(based on NBA performance)
Starting Lineup:
- C: Emeka Okafor - He's been a forward but I couldn't seriously consider Travis Knight.
- PF: Cliff Robinson - In his 17th year in the NBA.
- SF: Donyell Marshall - In his 12th year and trying to help Lebron to a title.
- SG: Ray Allen - 10-year veteran averaging more the 20 points per game for his career.
- PG: Ben Gordon - Using at point guard to bolster the starting lineup.
Bench:
- C: Jake Voskuhl - Edged out Travis Knight and Chuck Aleksinas.
- F: Caron Butler - Averaging nearly 17 points a game in his 4th NBA season.
- F: Charlie Villaneuva - Averaging nearly 12 points and 5 rebounds a game as a rookie.
- F: Toby Kimball - Averaged a double/double in 1969 with San Diego.
- G: Scott Burrell - Played with the Bulls' championship team of 1998.
- G: Richard Hamilton - Averaging 22 points a game for NBA's best team.
- G: Kevin Ollie - Has played for 10 different teams in his 9 NBA seasons. Beats out Tate George, Chris Smith, Khalid El-Amin and Jimmy Foster for the last roster spot.
Note: The entry of Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong into the NBA could put a number of roster spots at risk as soon as next year.
Thoughts: Rip doesn't deserve the bench, but there's nowhere to put him. That's a hell of a 6th man off the bench.
Couldn't we make it professional performance, to get my man Doron Sheffer onto the floor at PG? I know Ben had a good rookie year and all, but he really doesn't deserve to start at PG, and he's only the third best SG to come out of UConn. Also, I think we might get to replace Ollie with El-Amin as the backup PG if we include professional play, and I think that's an upgrade.
Posted by: Bill Mill | Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 08:42 AM
Great choices, based on NBA performance, although weak at point guard .. probably because few of Uconn's true point guards have been able to make it in the NBA.
How about an all-Uconn team based on the contribution to Uconn? For the true Uconn fan, who cares about what they did in the NBA?
Ollie drops out very quickly. Amazing rejuvenation in the NBA, but not top-team performance at Uconn.
Robinson drops off the first team, despite his unsupported heroics while at Uconn.
CCharlie definitely comes out. His contribution to Uconn was nice, but he never
seemed to understand Calhoun's system.
Kimball, I don't know.
There are two guys who I would really want on my all-time team. Ricky Moore and Kevin Freeman. Wonderful work ethic. Great ability to understand the system and work within it. Give me those two as team leaders in fact,if not at the talent level of others.
El-Amin comes on the team to give us a true point guard. I hate to bring him on, but we need a point guard, unless we rely on Ricky to share with Ben
Voskhul comes on in the C. postion on the first team, with Emeka goint to PF. How can you keep off that hustle and teamwork.
Those are my choices, unless we can get Diana on the team. She gave probably the most impressive contribution to UConn basketball of anyone ever.
I would love to get more input.
MB
Posted by: mbjones | Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 10:55 AM
More input? Sure, besides the Ice Man, if we're gonna talk about contributions to UConn, you've gotta throw Donny Marshall's name around. That guy was a hustler who schoole a lot of much taller players and was always the first to the other side of the court.
I think you've gotta talk El-Amin again too, for powering the huskies almost single-handedly to a national championship.
How about Tate George? Eric Hayward?
Posted by: Bill Mill | Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 08:39 AM
Always need a shutdown defessive guy, right?
Who else but the greatest defender known to mankind....Lyman DePriest.
Remember the 1988 NIT? Took Mr Dana Barous right out of the second half.
Of course don't ask him to dripple and walk at the same time...
Smitty...hey the rules for palming the ball have changed.
How about a thug? Everyone needs a tuff guy, right?
Jerry Besilink...need I say more?
OK...Dan Cyrulik, Rod Sellers (always liked what he did to that fag Bobby Hurley)...Toraino Walker??
And where's Earl Kelly in all this discussion, remember there is a thing called the three point line now.
I agree, Ricky Moore, Kevin Freeman are UCONN...but so is a kid like Brian Fair (remember he beet Syracuse to win us our first Big East Title).
Spelling help here please....Nadove...where's his name?
Put Tate on the team as a mascot, besides he needs the money, selling cars just isn't panning out.
If haircuts count, then Coventing Cormier can bling bling with the best of them.
Who was the other guy from Isreal?
How about Donny Marshall...another true UCONN guy.
But lets not forget the all-Teds Team :
1) Cliffy...aka Spliffy
2) Phil Gamble...Cliffy wasn't the only one who liked young coeds, plus he needed a darts partner.
3) Dan Cyrulik...couldn't get laid just being on the hoops team...had to split time between Huskies and Teds.
4) Lyman Depriest...always knew he didn't have to participate in drippling drills the next day at practice.
5) Tim Coles or Torino..never knew who was darker in the back room.
From...
UCONN Alumni_________Class 1990
Posted by: gus balling | Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at 07:49 PM
The best pure shooter ever at Uconn, Wes Balasuknia. Great shooter from beyond the arc in the days before the 3-point shot.
Posted by: Roy Jacques | Friday, February 24, 2006 at 06:37 PM
Rip played the 3 at UConn. I would start him over Cliffy anytime. He and Ray Allen would'ev been awesome!!
Posted by: Eric | Saturday, March 04, 2006 at 01:46 PM
Granted he wasn't an NBA star but we haven't mentioned Doron Sheffer.
Posted by: Tony Retartha | Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 07:41 PM
i gotta say that Ricky Moore was one of the best Husky defenders i ever saw--i have only been watching since 92 or so-but he was relentless.He would be like a fly on sh_t.Remember the Alaskan Assassin-Trajon Langdon--he had one of the toughest games of his life in 99--i only saw it on VHS because i was @ THE STONES that night BUT,in between their last song and the encore you could hear the buzz around the Civic Center (HEY MAN THEY ACTUALLY BEAT DUKE) was coming from everyone with phones and little radios.As soon as Mick,Keith and the boys took their bows and left the stage they put the finall 12 seconds on the big screen (el-amin's steal and free throws)and the place went BEZERK---we were parked right across from COACHES and it was almost,i repeat almost as fun as being there--you couldnt move in the streets of downtown Hartford--everyone was standing on their cars ,hanging out of sunroofs,and partyind like it was 1999 and they just saw THE STONES mixed wuth our first ever National Championship--oh yeah it was--i just wanted to share that GREAT nigkt
Posted by: Jim O'Connor | Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 02:32 PM
Interesting list that you've culminated here. However, there's no way you can put Marshall ahead of Hamilton in the pros. Rip has been instrumental in getting Detroit to four conference finals while Marshall has been mostly a journeyman in the NBA. Butler could be on the starting team real soon with a potential all-star year coming up.
Posted by: Uconn1203 | Monday, August 13, 2007 at 01:28 AM
Back in the 60's, best TEAM ever, Toby Kimbal, Wes Balasuknia, Tommy Penders, Ron Ritter, and Bill Holiwaty,
Posted by: Gene | Sunday, January 27, 2008 at 12:29 AM
my starting line up would be
PG:Ben Gordon
SG:Ray Allen, SF:Caron Butler PF: Emeka Okaford, C:Hasheem Thabeet.... Bench rip, cliff, marcus williams, charlie, hilton,
donyell, denham brown, rashard anderson
Posted by: j | Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 09:00 PM