Where does Boatright rank amongst all-time Uconn Point Guards

[Scoe]

That's some list!! Go huskies!

Glad someone likes it, I can't please everyone. Its a hard list to put together, which is a great thing to have hopefully it gets that much harder in a year or 2.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

That's some list!! Go huskies!

For some reason I forgot Smith ,
for some season I think of him as more of a two , but he was a true combo.

 

[blackbird]

1. Kemba - No explanation needed.
2. Shabazz - despite winning two, he's behind Kemba for me. Kemba won with a bunch of freshman. He carried that team. Shabazz won with another senior that had also won before, and two very talented juniors.
3. AJ - people forget how good he was. IMO, pre ACL tear Price leaves Uconn with at least one NC. He's probably the best pure PG we've had (as, we haven't had too many pure PG's). His ability to run an offense with limited offensive talent around him is what puts him so high for me. (Plus a final four birth.)
4. Khalid - Klutch. Won a championship. Great leader, but wasn't the best player on his team.
5.Taliek - Way underrated. Good point guard. Won a championship. (Although, like Khalid, wasn't nearly the best player on his team.) Definitely the team leader too.
6. Smith - more of a combo guard, but the stats say he can't be put any lower.
7. Boat - definitely better as a complimnetary player. Tough as can be. We don't win a championship without him. But he's just not as good as the six above him.
8. Doron - very good player, once again..just didn't make a mark on the program like the others did.
9. Ollie - great defensive player. He represents what Uconn is.
10. Marcus- a lot of talent. Not a leader. Not a court general. Not a lot upstairs.

 

[blackbird]

The better question is which former point guards could have gotten this team in the Tourney?

Kemba, Napier, Pre ACL tear Price (It would have been too much for him to deal with coming off an ACL tear and trying to cary this team.) Khalid might have been able to do it too.

This team actually had a lot of talent offensively. They were just young. They needed a leader and they needed someone who could help the out offensively.

 

[CTBasketball]

I don't see how people put Marcus Williams and Doron Sheffer behind Boat. I really don't...

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The two often go hand in hand. If I was a player on the 2006 team working hard in the offseason to try to win a national title, and a teammate I was counting on was off selling laptops - of fellow athletes who may very well be good friends of mine - and basically trying to get himself thrown out of school, I'd be pissed at him. If he gets on my case for not running a play properly, I'd consider punching him in the throat. You can't lead when you repeatedly let your teammates down. They don't trust you or respect you. Many of those guys had seen him let them down twice. I imagine he was plenty smart enough to do the schoolwork everyone else managed to do their freshman fall - he was just lazy.

This is where I admit my bias makes my opinion somewhat grain of salt material, but he was pretty bad against both Washington and George Mason until very late, when he did step up in hero time, but the 40 minutes of effort and attention to detail wasn't there from him at all. His seven turnovers against UW included things like lazy one-handed passes that led to leak outs.

To show some fairness, I've always given him the Kentucky game as his signature effort, winning the battle with Rondo and making all the plays late that we needed to hang on. We lose that one without him. But at the same time, I've always considered Albany the signature game of a MW-led team. Talented enough to win a game late, despite grading about a D for effort.

That's really not fair to say when Marcus didn't play they won and when they did, he lost.

They won because they had Okafor, Gordon and a handful of NBA guys. Not because of some perceived lack of negative influence by Marcus.

Also, how do you put 2006 on him? He was the best player on a team lost 2 regular season games.

You rip the guy for whatever reason and then go well, he did bail them out in crunch time against Washington, wouldn't have made OT without him, and oh also he pulled out the Kentucky game. Not to mention he brought us back against Albany.

If you want someone to blame for 06, again blame Boone and Armstrong for getting toasted in the paint.

I just don't see how you blame him for the shortcomings.

 

[Robertelamin]

2006 was a disappointment, it was maybe the most talented overall team so maybe why that is why Marcus gets so much heat. He also had a really bad off the court issue but there was another point guard involved with that and doesn't get much criticism here. Boat had a great career and won a national championship, he also had a first round loss, a ban that was out of his control and a NIT bid. Kemba, Shabazz, Khalid, Marcus, AJ.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't see how people put Marcus Williams and Doron Sheffer behind Boat. I really don't...

How do you put them behind Boat or Taliek? Amazing........

On Taliek it's like someone saying Dan Marino wasn't as good as Jim McMahon because he didn't win the big one

 

[CTBasketball]

How do you put them behind Boat or Taliek? Amazing...

On Taliek it's like someone saying Dan Marino wasn't as good as Jim McMahon because he didn't win the big one

I know. If we're talking floor-general point guards, Marcus Williams should be in everyone's top 5, and Taliek in the top 10. Without questions. That's doing a disservice to those kids.

 

[mauconnfan]

I know. If we're talking floor-general point guards, Marcus Williams should be in everyone's top 5, and Taliek in the top 10. Without questions. That's doing a disservice to those kids.

My only question on Marcus is how long he was able to impact so definitely Top 10 but everyone has a reason for where to stick him. Taliek, arguably Top 10 but also arguably honorable mention because he did "win".

 

[CTBasketball]

My only question on Marcus is how long he was able to impact so definitely Top 10 but everyone has a reason for where to stick him. Taliek, arguably Top 10 but also arguably honorable mention because he did "win".

Marcus's stat-line is ridiculous. Considering he wasn't the 1st option in 2006, that might have been the best season for a true point guard in UConn history.

2004-2005: 9.6ppg, 3.8rpg, 7.8apg
2005-2006: 12.3ppg, 3.9rpg, 8.6apg

Even in 2003-2004 he averaged 4 assists a game, only playing 14 minutes. Not to mention he was the only one with a pulse in 2006 Tournament. Without Marcus, we would have been the 1st one seed to lose to a 16.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

With MW, I think you do have to consider both the on-court and off-court elements.

When he was on the court, his play was outstanding. That's not a point of debate. That's a fact.

That said, his off-court leadership -- as evidenced by his being suspended for 2 semesters in 3 years for pure idiocy -- was abysmal.

I don't think it's a stretch to argue that his poor leadership-by-example is part of what led to his teams' indifferent play in big moments. MW could bring it himself when he needed to, but he couldn't get anyone else to buy in.

(Edit: That said, I think it would have been hard for even someone like Kemba to get pouty Josh Boone and tentative Rudy Gay to play to their full, aggressive potential.)

That team may have become somewhat overconfident, but they played very well together as a team. It was one of the best interior passing teams we have ever had. Great interior depth. But I think that there was something to your "edit" comment. One lack on the 2006 team was that there was not a single defined "go to guy." It looked to me that JC was trying to get Rudy to be that guy, but he was not ready to do so. He became more and more of a rainbow jumpshooter rather than taking the ball inside and making higher percentage plays. All those guys were really good, but none were the great scorer who was going to be "The Guy" although some aspired to be. Denham kept trying and he did make some big shots that year, but was not consistent enough. Rashad tried to be the "go to" guy at the start of the 2005 season and it was just not his game. Although I have to say that he was one of the most clutch performers in UConn history, he could not create his own shot reliably in crunch time. Marcus should have been the clear leader with the ball, but his shot just came up short at some key points in games.

 

[Coach J]

marcus still got it i could watch him pass all day whether its at uconn or in a mens league



at :13...that pass doesnt even make sense, hes running pick and roll with the other guy and somehow makes a perfect read to a guy he doesnt even appear to look at. his vision was just on a completely different level

Not for nothing, but how is this guy not in the league, even if only as a back-up PG??????

 

[DALTX]

Boat is in the top 10. Who else inspired a shirt like this?