Favorite players (all your team)

[Cyclones Rule]

I love the thread on favorite current players in the big 12. I was wondering if people would want to come up with a list of 5 all-time favorites/best players from your own school that really help shape the program to date. It might to fun to bring back some names from the past and reminise.

Here is my all-time favorite/best that have made an major impact at :isu:

Stacy Frese
Anne O'Neil
Megan Taylor
Jayme Olson
Angie Welle

[DblT81]

5 of the Favorites

Sheryl Swoopes
Keitha Dickerson
Katrisa O'Neal
Alicia Thompson
Erin Grant

This is too hard. Too many for just five! :ttu:
Honorable mention: LaToya Davis, Melinda Schmucker-Pharis, Crystal Boles, Plenette Pierson

[ChipperF1]

Its hard to pick five. There are players you liked because they were just awesome, and then there are players you just liked, even if they weren't so great.

Players I liked, because they were great.

Maurtice Ivy....My hero since she was at Omaha Central. 1988 Big 8 Player of the Year.
Charlie Rogers...Toughest skinny girl to wear a Nebraska Uniform. She was 6'2" 95 pounds and played like she was 7'2" 310.
Karen Jennings...All-American/Wade Trophy Winner. An excellent player to watch and she carried a team above what they should have been.
Nicole Kubik....Biggest miscall I ever made in my life was saying she wouldn't be a Division I player. She got the call as a freshman and never looked back.
Anna DeForge...The best player on the team during the last days of Angela Beck and the year of redemption in '97-'98. Had a good, but not stellar career at Nebraska. Made herself a good WNBA player by never giving up.

Players I liked, just because I liked 'em.

Liz Brenden....Undersized, chunky, tough as a Humvee, if not especially skilled. Had a lot of basketball knowledge in that head though and she loved play defense. My favorite memory of her is the fight she got into with Mery Andrade during a 1996 Nebraska-Portugal exhibition game. She was also a fun interview.

LaToya Doage... The Darda Buggy point guard from the Beck era. Probably the fastest, but most out of control point guard I've ever seen. Still landed in the ABL.

Pyra Aarden....The nicest, sweetest girl next door you'd ever want to meet, who also happened to be about 6'4". Pyra was better than most people thought. Not a very athletic player, but had a good head and knew where she needed to be to get a rebound or get in position to get a shot.

Cisco Gilmore...An unsung sixthwoman throughout her career. Played the small and power forward spots and often made some key plays off the bench that kept us in games.

Jami Kubik....According to the scouting computers and tape measure she would be on the bench at UNK. She became one of the best defensive players with grit and greymatter. Her constant pressure during the 1997 preseason WNIT final vs. UConn is my personal gold standard for man-to-man defense. She made it a tough night for Amy Duran and Nykesha Sales and really kept Nebraska in a game this team had no business being in.

[Cyclones Rule]

I was trying to think of how to phrase what I wanted to say in the open. The five ISU are also favorite, but I selected them based on their impact on/to the program. So when selecting made think about that as you do it

[Bob_Ballew]

Suzie Snider-Eppers
Maggie Davis-Stinnett
Lynel Pyron
Shelia Lambert
Sophia Young

It is hard to limit it to five. :)

[DBLTFarmer]

Favorite players,

Julia Koncak, I'm 6'5 and was a pretty good b-ball player at one time. I played against her and Sharon Cain at the rec center in a pick up game. Koncak moved me everywhere but where I wanted to go. She was the best at blocking out of anyone Ive ever played against including players from the Tech mens team at the time. That was Tech men that won the SWC.

Sheryl Swoopes
Melinda Schmuecker Pharies
Keitha Dickerson
Krista Kirkland

[carolann]

:ut:

I moved to Austin in 1994 so, oddly enough, I became a fan of the program during the mid-nineties, a time when some folks were ditching their season tickets because the program was “mediocre”. My group of players to choose from is somewhat small because all of the players that I will name will be players that I have personally seen rather than the legendary players that I have seen only on tape if at all. The current senior class has been such a great group that I don’t know how I will pick a “favorite” when they finish their eligibility.

Angie Jo Ogletree – I fondly remember the senior class that included Ogletree, Amy Smith, and Danielle Viglione but Angie was my favorite. She brought such energy to the game. It seemed to me that the intensity of the entire team doubled when Angie took the floor.

Edwina Brown – My goodness, how bad would Texas have been from ’96 to 2000 without Edwina Brown. Edwina had blue-chip talent but did not have the early training that almost all talented high school players have today. Edwina loved to win; hated to lose; gave ‘til it hurt and kept on giving. Edwina amassed great personal stats out of necessity but all she really wanted was for the team to win.

Tracy Cook – The most productive player of a blue-collar class that was the beginning of the rebuilding effort at Texas. The class began as a six-person class. For a variety of reasons from medical to transfer, only 3 finished four years of eligibility at Texas. Dana Godfrey, Tracy Cook and Asha Hill all contributed to the Texas resurgence even though they were eclipsed on the playing floor by more talented younger players (only Tracy started as a senior.)

Tai Dillard – The personification of a “glue” player. OU fans who say Chelsi Welch is not the same player she was as a freshman, don’t give up yet. Tai Dillard was injured as a sophomore and when she came back as a junior had a so-so year. As a senior, Tai Dillard was a key component of the Longhorns’ final four team.

Stacy Stephens – Nature and Nurture (i.e. a great family) combined to create a great sportswoman. It all started for Texas fans when Stacy was a freshman. Texas was having trouble scoring. The Horns were playing a team with a center who had at least 5 inches on Stacy. Stacy stepped up in the huddle and said, “Give me the ball. I can score.” Stacy scored. I don’t remember if we won or lost. No one has ever competed harder while still keeping the right perspective on what is important in life. Stacy became known for her humor, humility, good manners and hard work. Some opposing fans wanted to hate her but, in the end, most could only say “Why isn’t she on our team?”

[Row6Seat10]

First Team Favs:
Karen Jennings
Meggan Yedsena
Kate Galligan
Anna DeForge
Nicole Kubik

Second Team Favs
Tina McClain
Maurtice Ivy
Jami Kubik
Laura Tietjen
Keasha Cannon-Johnson

Honorable mention:
Amy Gusso
J.J. Jurgens

[ouconster]

Stacey Dales
Phylesha Whaley
LaNeishea Caufield
Sunny Hardeman
Caton Hill

I am sure there are others, but since I have only followed them from about 2000 on, these are the ones I remember.

[Bball Girl]

Sheryl Swoopes
Keitha Dickerson
Melinda Schmucker
Erin Grant
Krista Kirkland
could have been Jia Perkins

[carolann]

Sorry, I can't help myself. I know this is supposed to be players on 'my team' but I just have to chime in on the Nebraska posts. Man, I really liked Nicole Kubik and Charlie Rogers. For ISU fans, I always liked Tracy Gahan. Tracy Gahan was to ISU then what Megan Mahoney is to KSU today.

[Jennifer]

Tracy Gahan was to ISU then what Megan Mahoney is to KSU today.


I agree; Gahan was one of my favorite ISU players of that time just as Mahoney is one of my favorite on the KSU team.

Other favorites from times past:
Nightingale (Colorado)
Dickerson (Tech)
N. Kubik (Nebraska)
Liz Brown (OSU, back in the 80s)

I know there are more--that darn memory of mine again.

On another note--I recently realized that I work with Stephanie Scott's brother. Needless to say, he's a huge Tech fan!

[mred]

My favorite Cyclones:

Tracy Gahan is my all-time favorite Cyclone. There are few players who can boast the stats she had, yet she isn't nearly as well-known as the big name players. "Tracy, shoot the ball!"

Erica Haugen is my wife's favorite Cyclone and one of my top 5. She was the WBB equivalent to one of Chippers favorite ISU MBB players: Jacy Holloway. She took better care of the ball than the two point guards she backed up (Frese and Wilson), hit a very high percentage of her threes, and around once a game she'd step in front of an opposing pass and take it the length of the court for an uncontested layup. My wife and I had an Erica Haugen Fan Club sign we took to many ISU games.

Megan Taylor is perhaps the most beloved ex-Cyclone WBB player. Fennelly once said she could shoot 0-12 in a game and he'd still want the ball in her hands for the final shot. She hit the game-winner in the famous game @ OU. She dominated the 2001 Big 12 championship game against OU. She hit the 35-footer at the buzzer to beat Texas. She left ISU as the career points and rebounds leader despite being only 5-11. I've never seen a player get so many offensive rebounds off her own missed shots. She had a knack for knowing exactly where the ball was going to bounce off the rim.

Angie Welle was simply incredible. She averaged a double-double each of her last two seasons, including over 20 ppg as a senior. She was best known for the "Welle two-step", her awkward-looking slow-motion layup move that opponents always claimed was travelling (which was called on occasion). She was very agile for her height, which allowed her to get a LOT of rebounds and also allowed her to beat opponents down the floor when teammates got defensive rebounds, leading to a lot of uncontested layups.

Megan Ronhovde is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. I think I just like the Tracy Gahan/Megan Taylor types who can both rebound and shoot the three. When I first saw her play in person I was astounded at how quickly she can catch and shoot. She'll be all-big12 before she graduates.

[wwi_flying_ace_17]

Angie Welle was simply incredible. She averaged a double-double each of her last two seasons, including over 20 ppg as a senior. She was best known for the "Welle two-step", her awkward-looking slow-motion layup move that opponents always claimed was travelling (which was called on occasion). She was very agile for her height, which allowed her to get a LOT of rebounds and also allowed her to beat opponents down the floor when teammates got defensive rebounds, leading to a lot of uncontested layups.

I'm glad to see Welle mentioned by the ISU fans. I live in North Dakota and got to see her in high school and she was incredible to watch. I wrote her a letter when I was in high school asking for an autograph and she wrote me a nice letter, which I still have. If I remember right, she was a Miss Volleyball candidate as well, which was for the best high school senior volleyball player in the state, so she was a very good athlete.

Anyway, she was just a step above everyone in high school. Her team took state her junior and senior years and she carried them. Her teams had other good players, but there was no question about who made them run. Welle always looked like she was having fun and she was the reason I first started following women's college basketball and I just became hooked.

[unkiemark]

My all time favorite at :cu:

Bridget Turner
LaShena Graham
Tera Bjorklund
Linda Lappe
Mindy Henry

[swok34]

Phylesha Whaley -----dang, give me a team of 5 Phylesha's and I'll take on anyone.

ok...Stacey Dales
Caton Hill
Leah Rush

hmmmmm, Stacy Stephens, Jolee Ayers, Edwina Brown.

I like blue collar, take out the trash, sweep the gym, turn out the lights kind of Power Foward Players.

[Texan]

Nekisha Henderson - The very first women's basketball game I went to was Nekisha's first game as a freshman - the orange and white exhibition game. She had a pretty good game and her joy in playing was visible and for the first year, I went to games to watch her play.

Amy Smith - She was the leader of a team that didn't have the physical talent to be as good as they were, and I loved them for it.

Stacy Stephens - What more can be said? She is an awesome player and an awesome person. I miss her.

Edwina Brown - What a player! Watching her grow as a player over her four years at UT was a joy.

Tia Dillard - She kept the team together and had the perfect jump shot.

[soonerborn]

Phylesha Whaley
Stacy Dales
Lynn McCurdy
Caton Hill
Dionnah Jackson

[elfdenmom]

Melinda Schmucker
Keitha Dickerson
Krista Kirkland
Rene Hannebut
Erin Grant

Also: Sheryl Swoops, Alicia Thompson, Chesley Dabbs, LaToya Davis, Amber Tarr, Natalie Richie, etc., etc., etc.

[walkaway]

I saw Sheryl Swoopes play live once, but not at Tech -- at SPC, but oddly enough I don't have as clear a memory of her play as I do of another JUCO player I watched a lot -- Steffanie Massie, at Howard College in '87-88, was an All-american on a ball team that had a 4-24 season and a grand total of seven kids counting the manager.

At Tech, the players I've found most impressive, for a variety of reasons, have been ones a lot of other folks don't remember as being spectacular ballplayers.

Carolyn Thompson would be an exception, I reckon. I was a Tech student her junior and senior seasons.


Contemporary teams? I adored Natalie Ritchie. She had the most beautiful jump shot; it should be a training video. Then there was everything about her -- she epitomized "Lady Raiders" to me. Class all over, all the time.

[brolewis]

...another JUCO player I watched a lot -- Steffanie Massie, at Howard College in '87-88...
Are you talking about Howard College in Big Spring, Texas?

[TXSNOS]

Clarissa Davis
Andrea Lloyd
Yulonda Wimbish
Doreatha Conwell
Cinietra Henderson
Angela Jackson
Amie Smith
Edwina Brown
Heather Schreiber
Nina Norman

My list could go on, but I'll stop at 10.

[BeBe]

My favorite :cu:

Tera Bjorklund ... such a threat in the post and a great team player
Linda Lappe ... how do you spell GUTS? she played with so many physical problems and still gave her all
Mandy Nightingale ... first basketball player I ever saw who wore knee pads and made as much use of them as the volleyball players do
Shelley Sheetz ... best point guard CU has had IMHO
Eisha Bohman ... the blue collar do whatever needs to be done grinder who just always seemed to make that play the team needed

[walkaway]

brolewis, yep.

[hoopjnky]

too, too hard

point guards:

Noel Johnson - will forever hold the Swc record for 3 pointers
Krista Kirkland - the glue 0f 93
Erin Grant - she has the "vision" thing

shooting guards:

Rene Hannebutt - a little hop and a score
Julie Lake - had the prettiest shot
Tabbatha Tuesdale - she could really shake it up in the middle

fowards:

Sheryl Swoopes - what a delight to have seen her break Larry Bird's record in Dallas
Alicia Thompson - fist time I ever saw a woman skywalk
Plennette Pierson - she sure cam around

Center
Michi Atkins - short, but as Linden Weese said "a horse"
Cisti Greenwalt - she has just gotten so much better

[spooky]

Nicole Collins
Sheila Lambert
Jessika Stratton
Sophia Young
Maggie Davis

Embarrassingly enough I never saw Maggie play for Baylor since she played while I was in school, and I was not enlightened enough then to be among the 100 or so people who would show up early enough before the men's games to watch the ladies.

I do feel justified in putting her on my list since I did watch many a game as she led my high school to back-to-back 32-0 seasons and two state championships my junior and senior years. She was a great player and a better person.

[Cycurl714]

Megan Taylor
Stacy Freese
Erica Haugen
Angie Welle
Tracy Gahan

Honorable Mention
Lindsey Wilson
Desiree Francis
Anne O'Neil
Katie Robinette

[CUBuffs13]

Shelly Sheetz - Fun to watch and I think left the biggest impact on the program.

Erin Scholz - I was always a big fan, and didn't know two of my top 5 names would end in z!

Linda Lappe - There was nothing not to love about her.

De Celle Thomas - She was part of that group I really enjoyed watching.

Tera Bjorklund - There's no way a Buff that scored so much could not bring me so much joy!

2 to mention - Isabelle Fijalkowski: She was only eligible for one season, and in that one season she fit right in and did great things.

Nikki Weddle: I know she left early, but I loved watching her pesky defense.

[SKATERBOY]

top 10 impact players ever at Texas
Kamie Ethridge
Clarissa Davis
Stacey Stephens
Beverly Williams
Annette Smith
Fran Harris
Doreatha Conwell
Andrea Lloyd
Vickie Hall
Susan Anderson

5 honorable mention
Danielle Vigleone
Nell Fortner
Retha Swindell
Cinietra Henderson
Yolanda Wimbush