I will take you back to the 70s!: guard Gordon Baranco! Slasher/driver and a lot like TJ. Great leader on the court as well. Later was a very respected and fine s
Superior Court judge in Alameda county.
No list is complete without Rose or Preston, both had NBA tryouts. I didn't see the game but understand Preston went off at Cal.
I never saw Audwin Thomas or Mike Lein play, but their numbers are undeniable. Ham raved about Lein. Then there were dudes like Brad Tatum, a transfer from DIA, I never got to see him play.
My memory is shot. Who was the big guy we had a few years ago for one season, transfer from somewhere. Tough inside with nice shooting touch. Recieved a NCAA post graduate scholarship. He graduated and perused advanced degree instead of returning for another season. Monson? He had a lot of potential, wish he had more time with him
Neal Monson transferred from Utah to Salt Lake Community College and then came to UCD. He was here for one year, led the conference in rebounding, and was the conference's scholar-athlete. I'm pretty sure he also had a baby that season and decided to go to law school.
He did, not sure the result. Thackaberry(?) 6'8" PF also played TE one year, maybe 1 catch. We were very small there for a bit, was Chris Sennett 175#s?
Here's my most memorable team that will not make anyone's list:
Bussey Ellis G - He does crazy no look passes like Jason Williams.
Lynel Ford G - He is always smiling when he gets those junk minutes at the end of the game.
Ryan Silva G - His ridiculously quick 3 pointers always make people nervously say, "No!" unless the basketball somehow eventually makes it in the net.
Tyler Ott F - Was on the UC Davis team five years ago. Guess what? He's a junior at Dixie State.
Michael Boone C - 7'2" This guy was tall.
YES - Moore, Juillerat, and Rasmussen were the first to jump to mind. That was right in our wheelhouse when we had our toes right on the edge of the mat (before the renovation went and messed that up). Ah, memories.
I have to confess to having a huge gap in my knowledge of Aggies between 1974 and 1995 so there is almost certainly one player I am leaving out. I did not know much about him, but I know Mike Lien (late 70s) hold s a lot of records. I first started watching Aggie b-ball back in 1967, but I will try not to over-glorify the past. There are two players form that time who should be on the list. One is John Frost, a forward, who would probably be a shooting guard today, but he was outstanding shooter. The second is Mark Olson, who was on the third team all-west coast in 1974. So here's my five:
Corey Hawkins- G
John Frost - G
Mark Olson - F
Chima Moneke - F
Mike LIen - C
PG Dante Ross - great ball handling skills and a slasher driving to the bucket. I remember that the legendary coach, Dean Smith, said Ross was a good D1 caliber player after watching him in the D2 championship game.
G Corey Hawkins - an acrobatic wizard driving to the bucket and a deadly shooter from anywhere on the floor.
G Brynton Lemar - a tremendous defender, good shooter and a solid leader game in an out.
F Mark Payne - another great defender with length and great all-around offensive skills
PF Chima Moneke - a powerful, relentless rebounder and defender with great offensive skills that are still expanding. The best big man we have ever had.
Coach D2 era: Bob Williams - Winning the 1998 D2 Championsip as a non-scholarship program was a monumental achievement and a huge watershed moment for UC Davis basketball. It was a big loss for us when he then immediately left for the head coaching position at UCSB.
Coach D1 era: Jim Les - He is masterful at getting the most out of the players he's able to recruit into our program given our academic standards. Leading us to the NCAA Tournament last year was the second big watershed moment in Aggie basketball history.
Best Aggie player ever - Corey Hawkins I think Corey was the most talented player we have ever had to wear an Aggie uniform. He was a consummate basketball player who excelled in all areas of the game and would have done well playing in the PAC12. We were lucky to have had the pleasure of watching him play.
For what it;s worth, here is a list of Aggies Men's basketball players who are in the UCD Athletics Hall of Fame. I include only those who played since UCD became a general campus after WW II . In order of induction:
Mark Olson
Preston Neumeyer
Audwin Thomas
John Frost
Mat Cordova
Mike Lien
Angelo Rivers
Dante Ross
Jason Cox
I've no doubt that Corey Hawkins and Chima Moneke will get in some day.
John Frost is the only player I don't have a distinct memory of. I remember all of the others very well and they were special players indeed. I think there is a good possibility that we might see Brynton Lemar in the Aggie Hall of Fame someday as well.
I have a tale about John Frost and I saw john frost play. He was an outstanding shooter. In one of his last games at Hickey playing sac state he and a sac state player by the name of ford were in the far back court, all the action was at the other end of the court, when for some inexplicable reason ford sucker punched Frost and he went down. No official saw it but the crowd did and they went nuts. It was the talk of the campus for weeks. I later dealt with ford and his company. He always denied that it happened, but I saw him do it. Ford was actually a nice guy when i knew him. Heat of the moment in the extreme I guess.
Moviegoer: I saw the first game that Ham used the platoon system. Five guys out, five guys in. The first squad had started and played the bulk of minutes up to that point. They were Gordon Baranco, Frank Stonebarger, Steve Schaper, Al Budde, and John Frost. The second five were Tom Wood, Tom Larkin, Al Steed, Bob Guild, and Bob Johnson. The second unit consisted of only transfer students and sophomores, all in the first year on the team. We went nuts, Budde and Frost were all-league returning lettermen, but the second unit played well as a team. I wish I could remember who they played, but the team went on to win the conference title that year. I recall that Ham did not keep the platoon system all season.
PGs - Baranco, Graham, Shorts. If you could go to a lab and build a prototypical Aggie PG its Gordon Baranco. Tough, smart, relentless worker. The epitome of Aggie Pride. Combos - Hawkins, Lamar, Neumayr (Preston could BALL. Perhaps the smartest Aggie BB player I ever watched play. So crafty, so much court awareness, relentless effort.) SGs - Sypkens (just an assassin from distance - the record books prove it), Avery Johnson (perhaps the most athletic and cosistently reliable defender to wear an Aggie uniform) Forwards - Chima, Payne (so skilled, high BB IQ), Ritchart ("new school forward" - big who can stretch the floor), Ryan Moore (sooo athletic), Caligari (classic big - big, strong, bruiser, but still very graceful with his play), Josh Fox (sentimental choice - played so much bigger than his 6'6" size. Island strong. GREAT leader.)
Center - The only true center I have is Monson. Quietly highly productive on the offensive end, productive rebounder, excellent FT shooter. This would have been JT's by a long shot had he not had two major knee injuries. Prior to the ACLs failing, JT's potential was sky high. Despite those difficulties, JT will hold a special place in Aggie lore - total workhorse who gave every ounce he had.
Honorable Mention - Cox, Rabadeaux, Juilerat (sp? sorry), Harden, Ross, Thomas, Fowzi, Familetti (just a thief on D),
Special Honorable Mention - Leon Richardson, who passed away mid-game. Ham and the other coach, of course, agreed to call the game right then and there. Watched it happen. Tragic.
Wow, look at all the messages here ! I was going to start topic about a dream team for the women, but it occurred to me I can't name 3 guards who played for UCD prior to this year. My team would probably have 4 forwards and 1 guard. That's what happens when you don't see any games from 2006- 2012 and 2013- 16 I guess