UK men’s basketball All-Decade Team

It’s the end of the decade (still not really sure what this decade is called), and that mean’s all-decade teams and players are announced. The Associated Press named Tiger Woods Athlete of the Decade, Billboard magazine named Nickelback the band of the decade and Eminem the artist of the decade. Now it’s time for Blue Nation Blog’s UK men’s basketball All-Decade team.

All players who played at least one year within the decade are included, so Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans, who played a couple years in the ‘90s are still included on this team.

There’s going to be disagreement in this roster, and that’s OK, that’s how it should be. Some players put up better stats than others, but that wasn’t all that was taken into account. Leave your comments at the bottom of the post with who would be on your roster. Enjoy.

STARTING LINEUP:

Guard – John Wall (2009–present)
He’s only played 10 games and he’s already on the list. He’s five weeks into the season and has won the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week award four times and ESPN’s national Player of the Week award once. He’s hit two game-winning shots in the final minute of games and clutch free throws in the waning seconds to take a game into overtime. He’s one of the most highly touted freshman recruits in the past decade. ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale said Wall is the best point guard he’s seen in the last decade – regardless of year. North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said Wall is one of the best point guard prospects he’s seen since Jason Kidd. Wall is currently averaging 18 points and seven assists for the No. 3 Cats.

Guard – Keith Bogans (1999-2003)
Bogans is No. 4 on UK’s all-time scoring list with 1,923 points. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman team. He was a second team All-SEC selection his sophomore season and an All-SEC Tournament team member. In his senior season, Bogans was an AP Third Team All-American, the SEC Player of the Year and All-NCAA Regional Team selection. The Cats made it to the Regional Finals his senior season as a No. 1 seed where they lost to Marquette and current NBA star Dwayne Wade.

Forward – Tayshaun Prince (1998-2002)
He only played two years in the decade, but he’s one of the all-time greats in UK basketball history. Prince put on one of the best performances of the decade for UK basketball when on Dec. 8, 2001 against UNC he started the game by going 5-for-5 from behind the arc. The 15 points were the first 15 points of the game for UK and the Cats went on to win by 20 at home. Prince was named a Second Team All-American by the AP his junior season, and third team his senior season. Prince was also the SEC Player of the Year as a junior.

Forward – Patrick Patterson (2007-present)
Currently tied for No. 39 on UK’s all-time scoring list with Rodrick Rhodes, Patterson has averaged more than 16 points in each of his three seasons in Lexington. Patterson was the 10th fastest player to reach UK’s 1,000-point club, and is tied with Sam Bowie for the eighth most double-doubles in UK history with 27. It’s more than the statistics and figures with Patterson though. The 6-foot-9 Huntington, W.V., native has been a fan favorite from his first step on campus due to his work ethic, talent, emotion and ability to connect with the Big Blue Nation. Patterson has never played in an NCAA Tournament game before, but has still embodied everything a UK fan would want in their starting forward on an all-decade team.

Forward – Chuck Hayes (2001-05)
What he lacked in size he made up for in heart, passion and work ethic. Listed at only 6-foot-6, Hayes played like he was 6-foot-10. In the process he led the Cats in rebounding his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Hayes earned Second Team All-SEC honors by the coaches his junior season, and First Team All-SEC honors his senior season. Hayes was also named to the All-SEC Freshman team his first year at UK, and the All-NCAA Regional Team as a senior. The tears he shed on senior day are played routinely in the UK basketball archives and he would be someone the Cats would want starting on their All-Decade team.

RESERVES (in order of year):

Guard – Gerald Fitch (2000-04)
Improved each year under former UK head coach Tubby Smith. All-SEC Freshman team selection, also named First Team All-SEC by the coaches during senior season. Fitch was also named the SEC Tournament MVP his senior season.

Forward – Erik Daniels (2000-04)
After mediocre freshman and sophomore seasons, Daniels picked it up and helped anchor the front line his junior and senior season along with Hayes and Azubuike. Daniels earned All-SEC honors from the coaches for his senior season performance.

Guard/Forward – Kelenna Azubuike (2002-05)
Azubuike was a high-flying, hard working beast for UK. A second team All-SEC selection his junior season, Azubuike declared for the NBA Draft one year early.

Guard – Patrick Sparks (2004-06)
One of the best shooters the Cats had in the past decade. Sparks’s defense was spotty at times, but his clutch performances against Louisville in 2004 and Michigan State in 2005 will forever live in UK lore. The Cats ended up losing the game, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer to send UK into overtime against Michigan State in the Regional Finals in 2005 is a shot that will never be forgotten.

Guard – Rajon Rondo (2004-06)
Rondo used his speed, vision and crafty ball-handling skills to wow UK fans for two seasons. Rondo was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team his first year and was an All-SEC second team selection by the coaches as a sophomore. Rondo averaged nearly five assists a game as a sophomore and declared for the NBA Draft after that season.

Forward – Randolph Morris (2004-07)
Morris, unlike many of the players on this list, wasn’t loved by all of Big Blue Nation. Some fans complained of his work ethic and lack of emotion. That’s not why he wasn’t named a starter on the All-Decade team, it’s just a fact of how many fans felt. Putting that aside, Morris produced. He averaged 16.1 points and nearly eight rebounds a game as a junior. Missing out on half of his sophomore campaign hurts his case for the All-Decade team starting lineup.

Guard – Joe Crawford (2004-08)
Crawford’s time at UK wasn’t always easy. Coming to UK as a highly touted recruit, Crawford struggled as a freshman, averaging just over three points a game. That average rose each year though until he led the Cats his senior season averaging nearly 18 points a game.

Guard – Jodie Meeks (2006-09)
With Meeks, the Big Blue Nation saw the potential of a sharpshooter when he was healthy. After a promising freshman campaign, Meeks battled the majority of his sophomore season with a nagging hip injury. As a junior however, Meeks earned Second Team All-America honors by the Associated Press and set the record for most points scored by a UK player in a single game by pouring in 54 points on the road against Tennessee. It was one of the most memorable moments in UK basketball history. If Meeks had done it for more than one year, he’d be a starter on this team.

Forward – DeMarcus Cousins (2009-present)
He’s the 14th man on the roster, but he needs to be on the roster based on his potential alone. When he’s not in foul trouble he has the ability to single-handily take over games. Currently averaging less than 20 minutes per game, Cousins is still getting 14.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and has shown glimpses of what could be. He’s not a starter because he hasn’t put it together with the consistency Wall has, but with his size, shooting touch and potential, Cousins has to be on the All-Decade team.