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Help me come up with the all-time UT hoops roster

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shadow_operative

shadow_operative 15932

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I've come up with who my starting five would be, and have added a list of players from which to choose the reserves. Feel free to add anyone whom i may have forgotten. My goal is to get the team down to a 13-man roster, and whether that's trying to find something close to a consensus, or if it's everyone having their own preferred 13-man roster, either way is fine by me. So without further ado, here is my all-time starting five, and the list of guys i'll be considering to fill out the roster.

 

Starters:

 

TJ Ford (C)

PJ Tucker

Kevin Durant

LaMarcus Aldridge

Tristan Thompson 

 

Guards:

Slater Martin

Johnny Moore

Jay Arnette

Terrence Rencher

AJ Abrams

Avery Bradley

Royal Ivey

BJ Tyler

Jim Krivacs

Lance Blanks

Reggie Freeman

Daniel Gibson

 

Forwards:

LaSalle Thompson

Damion James

Jordan Hamilton

Ron Baxter

Mike Wacker

Chris Owens

Brian Boddicker 

 

Centers:

Chris Mihm

James Thomas

Cam Ridley

Mo Bamba

 

I'll get to narrowing down my own list now. 

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shadow_operative

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Here's my first go at this without doing a ton of research:

Starters:

 

TJ Ford (C)

PJ Tucker

Kevin Durant

LaMarcus Aldridge

Tristan Thompson 

 

Bench:

 

Avery Bradley

Royal Ivey

AJ Abrams

Johnny Moore

 

LaSalle Thompson

Damion James

Jordan Hamilton

Mo Bamba 

 

that's a pretty damn salty roster considering where this program was when i started following it. 

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gsoda3

gsoda3 3277

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derp. i just *knew* that there was someone obvious who got dropped from the list when i did my cutting/pasting. and he definitely makes my roster. gonna have to drop Royal for DJ, as much as i hate to lose Ivey from my squad. 
I left off dj because I liked the idea of having two defensive monsters on the bench in royal and bradley. I'd sacrifice for that, we have more than enough ball handling and scoring with TJ, terrence, and even KD along with AB and ivey.
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hobbes2702

hobbes2702 13049

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@shadow_operative

First, when I search @ derka I wish it would link to whichever account you’re on.

Second, I think you mostly nailed it except I would put DJ or AJ in the starting 5 to provide a little more shooting. I prolly move TT to the bench, put LMA at the 5 and bring one of those guards in. I also would drop Damion, Mo, or Hamilton to make space for DJ before I would drop Ivey.

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shadow_operative

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39 minutes ago, ztejas said:

What am I building the roster for? Are we taking these guys at their college primes or their professional peaks?

Am I trying to make a tourney run? Play a full season? Win an NBA championship?

Give us some parameters.

UT players as they were in college. Or at least at the peak of their college career. trying to build a team to play a season/win a title or two.

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shadow_operative

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26 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

@shadow_operative

First, when I search @ derka I wish it would link to whichever account you’re on.

Second, I think you mostly nailed it except I would put DJ or AJ in the starting 5 to provide a little more shooting. I prolly move TT to the bench, put LMA at the 5 and bring one of those guards in. I also would drop Damion, Mo, or Hamilton to make space for DJ before I would drop Ivey.

yep, i went back and forth between having TT and Bradley in the starting lineup. started with Bradley, but ultimately went with TT. and yeah, i really didn't want to drop Ivey, so i'll probably look at it again and see what i can come up with. imagine this defensive lineup:

Avery Bradley

Royal Ivey

PJ Tucker

Damion James or Tristan Thompson 

Mo Bamba

good luck even getting a shot attempt off. 

 

which btw, I feel like Mo has to be on my roster. best time protector we've ever had by a mile. 

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shadow_operative

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13 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Agree with these also, especially regarding Mo. I don’t see a way he makes the team

i actually just made an edit to my last post saying as much, but to me he's got to be on my team. im going to heavily rely on maybe 6-8 guys on this team for the most part, while the rest, as great as they are, will be role players and bit players. I want Mo Bamba on the court when the game is tight and i'm trying to hold onto a lead. I've honestly never seen another player in league history who affected as many shots as Mo did. Anthony Davis is the only somewhat recent big man who comes to mind as being in Mo's league (or vice versa). He virtually shut down everything within 8 feet of the hoop, and that's a great commodity to have for when you need it. 

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hobbes2702

hobbes2702 13049

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4 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

i actually just made an edit to my last post saying as much, but to me he's got to be on my team. im going to heavily rely on maybe 6-8 guys on this team for the most part, while the rest, as great as they are, will be role players and bit players. I want Mo Bamba on the court when the game is tight and i'm trying to hold onto a lead. I've honestly never seen another player in league history who affected as many shots as Mo did. He virtually shut down everything within 8 feet of the hoop, and that's a great commodity to have for when you need it. 

I don’t disagree but I think you’re overlapping with skills already on the roster. TT was an elite level rim protector in college and KD obviously has the ability. You have Mihm for size if you need it plus we know what PJ can do on defense against anyone.

Edit: That said Mo averaged a full block more per game than TT so maybe Thomas doesn’t make my squad which makes me sad.

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shadow_operative

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also, while Jim Krivacs probably won't make anyone's final squad, i wouldn't blame you if you did have him. best shooter in UT history; just the most pure shooter we've ever had, and with TJ running the point and so many talented forwards and big men, i could see Krivacs being like a Vinnie Johnson for this team- instant offense. he could score 15 points in 8 minutes played on this team.

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shadow_operative

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2 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

I don’t disagree but I think you’re overlapping with skills already on the roster. TT was an elite level rim protector in college and KD obviously has the ability. You have Mihm for size if you need it plus we know what PJ can do on defense against anyone.

and i as well don't disagree with what you're saying- i just think Mo was special in that regard. he was beyond great, at rim protection; the guy was transcendent. but as you said, with Mihm, TT, KD, Damion, etc we aren't lacking for rim protection. still, Mo is the best i've ever seen in that regard. 

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hobbes2702

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4 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

and i as well don't disagree with what you're saying- i just think Mo was special in that regard. he was beyond great, at rim protection; the guy was transcendent. but as you said, with Mihm, TT, KD, Damion, etc we aren't lacking for rim protection. still, Mo is the best i've ever seen in that regard. 

Check my edit. I think you’re right.

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shadow_operative

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15 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

I don’t disagree but I think you’re overlapping with skills already on the roster. TT was an elite level rim protector in college and KD obviously has the ability. You have Mihm for size if you need it plus we know what PJ can do on defense against anyone.

Edit: That said Mo averaged a full block more per game than TT so maybe Thomas doesn’t make my squad which makes me sad.

lol, i'm right there with you. i'm getting all in my feelings having cut guys from my squad. 😂 

 

edited to add: just went and did a little research and it turns out even I wasn't aware of how great Mo's one year was in terms of low post defense and rebounding. 

 

0BD73404-6268-42E2-BEF6-2FAADE7C36B9.jpeg

E938964D-52FA-4AF0-ACDE-522C77464009.jpeg

C1FEB862-5D64-4261-A970-097394962E0B.jpeg

44AE278C-1346-4812-87D4-86C3687D80F1.jpeg

 

Mo was unreal around the basket on the defensive end during his one season here. Perhaps if we weren't coming off of an 11-22 season from the year before (only to go 19-15, 8-10 in Mo's year as well) then his season would have garnered more appreciation. 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19145

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25 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

TJ

DJ

KD

PJ

LMA

 

AJ, Ivey, TT, Mihm, Lasalle, Bradley, Thomas, Rencher

You nailed the starting 5. I don’t think you are even close to right on the bench though. Freemen was better than reacher- for example, and bj Tyler all day over AJ and Ivey. I like Ivey just fine but I think he might be the most overrated UT Hooper of all time. Beloved glue guy. Not one of the top 10 or 13 it hoops players of all time imo. 
the only problem with TJ and DJA In the same backcourt is size. If You were playing some other school like MSU all time team that’d be a big problem if you were facing off with a Magic and Another big guard back court. But my gosh the spacing on that floor would be absurd. TJ could score 80 a night or dish out 50 assists against a team of mere mortals. 

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shadow_operative

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59 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

You nailed the starting 5. I don’t think you are even close to right on the bench though. Freemen was better than reacher- for example, and bj Tyler all day over AJ and Ivey. I like Ivey just fine but I think he might be the most overrated UT Hooper of all time. Beloved glue guy. Not one of the top 10 or 13 it hoops players of all time imo. 
the only problem with TJ and DJA In the same backcourt is size. If You were playing some other school like MSU all time team that’d be a big problem if you were facing off with a Magic and Another big guard back court. But my gosh the spacing on that floor would be absurd. TJ could score 80 a night or dish out 50 assists against a team of mere mortals. 

see I include guys like Ivey, Hamilton, Bamba, etc on my list of considerations for the reason stated earlier- I know that 6-8 guys are going to play the majority of my minutes/be on the court during crunch time- everyone else is just a role player. Ivey, Bamba, Hamilton, and the like are on the roster for matchup purposes, not because they're 3 of the best 13 players ever. 

also, as it relates to Ivey, that guy is just a winner through and through, and I want him on my team for his intangibles just as much as his defense. Royal may have made more winning plays than any player in UT history, not that could track something like that. Ivey makes my team for the same reason J'Covan Brown doesn't make my list of considerations. chemistry, leadership, and being a winning player. 

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Wulaw Horn

Wulaw Horn 19145

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1 minute ago, shadow_operative said:

see I include guys like Ivey, Hamilton, Bamba, etc on my list of considerations for the reason stated earlier- I know that 6-8 guys are going to play the majority of my minutes/be on the court during crunch time- everyone else is just a role player. Ivey, Bamba, Hamilton, and the like are on the roster for matchup purposes, not because they're 3 of the best 13 players ever. 

also, as it relates to Ivey, that guy is just a winner through and through, and I want him on my team for his intangibles just as much as his defense. Royal may have made more winning plays than any player in UT history, not that could track something like that. Ivey makes my team for the same reason J'Covan Brown doesn't make my list of considerations. chemistry, leadership, and being a winning player. 

Fair enough. He is an all time glue guy. 

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hobbes2702

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9 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Fair enough. He is an all time glue guy. 

I was doing like Derka as well. Like AJ makes the roster because every team needs a guy to run off screens and shoot every once in a while. Think NBA JJ Reddick.

The scenario you laid out is where a guy like Ivey comes into the roster. He can guard those bigger guards and small wings because off the length he had.

Also this is a ridiculous look at the talent we’ve had come through here. Like what’s the scoring breakdown. I mean like you said TJ’s line would be like 0, 16, 1 every night. KD and PJ getting looks from TJ. Yeesh. 

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thinking back to Ivey and what a "winning" player he was- i know he hit a couple of game winners, i remember one vs Nebraska; he was  heavily involved in the last second miracle comeback in Lubbock in 03 or 04; in 03 we added a freshman PJ Tucker, and yet we it only lost TJ to the NBA, but by that point JT was a shell of his former self, barely able to even make it up and down the court for 25 minutes due to debilitating injuries, and yet Ivey replaced TJ at PG and led that team to a 25-8, 12-4 record in a season where we went to the Sweet 16 after beating UNC in the round of 32.

i'm not saying this to beat anyone over the head with my case for Royal, more just remembering out loud how much of a winner that guy was. it's so rare to be able to assign such an intangible title to someone with 100% conviction, but with Royal I can say that  he was simply a winner, time and time again. from his dad telling Barnes that Royal wasn't good enough for Texas to him becoming a tenured NBA vet and a highly respected member of the NBA community. Guys like him come around way less often than the 5* guys do. Royal was/is the MFin man. 🤘🏼 

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shadow_operative

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9 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

I was doing like Derka as well. Like AJ makes the roster because every team needs a guy to run off screens and shoot every once in a while. Think NBA JJ Reddick.

The scenario you laid out is where a guy like Ivey comes into the roster. He can guard those bigger guards and small wings because off the length he had.

Also this is a ridiculous look at the talent we’ve had come through here. Like what’s the scoring breakdown. I mean like you said TJ’s line would be like 0, 16, 1 every night. KD and PJ getting looks from TJ. Yeesh. 

TJ would put up numbers similar to his HS averages, which were somewhere along the lines of 9 pts, 12 ast, 8 reb, 6 stl. the steals number would obviously come down a bit, but TJ would seriously average like 20 ast/40min.

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1 hour ago, Wulaw Horn said:

You nailed the starting 5. I don’t think you are even close to right on the bench though. Freemen was better than reacher- for example, and bj Tyler all day over AJ and Ivey. I like Ivey just fine but I think he might be the most overrated UT Hooper of all time. Beloved glue guy. Not one of the top 10 or 13 it hoops players of all time imo. 
the only problem with TJ and DJA In the same backcourt is size. If You were playing some other school like MSU all time team that’d be a big problem if you were facing off with a Magic and Another big guard back court. But my gosh the spacing on that floor would be absurd. TJ could score 80 a night or dish out 50 assists against a team of mere mortals. 

re: your point about facing another all time team, it's a big reason why i feel like i've got to have Mo Bamba on my squad. if we play UCLA then i'm going to try and run them to death with KD, TJ, DJ, PJ, Damion, Hamilton, etc, and Mo doesn't figure to get a ton of minutes if that game plan is going well. still, if the game is close towards the end and i'm switching offense for defense, i want to have KD, Mo Bamba, and Tristan all on the court together (probably with PJ and TJ) to try and combat Alcindor and Walton. I'm not going to depend on Mo Bamba, but I do want to have him available for a situation like that. 

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shadow_operative

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1 hour ago, Hornstrader said:

Travis Mays? LaSalle Thompson?

i included LaSalle in my list, but you're right, i somehow lost Travis with all of my cutting/pasting despite him making the first edition of my team when it was just my dad and me talking about this. good catch. He, like Royal, was also a winner, but behind that he could drop 30 on your ass and could damn near dunk from the FT line. he's got to be a strong candidate to make some rosters.

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ztejas

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I'll just do guys I've seen play since it covers most of them anyway and makes it a lot easier. So basically anyone post 2000.

Starters (we're going big because fuck you that's why)

DJ

PJ

KD

LMA

Bamba

Glue guys that I absolutely need on my team/potential 6th men:

AJ Abrams

J'Covan Brown (sorry, Derka. Cat could ball)

Damion James

TJ

Royal

So that gives me 3 spots to play with to fill it out. I'll go:

TT

Myles Turner (his per minute #s were ridiculous - still not sure how Texas managed to waste his one year)

Jordan Hamilton 

Guess I left out Avery after changing my starting lineup. Oh well. That squad doesn't need him. Swap him with J'Covan if you're so inclined.

 

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HookEm

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You guys are underrating both Chris Mimh and Jordan Hamilton. Mimh was a 1st team All-American, one of only 4 UT players to achieve that award in the modern era. Dude averaged 17.7 pts and 10.5 boards with the 2.7 blocks on very good efficiency.

Hamilton was 2nd team All-American himself and was a great player his soph year. He could score and abused smaller players in the post. He gets a bad rap from his me first stride as a freshman, but really improved in his time here. I would give him the start at the 2, since you have PJ Tucker also in the lineup who can guard anybody.

This would be my starting 5:
TJ Ford - NCAA POY
Jordan Hamilton - 2nd Team AA
PJ Tucker - 2nd Team AA
Kevin Durant - NCAA POY
Chris Mimh - 1st Team AA

Then the bench in order of minutes would be:
Augustin - 1st Team AA
Travis Mays - 2x SWC POY
Damion James - UT PER #1 all time
Aldridge - not a huge fan personally
Bamba
AJ Abrams
Royale Ivey

Hate that I have to leave off:
Tristan Thompson
Brandon Mouton
Daniel Gibson
Avery Bradley
LaSalle Thompson (never watched him)
Freeman

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shadow_operative

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1 hour ago, HookEm said:

You guys are underrating both Chris Mimh and Jordan Hamilton. Mimh was a 1st team All-American, one of only 4 UT players to achieve that award in the modern era. Dude averaged 17.7 pts and 10.5 boards with the 2.7 blocks on very good efficiency.

Hamilton was 2nd team All-American himself and was a great player his soph year. He could score and abused smaller players in the post. He gets a bad rap from his me first stride as a freshman, but really improved in his time here. I would give him the start at the 2, since you have PJ Tucker also in the lineup who can guard anybody.

This would be my starting 5:
TJ Ford - NCAA POY
Jordan Hamilton - 2nd Team AA
PJ Tucker - 2nd Team AA
Kevin Durant - NCAA POY
Chris Mimh - 1st Team AA

Then the bench in order of minutes would be:
Augustin - 1st Team AA
Travis Mays - 2x SWC POY
Damion James - UT PER #1 all time
Aldridge - not a huge fan personally
Bamba
AJ Abrams
Royale Ivey

Hate that I have to leave off:
Tristan Thompson
Brandon Mouton
Daniel Gibson
Avery Bradley
LaSalle Thompson (never watched him)
Freeman

agreed, particularly on Hamilton. people really do forget how good he became his sophomore year. i remember we went into College Station and destroyed A&M and Jordan had Khris Middleton on lockdown the entire night, which was extra impressive considering that Jordan's defense was never his calling card. still, his size, athleticism, and scoring ability were all damn near elite for a college wing. in fact his size and talent are what kept me from nominating Mouton, because as much as I love him, there was no way he was going to make it as a forward with guys like Damion, Hamilton, and LaSalle out there. 

as for Mihm, i'm guessing that he's not getting love from people for the same reason he was kept off of my team- it's 2020 (nearly 2021), and the modern game has moved so far away from big men like him that he just wouldn't be the perfect fit with his surrounding cast. when you have guards like TJ, DJ, and Mays, plus wings like KD and Damion James, you want to get up and down the floor and make it a track meet. and with Barnes as HC you know you're going to press some as well. guys like Bamba and TT are more suited for that, and if I already have LaSalle Thompson then i'm going to live Mihm i chosen in favor of a great shooter or a perimeter defender who can come off my bench and still get up and down. 

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shadow_operative

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so, having enjoyed some good discussion here over the last couple of days, here is my revised roster:

TJ Ford

PJ Tucker 

KD

Damion James

Tristan Thompson

I decided to take LA out of my starting five and replace him with Damo, who is a much better athlete and more suited to get up and down. I like what James brings to the table with his energy and defense to open up a game. he wouldn't play the most minutes at the 4 for me, but i like him as a starter. My bench:

 

DJ Augustin

Travis Mays

Royal Ivey

AJ Abrams

 

Jordan Hamilton

LaMarcus Aldridge 

LaSalle Thompson

Mo Bamba

 

Man, it was hard to leave a few guys off my team (Avery Bradley, Johnny Moore, Lance Blanks, Chris Mihm), but i really love the versatility of this 13-man roster. some of the potential lineup combinations are scary. 

[b]Runnin' Horns:[/b]

TJ, DJ or Mays, Hamilton, KD, James

[b]2-3 zone: [/b]

Ivey, PJ, James, TT, Bamba

[b]going small:[/b]

TJ, DJ, Mays, PJ, KD

[b]going big:[/b] 

Ivey, Hamilton, KD, LaSalle, TT
 

so many possibilities 

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HookEm

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As much as I love a lot of those guys, you are still starting two freshmen, a sophomore, junior and senior. There are so many better players than Tristan Thompson to start. He is fine as an energy guy off the bench, but give me experience. Again, I’ll take 7 ft 265 pound junior 1st Team All American Chris Mimh.

In retrospect, the only freshman I would even think of starting would be KD. And if I could start juniors and seniors I would probably ha e a better squad. In that case this team would be salty AF.

TJ Ford
PJ Tucker
Damion James
Kevin Durant
Chris Mimh

My only concern would be PJ at a guard spot cause he wasn’t quite able to do that in college.

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I want TT in there because i only need him for defense and rebounding, and he can run up and down the floor which Mihm can't. It's not about throwing the five best players out there together, it's about which five guys will come together to make the most complete team. It's why guys like Boddicker and J'Covan came off the bench for Texas when they were better or more talented than some of the guys who started. 

Frankly, the all-time talent from Texas pretty much necessitates that the team try and run up and down, and that the bulk of the scoring come from guards and perimeter players. Chris Mihm just isn't a good fit with the rest of the roster, so while he may have been a better player than TT, he wouldn't help you win as much as TT would. If he was on your roster then he would be best served as a bit player. If you try and feature him then you're doing so at the expense of the other four guys in the court. 

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