MKG or Mashburn?

[JimboBBN]

Who is the better player? Take your emotions out of it when Mash came to us in a time of need.

If you could have either one for one year, who are you taking?

I have been following Kentucky sports since about 2000, when I was 7. Never got to see Mash play live, but I've had some debates with older UK fans who say they would take Mash over Gilly.

Thoughts?

 

[Bobcat94]

I love MKG and would take him on any team but Mashburn was on a whole other level IMO. I would have loved to seen Mashburn play on teams with more overall talent like Cal has every year. He was a matchup nightmare on the offensive side.

 

[trinity45]

Who is the better player? Take your emotions out of it when Mash came to us in a time of need.

If you could have either one for one year, who are you taking?

I have been following Kentucky sports since about 2000, when I was 7. Never got to see Mash play live, but I've had some debates with older UK fans who say they would take Mash over Gilly.

Thoughts?

As well liked as MKG was, Mashburn was the better basketball player, what he did offensively on that team was amazing, it did not have a Davis, or Teague or even a multi-purpose player like Miller.

 

[Catzman]

Why is this a question?


Better question worth more debate; Hooters vs Winghouse (assuming both fine dining establishments are in your area).

 

[true blue1]

Mashburn

 

[JimboBBN]

Why is this a question?


Better question worth more debate; Hooters vs Winghouse (assuming both fine dining establishments are in your area).

I never saw Mash play for UK and was interested in some other opinions. Isn't that what a message board is for?

 

[420grover]

Mash was bigger and more skilled. Case closed.

 

[Smashcat]

I love MKG and would take him on any team but Mashburn was on a whole other level IMO. I would have loved to seen Mashburn play on teams with more overall talent like Cal has every year. He was a matchup nightmare on the offensive side.

Agree.

 

[CELTICAT]

Mashburn's best teammate was either Travis Ford or John Pelphrey, depending on the year.

Would have been wild to see a player like AD backing up Mash.

 

[gregford]

Who is the better player? Take your emotions out of it when Mash came to us in a time of need.

If you could have either one for one year, who are you taking?

I have been following Kentucky sports since about 2000, when I was 7. Never got to see Mash play live, but I've had some debates with older UK fans who say they would take Mash over Gilly.

Thoughts?

Mash hands down

 

[Col. Angus]

Lord

 

[wcc31]

Who is the better player? Take your emotions out of it when Mash came to us in a time of need.

If you could have either one for one year, who are you taking?

I have been following Kentucky sports since about 2000, when I was 7. Never got to see Mash play live, but I've had some debates with older UK fans who say they would take Mash over Gilly.

Thoughts?

MKG is perhaps one of my 5 favorite Cats to ever play but it's not even close. It's Mashburn. Best college inside-out player I've ever seen. Made everyone on the floor better.

Mash is one of the more underrated college basketball players of the last 25 years.

 

[Catzman]

I never saw Mash play for UK and was interested in some other opinions. Isn't that what a message board is for?

You're right, you have every right to post or ask whatever you want. I'm simply having a little fun with what, in my opinion, is an easy answered question. Monster Mash is hands down, one of the best players to ever play for UK. MKG, while great, wasn't even the best player on his own team and only played for 1 year. I never saw Mash play either, but it's unnecessary when it's a question like this.

Mashburn played 3 seasons at UK. His freshman season saw him go for 13 and 7 in only 24 minutes of action. Comparable to MKG, sure. But his next 2 seasons, Mash averaged 21 and 8 and greatly improved his 3 point percentage going from a bad 29% as a freshman to average 40% between his final 2 seasons. MKG is one of the best players to play at UK this century. Mash is one of the best to play here ever.

That, and I truly believe the Hooters vs Winghouse debate is one for the ages.

 

[wcc31]

You could argue Mashburn was a better college player than Davis, honestly.

Mash was 6'8"/245, great ballhandler, great passer, great scorer inside, feathery three-point shooter, really good rebounder. Clutch AF (28&14 against Duke in '92, best player on the floor against Michigan in the '93 F4 - 26 pts).

Best thing about him was- his mere presence made everyone better. He made the Unforgettables who they were. He made Travis Ford look like an All-American. For one semester, he made Jarred Prickett look lime a future star.

 

[JimboBBN]

You're right, you have every right to post or ask whatever you want. I'm simply having a little fun with what, in my opinion, is an easy answered question. Monster Mash is hands down, one of the best players to ever play for UK. MKG, while great, wasn't even the best player on his own team and only played for 1 year. I never saw Mash play either, but it's unnecessary when it's a question like this.

Mashburn played 3 seasons at UK. His freshman season saw him go for 13 and 7 in only 24 minutes of action. Comparable to MKG, sure. But his next 2 seasons, Mash averaged 21 and 8 and greatly improved his 3 point percentage going from a bad 29% as a freshman to average 40% between his final 2 seasons. MKG is one of the best players to play at UK this century. Mash is one of the best to play here ever.

That, and I truly believe the Hooters vs Winghouse debate is one for the ages.

Good stuff man. Really wish I would have had the pleasure of seeing the man suit up for the Cats. I guess its just one of those things where you don't understand how good he was unless you were actually there.

 

[JimboBBN]

You could argue Mashburn was a better college player than Davis, honestly.

Mash was 6'8"/245, great ballhandler, great passer, great scorer inside, feathery three-point shooter, really good rebounder. Clutch AF (28&14 against Duke in '92, best player on the floor against Michigan in the '93 F4 - 26 pts).

Best thing about him was- his mere presence made everyone better. He made the Unforgettables who they were. He made Travis Ford look like an All-American. For one semester, he made Jarred Prickett look lime a future star.

Had an older gentleman the other day mention Sam Bowie was a better player than Davis when healthy. Thoughts on that?

 

[wcc31]

Had an older gentleman the other day mention Sam Bowie was a better player than Davis when healthy. Thoughts on that?

I'm not that old, brother. From what I understand Bowie was the next big thing in basketball- the big man with guard skills who could also play on the perimeter, along with Sampson.

Most purely talented UK players of my fandom (Pitino on...):

1. Davis
2. Mashburn
3. Wall
4. Antoine Walker
5. Cousins

Walker is the interesting one. At UK, he was like a modern smallball 4 who was a devent scorer with a crafty game, but whose best assets were his ballhandling, amazing court vision (LeBron-esque passing skills) and tremendous work on the offensive glass.

Gets to the NBA and he forgets all of that and just bombs 3s all day.

 

[wcc31]

I also remember the late 80s a bit and if you really want to blow your hair back, watch some old Rex Chapman clips at UK. That boy was amazing.

 

[Hoopcatjc]

When Bowie was healthy, he was a truly great college player and although it was a different era, I would put Sam ahead of AD and I saw both.

Bowie will always be remembered as the player Portland passed on Michael Jordan for in the 1984 NBA draft, unfortunately.

 

[Macy's socks]

The Monster Mash without question.

 

[JimboBBN]

I'm not that old, brother. From what I understand Bowie was the next big thing in basketball- the big man with guard skills who could also play on the perimeter, along with Sampson.

Most purely talented UK players of my fandom (Pitino on...):

1. Davis
2. Mashburn
3. Wall
4. Antoine Walker
5. Cousins

Walker is the interesting one. At UK, he was like a modern smallball 4 who was a devent scorer with a crafty game, but whose best assets were his ballhandling, amazing court vision (LeBron-esque passing skills) and tremendous work on the offensive glass.

Gets to the NBA and he forgets all of that and just bombs 3s all day.

Ha! My bad bud. Just thought that was nuts that someone would take ANYONE over AD. I'm on the newer end of Kentucky basketball fans, but I was of the understanding Davis is probably the best to ever suit up for the Cats.

 

[Hoopcatjc]

I recommend to anyone to research our rich history. I go back to the early 1970's with our Cats and I love reading about the great players that pre-date me: Alex Groza, Dan Issel, Louie Dampier, Cliff Hagan, and on and on.....

 

[BlueBomb]

Mashburn is arguably the greatest player ever at UK. And one of the nicest. MKG is not in the top 25 players to play here. No knock on him but we've had great players. JMO.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Mashburn by an absolute mile. Mash could do it all. Circumstances and injury kept him off his true NBA potential (team turmoil in Dallas, intentionally took a backseat to Mourning/Hardaway in Miami, various injuries. The few years they let him loose and he stayed healthy in New Orleans/Charlotte he was fantastic.

I love MKG and he's a solid guy to have in the NBA, but he is not in Mashburn's league.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Ha! My bad bud. Just thought that was nuts that someone would take ANYONE over AD. I'm on the newer end of Kentucky basketball fans, but I was of the understanding Davis is probably the best to ever suit up for the Cats.

Issel and a couple others have a claim, but Davis is top 4 at the very, very least. If this were the old days where we'd have AD for even two seasons, there's probably be no debate.

 

[J-FIELDS23]

Who is the better player? Take your emotions out of it when Mash came to us in a time of need.

If you could have either one for one year, who are you taking?

I have been following Kentucky sports since about 2000, when I was 7. Never got to see Mash play live, but I've had some debates with older UK fans who say they would take Mash over Gilly.

Thoughts?

MKG is my all time favorite player, EVER. Dude was just all out all the time and a great team player. All he wanted to do was win. With that said, go back and look at the '93 Michigan game in the F4. Mash literally had their entire (incredibly talented) team beat by himself. Literally our offense was give it to Mash up top and let him go to work. If he doesn't foul out, we win. As much as I LOVE MKG, I don't think he was capable of that. Mashburn is one of the best college players I've ever seen.

 

[Deli owl]

Mashburn

MKG

 

[JimboBBN]

Didn't realize there was a huge gap between the two. Good reason to go back and watch some old games.

 

[J-FIELDS23]

Mashburn is arguably the greatest player ever at UK. And one of the nicest. MKG is not in the top 25 players to play here. No knock on him but we've had great players. JMO.

I agree with Mash possibly being the greatest ever to where the Blue & White, however, I disagree with you on MKG not being top 25. Don't forget you're comparing him mostly to guys who got to develop for 3-4 years. If MKG had 4 years, he woulda been in the top 5-10 on so many stat lines. Points, rebounds, blocks, steals. But ultimately it was his intangible motor and team mentality that would easily put him in the top 25. He could do it all, guard the quickest point guard in CBB? Ok, he'll shut him down. Bang down low with a PF and out rebound him? Done.

 

[KYFOSSIL]

You're right, you have every right to post or ask whatever you want. I'm simply having a little fun with what, in my opinion, is an easy answered question. Monster Mash is hands down, one of the best players to ever play for UK. MKG, while great, wasn't even the best player on his own team and only played for 1 year. I never saw Mash play either, but it's unnecessary when it's a question like this.

Mashburn played 3 seasons at UK. His freshman season saw him go for 13 and 7 in only 24 minutes of action. Comparable to MKG, sure. But his next 2 seasons, Mash averaged 21 and 8 and greatly improved his 3 point percentage going from a bad 29% as a freshman to average 40% between his final 2 seasons. MKG is one of the best players to play at UK this century. Mash is one of the best to play here ever.

That, and I truly believe the Hooters vs Winghouse debate is one for the ages.

Scenery versus food

 

[Big_Blue79]

I love MKG and would take him on any team but Mashburn was on a whole other level IMO. I would have loved to seen Mashburn play on teams with more overall talent like Cal has every year. He was a matchup nightmare on the offensive side.

This. Love MKG (my personal favorite Cal era player), but Mashburn was so, so good. And he'd be a perfect player for the modern NBA. He was ahead of his time, really.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Love them both, but Mash easily.

 

[Kycatspaws]

 

[Bobcat94]

I don't think people realize how good Mashburn was even in the Pros. He had several 50+ scoring games and was a career 19.1 PPG average with several years in the low to mid 20's scoring average. Simply put the best SF that's ever played for Kentucky IMO.

http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/516/jamal-mashburn

His carrer average in the pro's was

19.1 PPG 4.0 APG 5.4 RPG

 

[KyFaninNC]

Mash and it's not even close.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

Mash by a country mile. When he declared a year early, my school let out early for bereavement. Serious.

 

[jof2]

Who is the better player? Take your emotions out of it when Mash came to us in a time of need.

If you could have either one for one year, who are you taking?

I have been following Kentucky sports since about 2000, when I was 7. Never got to see Mash play live, but I've had some debates with older UK fans who say they would take Mash over Gilly.

Thoughts?

Mashburn.

 

[ganner918]

Hahahaha even with ridiculous questions you usually see one or two people taking the wrong answer, it's rare to see a unanimous pick. But yeah, Mash. No question.

 

[KeepingItReal74]

I never saw Mash play for UK and was interested in some other opinions. Isn't that what a message board is for?

Mash. Took 4 2 star players and nearly defeated Duke for a shot at the Final Four.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

Didn't realize there was a huge gap between the two. Good reason to go back and watch some old games.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...b3ede5bcf2d65ff4a4442f87edf5d373&action=click

You could start out watching this game. You only need to watch the first ten minutes or so. Mashburn had 23 at the half, 5-5 from the 3, as Kentucky obliterated a Wake team that was ranked 5th in the country and had a couple NBA players. Mash barely played in the second half. Kentucky was up something like 60-32 at the half.

The gap is pretty huge.