Fave Five All-Time Wildcats

I'm going way old school to when I was a kid.  Y'all have covered most of the recent 20 years here's some from just before that the Snowden years...

PG:  Russel Brown - Pure point guard, drive and dish.  Smooth

SG:  Joe Nehls:  If they had threes when he played he would have been an All American.  Would hit shots from the cactus, like Salim but Joe would do it every game.

C: Larry Demic:  Pure power player.  Nobody went down the lane on him by the time he was a senior.

PF:  Al Fleming:  Long and lean had a 12' baseline jumper that ws unstoppable.

SF Herman Harris:  Highlight show, amazing athlete.

Honorable mention:  Cornel Norman: 'Popcorn' great SG that ran with Eric Money another great guard.  Jerome Gladney:  Thug that just whacked on guys.  Reggie Geary: Actually a great guard, still up there in steals and assists all time.  Leon Wood - SG who ref's in the NBA now after a good career.  He was an outstanding combo guard.  Chris Mills and Brian Williams both F's who transferred in and good short careers at The UA and in the NBA.  Oh and Michael Dickerson - He's had a promising NBA career cut too short by injury.

Best All Time Line-up (Not going to see a lot new here)

• PG - Mike Bibby (Still a heavily sought after player and had/has game changing talent)
• SG - Steve Kerr (yes I know he played a bit of PG in College, but lets face it - he was a 2 guard)
• SF - Sean Elliot (Best all around player in college and a very dangerous wingman pro wise. Plus what he did for the communities)
• PF - Brian Williams/Bison Dele  (Easy to forget him, but at 6'11" he could play center, he was purely domninant in college and in Pro, he REALLy turned it on, before he was murdered :-(  )
• C - Loren Woods (Had the height, the speed, the shot.  Was a major factor in the middle)

Obviously up for some debate here - but that was my take.

Most favorie all time to watch....

• PG - Matt Othick.  Short Skinny White guy who could leap like a gazelle and rain 3 pointers
• SG - Harvey Mason - Not sure I saw any player work harder on the court than he did (although Reggie Geary came close)
• SF - Hassan Adams - like many others here, raw athleticism and hunger to get to the basket.  But the SF's fun to watch is deep at this school.
• PF - Tom Tolbert - Jump stops and elbows baby!
• C - Sean Rooks - Give props to the Wookie.

People I wish I could put somewhere for the great memories (even if it was for their mistakes):  Kevin Flanagan, Ray Owes, Ed Stokes, Joe "Brick Hands" Turner, Damon Stoudamire, Salim Stoudamire, Khalid Reeves, Michael Dickerson, Ben Davis, AJ Bramlett, Matt Muehlebach, Kenny Lofton, Gilbert Arenas, Andre Igoudala, Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton, Jason Terry, Jud Buechler, and Eugene Edgerson.

And I probably forgot tons.

Best 5 of all time with no regards to position & had to play more than 2 years @ UofA:  Woods, Elliott, Damon & Salim Stoudamire, Kerr.

Best 5 of all time with no regards to position & no limit on years played:  Jefferson, AI, Woods, Elliott, D. Stoudamire.

Favorite 5 of all time to watch play:  Hassan Adams, Both Stoudamires, AI, Jordan Hill (what a friggin' animal this kid is!).

Biggest Busts of all time:  Fendi Onubun (what a joke this kid has been), McClellan (possibly the only player to get WORSE ever year), & Shakur.  Can't think of any more off the top of my head.  Sure there are plenty.

SIDENOTE:  Does anyone remember when a local TV station had Khalid Reeves & Damon Stoudamire playing HORSE @ the McKale Center???  It got to a point where they were shooting from past the cactus in the Arizona sidecourt logo, and neither one could miss.  It finally took Reeves dunking one to beat Stoudamire.  

On that note.......best tandem of players to watch----Reeves & Stoudamire.     

I'm not skeptical - at all - about Bayless' ability to succeed in the NBA.  He's already physically superior to most PGs that are being drafted (and he'll likely eventually be a PG in the NBA), and his physical strength will allow him to come in and get minutes right away, whether at SG or PG.  Bayless is one year removed from high school.  He'll quickly develop his left hand, and with his work ethic and talent, he'll develop into a very good PG in a very short time.  I really; believe Bayless will end up having the kind of career that Jefferson, Terry, Bibby and Iguodala are having (maybe better).

We have to remember that Bayless is (was) only a true freshman this year.  What true freshman doesn't have some part of his game that he has to work on, like Bayless going to his left?  Now, if he was a junior or senior and still hadn't developed the ability to go to his left, or improved his decision making and ability to play the point, I'd be concerned.  But, he's young and has all kinds of time.  He'll be a good one in the NBA.

• Jump shot. Quite possibly gets better elevation than any player in the world right now. His form has no hitches in it and is so technically sound that you can't even complain when he fades a little bit.
  
• Strength. On par with other guards like Wade, Arenas, Davis, Williams and Billups.
• Balance. A result of his strength. He'll make so much money at the free throw line it's ridiculous.
  
• First-step. When his opportunity opens, he's gone. He can get to the rim extremely well. This and his jump shot make him nearly indefensible against single-coverage.
• Competitiveness. He has that fire in him that few players have and that can't be taught.