Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: Who’s In Your Five?

As the Worldwide Leader ESPN has dictated, this week is rivalry week. Duke vs. North Carolina I can see as a rivalry. Syracuse vs. Louisville? Not so much. At any rate, the good folks in Bristol have got my wheels turning with the piece “What if college hoops rivalry teams got to use their all-time best players?” Well, what if Kentucky could field the program’s legendary stars? Who would be in your top 5?

Here’s my top 5 players (*within my lifetime only, I’m choosing players that I’ve actually seen play)

Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Point Guard: Wayne Turner. His numbers aren’t that impressive. He wasn’t necessarily the fastest or the best ball handler. But during his time in Lexington, the Cats won two titles, had a runner up finish and reached the Elite Eight. In 1998, he was the SEC Tournament MVP and was the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player which was keyed by his performance bringing the Cats back from a 15 points deficit against Duke in the Regional Final. Turner currently sits atop the all time steals list.

Shooting Guard: Tony Delk. This year, he’s finally getting his rightful recognition and is having his name put into the rafters of Rupp Arena along with the other legendary Wildcats. Delk is 5th on the all time scoring list, he’s second in steals, and number 1 in three pointers made. In 1996, he led the Cats to the NCAA title and earned All American honors.

Small Forward: Jamal Mashburn. Not only was the Monster Mash a great player, his signing with Coach Pitino helped put the Cats back on the map. He was an All American. He was all SEC. He is #6 on the all time scoring list, but his numbers fail to capture his overall talent and impact on the Kentucky Basketball program. He’s arguably one of the most all around gifted player to ever wear the Blue and White.

Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Power Forward: Julius Randle. Sure, he was only in Lexington for one season, but it was one for the ages. Despite the team’s overall struggles through much of the 2013-14 regular season, the one constant was the double-double machine that Randle was. His 417 rebounds is the 5th best season total in program history. He was All SEC, All SEC Freshman, SEC Freshman of the Year, All SEC Tournament, third team All American, NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player and made the All Final Four team while helping the Cats engineer the most surprising in season turnarounds in program history.

Center: Anthony Davis. Another one year player, but a no-brainer. Davis had arguably the best single season in the storied annals of Kentucky Basketball. He blocked a single season record 186 shots. He grabbed 415 rebounds (sixth best for a season). And he even had 54 steals, good enough for 26th and not too bad for a post player. He was the national player of the year by every organization. Davis was the SEC Player of the Year. He was All American. Basically, he was all everything in 2012 in leading the Cats to their 8th NCAA title. How good was he? He was the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player even though he scored 6 points on 1-10 shooting in the title game against Kansas.

Well, that’s my Fave Five. Be sure to share your own with me via Twitter, reach me at @tbrown_80 .