Tennessee all time starting 5

#79
#79
I’ve only seen Ron Widby mentioned once. He was a clutch basketball player, but also one the best punters in the country (a long NFL career with the Cowboys). However, most fans don’t realize is that he also played baseball and golf for UT. Think about the athletic ability it would take to play four sports for a major college program!
He might not be among the five best B-ball players that UT produced, but he was my favorite player of all time, and I would rank him in the top ten.
 
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#84
#84
If you don't have the schools all-time leading scorer, #2 in SEC history behind the untouchable Pete Maravich, and #17 in NCAA history, then your list is stupid and disqualified. JMO.
 
#85
#85
I’d go with Lofton, Williams, Ernie, Bernie, and Schofield. The team we have right now is very exeptional.
 
#90
#90
K, it is difficult. But I saw England, Jackson, Edwards play and

on up til now. Was aware of Shultz and saw Kosmolski and Boerwinkle at center. Here we go .

Bernard King

Dale Ellis

Alan Houston

Reggie Johnson

Probably Shultz


King is obvious. Was voted on one of the first NBA top 50 lists. Did things on the court in college I still have not seen anyone do. Heard pro players that played with and against him say he would easily be top 10 NBA if the knee could have been repaired better.

Dale Ellis could hit from 3. Often just didn't need to in college. Made a living off of it in the pros. At one time was considered one of the top three 3 point shooters in the pros. He gets the edge over players like England, Jackson, Edwards due to better career field goal per centage I think. It is possible that if the 3 had been around when England and Edwards played I might have considered them more. They ,along with Jackson ,could hit from near half court and did so several times in games. I give Edwards and England the spot on a coin flip. But for some reason I think I personally think Edwards was better. So much depth here. Ellis gets the spot.

Alan Houston, the best player on bad teams. Good to great as a pro. Fed constantly in college.
Never had the sense he was a team player in college. But he deserves the spot. To be fair , didn't have much of a team around him.
You want to remove someone and put Grant in then this is the guy. A lot of Tennessee players could have had his stats if fed like he was.

Reggie Johnson. Very tough call. BoerWinkle was made a center by Aberdeen and his broom. Great story with a better pro career then most expected. But he never was a big stat guy. A 7 footer that could block shots and get some rebounds. Len Kosmolski was BoerWinkle with better foot work. The game had evolved and didn't have the same pro career but was better in college. Roth played high school ball at my high school so I went back and saw a few games. Great passer in high school. Hid the fact he only had one eye which hurt him in college. Reggie Johnson is the only center we have ever had that could dominate from 6 to 8 ft. in the way he did. He did not have a ton of talent around him and had to carry the team in many games. He played bigger than 6 ft 9 and was not just a finesse guy. He could shut down men that were bigger and suppose to be better players. He is a clear cut choice for me at the 5 spot.

The problem I have with Shultz is I have only seen film on him but he was unreal. He got in trouble in the pros ( point shaving ) from what I was told. Have heard him compared to all time great point guards in the pros. Few could even dream to handle the ball or pass as well. I can understand someone else being put here, maybe Bone deserves it at some point.. Would love to see him match up and ball in today's game though. Sad that he threw away his pro career.

Grunfed was great. He had talent, but also was a scrapper that played very physical . He got the rebound or loose ball when you had to have it. He probably is top ten. But dang. He was 6ft 6 and we have so many great forwards. Would probably put Grant Williams in over him.
 
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#91
#91
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I was as well. For every minute. Stayed for the intra-squad scrimmage that followed. The scrimmage wasn't very entertaining, but it was a great idea to give something back to the fans that Temple had shat on.
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Lol, we stayed for the scrimmage too. What many don't remember is the Temple coach said he was going to play that way the night before the game. He had done something similar before but not to that extreme. He thought it was their only chance to win. He helped bring in the idea of the shot clock by playing that way.
 
#92
#92
I don't know if Shultz was directly involved in any point shaving (at least as a player). IIRC it was possibly gambling and/or fraud. He used to own Danny Shultz Chevrolet in Lenoir City before his life took a deep dive.
 
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#93
#93
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I don't know if Shultz was directly involved in any point shaving (at least as a player). IIRC it was possibly gambling and/or fraud. He used to own Danny Shultz Chevrolet in Lenoir City before his life took a deep dive.
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I am not sure the point shaving was proven. It was at least suspected.The gambling is probably what actually ended his career. He also got in trouble with the law at his dealership. The dealership was locked up for awhile for some tax issues and other irregularities. He gained a ton of weight. Many did not even realize he had played at such high levels.
 
#94
#94
image.jpg
Maxwell said:
Lol, we stayed for the scrimmage too. What many don't remember is the Temple coach said he was going to play that way the night before the game. He had done something similar before but not to that extreme. He thought it was their only chance to win. He helped bring in the idea of the shot clock by playing that way.
Click to expand...

1973 Volunteer Classic championship game. Temple beat Utah State on Friday night and TN destroyed DePaul. First year that freshmen were eligible. David Moss played in 5 games and that was TN's 5th game that year. I wonder if he played versus Temple. I'd like to see the game log. Sports reference dot com doesn't have it.
 
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#95
#95
Thunder Good-Oil said:
View attachment 190729

1973 Volunteer Classic championship game. Temple beat Utah State on Friday night and TN destroyed DePaul. First year that freshmen were eligible. David Moss played in 5 games and that was TN's 5th game that year. I wonder if he played versus Temple. I'd like to see the game log. Sports reference dot com doesn't have it.
Click to expand...

I wish I knew, but I am sorry, I don't remember if he played in that game or not. Talk about some potential though.
 
#96
#96
I think Moss was a sophomore when he found out he had cancer and lost part of his leg.
 
#97
#97
Maxwell said:
I think Moss was a sophomore when he found out he had cancer and lost part of his leg.
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Possibly between his freshman and sophomore years. Mike Jackson and David Moss came in together. I wonder if there was still a JV team in 1973-74. That's the first year with freshmen eligible. Moss and Jackson played in 5 and 6 games respectively in 1973-74. Moss has no stats other than the 5 games in 1973-74. Jackson was an important player a year later.
 
#100
#100
Maxwell said:
K, it is difficult. But I saw England, Jackson, Edwards play and

on up til now. Was aware of Shultz and saw Kosmolski and Boerwinkle at center. Here we go .

Bernard King

Dale Ellis

Alan Houston

Reggie Johnson

Probably Shultz


King is obvious. Was voted on one of the first NBA top 50 lists. Did things on the court in college I still have not seen anyone do. Heard pro players that played with and against him say he would easily be top 10 NBA if the knee could have been repaired better.

Dale Ellis could hit from 3. Often just didn't need to in college. Made a living off of it in the pros. At one time was considered one of the top three 3 point shooters in the pros. He gets the edge over players like England, Jackson, Edwards due to better career field goal per centage I think. It is possible that if the 3 had been around when England and Edwards played I might have considered them more. They ,along with Jackson ,could hit from near half court and did so several times in games. I give Edwards and England the spot on a coin flip. But for some reason I think I personally think Edwards was better. So much depth here. Ellis gets the spot.

Alan Houston, the best player on bad teams. Good to great as a pro. Fed constantly in college.
Never had the sense he was a team player in college. But he deserves the spot. To be fair , didn't have much of a team around him.
You want to remove someone and put Grant in then this is the guy. A lot of Tennessee players could have had his stats if fed like he was.

Reggie Johnson. Very tough call. BoerWinkle was made a center by Aberdeen and his broom. Great story with a better pro career then most expected. But he never was a big stat guy. A 7 footer that could block shots and get some rebounds. Len Kosmolski was BoerWinkle with better foot work. The game had evolved and didn't have the same pro career but was better in college. Roth played high school ball at my high school so I went back and saw a few games. Great passer in high school. Hid the fact he only had one eye which hurt him in college. Reggie Johnson is the only center we have ever had that could dominate from 6 to 8 ft. in the way he did. He did not have a ton of talent around him and had to carry the team in many games. He played bigger than 6 ft 9 and was not just a finesse guy. He could shut down men that were bigger and suppose to be better players. He is a clear cut choice for me at the 5 spot.

The problem I have with Shultz is I have only seen film on him but he was unreal. He got in trouble in the pros ( point shaving ) from what I was told. Have heard him compared to all time great point guards in the pros. Few could even dream to handle the ball or pass as well. I can understand someone else being put here, maybe Bone deserves it at some point.. Would love to see him match up and ball in today's game though. Sad that he threw away his pro career.

Grunfed was great. He had talent, but also was a scrapper that played very physical . He got the rebound or loose ball when you had to have it. He probably is top ten. But dang. He was 6ft 6 and we have so many great forwards. Would probably put Grant Williams in over him.
Click to expand...
Do you remember those 3 pointers Ellis hit against Kentucky and Auburn, though?
 
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