The ADB Mailbag: UConn’s 5 Best Players

It’s Friday. You know what that means: another edition of the ADB Mailbag. This week we predict the men’s basketball captains, name UConn’s five best student-athletes and discuss Glen Miller’s future coaching prospects

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.

Thomas (@Bigg_Higgs) asks: If you had to pick the top five student-athletes in Storrs right now, who would they be?

Well, Thomas, I want you to know this was a hotly debated question in the ADB e-mail chain. First, we had to decide what criteria to use. We decided that we would take the best athletes relative to their peers, as well as what each brings to the table as a total package. Without getting too much into academics (because, really, what the hell do we know about that?), we also factored in how they represent the university and their importance to their teams.

With that said, here is my list (which is probably a little different than everyone else’s list):

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1. Breanna Stewart (Women’s Basketball)
2. Rodney Purvis (Men’s Basketball)
3. Rachel Hill (Women’s Soccer)
4. Charlotte Veitner (Field Hockey)
5. Bryant Shirreffs (Football)

Stewie tops this list because she is the best player in women’s college basketball, and has been since she was a freshman. She’s likely to graduate with four national championships and quite possibly as the best player to ever come out of that program. If that means topping legends like Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, then no one bests Stewie.

Purv is next because he’s a ridiculous athlete. Fast, strong, quick, great vertical ups, basically checks every “athletic” box. Also, a nicer dude you are unlikely to meet, and he represents the university and the program in a way we can all be proud of. Ambassador Purvis was instrumental in getting transfer recruits to commit to UConn, and that’s at least as important as what he does on the court.

Rachel Hill, the junior forward, won like all of the awards last year. She was the AAC Co-Offensive Player of the year, and was named to the AAC First Team. Last summer she was called up to the USWNT U-20 Team for the U-20 World Cup. She has started every game since her freshman year, and has seven goals in eight games so far this season. Oh, and there’s this.

Charlotte Veitner is a sophomore forward from Germany (who apparently picked UConn because Niels Giffey won a National Championship here) who was the Big East Rookie of the Year last year. Veitner is one of the best field hockey players in the country, and was instrumental in the team’s National Championship run last year as a freshman. She was recently named Big East Offensive Player of the Week when she had back-to-back hat tricks earlier this month.

This last slot was the most contested. Do we go with elite hockey recruits like Maxim Letunov or Joe Masonius? Or Bobby Melley from the baseball team? Ultimately, I went with Shirreffs because he is the most important player on the football team, and could, potentially, be an incredibly important person for UConn Athletics, generally. He’s shown that he’s got a good arm, and is capable at the scramble. He has great instincts and makes few mistakes. Also, I want this to be true so badly, I’m just putting this juju out into the world.

Other honorable mentions for mens’ basketball go to Amida Brimah and Daniel Hamilton, both outstanding players at their respective positions.

– Meghan Bard

Dan (@dlazi) asks: Do you think Glen Miller will be offered and take a head coaching job in the next 2-4 years?