September 4, 201313 yr ESPN's Eamonn Brennan compiled this list of the best players Pitino has coached in college: 1. Jamal Mashburn 2. Tony Delk 3. Antoine Walker 4. Ron Mercer 5. Billy Donovan 6. Derek Anderson 7. Sean Woods 8. Russ Smith 9. Wayne Turner 10. Francisco Garcia Examining Rick Pitino's top players Kentucky Louisville Providence - ESPN
September 4, 201313 yr Author Without having thought a great deal about it, I see two names here that I don't think belong: Sean Woods & Russ Smith. I would include both Walter McCarty & Nazr Mohammed on this list before Woods--perhaps even some other players. But I have a really hard time thinking that Russ Smith is the best player Rick has coached at UL. Garcia was the first name that came to my mind. Earl Clark? Terrence Williams? I'm curious what others have to say about this, particularly the UL fans. Who are the best UL players Rick has coached?
September 4, 201313 yr Author What about Dean? The shooter? I'm not going to try & spell his first name. :lol2:
September 4, 201313 yr ^ Taquan? Solid player. Off the top of my head and without thinking much, I'm going with this for Pitino players at Louisville. 1) Reece Gaines 2) Francisco Garcia 3) Russ Smith 4) Terrence Williams 5) Earl Clark Don't know where I'd put Siva, Dieng, Samuels or some of the other talents he's had here. I'm also not very good at keeping "best" and "favorite" appropriately separated. Although that favorites list would have Dieng on top followed quickly by David Padgett. Edited September 4, 201313 yr by Getslow
September 4, 201313 yr Author ^ Taquan? Solid player. Off the top of my head and without thinking much, I'm going with this for Pitino players at Louisville. 1) Reece Gaines 2) Francisco Garcia 3) Russ Smith 4) Terrence Williams 5) Earl Clark Taquan, that's the guy. He played for Rick, didn't he?
September 4, 201313 yr One of the other writers did his own top 10. It was linked in that first article: Rick Pitino: His top 10 players - ESPN His ten: 1: Tony Delk, Kentucky 2: Jamal Mashburn, Kentucky 3: Antoine Walker, Kentucky 4: Reece Gaines, Louisville 5: Ron Mercer, Kentucky 6: Billy Donovan, Providence 7: Peyton Siva, Louisville 8: Derek Anderson, Kentucky 9: Francisco Garcia, Louisville 10: Walter McCarty, Kentucky
September 4, 201313 yr Author I think Mr. Brennan nailed the top four & in the right order. Not sure on the rest.
September 4, 201313 yr Taquan, that's the guy. He played for Rick, didn't he? Yeah. Definitely a solid player. Was on the 2005 Final Four team. He's currently playing in Italy. If not on my "best" player list, he's definitely right there with fellow 2005 teammate Larry O'Bannon on the "favorites" list.
September 4, 201313 yr Is it best players to play for Pitino or best careers? Either way, Mashburn and Walker have to be numbers 1 and 2. Then Delk. Sort out the rest after that. The only top 10 list Wayne Turner belongs on is top 10 players from his high school.
September 4, 201313 yr Author Is it best players to play for Pitino or best careers? Either way, Mashburn and Walker have to be numbers 1 and 2. Then Delk. Sort out the rest after that. Not sure about best player or best career. If you just look at college, I still think Delk is the better player over Antoine. Walker didn't do much the very end of his freshman year & then had a really good sophomore year. Delk being a Final Four MVP & one of the school's all-time leading scorers gets him the nod in the eyes of a lot of folks.
September 4, 201313 yr Not sure about best player or best career. If you just look at college, I still think Delk is the better player over Antoine. Walker didn't do much the very end of his freshman year & then had a really good sophomore year. Delk being a Final Four MVP & one of the school's all-time leading scorers gets him the nod in the eyes of a lot of folks. So if you're starting a team and you have first pick you'd pick Delk over Walker?
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