Who would you pick as the best player to ever play at Kentucky
- Thread starter smooth as butter
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1 Bill Spivey
2 Dan Issel
3 Anthony Davis
4 Jamal Mashburn
5 Keith Bogans
6 Tony Delk
7 Kenny Walker
2 Dan Issel
3 Anthony Davis
4 Jamal Mashburn
5 Keith Bogans
6 Tony Delk
7 Kenny Walker
I've never liked calling it "world champs" but it is the best players from around the world.
Hard to pick just one but I'd say Dan Issel because he dominated while UK and was a multi year all star in the ABA and NBA.
Most important for UK history -Ralph Beard.
Best individual career -Dan Issel.
Best single season — Anthony Davis.
Best Single Game - Goose Givens
Best Team Career -Wayne Turner.
Most influential in the modern era -Jamal Mashburn.
This is my all-Kentucky Basketball team.
Best individual career -Dan Issel.
Best single season — Anthony Davis.
Best Single Game - Goose Givens
Best Team Career -Wayne Turner.
Most influential in the modern era -Jamal Mashburn.
This is my all-Kentucky Basketball team.
UK career wise…has to be Issel. But here’s a name that hasn’t been mentioned yet and at times, had my jaw hitting the floor. 2008/2009 Junior Jodie Meeks for one season. He carried that team. Didn’t he put up like 900 points? I know he had some big stats.
It's pretty obvious who the best was.
Double figure scorer every single game Junior and Senior years . 47 straight with double figure points.
Double figure scorer every single game Junior and Senior years . 47 straight with double figure points.
The best I can narrow it is to the best player for each coach:
Rupp-Issel (Spivey)
Hall-Givens (Grevey)
Sutton-Walker (Rex)
Pitino-Mashburn (Delk)
Tubby-Prince (Hayes)
BCG-Patterson (Liggins)
Cal-Wall (AD)
Edited to add the (honorable mentions)
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Granted but how many times have the favorites not won (in any sport)? Games need to be played to determine real winners. A great example is men’s Olympic basketball. The USA hasn’t always won, even with the best team. So, National basketball association champs but not world champs.
Clearly it can only be Aminu Timberlake.
Just because no one else is going list him even as a joke.
Just because no one else is going list him even as a joke.
If you are talking about what they accomplished at UK it has to be the All Time leading scorer and All Time leading rebounder BIg Dan Issel.
He was a great pro in the ABA and NBA also..
He was a great pro in the ABA and NBA also..
The best player I have seen wear the uniform is Jamal Mashburn.
My favorite player all time is Kyle Macy.
My favorite player all time is Kyle Macy.
He didn’t dominate on offense at all. He was 4th option at best on offense.
Issel is before my time, but he’s who everyone says is the best. For me it’s Mashburn, then AD. Kenny Walker is up there too.
Dan Issel and it’s not close. Next question.
That’s your opinion and has absolutely no effect on the facts presented in my post or how the league brands and markets its title.
That's tough.
Statistically it's Issel, but there's been so many greats and several eras that are hard to compare.
Mashburn is the most well rounded Cat of my lifetime.
Statistically it's Issel, but there's been so many greats and several eras that are hard to compare.
Mashburn is the most well rounded Cat of my lifetime.
Oh yeah. I bet in 1970, he was a hoss. And with 22% shooting from downtown, he was a unicorn. I would be OK with him spelling either Carr or Williams before a tv timeout, depending on the matchup.
Are you serious? He had a Hall of Fame professional career and there was no 3 point shot in when Issel played at UK and his best professional years were behind him when the NBA adopted the 3 point shot. If you're not joking it's possibly the worst basketball take I've ever read on this board. Just FYI the NBA adopted the 3 point shot in Issel's next to last season when he was 37 years old and the NBA 3 point line is almost 24 feet from the basket. When it was worth only two points players with a lick of sense did not practice from that range, since if it wasn't to beat the clock it was just a bad shot when it counted for 2 points and almost any coach in the world would bench any player for shooting from that distance. That's why even Larry Bird wasn't a good 3 point shooter when he came into the NBA the first couple years.Oh yeah. I bet in 1970, he was a hoss. And with 22% shooting from downtown, he was a unicorn. I would be OK with him spelling either Carr or Williams before a tv timeout, depending on the matchup.
And finally, if you think Issel would be a scrub today because he played in 1970 that logic would lead you to believe that Kareem and Wilt also couldn't play in the modern game since they came along before Issel...so are you sure you don't want to just delete that post?
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I don’t agree with all of these but this is the best way to look at it. There’s just no way to compare Kyle Macy with Demarcus Cousins.
You gotta go with best with each era or coach. It’s also tough to figure in OAD guys into the equation.
That is an impossible question to answer.
Even if you go decade by decade you could put up multiple players. You could put up multiple players by Coach. You could rank by skill set. It is an impossible task.
We have been blessed by many.
Even if you go decade by decade you could put up multiple players. You could put up multiple players by Coach. You could rank by skill set. It is an impossible task.
We have been blessed by many.
What do you mean technically ? he won one. You either did or you didn't. No technically.
It was the Disney bubble-ship 3 months after the season was suspended by Covid. It counts, technically. It wasn’t like any other NBA finals ever and had more to do with giving Lebron a post-Floyd championship than anything.
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