Well, Husky Nation, I’m proud of you. Aside from a few missteps, you’ve generally done the right thing throughout this exercise (the right thing being the thing that I agree with). And now, here we are, down to the two players who are, in my opinion, the best two players in UConn history.
It’s a tough call at this point, and I couldn’t blame anyone for disagreeing with my choice. We’ve set no real criteria for voting, so I’ll outline what I think the best reasons for voting for either player would be.
For total body of work, it’s Ray. Nobody had a better career as an individual player at UConn than Ray Allen did. He was an incredibly efficient bench player as a freshman, finishing second on the team in scoring, and blossomed instantly into a superstar as a sophomore before being (arguably) the top player in the nation as a junior. While he never played in a Final Four, he was one of the most dominant players in the Big East and in the country for his entire tenure at UConn.
For lasting legacy, it’s Ray. No UConn player has had a more impressive post-UConn career than he did, playing in 10 All-Star games, and setting single-season and career records for three-point shots made, establishing himself as arguably the greatest jump shooter the game has ever seen. Kemba’s NBA career has been impressive to this point, but he has a long, long way to go before it would be reasonable to start making comparisons between their professional careers.
At their best, it’s a toss-up. Ray Allen’s 1995-96 season is in the conversation for best individual UConn season ever, seeing him win the Big East Player of the Year, UPI College Basketball Player of the Year, and USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year awards. While Kemba performed at an incredible level during the 2010-2011 season, he was curiously denied any national awards, excluding his consensus First-Team All-American status, and the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard. In one of the more embarrassing decisions by the conference, the Big East named Ben Hansbrough their Player of the Year that season, a choice that looks all but inexplicable now.
In terms of impact to the team and program, it’s Kemba. It’s been said many times already on this site that Kemba meant more to the 2011 championship team than any UConn player has ever meant to any UConn team. Taking a group of freshmen on your back and winning a championship, particularly in the fashion Kemba did, is unforgettable. I’ll remember watching that team for as long as I live, and Kemba’s late-game heroics will always be what stick out in my mind.
For this reason, I have to go with Cardiac Kemba. This was a tough decision to come to; for years it had been a given that Ray Allen was the best UConn player ever, through Rip Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin, through Caron Butler, through Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon, it was always Ray first. Not today, folks.
Another big win for Kemba.
