probably would have ended up playing for the Bears if the Red Sox had not offered him a contract, and played 13 years in the majors, setting many records, and Red Sox team records. It's clear that he was great in all three sports, but baseball was his best.

 

[JimHurley]

Oh it totally is because Bazz is a beast. I just wanted to show that Okafor had tons of accolades that, outside of 2 titles (which is obviously huge), he did actually have accolades that you could argue are better. If someone is going to place titles as the most important factor, I won’t say that’s wrong. I just think Okafor was the perfect embodiment for what you’d want as a student athlete.

For funsies, below are Rips.

• NCAA champion (1999)
• NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1999)
• Consensus first-team All-American (1999)
• Consensus second-team All-American (1998)
• 2× Big East Player of the Year (1998, 1999)
• 2× First-team All-Big East (1998, 1999

Impressive. I was 3 when he left so needless to say I don’t remember him. Based on those accomplishment I’d say our amount Rushmore is Kemba, Shabazz, Rip then a toss up between Ray and Okafor.

 

[Jbirdp5]

Dropo was good enough to get drafted in the BAA which was the precursor of the NBA, and he left Storrs it's all time leading scorer. Again, this is along with getting drafted by the Chicago Bears to play football, and probably would have ended up playing for the Bears if the Red Sox had not offered him a contract, and played 13 years in the majors, setting many records, and Red Sox team records. It's clear that he was great in all three sports, but baseball was his best.

If it was best multi sport athlete I’m sure he would win but in basketball only he doesn’t really compare

 

[UC1995]

I will ask the question...Without Chris Smith do we have UConn basketball as we know it?