1) Richard Hamilton - There is an admitted log jam at the top, but as Final 4 MVP and leader of the 1999 National Championship team, he paved the way for winning and gets the nod. Being the 1st UConn player to win an NBA Championship doesn't hurt either.
2) Ray Allen - The most talented player we've ever had. Look no further than the 1996 Big East Championship Allen/Allen game; Jesus walked on air in the lane. And that's a Shuttlesworth joke. That shot still gives me goosebumps. But you gotta beat Mississippi State.
3) Caron Butler - One of the easiest players to root for; how could you not love Caron? Arrested 15 times before the age of 15, Caron turned his life around and is now a two-time NBA All-Star. Oh, and his two years in Storrs weren't bad either (15.6/7.6, 20.3/7.5).
4) Emeka Okafor - A stud on and off the court, if only they were all like Emeka. But, in the biggest game of his career it was Calhoun who had the best game, keeping an angry, two foul having Okafor on the bench until the second half. And in case you didn't know, he was only a top-100 recruit.
5) Donyell Marshall - You gotta make those free throws...
6) Ben Gordon - Cold blooded killer. See: Madison Square Garden
7) Cliff Robinson - A trailblazer in many ways. Uncle Cliffy not only captains the Eric Hayward Convict All Stars, he was also a member of the 1988 NIT championship team - which was the first time people realized you could win at Connecticut. Cliff was named to the all tournament team and ranks 8th on the NBA games played list.
8) Hasheem Thabeet - A tough first year - his first shot was a baseline hook at Gampel that hit the side of the backboard - saw Hash turn into one of the best players in the nation by his junior year. A total gamechanger with room to move up this list based on results of the 08-09 season.
9) Rudy Gay - Probably the second best player in terms of athleticism to Ray. But he wasn't a winner, and only played two years. Serious points deducted.
10) VOTE in the poll on the right for the 10 spot. Here are the nominees...
Chris Smith - UConn's career scoring leader with 2,145 pts
Nadav Henefeld - Paved the way for Doron Sheffer & Uri Cohen-Mintz!, the "Israeli Larry Bird" and was huge part of the 1990 "Dream Season". If the Jewish Mafia didn't part the Atlantic to bring him back to the promised land Nadav would have been much higher on the list.
Khalid El-Amin - Helped "Shock The World!", long history of hitting big shots.
Tate George - Need we say more?
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I am a basketball fan, not a UConn fan, so take this with a grain of salt. I think Tate George has to make your top 10 list. He made the shot that forced people outside the state of CT to take notice of the team. One might say that it was the seminal moment of the basketball program. Without Tate George is there a Ray Allen?
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think you might want to think about bumping Rudy Gay off the list in favor of El Amin. Gay may be far more talented and that has certainly proved to be true in the NBA. However, I think you could make the argument that El Amin was the better college basketball player and meant far more to the program and certainly more identifiable as a Husky.
Thabeet is another questionable choice at this point. He has certainly established that he is a game changing defender against average teams. However, he doesn't have a tournament win to his name and he's been abused by similarly talented big men. DeJaun Blair and Craig Monroe come to mind.
Jake, thanks for reading. You make some good points, particularly about Thabeet. In my defense i wrote this column before the Pitt game, so right now I am as disgusted with him as anyone. Unfortunately I am a sucker for anything Calhoun says, and he got me good last week with his Thabeet POY campaign. That said I'm not giving up on him quite yet.
ReplyDeleteAs for Tate George- he was a nice player. But he only averaged in double figure points two years, and his career avg is 9.7, with 5 asst, 3rbs. That is just not top ten material. I would rather have the guy throwing him the pass (scott Burrell) than Tate. We understand he was part of a seminal moment in the program, but the 1988 NIT was bigger in terms of putting us on the national stage, in my opinion. So, we try to do Tate proper homage with the clip, but now it is in the hands of the readers.
If i could do it over again i would axe Thabeet, leave Rudy, and add Chris Smith and El-Amin. i think that would be the best argument.
This is the kind of egregious errors i make when trying to write something serious - gonna have to stick with potty humor.