Where does Boatright rank amongst all-time Uconn Point Guards

[msgordon]

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

 

[Giddyup5]

Wow great vid. I agree I can watch him play all day. Put him on this team and he would make our bigs into serviceable players.

 

[Gurleyman]

Wow.... the Marcus Williams hate is high in the yard huh? Whether you reasonably liked him or not, it does not negate the fact that he might be the best pure point guard to ever put on a UConn jersey. Facts are facts, and they can't be erased by laptops. His dishes and his command of the offense was legendary. On the court, few had the vision of MW

In fairness, I think the hate is mostly from me.

Facts are facts. Another fact is that is team's only won things without him. Do you think he got a Big East ring, a NC ring, or a Maui T-shirt?

 

[sammydabiz]

In fairness, I think the hate is mostly from me.

Facts are facts. Another fact is that is team's only won things without him. Do you think he got a Big East ring, a NC ring, or a Maui T-shirt?

You're right about that Gurley.....but the team is more than one player, others on that team, especially in 06 poo poo'd the bed late in the season as well. So ya, he wasn't the "best" leader, but we all knew that. Still doesn't negate his pure point guard ability which was absolutely exceptional.
Thinking about it, he kinda reminds me of Rondo, ultimate vision with questionable leadership.

 

[Gurleyman]

No disrespect, but you go on to more or less bash the guy as a leader and big time player for UConn, then go on to list him winning the Kentucky game, stepping up in crunch time against Washington and making plays to force OT against Mason. Not to mention the Albany game they were looking like the first 1 to lose to a 16 until Marcus pulled it out. So to recap, he was the best overall player on a #1 ranked team, was the best player overall in the NCAAT for that team and stepped up the most in crunch time for that team. If Boone and Armstrong didn't get eaten alive by Mason we very well could've won the whole thing. Wasted some potential due to bad decisions off the court with grades and laptops, sure. But he was hands down the best player on that 2006 team and the furthest reason from why they lost.

You're mixing two issues. I don't consider clutch buckets to be an example of leadership. I consider bringing the intensity and focus from the opening tip to be leadership. Setting a tone that your teammates respond to.

These aren't things that you can look in the box score at necessarily. Kemba had a terrible game stat wise against Butler, but his leadership was awesome. He went after it hard from the tip, playing D, going after rebounds, chasing loose balls into the stands. And I actually consider the Cincy game in the second round as the greatest leadership one of our players has ever shown, and it started very early in the game. We were flat, tired, getting out worked and it looked like we might have an empty tank and Kemba just started playing right then as if it was crunch time possessions. Team fell in line behind him, gutted one out, and there were never desperation clutch baskets to be needed.

I admit MW probably just needed that guy next to him at the two (a Ricky type). Taliek was a great leader, but has Ben and Rashad to spread the floor and mask his shortcomings as an offensive threat. A Ricky at the 2 would have masked Marcus' and allowed him to just do his thing and let someone else be the leader who could turn out intensity up a notch.

 

[Gurleyman]

You're right about that Gurley.....but the team is more than one player, others on that team, especially in 06 poo poo'd the bed late in the season as well. So ya, he wasn't the "best" leader, but we all knew that. Still doesn't negate his pure point guard ability which was absolutely exceptional. Thinking about it, he kinda reminds me of Rondo, ultimate vision with questionable leadership.

We probably agree more than we disagree. Hook me up to a lie detector and ask me who the most talented point guard we ever had was, and it would probably stop beeping when I said MW. I loved watching him pass or run an offense (hated watching him not bother going after loose balls, but every player has flaws).

But ultimately, my bias stems from the fact I preferred him gone after I found out all the details of his summer vacation (laptops of your fellow athletes are very important personal possessions that may have personal photos, academic work, etc. that can't be replaced). I was disappointed we brought him back, made me feel that we didn't stand for much, and that made that team difficult for me to root for, even though I liked the rest of them. If he had smoked pot or had more academic problems or even stole shoes from Timberland, I'd probably be less of an ass on the subject.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

MW looks to be in better shape than his NBA days .
RB is a great player but not a true PG . One of the most gifted Athletes ever to play here.a true warrior. If MW had his passion he would still be in the NBA.
RB Lacked the Passing skills of some of our Greats.
First tier
KEA,KW,and SN
All had abilility to make their teammates better players,all have Rings ,
Legendary
second tier
MW,AJP, DS
Great players , we could have used one of these guys this year , we would still be playing.
Third Tier
TG,KO,TB,RM
Clutch players ,not flashy ,great FT shooters , strong handles and good decision makers. Cool under pressure.
Incredible list and I'm sure I've missed a few . Have we been Lucky ?
That just in The JC/KO era
lKH,Perno,Penders ,were no slouches either.
All three coached at the D1 level what some success.
If JA makes my list I will be a happy man

 

[huskiemaniac]

We take it Kemba and Shabazz are 1-2 in no particular order give or take. Here is my list.

1. Kemba (2011 season says it all 2 FF)
1b. Shabazz (2 National Championships, of course we know coaching change, BS Tourney ban etc etc, but I can't put him above Kemba that 2011 run was ridiculous so I will put him beside him which is why I have him at 1B.
3. Khalid (CLUTCH, brought the swagger to the program)
4. Smith (Alltime leading scorer was as close as you can get to a FF )
5. AJ (2 time all american over came a brain hemmorage and ACL injury)
6. Boat (Top 6 all-time in scoring, shut down defender in last years title run, we don't win 1 game without him this year)
7.Taliek ( All time assists leader, was a gamer knew his role well)
8. Doron (Great Shooter was an great Uconn teams that had bad luck in the tourney)
9. Ollie (A coach on the floor no pun intended lol)
10. Marcus (Would have him higher if he saw the floor more, talent wise I would have him at 3)

That's some list!! Go huskies!

 

[Ripper32]

I never really thought of Kemba as your traditional PG. Shabazz was more of a PG than Walker.

 

[Scoe]

I don't think of Tate, Dyson, Moore, and Ben Gordon as pg. I was thinking amongst the line of pure point guards, its hard enough putting up a top 10 list of Uconn point guards. I think me having Marcus 10th was fair out of all time Uconn pg 10th isn't bad could he have been higher on the list yes. I reward career achievements, and winning. This is my list after all I can't please everyone, make your own list.

 

[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?