John Wall lists his all time UK starting 5
- Thread starter Princecal
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Mine, with reasons:
PG- Wall - 16.6ppg (2nd in assists in a single season, behind Ulis, but with more speed and ability to create his own shot)
SG- Meeks - 15.4ppg - (Most 3-pointers in a single season, plus the ability to create his own shot; scored 54 points in a single game)
SF- Mashburn - 18.8ppg - (Does everything you need him to at this position, and on the basketball court in general)
PF- Davis - 14.2ppg - 4.65bpg (His defense would create incredible offense for the three above)
C- Issel - 25.8ppg (Averaged 25.8 points a game over his career)
This team would be unbeatable. My only switch would possibly be Nerlens Noel for Issel (I know, it's crazy, but hear me out). With Davis and Noel at the 4/5, this team would give up very few points. Between the two, they would have nearly ten blocks per game (Davis averaged 4.65/g, Noel averaged 4.57/g). That, to go along with the defense and scoring of Wall, Meeks, and Mashburn, I don't know that a better team could be assembled in all of college basketball.
I’ve seen movies of Spivey and he looks like he stepped out of a time machine from the 2000s. Just amazingly quick for someone 7’1” today, never mind from 60+ years ago. I still argue his 40 point 34 rebound game against Xavier is single greatest game ever by a UK player.
No, just no. You can't replace Issell with Noel I see your justification but noMine, with reasons:
PG- Wall - 16.6ppg (2nd in assists in a single season, behind Ulis, but with more speed and ability to create his own shot)
SG- Meeks - 15.4ppg - (Most 3-pointers in a single season, plus the ability to create his own shot; scored 54 points in a single game)
SF- Mashburn - 18.8ppg - (Does everything you need him to at this position, and on the basketball court in general)
PF- Davis - 14.2ppg - 4.65bpg (His defense would create incredible offense for the three above)
C- Issel - 25.8ppg (Averaged 25.8 points a game over his career)
This team would be unbeatable. My only switch would possibly be Nerlens Noel for Issel (I know, it's crazy, but hear me out). With Davis and Noel at the 4/5, this team would give up very few points. Between the two, they would have nearly ten blocks per game (Davis averaged 4.65/g, Noel averaged 4.57/g). That, to go along with the defense and scoring of Wall, Meeks, and Mashburn, I don't know that a better team could be assembled in all of college basketball.
I don't know how close we were on Allen Iverson. After his bowling alley incident, Then coach Rick Pitino & rightly so I might add dropped him like a hot potato. Pitino didn't want anybody like that around the UK basketball program.
The kid was the best guard in his high school class. I think if the sentence had been smaller, Pitino still takes him, but the original sentence was something like 15 months until the governor of Virginia pardoned Iverson after a few months.
He was exactly what we lacked on that 1995 team. Epps and Sheppard simply weren't ready to lead that UK team to a national title (yet).
Yeah, that's why I went with Issel. However, Noel was pretty dominant defensively on a team that was otherwise terrible.
Also Brandon Wright and Draymond Green. Not sure if Wright really panned out though. I don't follow the NBA
He went to Georgetown because everyone dropped him after his conviction except John Thompson. Iverson’s mother literally begged him to give her son a chance and he did. AI has always said that John Thompson saved his life.
Iverson would have never lasted under Pitino.
I highly doubt Pitino would have had a hard time finding a role for a future #1 pick and the best guard in college basketball from 1995 through 1996.
During the time period of recruiting Brandon Wright, I really wanted Thaddeus Young. I loved his game. He's lasted a long time in the NBA as well. He even played last season.
Well Spivey and Beard ARE dead after all, and Dampier is 79…..
All joking aside, I believe all those guys taken at their prime AND if availed of modern strength training would be very competitive, but that last “if” is critical for Spivey and Beard, and probably Dampier as well. Less so for Issel and a non-issue for Mashburn. There was a revolution in sports in the late 60s/early 70s regarding the value/necessity of strength training in most sports (outside of football and a handful of others) that sets a wall between players of the past and those who came afterwards.
Some of our fans try to show their "knowledge" by coming up with some of the weirdest scenarios possible that no one else could possibly come up with. Then try to justify those scenarios. Almost comical really 🤣🤣🤣
You have to look at how players of different eras compared to other players in their era. It's the reason that it's a topic that creates so much division in peoples opinions.
Looking at today's game (in any sport) with all the strength, nutrition, training programs, etc. not too mention the money involved versus players from the past is impossible. For an easy example today's players make so much money they can put entire gyms (weights and training, not meaning an actual basketball court) in their homes and work out daily. Many professional athletes in days gone by had to work "regular" jobs in the off season to make ends meet.
GT payed Young a ton. He was going to play for Cal 100% we had no chance. Cal was literally clearing room for him boom GT. That’s one that always burned Cal up. Guy on 06 said Cal was visibly pissed and distraught when Thad went away from Memphis. It was heavily rumored by some guys very close to Calipari and the program that young was given unforeseen money to go to GT. There’s no way UK would have played in the games Memphis and GT were playing in to land him.
One of Thad’s mentors is said to have agreed to Cals arraignment and Cal never again worked with anyone associated with them again.
Old story I haven’t thought of much in years until you brought him up.
Another that is said to have burned Cal up bad was Barton. He was on a trip to China and Memphis dropped a bigger bag but wanted Barton to commit immediately. Cal never had the chance to correct it and lost him without a counter. Memphis was trying to maintain after cal during that time and keep the program up. They overpayed bad for Barton but wanted to steal a big one from Cal. From that moment on Cal wanted back in the Memphis scene to cause problems with the pipeline and did so. Memphis slowly died lol.
That was a wild time those days
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Never gotten the Wall mania, he really didn't accomplish as much say Macy, Delk,Givens and a host of others that played here. Fwiw my team would be
Pg- Macy
Sg-- Delk
Sf -- Givens
Pf -- Mashburn
C --Issel.
Pg- Macy
Sg-- Delk
Sf -- Givens
Pf -- Mashburn
C --Issel.
I’ll defend Wall. We’ve never had a game breaker like him. UNC, UConn at MSG, and Tennessee at home are just 3 examples off the top of my head where he completely took over the game and propelled us to victory. I get that WVU was a complete fiasco and for a lot of folks that’s the everlasting impression. But when Wall was on we’ve never had a point guard like him.
Fitch doesn’t fit on this list. Loved that dude except his miss against UAB in the 2004 tourney.
🤣 Delk, Blurr Anderson, Grevey, Meeks and Chapman are just a few of the UK guards who suggest to the contrary.
I don’t think you know what a game breaker is. Those players were all great scorers and had consistent offense that would carry the team, but outside of Dwight Anderson (who was before my time and on a middling team) none of them would have a stretch of blocks, steals, and dunks that completely shifted the momentum of the game. And none of them were point guards.
I looked in the coaching manuals, the rosters and even in Woden’s pyramid of success but couldn’t find any listing for ‘game breakers.’ 🤣 Back when I played college ball in the 80’s, there were the elite players that we called ‘studs’ who each dominated in college for more than just one season. Delk, Blurr, Grevey, Meeks and Chapman were all studs. Wall averaged 16 points over 31 college games? To each their own, you’re more easily impressed than me 🤠
John Wall: Averaged 16.6ppg over 37 games - scoring 616 points in a season, good for 20th all time.
Delk: Scored 639 over 36 games, his senior year, good for 17th all time
Anderson: Averaged 13.3ppg, 387 in his first season at UK, not even on the board historically
Grevy: He was a PF
Jodie Meeks: He was SG, and as great as he was, he wasn't quite the gamechanger in every way that John Wall was. To be fair, my starting five included Wall at PG and Meeks at SG
Chapman: I'm taking Wall. Let's take Chapman's sophomore season and compare to Wall:
Chapman: 19ppg / 3.7apg / 1.7spg / 2.7to
Wall: 16.6ppg / 6.5apg / 2.1spg / 4.7to
Closer than I would have thought, and Chapman had an inch on Wall while Wall outweighed Chapman by ten pounds, 195 to 185. I would take Wall still, but it was a closer comparison that I thought.
Whenever you make these lists people will always have recency bias. Old timers will favor the guys they grew up watching and younger people will favor the ones they grew up watching.
My favorite all time players include Roger Harden but I’m not going to put him on any top 5 or top 10 lists. These things fluctuate.
My favorite all time players include Roger Harden but I’m not going to put him on any top 5 or top 10 lists. These things fluctuate.
Interesting stat: In the three games Kentucky lost in 2009-2010, John Wall scored 19 points in each game. They were 3-3 when John Wall scored 19 points. They were 32-0 when he scored any other amount.
Probably irrelevant, but interesting.
My list, with only players in my era, would look like this. Again, I am leaving guys like "Goose" Givens, Issel, Macy, Ramsey, Dampier, Chapman, "Sky" Walker et. out due to them playing before my time.
1 - John Wall
2 - Tony Delk
3 - Jamal Mashburn
4 - Antoine Walker
5 - Anthony Davis
Derek Anderson, Ron Mercer, Demarcus Cousins, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Jamal Murray as honorable mentions who were the last cuts.
Yea that’s a good list. It’s hard for us who don’t remember much before the 90’s because they were so stacked it’s just hard to realize we actually had players that good before. I always try and give the Horse his due because I remember him being such a solid known pro in my early early years.
Sheppard- PG
Booker- SG
Antwone Walker- SF
Townes- PF
Davis- Center
Be hard to outscore this bunch.
Booker- SG
Antwone Walker- SF
Townes- PF
Davis- Center
Be hard to outscore this bunch.
