Shabazz's place on the mountain . . .

[Strummer]

I got him at top 3.

Walker, Emeka, Shabazz,

I put Shabazz above everybody else (RIP, Gordon, etc.) because he stayed through the ban year, thereby providing the program with sorely needed continuity, preventing a lag in UConn bball, and was a very important part of the 2011 championship team.

If we win Monday?

Shabazz, Walker, Emeka.

 

[patrick]

Right now he is at the TOP!








BUT I will reflect more on this in a couple of months/weeks!

 

[geordi]

That mountain is too crowded. You just can't pick 3. The obvious players from the last 20 years have to be considered, but without Chris Smith, we may not reach the levels Calhoun brought us to. Without Corny Thompson, we may not be in the Big East. Without Khalid, we may not win the first championship. Etc. etc. fortunately, we don't have a mountain, we have a mountain range.

 

[Deadrody]

If they win on Monday ? No way Shabazz isn't #1.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

At this moment it is nearly impossible to argue Shabazz as anything less than tied with Kemba at the top and a legitimate argument can be made that he already has secured the top spot. In about 40 hours we could well be in a position where there is no argument at all that he is a full step beyond Kemba.

And think, not quite four years ago a couple of kids made fun of us for landing him as he was supposedly a consolation prize.

 

[Tenspro2002]

If we win tomorrow he and Kemba are 1a and 1b, with Emeka, Rip, Ray, and Donyell behind.

 

[hungry husky]

I like Shabazz a lot, but have you only been watching the last 10 years of UConn ball?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I like Shabazz a lot, but have you only been watching the last 10 years of UConn ball?

I can only speak for myself and I know there are posters here who have followed the school closely longer than I have (I go back to my freshman year which was also Corny Thompson's).

If the criteria is solely where a player belongs in terms of what he did in a UConn uniform I don't know how someone who was a vtal (albeit secondary) cog on a national title team and the lead dog on another that made it at least to the title game should take a backseat to anyone. As great as Corny was he never won one NCAA tournament game. Granted there were many things beyond his control that led to this but still, at some point you need to say it is what it is and accept the value of hardware that was earned by different players and how large of a role they played in earning that hardware.

 

[tzznandrew]

If we are lucky and flukey enough to win (and we can't--they are too strong and good...we are DOOOMED!), wouldn't that make our class starting in 2011 the best we've had at UConn?

2 titles (in this imaginary world that won't possibly happen)
Jeremy Lamb - second best player on a title team, lottery pick after a very good sophomore year
Roscoe Smith - leads country in rebounding in what would be his senior season at UConn
Shabazz Napier - one of the best 5 players on the title team, best on another (in this imaginary world that won't possibly happen), All American
Niels Giffey - one of the most beloved glue guys on the team
Tyler Olander - great mentor, and well-regarded rapper.

 

[Wise2]

If Bazz wins the game for us tomorrow, either with a big game or hitting the winning shot, you have to move him to the top. Otherwise, there is no clear separation between Kemba and Bazz and I'd be happy to have them both at the top. Bazz has the advantage of being her 4 years, that the others didn't have. Kemba, Emeka, RIP, RAY..etc. Where would Bazz be if he was already in the NBA. (yeah I know he couldn't show us what he would have done last year because of 'N NCAA)

 

[RyMaN600]

Right now I have him alongside Kemba. He contributed to two final fours and has one championship ring, along with being a top-4 player in multiple statistical categories in the UCONN record book.

If we win tomorrow night, he surpasses Kemba. He will have two championship rings (along with Giffey and Olander), something no other Husky player has done, and he will have done it under two separate head coaches in two different conferences, holding our basketball program together during what may have been it's darkest hour.

If he wins tomorrow with a Villanova-style half-court runner at the buzzer, he becomes an instrument of god.

Of course this won't happen though, because we're doomed.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Depends on the criteria: If it is "Who had the best ever year at UConn?," I would still vote for Kemba. If it is who has had the best all around career at UConn, then it depends on how Shabazz does tomorrow night in my mind. Emeka, Rip, and Kemba were the clear cut #1 guy on championship teams. If we win, then I could see Shabazz moving to #1.

 

[blackbird]

Won't he be the only Husky ever to be a starter on two different national championship teams?

It's hard to rank..but I'll leave it at "he's a special player, a special person, and Uconn hoops would have been in a lot of trouble without him."

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

#1 if we win Monday. The BEST ever at UConn.

JMHO

 

[Kitaman]

I think its safe to say that as of right now, no one has been better than Bazz. So unfair (but good) that Kemba was not long ago adored and 'worshipped'. What Bazz is doing is giving us all hope that even he will one day, perhaps soon, be replaced. If it happened to Kemba it can happen to Bazz. That's a great thing for UConn nation and our future.

 

[jleves]

It's just a vague question that people have chosen to interpret in different ways. I've seen best career, best year, most important to the program, most rings, being the alpha and I'm sure there were others.

The fact that he ranks in the top 5 in all of them says a lot about the kid. He doesn't have the charisma of Kemba or Oak but you can't really fault him for that.

If you are making the Mt Rushmore of UConn over the last 25 years you would need a lot more than four places but if you had to limit it to four, he's on there with Kemba, Oak and Rip.

 

[J-dog]

Calhoun can't be omitted… Today (Calhoun era, only) it's Calhoun, Rip, Okafor & Kemba… These spots have to be reserved for National Champs.

If we weren't playing the super human Kentucky Wildcats, the UCONN Mt. Rushmore could be under construction to add another all-time great (yes another slot)…

Unfortunately, we are playing Kentucky.

Doomed...

 

[UConn990411]

This may be simplistic, but here's why I have a had time ranking Shabazz ahead of Kemba:

UConn's 2010-11 record in all tourney games was 14-0. Kemba led the team in scoring in all 14 of those games. Add in the 5 wins in the BET - including the Pitt shot - and the fact that he averaged more than 23 a game for the season, and I have Kemba firmly slotted in at #1.

But Shabazz easily makes the top 5 for me, along with Kemba, Emeka, Ray and Rip. I'm gonna wait until tomorrow to try to rank 'em.

 

[Jaker]

on top

 

[Jerry1714]

I do not understand why we have this same thread after every game.

Can we just the season play out?

 

[pj]

Won't he be the only Husky ever to be a starter on two different national championship teams?

Shabazz didn't start in 2011. He came off the bench. Starters were Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, Roscoe Smith, Tyler Olander, Alex Oriakhi. Okwandu, Napier, Giffey top 3 off the bench; Coombs-McDaniel and Donnell Beverley also played.

Kemba was a very special player. That is not an especially talented roster, and it is heavily reliant on freshmen.

 

[Fishy]

It's hard to say, but if you're starting an all-Husky team, he's in the starting five.

He's got a ring, he's got the two Final Fours and a truly gaudy array of awards. Plus, he should have been in four straight NCAA tournaments and oh, by the way, he and Ollie dragged the program back to the top of the mountain when it threatened to die at the bottom.

If he ever buys a drink in New England, shame on us.

 

[UConn_Top_Dog]

I would still put Kemba at #1. Bazz at #2 if they win it all tomorrow. Kemba had a lot to do with the player Shabazz has become. Kemba was the catalyst to the run we have had the last 4 years.

 

[gtcam]

In this program, that has blossomed in the past 30 years, it is impossible to rank players and coaches as 1, 2, 3.......
Without Calhoun there is no UConn, with out Smitty there is no big recruits, without Rip/KEA/Ricky et al there is not title #1, without Ray there are no others who want to be Ray, without Ben and Omeka there is no title 2, on and on it goes.................................
Don't forget Cliff, Tony Hansen, Corny and the ones who opened the doors.
Like TEmery hates whining about refs - I do not like these whose #1 player discussions

 

[Waquoit]

It just hit me that Bazz only took 6 shots. And his team pretty much blew the top seed out of the gym. That's leadership.