Rip gave us 27 vs a 37-1 Duke team that was easily the best team K has ever had to capture our first final 4 and first title. He will always be the most clutch in my eyes. Where so many failed before him, he finally got us "there." He may not have had as many game winners as Kemba or Bazz, but he always seemed to have a good game when it mattered most.
I guess some of this depends on what is meant by
most clutch. My putting Kemba at the top spot with Bazz closing the gap quickly is weighted more heavily on a
winning time criteria, which is not a complete picture of clutch.
A player can have a horrible game but then knock down a big shot or makes a string of plays during the last 2 1/2 or so minutes of the game, such as the Nova guard who's name escapes me that I think was scoreless till he hit the game winning 3 against some top 25 opponent about a week or so ago.
This doesn't take into account performances where the player performs at a high level throughout a game making big time plays when the stakes are at their highest and is the primary contributor to the W.
Bazz has been remarkable this season where he's not only make a slew of winning time plays to help pull out the W, but he's been hitting some key baskets at some critical points in the game to prevent the opponent from pulling away for a big lead. Bazz made some huge plays when UF had extended the lead to 2-scores or more at different points in the game. One was on a 3 and another was a pass to Giffey who knocked down a big-time 3. It just seemed like whenever UF was about to shift the momentum, Bazz would knock down a big-time shot to move the needle in our favor.
Kemba was the same way. As time goes by, I can't remember how Rip was in this regard, but he was probably similar.
