Hello, friends, and welcome back to the A Dime Back mailbag! Today, we tackle former UConn players you’ve never heard of, coaches you’ve never heard of and former players from other schools that you’ve never heard of.
Remember: If your question wasn’t answered, or you’re just hearing about this and want to get in on the fun, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter.
Off we go…
Tyrell: Who is the most underrated player in UConn history?
Ok, look. The answer’s probably Corny Thompson, a man you may never have heard of (despite the great name), yet sits sixth on UConn’s all-time scoring list (1,810 points) and fourth on the all-time rebounding list (1,017).
But I know the rules here. Corny graduated in 1982 — 23 years before Russ was born. We like when these questions and answers trend towards more recent history, so let’s explore some other options.
With no real criteria, there are a couple ways to look at this. Is there a role player whose contributions were overlooked? Peter suggested Doron Sheffer — who was certainly more than a role player but who never garnered the attention he deserved, playing alongside Ray Allen. I will happily toss Scott Burrell into this category as well.
Maybe it’s a great player who never quite reached expectations. Marcus Williams comes to mind immediately. He dished out 243 assists during the 2005 season and would likely be UConn’s all-time assist leader had he not left a year early for the NBA Draft.
A lot of other names come to mind. Jake Voskuhl. Tony Robertson. Albert Mourning. Donny Marshall.
But the answer is Tor Watts.
KM: A lot of good young coaches made the jump to top-flight programs this past year. Assuming KO eventually moves on to The League, which I believe he will in a few years, where do you think UConn will look?
First of all, please call it The Association. The League is a show on FX.
I think we’re all safe in assuming that Kevin Ollie will not be the head coach at UConn for the next 20+ years. At some point, maybe even this offseason, a pro team will give him an offer he can’t refuse. There are a ton of factors that go into finding a replacement, first and foremost, who is available. Shaka is off the table. He already made his move and ended up with a job that is (sorry, guys) a million times better than the UConn job.
Gregg Marshall will be the name atop everyone’s list, and of course he’d be great. But he passed up the opportunity to go to Alabama last year when Alabama was reportedly willing to offer him the world. Marshall wouldn’t be an impossible get, but it’d be tough.
I know UConn loves hiring within the family, but right now I don’t see that as an option. Down the road, Ricky Moore might be the guy, but there’s no indication that he is being groomed for the role. Karl Hobbs has head coaching experience, but I don’t think he would garner much excitement among the fan base and I’m not sure he offers anything other than what he’s providing in his current role. You can argue that Steve Pikiell would be a good pick, but I’d like to see him succeed at a mid-major first. Just my thought.
Some other candidates (and I need to stress that getting ANY of them is not a guarantee. You might worship UConn basketball, but not everybody does. Some guys are happy where they are):
Archie Miller. Young, rising star. Just have to hope he’s still available whenever Ollie moves on.
Dan Hurley: Could be UConn’s best bet. Hate the Hurley name? Too bad.
Ben Jacobson: I don’t know why he’s not always a top 2-3 guy people are mentioning for head coaching jobs.
Leon Rice: Turned Boise State into a Mountain West power.
Brad Underwood: Experience at K-State and South Carolina as an assistant, two amazing seasons at SFA.
(HALF SERIOUS) Billy Donovan: Proven college coach who gets fired from OKC after two lackluster seasons. The Thunder, who manage to re-sign KD after this year, hire Ollie and UConn hires Donovan. That’d be a Shiva blast.
*Peter has added that it would help to get an east coast guy because they may have stronger recruiting ties in the area. Important to note, but don’t cross anyone off the list solely because of that.
Anonymous: Is Ray Allen the best player to come from an AAC school?
No. Here is the best player to come from each AAC school, ranked in order of their greatness.
Having worked with Gregg Marshall, he is a great coach but has an uh. somewhat difficult personality. Maybe KO will surprise everyone and stay at UConn for the next 20 years. It’s not like he’s making peanuts and how much time does a coach really have to spend their money anyway?!
This site isn’t made by uconn fans for uconn fans …I perused the article and in the few things I noticed one was saying that Shaka smarts job is a million times better than uconn and then another part having Ray Allen 4th on the list then another section saying its a foregone conclusion ko is leaving …and there’s probably more crap I don’t feel like reading any longer …this site is a joke
http://the-boneyard.com/
Go there.
Mike e im a die hard uconn fan and besides kirk king ray is clearly the best uconn player ever but you call this site stupid but please give one reason the big O(triple double king), the dream and david with their multiple mvps, final mvps, and chips somehow arent better than ray?