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Uconn player with most undeserved bad reputation

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superjohn said:
Selvie, he was the best power forward we've ever had and he kept this program afloat when it looked like we may have a down period. People seem to crack jokes on him instead of recognizing his greatness.
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If only he could have kept that back foot of the baseline...
 
Taliek Brown and Jerome Dyson by far and away.

Distant third is the Ferrari. Thank goodness he, unlike Selvie, fixed the foot problem.
 
Taliek is pretty revered nowadays so I'm not sure he still qualifies for this thread in spite if him taking an undeserved beating as an underclassman.
 
intlzncster said:
Yeah and the guy was second team AA! What the hell people were looking for is beyond me.

As far as undeserved bad rap goes, pretty much anyone who is hammered on here. Taliek, Dyson, Amida, et al.

EDIT: the one which pissed me off the most was Taliek. He was the heart and soul of that 2004 team. Ben and Emeka were the studs, but make no mistake. Taliek drove that bus. And he had to come in and completely take the reigns as a freshman, with no upperclassman to show him the ropes. Got killed for it.

I've a sneaky suspicion that JC would agree with me on TB. Not many times over his career he called out fans for picking on a guy, but TB was a memorable one.
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I agree 100% about Taliek. I got to talk to him after the '04 championship game and told him that he could play PG on my team any day. Based on his reaction, he seemed to know about the meritless grief the fans had with him. With the exception of his FT %, he was a top-tier PG and somehow got killed for it.
 
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Blue Blood said:
With all the negativity surrounding Hamiltonian decision recently I thought it would be interesting to see who the yard thinks has the most undeserved bad uconn reputation. This should be based on time in college only.

For me it is oriahki, kid was instrumental in our 3rd championship and only left after hearing of our post season ban in his last year of eligibility. I think the comments his father made were unfairly put entirely on him and even after having his minutes decline with Drummond he was still very with that team I saw him on campus tons of times just hanging with his teammates.
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I'll save my response for this until Friday...
 
I think it's got to be Rudy. I mean, as much as Taliek, Andre etc do not necessarily deserve the complete bad rap, there are some reasons why they are criticized given their advanced acclaims coming in. Rudy was a f&&king All-American and for some reason is deemed the scapegoat of an underachieving team despite going for 20 and 6 against Mason and being our best player all season. On top of that, he's listed as a colossal underachiever. I'm not sure how an All-American can be deemed a disappointment.
 
Taliek took too much of a beating while he was here, but don't think his reputation is bad now.

Oriakhi was one of the key reasons we won a championship so I don't get the hatred.

Dyson's problem was he was basically the same player his whole time here. As a role player, 3rd option type, he was great, and we might win a championship his junior year if he stays healthy. But being a first or second option was too much for him his freshmen year, and when we needed him to be that as a Senior he couldn't do it either. So I don't think his reputation is totally unfair, you'd expect to see more improvement over 4 years, and I believe both him and JC have talked about he didn't put in the extra work you'd like to see.
 
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I never realized TB was disliked, must have been before my yard days
 
SubbaBub said:
Taliek is pretty revered nowadays so I'm not sure he still qualifies for this thread in spite if him taking an undeserved beating as an underclassman.
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Just a couple of years ago we had a thread which reprized TB bashing that was I don't know how many pages long.

Many still give Taliek zero credit for 2004; the argument is, that team could have won with any PG; they won despite Taliek, yada yada. Heck, he was crushed for years AFTER that ship too. The standard reply was, "Taliek Brown, National Champion PG".
 
Scott Hazelton. He didn't live up to the burgers and fries but that probably wasn't totally his fault.
 
I know it was awhile ago but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Ricky. He was Taliek before Taliek existed. Ricky was frequently derided as "Rickety" on this board. That all changed when Ricky had the final word. But his defense wasn't recognized/acclaimed by the national media until JC made it a talking point during the 98-99 campaign.
 
3for3 said:
I know it was awhile ago but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Ricky. He was Taliek before Taliek existed. Ricky was frequently derided as "Rickety" on this board. That all changed when Ricky had the final word. But his defense wasn't recognized/acclaimed by the national media until JC made it a talking point during the 98-99 campaign.
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Ricky did what he did against Duke, proved them wrong. TB was tough, a leader and had 6 TO's vs Duke in the NC semi's. That was him though, tough as nails but not an offensive weapon ever, with that came the criticism, some unfair as I look back. But driving the bus? LOL, that bus was full and had auto pilot. ;) He did drive but there were many who could have. I know relentless but hey I'm consistent.
 
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mauconnfan said:
Ricky did what he did against Duke, proved them wrong. TB was tough, a leader and had 6 TO's vs Duke in the NC semi's. That was him though, tough as nails but not an offensive weapon ever, with that came the criticism, some unfair as I look back. But driving the bus? LOL, that bus was full and had auto pilot. ;) He did drive but there were many who could have. I know relentless but hey I'm consistent.
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The next season Boeheim was on PTI and they asked him about the PG position. He said that you didn't need a great PG to win, Connecticut proved that last year.
 
How about Jamal Coombs-McDaniel? By no means am I suggesting that he should be remembered as a great player, but he did play a key bench role on a team that won a national championship. There's no doubt he was a bit of a malcontent and far from a Calhoun favorite (his post-UConn days do him no favors in terms of perception), but hey, for all the pouting he might have done behind the scenes he still showed up every day and made some big plays that people might not remember. This thread has gone pretty predictably in that people are either offering great players who didn't reach the pinnacle of team success or divisive players, but to me Coombs is the perfect answer to a question like this. Criticized and neglected but still one of the only kids on the planet who can claim he won a national championship at UConn. Sometimes, when I re-watch games from the 2011 season, I'm completely taken aback because I had forgotten he was even on the team. In a way, that's too bad; hopefully he'll decide to re-join the UConn family and we'll embrace him as somebody who was a part of something special here.
 
Waquoit said:
The next season Boeheim was on PTI and they asked him about the PG position. He said that you didn't need a great PG to win, Connecticut proved that last year.
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Talie was better than JB gave him credit for and me too. I was just teasing intzclester above to razz him although I do have my doubts about him being the "driver"always will. They won with the guy who's to doubt what he accomplished along with the fact he was a 4 year Husky lot's of kudos for being one of the toughest for sure.
 
Huskyforlife said:
AO and Roscoe will alawys be dead to me. They left the program in a very dire state, and if it weren't for Shabazz sticking it out, could have meant doooom.
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Roscoe is my least favorite UConn player of all time. Saw him walking the 'celeron path' quite a few times and he was always being an idiot in many different ways. Also have a few other stories that will not go on a public message board, but later reaffirmed my opinion of him.
 
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3for3 said:
I know it was awhile ago but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Ricky. He was Taliek before Taliek existed. Ricky was frequently derided as "Rickety" on this board. That all changed when Ricky had the final word. But his defense wasn't recognized/acclaimed by the national media until JC made it a talking point during the 98-99 campaign.
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I feel like we were on it here - starting with the 2-15 that Mateen Cleaves shot. Then KEA jumping on the scorer's table in December doesn't happen without Ricky locking down Vonteego Cummings (right after locking down Monty Mack in a too close win over UMass).

I hated Elijah Allen at the time, but maybe the 43 he dropped on us created a monster.
 
1. Taliek Brown
2. Jerome Dyson
3. Marcus Johnson
4. Donnell Beverly
5. Rodney Purvis
 
I'm gonna do it. I'm sorry. Amida Brimah.

Amida is class of 2017, along with myself. I've attended virtually every home game since the start of the 2013-2014 season (what a freshman year). Freshman year Amida literally struggled to walk and chew gum. He was so raw and weak. His hands were weak. He was always off balance, offensively and defensively. He struggled mightily with foul trouble.

Over the past 2 years I've seen tremendous growth in Amida. Does it show statistically? Well, yes, to be frank if you look at the analytical statistics and the basic ppg, rpg and what not. But the biggest spike in his development is in his basketball IQ. He makes less dumb mistakes. He has improved tremendously on staying out of foul trouble. Yes, it is still an issue at times, but he has gotten better. His hands, while still developing, have improved. Despite limited attempts, his FT % has improved from 57% to 65% all the way up to 81% this year. Not too shabby for a 7 footer. And obviously, his defensive presence has improved as well as he helps anchor our top 20 defense.

Most importantly, and probably the reason Brimah will be my favorite Husky of all time when said and done is the kids passion for UConn and the game of basketball itself. Often times we as fans get caught up in the moment and excessively criticize these players who owe us legitimately nothing. Brimah is always out there with a smile on his face and working his tail off. I'm damn proud to have Amida rep "UConn" across his chest.

Sometimes, it's more than just scoring and rebounding. His intangibles, energy, and passion are unparalleled and I really wish Husky nation could all get behind this guy and root for him.

Oh, not to mention the and-one he converted to save the season in 2014 en route to our 4th national championship.
 
joober jones said:
1. Taliek Brown
2. Jerome Dyson
3. Marcus Johnson
4. Donnell Beverly
5. Rodney Purvis
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#1 and #2 I can understand, but who around here has any beef with Marcus Johnson or Donnell Beverly?

Also, I think the board has come around to appreciate Purvis's attitude and the way he reps the program. He can be a frustrating player, but he by no means has a bad reputation.

I'll add a vote for Rudy Gay.
 
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