We keep forgetting to do mailbags (honestly your questions have been awful) but this tweet from Will sparked some discussion amongst the ADB staff today so we’re awarding it a rare standalone post.
@ADimeBack @Russ_Steinberg @DanielVConnolly you can choose one player from UConn in the 21st century to play on this year’s MBB team. Who do you choose and how good does that player make this team?
— Will (@RW_Harris10) February 7, 2019
First, before you all have meltdowns, the “21st Century” part of the question is pretty important because it takes some good options (Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall, Rip Hamilton, Scott Burrell, Cliff Robinson) off the table.
I think Ray probably would’ve topped the list for me if we didn’t have that caveat.
Some honorable mentions before we begin: Khalid El-Amin, Josh Boone, Alex Oriahki, Ryan Boatright, Niels Giffey, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, Others. Wanna fight about Craig Austrie?
Instead of explaining my rationale ahead of time I’ll do it in the blurbs. Reverse order time!
10Rashad Anderson
This team would be markedly improved with a true knock-down three-point shooter. Hence why Allen would’ve been my top choice. Slash’s long-range numbers aren’t as gaudy as senior year Giffey but I’ll take the overall body of work with the big… shot… energy.
9Kevin Freeman
You can make an argument that Freeman would be the best player on this team. Short of that, his skill set fills the most obvious need on the roster, adding a frontcourt starter that can rebound, defend the three and the four, score inside and be a True Leader™.
8Andre Drummond
The bias of expectations has led a lot of UConn fans to think Drummond’s lone year at Storrs was a failure. In actuality he had one of the finest freshman seasons in the program’s history piling up rebounds and blocks while competing for minutes (and hearts and minds) with Oriakhi. Put Drummond on this roster, in this conference, at this time where freshmen firmly dominate the college basketball landscape without much pushback and he’d be first-team all-conference.
7Jeremy Lamb
Lamb, in addition to being very good, fills a lot of needs on this roster, pushing Tyler Polley and Sid Wilson (and Tarin Smith) down the depth chart and adding a dynamic scoring threat. Lamb is used to playing alongside ball-heavy guards and would keep opponents honest by eating the middle of any zone defense — something UConn has struggled with in recent years.
6Rudy Gay
Essentially everything we just said about Lamb but bigger and better. Thinking back on 2006 Rudy Gay and picturing him in the 2019 AAC is hilarious. He’s not higher because (A) we have some other awesome options (B) the three-point shooting is a little suspect and (C) the guys coming up all have more big game mojo.
5Ben Gordon
Gordon’s versatile scoring would change the entire dynamic of the roster. Yea, he’d push Gilbert or Vital down the depth chart but who cares? Gordon’s three-point shooting alone would make him a no-brainer add to the team.
4Shabazz Napier
Sure, this year’s team has plenty of guards but none come close to Napier’s talent or record of achievement. As was frequently said by a blog that was popular a few years back that stopped producing any quality content: #AllGuardEverything. Napier’s too good to ignore on this list even if scoring guard is (or was) the deepest position on the 2019 roster.
3Kemba Walker
Essentially everything we just said about Napier but bigger and better. Kemba led a team with similar talent to a national title so give him the keys and see what happens. If nothing else, it’d be fun watching him score 90 on Tulane.
2Emeka Okafor
Okafor might average ten blocks per game in this dog piss league. More than Kemba or Shabazz, Okafor also fits a positional need. I strongly considered him for the number one spot on this list but he eventually he got points deducted for health and his dependency on guards to get him the ball. Having watched 23 games of the 2019 Huskies struggle to run pick-and-rolls and throw entry passes, I’m a little nervous Okafor would need 15 offensive rebounds per game to get his 12 field goal attempts.
1Caron Butler
So here we go. Caron isn’t the best player on this list but he offers the best combination of needs: volume scoring, positional depth, rebounding, toughness, nickname, big game performances and three-point shooting (although no one remembers this, Butler shot 40% from deep as a sophomore). A lineup of Gilbert, Adams, Vital, Butler and Carlton should easily win the league and play a better brand of basketball than the current version of leaning heavily on Adams to find most of the points.
***
Loading ...
