Round 1: #4 Rudy Gay vs. #13 Jake Voskuhl

Rudy Gay vs. Jake Voskuhl

#4 Rudy Gay – (2004-2006)
by Tyler Wilkinson

Rudy Gay arrived in Storrs with incredible hype. He was a high school McDonald’s All-American and a major recruiting victory for head coach Jim Calhoun. Gay was awarded the Co-Big East Freshman of the Year. His sophomore year, the expectations were even higher. Gay led a talented roster, earning himself a spot on the 1st Team Big East and 2nd Team All American squads before he and his UConn teammates collapsed in the NCAA Tournament in an embarrassing Elite Eight loss to George Mason.
After the season, Gay declared for the NBA Draft where he was selected 8th overall. In his two years at UConn, he amassed 870 points, 378 rebounds and 111 blocks.

Career Points: 870

Career Rebounds: 378

Career Assists: 116

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Career Steals: 83

Career Blocks: 111

_____

NBA Lottery pick
2nd Team All American 2005-2006
1st Team Big East 2005-2006
Left UConn after sophomore season

  #13 Jake Voskuhl– (1996-2000)
by Meghan Bard

Voskuhl, known more for his matinee idol good looks and impressive hair, was the center on the 1999 NCAA Championship team. With Kevin Freeman, Voskuhl kept Duke’s All-American center, Elton Brand, from taking over the game, undoubtedly a crucial aspect of the team’s first NCAA championship. Voskuhl was better known for setting the high screen, and passing to teammates Rip Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin than for his own offensive stats. He was always a solid defensive presence down low, and pulled down a career 880 rebounds.

Career Points: 863

Career Rebounds: 880

Career Assists: 124

Career Steals: 86

Career Blocks: 193

_____

Member of 1999 National Championship team


A-Z Tourney: Round 2 -- S vs. C

  • Team S (82%, 103 Votes)
  • Team C (18%, 23 Votes)

Total Voters: 126

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15 COMMENTS

  1. I hate to be that guy, but the George Mason loss was in the Elite Eight. Rudy deserves a little more credit (just a little).

    • Actually they doubled brand everytime he touched it so really your voting for Coach Calhoun stratigic genius

    • I’m with Peter on this. Four year player and the first National Championship v Rudy’s disappointing two years.

  2. Jake deserves more respect for what he did. Rudy never lived up to his potential and should have stayed an additional year

  3. Surprisingly good matchup for a 4 vs. 13…i would think this should be a closer matchup than it is so far…Voskuhl finishing his career shooting 54% through four years and also having 9 very solid seasons in the NBA i would think he would be higher than a 13 (granted NBA success shouldn’t be a factor in this, but it’s gotta be a little something) also one of the few huskies to have success in the nba after being a second round draft pick (cliff robinson, aj price, and maybe some others too?)

    But, i did vote for rudy…maybe the most naturally talented player to ever play at uconn…and he is just one hell of a guy as well, still comes to some uconn games when he has a chance and talks to uconn fans when they come to his nba games

    • We didn’t factor NBA success into the seeding — although we did try to present some NBA info in case folks are using it to sway their votes.

  4. Rudy gets a bad rap for the team he was on getting beat by George mason but the kid never had a really horrible game from what I can remember. This is different than last year’s team where a lot of “talented” players just didn’t show up in games.

    Rudy was one of the most athletically gifted players to ever play for UConn. It’s hard to over look Jake’s National Championship but I’d say if it weren’t for Rip, Ricky Moore, Khalid, and others, along with Jake, they’d not win.

    • Ha! I heart you Alex. My thing is, great teams have great players, and a team that gets beat like that team got beat by Mason, is a reflection on Rudy. He was super talented, but he didn’t do much at UConn.

  5. I would agree that Rudy was one of the most talented players to ever play at UCONN, but that is why he DESERVES the bad rap. He underachieved both years he was here. He never took over a game and put the team on his back. If he had the heart of Kemba or Rip or Ray, he would have single handedly brought that team to the Final Four. If you remember, every game in that tournament was a struggle. The other three mentioned would have said “jump on, I’ll take this team for the ride.” He never did that. He should lose this bracket game to big Jake, at least he came to play every game. Rudy is probably the most overrated player at UCONN….

  6. Although I have always maintained that Rudy’s 2 years were not as successful as we imagined they would be, and that he ‘underachieved,” but what he DID accomplished can’t be denied. He was Co-Big East Freshman of the Year, 1st team All-Big East, and a 2nd team All-American. An ALL-AMERICAN. He may not have been a gigantic superstar that we had hoped he would become, posting ridiculous #’s, but he was still very good, and did well enough to earn those accolades. I think it’s a difficult pick, but Rudy is the correct choice here.

  7. Rudy losing to Jake is a travesty. Jake was nothing more than a solid big man on a great team. Rudy was the star of a good team who laid an egg in the game that mattered most. Rudy did more in two than Jake did in four.

Comments are closed.