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The decade began with “The Shot” and ended by shocking the world with a national championship.
In between, the UConn men’s basketball program settled into the national spotlight with a line of future NBA players. Jim Calhoun’s team spent the 1990s elbowing its way into the room with college basketball elites as the Huskies grew from a regional program to a Big East power. This was the era when UConn found its identity with some of the biggest names in Husky history.
Let’s honor those names. Welcome to CT Insider’s 1990s UConn men’s basketball All-Decade team.
Eligibility for the list is having been a member of any teams for seasons that ended in the 1990s — from 1989-90 to 1998-99. All-Decade teams from the 2000s and 2010s will follow in the coming weeks.
Here are our choices as the best and most impactful players, listed alphabetically.
Ray Allen (1993-1996): The first UConn men’s player to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after ending his NBA career, Allen was first-team All-American and Big East Player of the Year as a junior in 1996. Allen played 101 games over three seasons, and his scoring average of 19 points per game is fourth-best in program history. He’s also fourth in total points (1,922) and his 3-point percentage of 44.8% is No. 1 in UConn history. He was the fifth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and he won two titles in his 18-year career. Allen retired in 2014 as the NBA leader in career 3-pointers and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Scott Burrell (1989-1993): The pride of Hamden compiled impressive career numbers — 1,562 points (20th on the all-time list), 310 steals (No. 1 in program history), 2.61 steals per game (also tops), 13.1 career scoring average, and a 16.2 points per game over his final two seasons. But it was his last-second, full-court pass to Tate George in the 1990 Sweet 16 win over Clemson that secured his place in program history. Burrell, a minor league baseball pitcher and star quarterback for Hamden High, lobbed a perfect pass to George, who converted the game-winning shot as time expired. It was the most famous pass in UConn history.
UConn’s Ray Allen shoots over defense, Hartford, CT 1994. (Photo by Bob Stowell/Getty Images)
Robert W Stowell Jr/Getty Images
Scott Burrell of the University of Connecticut dunks the ball past Byrant Walton, right, and Brian Hendrick (15) of the University of California in the UConn-California game in the second round of the NCAA East Regional playoffs in Hartford, Conn., Saturday, March 17, 1990. (AP Photo/Bob Child)
Bob Child/AP
Ray Allen (left) and Scott Burrell (right). Credit: Getty, Associated Press
Khalid El-Amin (1997-2000): The heart of UConn’s first NCAA title team in 1999, El-Amin was a leader at point guard over the course of his career. The Minnesota native averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 assists and 1.72 steals, which is fourth-best in program history. His 1,650 points is 14th all-time and he averaged 13.8 points for the 1998-99 title team. He also averaged 14 points in the NCAA Tournament, which included a pair of 21-point games but also an 0-for-12 shooting game in the regional final. Yet the stocky 5-foot-10 El-Amin stood tall in the title game, scoring the final four points in the 77-74 win over Duke and his reaction — “We shocked the world!” — became the headline for one of the great moments in UConn history.
Kevin Freeman (1997-2000): An integral part of the 1999 NCAA champion, the 6-foot-7 Freeman averaged 12.2 points and 7.3 rebounds that season. He was named Most Outstanding Player in the 1999 Big East Tournament championship and was on the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament team. He is second on the career list for games played (140), and is eighth in rebounds (913) and 21st in points (1,476). Freeman is among four players in program history with at least 1,400 points and 900 rebounds (Emeka Okafor, Jeff Adrien, and Corny Thompson are the others).
Connecticut’s Khalid El-Amin celebrates as time runs out and UConn defeats Duke 77-74 in the championship game of the NCAA Final Four, Monday, March 29, 1999, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Eric Draper)
ERIC DRAPER/Associated Press
President Clinton receives a commemorative jersey presented by University of Connecticut basketball players from left Kevin Freeman, Jake Voskuhl, Ricky Moore and UCONN Coach Jim Calhoun during a ceremony honoring the team at the White House Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999. UCONN beat a heavily favored Duke team to win the NCAA National Championship last spring.
GREG GIBSON/AP Photo/Greg Gibson
Connecticut guard Richard Hamilton, left and guard Khalid El-Amin, right, celebrate Connecticut’s 78-56 win over New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA west regional Saturday, March 13, 1999 in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP
Khalid El-Amin (left, bottom right); Kevin Freeman at White House (top right). Credit: AP
Tate George (1986-1990): Yes, three of his four years were spent in the previous decade. He averaged 9.7 points and 5.3 assists in 128 games, and he’s second all-time in assists (677) and fourth in steals (201). But what lands George on this list is one shot. With one second remaining and UConn trailing Clemson by one point in the 1990 Sweet 16, Burrell threw a pass the length of the court. George caught the pass on the right side, turned and threw up a 17-foot shot that settled into the net. “The Shot,” as it was forever known, put the program on the map.
Richard Hamilton (1996-1999): His 2,036 points is second in program history and his 19.8 scoring average third, securing his place as an all-time UConn great. But what made Rip a special was his performance in the spring of 1999, when he led the Huskies to their first NCAA title. Hamilton was the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring 27 points with seven rebounds in the title game win over Duke. He averaged 24.2 points in the NCAA Tournament that year. He was Big East Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999, an All-American in 1999 and was the seventh overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft.
FILE – Tate George #32 of the UConn Huskies puts up a shot during the 1990 “sweet sixteen” NCAA Tournament basketball game against Clemson at the Meadowlands on March 22, 1990 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As time expires, Tate George’s jump shot slips through the rim to give the University of Connecticut Huskies a 71-70 victory over the Clemson Tigers, moving them to the Final Eight for the first time since 1964.
Getty Images
Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun and MVP Richard Hamilton celebrate their 77-74 victory over Duke in the championship game of the NCAA Final Four, Monday, March 29, 1999, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke) HOUCHRON CAPTION (03/31/1999): UConn coach Jim Calhoun
ED REINKE/AP
Connecticut’s Richard Hamilton celebrates late in the second half against Duke in the championship game of the NCAA Final Four, Monday, March 29, 1999, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. UConn went on to win 77-74. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
DAVE MARTIN/Associated Press
Tate George (left); Rip Hamilton (bottom right) and with Jim Calhoun (top left). Credit: Getty, AP
Donyell Marshall (1991-1994): The 6-foot-9 forward came to Storrs from Reading, Penn. and helped transform the program. Marshall averaged 18.1 points over 91 games, was Big East Player of the Year and the program’s first consensus All-American when he averaged 25.1 points and 8.9 rebounds as a junior. His scoring average that season is third-best in UConn history and his 855 points is the second-most productive season. He led UConn to a 25-win, Sweet 16 season the year before he was selected fourth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft. He played with eight teams over a 15-year NBA career.
American basketball player Donyell Marshall of the University of Connecticut hangs from the hoop during a game against the University of Texas, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994. (photo by Bob Stowell/Getty Images)
Robert W Stowell Jr/Getty Images
University of Connecticut basketball player Donyell Marshall plays defense, Storrs, Connecticut, 1994. (Photo by Bob Stowell/Getty Images)
Robert W Stowell Jr/Getty Images
Donyell Marshall. Credit: Getty
Kevin Ollie (1992-1995): Ollie was never a scoring threat — he averaged 6.7 points over four years and his best season was 1994-95 (9.8 points). But he was a consummate point guard, averaging 5.0 assists over 124 career games. He averaged 6.3 assists in 67 starts over his final two seasons. Ollie’s 619 career assists are fourth on UConn’s all-time list, and UConn was 57-10 with Ollie starting in 1993-94 and 1994-95. He had a 13-year NBA career and later coached UConn to a national title.
University of Connecticut Huskies Kevin Ollie, right, drives around St. John?s Redmen David Cain during first half Big East action at Madison Square Garden, Jan. 30, 1993 in New York.
Mike Albans/(AP Photo/Mike Albans)
University of Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun, second from right, hugs Chris Smith as he left the floor at the end of the UConn-University of California game in the second round of the NCAA East regional playoffs, Saturday, March 17, 1990, Hartford, Conn. UConn won the game 74-54 to advance to the quarter-final round. Other team members from left are Scott Burrell, Nadav Henefeld, Tate George and Lyman DePriest.
Mark Lennihan/AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
University of Connecticut basketball player Doron Sheffer runs the offense, Hartford, Connecticut, 1995. (Photo by Bob Stowell/Getty Images)
Robert W Stowell Jr/Getty Images
University of Connecticuts Dan Cyrulik, left, Chris Smith, center, and assistant coach Howie Dickeman rejoice after defeating Syracuse University 78-75in Big East action, Sunday, March 11, 1990, New York. Smith won the Most Outstanding Player award in the tournament. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Gerald Herbert/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kevin Ollie (left top), Doron Sheffer (left bottom), Jim Calhoun and Chris Smith (right top), Chris Smith (right bottom). Credit: AP, Getty
Doron Sheffer (1993-1996): The playmaker on Ray Allen’s teams, Sheffer was the second significant recruit from Israel (Nadav Henefeld starred for the 1989-90 team) during this era. He averaged 13 points over three seasons, scoring 16 points per game for the 32-3 1995-96 team. He also averaged 6.1 assists that season and his 5.5 career assist average is second-best in UConn history. He’s also second in program history in steals per game (1.9).
Chris Smith (1988-1992): The Bridgeport native was perhaps the most important recruit of the Jim Calhoun era, a Connecticut high school star who chose to stay home. Smith was the center of the 1989-90 team that put the program on the national map with a run to the Elite Eight. He averaged 17.2 points for the 31-win Big East champion as sophomore. He would average 21.2 points over the next two seasons and led the Huskies in scoring three years in a row. Smith remains the program’s all-time scoring leader (2,145 points).
The next five: Ricky Moore (1995-1999), Donny Marshall (1991-1995), Nadav Henefeld (1989-1990), Travis Knight (1992-1996), and Jake Voskuhl (1996-2000).
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