What players in UConn history... | The Boneyard

What players in UConn history...

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huskyrob1

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...Improved the most from their freshman to senior (or last) year.

My picks....

Hilton
Giffey
Kemba
Shabazz
John Gwynn
Lyman
Jake
AJ
Jeff Carr
Travis Knight
Phil Gamble
....
I know I'm missing a bunch and some really obvious ones.
 
huskyrob1 said:
..Improved the most from their freshman to senior (or last) year.

My picks...

Hilton
Giffey
Kemba
Shabazz
John Gwynn
Lyman
Jake
AJ
Jeff Carr
Travis Knight
Phil Gamble
...
I know I'm missing a bunch and some really obvious ones.
Expand ...
Rod Sellers too, how could I forget him.
 
huskyrob1 said:
..Improved the most from their freshman to senior (or last) year.

My picks...

Hilton
Giffey
Kemba
Shabazz
John Gwynn
Lyman
Jake
AJ
Jeff Carr
Travis Knight
Phil Gamble
...
I know I'm missing a bunch and some really obvious ones.
Expand ...

Gavin Edwards.

........and a guy by the name of Kentan Facey.:cool:

Just off the top of my head.
 
Last edited:
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RichZ said:
Donny. He was the afterthought of that recruiting class, mostly a cheerleader as a freshman, and a star as a senior.
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That's a good one. He had a strong senior year.
 
Talik is the belt holder in this category until further notice. And it's not even close.
 
.-.
Hilton
Edwards
Thabeet
Boatright (his jump from junior to senior year was pretty amazing, especially in the shooting department; too bad the rest of the team was awful)
 
1) Thabeet could barely walk his freshmen year and fell down every time there was the slightest contact. By the time he was a junior, he was an absolute force.

2) Hilton always had some talent but always seemed like a guy who was just too soft, raw, etc to ever make anything of it. The fact that he became a lottery pick is amazing.

3) Gavin was a guy who's high school coach said could not play at this level and by the time he was a senior was the most reliable player on the team.

4) AJ was a big-time recruit and we obviously know about his health and legal issues. By the time he actually played, he was rusty and out of shape and quite frankly, he sucked. So if we're going purely on who improved the most from beginning to end he has to be mentioned. Because by the time he was a senior he was one of the most underrated players in the country.

We could do the opposite progression too. Guys like Omar, Rash, Dyson, Sticks, AO and some others I thought would develop into absolute stars and while most have solid careers, they were never as good in the end as they were in their freshmen or sophomore years.
 
I would have to say Hilton or Niels. Both nobodies in the recruiting scene, scored maybe a combined 10 baskets their underclassmen years. Both play/played high-end professional basketball. Three national championships between them. That's unreal, think about it.
 
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I feel like Deandre Daniels always gets overlooked in discussions like these. Wasn't good at all his freshman year and ended up being dominant in the NCAA tourney his junior year (although inconsistent throughout the regular season)
 
4xChamps said:
I feel like Deandre Daniels always gets overlooked in discussions like these. Wasn't good at all his freshman year and ended up being dominant in the NCAA tourney his junior year (although inconsistent throughout the regular season)
Expand ...

He was a top 15 recruit. He had the talent so it was somewhat expected he would be what he turned into
 
Tate George should be on this list. He was a pedestrian guard when he started but developed into a very important part of the Dream Season allowing Chris Smith and Nadav Henefeld to do their thing off the ball.
 
RichZ said:
Donny. He was the afterthought of that recruiting class, mostly a cheerleader as a freshman, and a star as a senior.
Expand ...
Donny was tough like his coach. Didn't take any
 
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Giff was so good in big spots senior year, its tough to say this but I actually mean it positively:

He maybe isn't on this list because (a) he was still a role player his senior year, never really took over games or anything, simply did the right play all the time, and (b) he showed that knack, imo, since his frosh year.

I don't mean he wasnt valuable, etc etc, so hopefully there's no outrage, he was to me a vital component of our great teams, vastly underrated defender and athlete.

But he was always a smart player, and he never turned some huge switch late, which is more of this thread's intent, from what I can tell.
 
Excalibur said:
Albert plateaued pretty quickly, IMO.
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I mean, he barely played as a freshman and averaged 15ppg as a senior. Could argue his junior year was better, but he's a pretty obvious case of a guy who got SIGNIFICANTLY better over the course of his career.
 
I think Donny is the clear #1. He was a complete non-factor for two seasons, a major contributor in year 3 and a star in year 4.

Others include:

Thabeet
Griffey
Daniels
Hilton
Knight
Facey

Recruiting ranking doesn't really matter in this calculation. All that matters is how good the player was early on, and how good they were at the end.
 
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