The all-UConn Second Team

[Wally East]

True, but Sales wasn't a 3 time AA.

True enough

I'd say, looking at the stats and drawing on my own flawed recollections, that Svet was a better rebounder and passer while Nykesha was a better scorer, shooter, and defender.

 

[slimmer56]

UCONN has had SO many great players over the years, it is hard to argue with anyone's picks.
I think Rebecca Lobo has got to stay on the 1st team. I know Kerry was actually the start of everything, but Rebecca started the Nat. Championship run.

I think you have got to find a place for Kaleena. No one player in the country makes opposing players and coaches more ill than Kaleena. I watched her make Gary Blair, and Muffett so mad they did not know what to do. Now she has added to her game with her rebounding, and inside play.

Shea Ralph deserves a spot too. Talk about energizing a team. Diving in the stands for loose balls. Can you imagine the crowd roaring now, with her never say die attitude

 

[geneticrex]

Charles
Wolters
Dolson
Lobo
Stewart
Elliot
Cash
Jones
Willams
Abrosimova
Ralph
Montgomery
Sales
Rizzotti
Bird
Lewis
Taurasi
Hartley
Jefferson
Bascom

You could make 4 complete starting fives out of these 20 players and create a national champion going away and when you add in the supporting casts, it becomes apparent that we have been spoiled ROTTEN!!!!

 

[j66kicker]

Charles
Wolters
Dolson
Lobo
Stewart
Elliot
Cash
Jones
Willams
Abrosimova
Ralph
Montgomery
Sales
Rizzotti
Bird
Lewis
Taurasi
Hartley
Jefferson
Bascom

You could make 4 complete starting fives out of these 20 players and create a national champion going away and when you add in the supporting casts, it becomes apparent that we have been spoiled ROTTEN!!!!

ROTTEN, for sure (And you left out Maya!). My starting 5:

Taurasi
Bird
Moore
Stewart
Charles

Rizzotti and Sales not far behind

 

[RoyDodger]

This is a fun thread to read, but I have a hard time making these choices

Exactly why it is such joy to watch the UConn Huskies.

 

[Waquoit]

SG- The girl from Epping, NH with the ailing mother was UConn's first significant recruit, and she led UConn to a number of other firsts: first NCAA tourney appearance, first league regular season and tourney championships, and first trip to the Final Four. You simply cannot overstate how important Bascom was to the University of Connecticut.

Maybe you can't overstate her importance, but you can wonder how you had her at SG. She was a center.

 

[alexrgct]

Maybe you can't overstate her importance, but you can wonder how you had her at SG. She was a center.

Bascom was a scorer through and through, including from the perimeter. She's also not post player tall. She could play the two. My 6'7" girl on the Second Team has to be the five.

 

[geneticrex]

ROTTEN, for sure (And you left out Maya!). My starting 5:

Taurasi
Bird
Moore
Stewart
Charles

Rizzotti and Sales not far behind

Holy cow!!!


I'm so spoiled I left out the incomparable Maya Moore.....so let me say this.

Moore
Strother
Schumacher
Turner
Williams

There's another title team.

 

[j66kicker]

Holy cow!!!


I'm so spoiled I left out the incomparable Maya Moore.....so let me say this.

Moore
Strother
Schumacher
Turner
Williams

There's another title team.

Moore and any other 4 on your list is a title team

 

[Vowelguy]

Moore
Strother
Schumacher
Turner
Williams

There's another title team.

Schumacher? ?
She's not even in my top 30. IMHO, she had one really good game and that's about it.

 

[uconnfan68]

OK, it's pretty well established that the current all-UConn First Team (AKA, the starting five) is:

PG- Sue Bird
SG- Diana Taurasi
SF- Maya Moore
PF- Rebecca Lobo
C- Tina Charles

There's not much controversy that Tina and Sue deserve the spot as "starters". There was a poll for PG and Center on the BY, and those two won handily. There's no controversy at all for Maya and Diana. Meanwhile, Rebecca got the nod in yet another BY poll, winning handily because of everything she did and everything she meant to UConn.

So, if you can think why there's so little controversy with respect to what those five have meant to UConn WBB, who should comprise the Second Team?

I actually found my list to be a significant challenge, and I bet there will be some disagreement. In any event, here are my second five:

PG-Jennifer Rizotti
SG- Kerry Bascom
F- Breanna Stewart
F- Svetlana Abrosimova
C- Kara Wolters

My rationale:

PG- I'm torn between Jen and Renee, but Jen was NPOY in 1996, as well as instrumental in and the emotional leader of UConn's first national champion.

SG- The girl from Epping, NH with the ailing mother was UConn's first significant recruit, and she led UConn to a number of other firsts: first NCAA tourney appearance, first league regular season and tourney championships, and first trip to the Final Four. You simply cannot overstate how important Bascom was to the University of Connecticut.

SF- Stewie can play either the 3 or the 4 because she's that versatile. After the NPOY award and two Final Four MOPs, she's pretty much a lock to break into the starting five by the time she finishes her college career. As such, she's pretty much a no-brainer on the Second Team for now.

PF-Svet is another no-brainer as far as I'm concerned, a versatile super-talent who vied for NPOY in 2000 and was a matchup nightmare. I can only imagine the havoc she and Breanna would wreak on the same court!

C- I have to admit I really wanted to put Stef on this team, but Kara Wolters is yet another one of the great forbears of the program. And she does have that NPOY award from 1997, so she deserves the nod.

I'd like to read other folks' Second Teams, and maybe even some Third Teams. Lord knows Third Team has an impressive pool left to choose from!

Kerry Bascom was a POST player, not a SG. She had incredible post moves but could also shoot 3s.

 

[geneticrex]

Schumacher? ?
She's not even in my top 30. IMHO, she had one really good game and that's about it.

But what a game it was....and any good team could use a little height.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'd go with ALex's first team.

And as another poster suggested I'd go with Sales and Bassom leavign off Svet. Damn!!! A three-time 1stteam a/a and she's not on my secodnteam. !!!!

1stteam Charles, Lobo, Moore, DT, Bird

2nd team
Wolters
Stewie
Bascom
Sales
Renee

3rd team:
Dolson
Cash
Sveta
KML (omg! No Ralph!!!)
Rizzotti

 

[meyers7]

I think I would have to go (using normal positions)
1st
Bird
DT
Moore
Stewart
Charles
(could see this on the USA National team at some point)

2nd
Montgomery (though no problem with Rizzoti here)
Sales
Abrosimova
Lobo
Dolson (toss-up here too, Wolters)

3rd
Rizzotti
Ralph
KML
Cash
Wolters

4th
Jefferson (she could possibly move up in the next couple of years)
Hartley
Bascom/Williams/Jones (not sure who plays where, but would play all 3)

HM
Houston, Hayes, Strother, Turner, Greene, Faris, RWilliams

 

[j66kicker]

I think I would have to go (using normal positions)
1st
Bird
DT
Moore
Stewart
Charles
(could see this on the USA National team at some point)

2nd
Montgomery (though no problem with Rizzoti here)
Sales
Abrosimova
Lobo
Dolson (toss-up here too, Wolters)

3rd
Rizzotti
Ralph
KML
Cash
Wolters

4th
Jefferson (she could possibly move up in the next couple of years)
Hartley
Bascom/Williams/Jones (not sure who plays where, but would play all 3)

HM
Houston, Hayes, Strother, Turner, Greene, Faris, RWilliams

Yes your 1st team (= my 1st team) would not only be an NC team, but also a world championship or Olympic championship team (and I mean against ANY other lineup)

 

[alexrgct]

Schumacher? ?
She's not even in my top 30. IMHO, she had one really good game and that's about it.

I don't disagree, but I'll give her two good games: the 2000 NC game, and her impact on Ruth Riley in the 2001 BET championship game.

 

[JRRRJ]

I think I would have to go (using normal positions)
...
4th
Jefferson (she could possibly move up in the next couple of years)
Hartley
Bascom/Williams/Jones (not sure who plays where, but would play all 3)

HM
Houston, Hayes, Strother, Turner, Greene, Faris, RWilliams

Likely the fastest/quickest backcourt ever on your 4th team, but Bria's gonna be a bit challenged at wing ;^) Needs a supporting cast -- fortunately there's a plethora from which to choose.

P.S. It really warms my cockles to see Rita getting some love in this context -- I frequently feel she's overlooked. And the BTX got at least a few mentions -- I feel the same about her.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree with Alex's 1st team, but it's subject to change. I think Stewie replaces Rebecca in 2 years, as 3 NPOY awards trump 1. Based on UConn career only, I think the iconic Sue Bird may get pushed to the 2nd team, as unfathomable as that seems. Watch the 7th grader, now that she's entering 8th grade. MoJett will not be a 4th teamer, possibly not 3rd, and maybe not even 2nd.

Looking down the road, Kia Nurse could displace some in the top 20 and Asia Durr (hopefully!) and Lou Samuelson could easily be top 10. Ahhhh! Ecstasy!

 

[dtbtbtb]

Stewie IMO is already first team in place of Lobo. While Lobo was great, Stewie got at this point more championships (2 to 1), more final 4 MOP, more Final 4 appearances. Same number of player of the year awards, etc. by the end of next season if indeed Stewart leads UConn to another championship there will be no doubt.

 

[chrissaran]

alexrgct, how can you judge a player based on numbers? Did you see Kerry play was what I was asking. My nephew told me that he knew all about the Knicks of the late 60's and early 70's because he saw a few highlights on ESPN. That was very ignorant of him. Just because he saw a few highlights he knows about those teams? Not a chance. That would be like me telling him that I know as much about men's college basketball as he does because I saw a few highlights on ESPN. I didn't because I don't. All those people who say that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever seem to forget about Bill Russell. The point of a team game is to win the championship. Russell 11 / Jordan 6. Yes, I did see Russell play against the Knicks, the Lakers and whoever else they were on against. If you want to talk about most physically gifted basketball player my vote would be Wilt Chamberlain. How many 7'1" basketball players can also play beach volleyball and do the triple jump? Not many, and I doubt Michael could have out jumped Wilt in the triple jump.

 

[Wally East]

Stewie IMO is already first team in place of Lobo. While Lobo was great, Stewie got at this point more championships (2 to 1), more final 4 MOP, more Final 4 appearances. Same number of player of the year awards, etc. by the end of next season if indeed Stewart leads UConn to another championship there will be no doubt.

I'm not sure the number of championships or Final Fours a earned by a team that a player was on is necessarily a great measuring stick. There are too many other factors, most notably teammates.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Schumacher? ?
She's not even in my top 30. IMHO, she had one really good game and that's about it.

I agree on not being top 30, but still she was a damned good role player by senior year. Very comparable to Stokes, and I'm a big fan of Kiah. I should add that Stokes has a chance of surpassing Schuey, but Kiah as a junior and Schuey as a senior--pretty comparable, maybe slight edge to Stokes.

Anyway, my point is that "she had one really good game and that's about it" strikes me as a little strong.