Who were (are) the the ten toughest UCONN players - ever ?

[DrDos]

Give me your tired .... your poor ....Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,​

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore ..... Send these no-talent, unemployed, ​

Miller High-Life sluggin' clowns to me ..... I lift my lamp beside​

~ T H E B O N E Y A R D ~​

__________________________​

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► Who were (are) the the ten toughest UCONN players - ever ? Starter -or- reserve? Over the years we have seen rough and tumble (and dirty) contests that shatter many of the stereotypes of women's basketball. UCONN has had its share of tough, physical players.​

​

► Name your top ten !​

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[LesMis89]

Well, the first three that come to my mind are (in no particular order) Jen Rizzotti, Stacy Hansmeyer and Jamelle Elliott

 

[calpedaler]

Barbara Turner
Ajsia Jones
Jen Rizzotti
Diana Taurasi
Jamelle Elliot
Stacy Hansmeyer
Mel Thomas
Sue Bird
Shea Ralph
Caroline Doty

 

[VAMike23]

Maya was very tough. She is just so tremendously strong that you don't see her coming up on the 'short end' of too many exchanges.

While not nearly as strong, Tiff was extremely tough and played through a lot of injuries. Not to mention her constant trips to the floor.... Seriously, though -- Tiff took a lickin' and kept on tickin'. Very, very tough girl. I can't count the number of times I thought Tiff would either come out of the game or stay out if she did take a brief trip to the sideline, only to see her on the court. The one exception was when she and Maya collided at mid-court that one time, and, well, you know who got the worst of that one!

 

[pinotbear]

gotta have Kerry Bascombe in there somewhere.

 

[Phil]

What, no Kelly?
Let's rectify that.

Agree with Mel, Stacy, Jen, Jamelle and Shea. I never saw Kerry play, but fits her rep.

 

[hoopsdiva]

How do you define toughness? The ability to play through injuries? The ability to dish out the hurt (nothing dirty of course!) on opponents? The ability to take whatever the opponents can dish out and get it done anyway?

Jamelle Elliott, Shea Ralph and Caroline Doty come to mind immediately. After that, in no particular order:

Kelly Faris, for playing tough against players who are often 3-4 inches taller than her (with the post strength we finally have this year, I'm hoping our Kelly can finally catch a break)

Morgan Valley, for playing through years of foot problems, and one memorable screen against a Pepperdine player.

Diana Taurasi, for playing through injuries and fatigue, and carrying the team on her back for most of her last 2 years.

Tiffany Hayes, for playing through falls and bang ups that would have sent normal people to the bench for a rendezvous with an icebag

Maya, for being the focus of everybody's defense for most of her career, and still accomplishing amazing things.

Ashja Jones and Stacy Hansmeyer, for sheer physical strength.

Give MoTuck a few years, and I'm hoping she'll be added to that list.

 

[sarals24]

Stef Dolson is pretty freaking tough. She got hammered a lot last year and gave as good as she got. Plus, her screens are BRUTAL.

 

[DrDos]

How do you define toughness? The ability to play through injuries? The ability to dish out the hurt (nothing dirty of course!) on opponents? The ability to take whatever the opponents can dish out and get it done anyway?

► Sounds about right to me. Great list.

 

[VAMike23]

Give MoTuck a few years, and I'm hoping she'll be added to that list.

lol @ MoTuck

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Ashley Battle??

 

[Vowelguy]

Barbara Turner
Ajsia Jones
Jen Rizzotti
Diana Taurasi
Jamelle Elliot
Stacy Hansmeyer
Mel Thomas
Sue Bird
Shea Ralph
Caroline Doty

This is a pretty good list. But I'd replace Turner & Bird with Faris & Tamika Williams.

 

[LesMis89]

Jen suffered a dislocated shoulder in the last game the New England Blizzard played at the Hartford Civic Center. She went into the locker room, had them tape her up and then came back out and led her team to victory.

Sully also said of her "If Jen decided to put her head through a brick wall, I'd feel sorry for the brick wall."

 

[arch]

Jen suffered a dislocated shoulder in the last game the New England Blizzard played at the Hartford Civic Center. She went into the locker room, had them tape her up and then came back out and led her team to victory.

Sully also said of her "If Jen decided to put her head through a brick wall, I'd feel sorry for the brick wall."

But Sue didn't no stinkin' knee pads.

Tougher physically, tougher mentally.

 

[UcMiami]

Love the discussion and for one game, and what a game, I have to nominate the other Moore, as in Jessica - the only player in Uconn history to blow out her knee in an NCAA final and still finish the game and be instrumental in the victory.
Definitely think both Kelly and Maya need to be in the dicussion. And like the inclusion of Barb Turner who like Kelly fought above her 'weight class'.

 

[CCinCT]

I can only add to - not subtract from this list

Barbara Turner
Ashja Jones
Jen Rizzotti
Diana Taurasi
Jamelle Elliot
Stacy Hansmeyer
Mel Thomas
Sue Bird
Shea Ralph
Caroline Doty

Swin Cash
Tamika Williams
Kerry Bascom
Kelly Faris
and when she wanted to be - Willnett Crockett

and JMHO the top 3 I'd want to have my back in a scrap -

Jamelle, Shea, and Bam Bam

 

[psconn]

Love the discussion and for one game, and what a game, I have to nominate the other Moore, as in Jessica - the only player in Uconn history to blow out her knee in an NCAA final and still finish the game and be instrumental in the victory.
Definitely think both Kelly and Maya need to be in the dicussion. And like the inclusion of Barb Turner who like Kelly fought above her 'weight class'.

Was that a Tennessee game that Jess had the ACL in?

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Jessica's performance in the 4th Q. of that Championship game was
remarkable.

It put me in mind of that Japanese gymnast who competed in the still rings
with a broken leg a few olympics ago. Everyone watching must have winced
on that dismount.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Frankly, I can't think of any players who were not tough.

Some obvious ones:

Jamelle, one of the leading career rebounders while undersized and a brick wall.

Shea, Jen, and Mel, as the ones who would run through a brick wall.

Barb, who played inside and gave up at least 2-3 inches.

Some different choices:

Tiffany for hitting the floor and getting back up a thousand times.

Renee, who also hit the floor a lot and was rather small.

Ann for durability.

Sue for playing through pain and being durable. As mentally tough as anyone.

Diana, physically and mentally strong, who played through pain.

A different kind of toughness:

Maya and Tina as the most physically imposing duo with loads of strength. They could intimidate the opposition in warmups.

 

[DrDos]

I need a drink. I know, I know . . . more than ten. There are at least five more.

Kerry Bascom
Jen Rizzotti
Jamelle Elliot
Stacy Hansmeyer
Barbara Turner
Ajsia Jones
Diana Taurasi
Mel Thomas
Shea Ralph
Caroline Doty
Swin Cash
Tamika Williams
Kelly Faris

 

[Dairyair]

How do you define toughness? The ability to play through injuries? The ability to dish out the hurt (nothing dirty of course!) on opponents? The ability to take whatever the opponents can dish out and get it done anyway?

Jamelle Elliott, Shea Ralph and Caroline Doty come to mind immediately. After that, in no particular order:

Kelly Faris, for playing tough against players who are often 3-4 inches taller than her (with the post strength we finally have this year, I'm hoping our Kelly can finally catch a break)

Morgan Valley, for playing through years of foot problems, and one memorable screen against a Pepperdine player.

Diana Taurasi, for playing through injuries and fatigue, and carrying the team on her back for most of her last 2 years.

Tiffany Hayes, for playing through falls and bang ups that would have sent normal people to the bench for a rendezvous with an icebag

Maya, for being the focus of everybody's defense for most of her career, and still accomplishing amazing things.

Ashja Jones and Stacy Hansmeyer, for sheer physical strength.

Give MoTuck a few years, and I'm hoping she'll be added to that list.

I was lucky enough to be at that game, and was about twenty feet away from Morgan's screen ( I'd call it a pick, but what do I know?). After the game, I told her that it was the "greatest...pick...ever." That poor Pepperdine girl went down like a ton of bricks, but luckily she was all right.

 

[Dairyair]

Barbara Turner
Ajsia Jones
Jen Rizzotti
Diana Taurasi
Jamelle Elliot
Stacy Hansmeyer
Mel Thomas
Sue Bird
Shea Ralph
Caroline Doty

Hard to argue with anyone on your list, clpedaler. The problem is there have been MANY more than 10 really tough UConn players.

 

[Shenandoah]

Let's face it, you don't win as many National and Big East Championships as UConn has, without a roster full of tough players, both mentally and physically. Every game, is the Super Bowl for our opponents, and to have the kind of winning tradition that we have, says a lot...