Best WCBB Player of All Time: Breanna Stewart

[Huskybass]

Breanna Stewart
4 time National Champion
4 time MOP of the Final 4
3 time Consensus First Team All American
3 time Consensus National Player of the Year

No other WCBB player has a resume that comes close to Breanna's. Change my mind.

 

[oldude]

Stewie the best WCBB player of all time...... Well duh. ......

 

[Huskybass]

Stewie the best WCBB player of all time. Well duh. .

I guarantee people will try to make a case for DT and possibly other Lady Huskies greats, but to me it's a no brainier.

 

[oldude]

I guarantee people will try to make a case for DT and possibly other Lady Huskies greats, but to me it's a no brainier.

OK. The argument for DT is simply that the teams she led to UConn’s 2nd & 3rd consecutive championships in 2003 & 2004 were not nearly as talented as any of the UConn teams that Stewie played on. I would make the case that it is unlikely that any of the teams Stewie played on would have won championships without her.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Breanna Stewart
4 time National Champion
4 time MOP of the Final 4
3 time Consensus First Team All American
3 time Consensus National Player of the Year

No other WCBB player has a resume that comes close to Breanna's. Change my mind.

Absolutely correct! It isn't even close!

 

[FairView]

I guarantee people will try to make a case for DT and possibly other Lady Huskies greats, but to me it's a no brainier.

Neither Breanna nor Diana played for the Lady Huskies.

 

[CocoHusky]

No other WCBB player has a resume that comes close to Breanna's. Change my mind.

Absolutely correct! It isn't even close!

For the sake of discussion would like for you to consider the collegiate resume of Cheryl Miller.

2 Time National Champion.​

2 Time MOP of Tournament​

4 time consensus AA​

3 Time National Player of the year.​

Miller's career stats exceeded Stewie in almost every statically category: FG% (56.5 to 53) : RPG (12 to 7.8) : PPG (23.6 17.6) : SPG (3.6 to 1.5) APG (3.2 to 2.8).
Stewie exceeded Cheryl in FT% (79.7 to 73.5) and BPG (2.7 to 2.5). The BPG is remarkably close considering that Miller played the SF position.

In summary, for an average game where you start Stewie and I start Cheryl you would be spotting me 6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals & .4 assists. When it comes down to winning a championship that would largely depend on who else is on the squads. Both players had great teammates. Cheryl played with HoF Coop and the McGee sisters. Stewie played with AAs: Hartley, KML, Dolson, Jefferson, Tuck, KLS, Williams, & Collier as well as defensive stalwarts Faris, Stokes, & Nurse. Overall I would say Stewie had more help in winning those 4 championships than Cheryl did in winning her two.
One last note about the exquisite Cheryl Miller (not that Stewie is not exquisite in her own right) after 33 seasons Miller remains top 10 all time in NCAA scoring and is only one of two player in the top 10 to have achieved this distinction WITHOUT the use of a 3Pt line. Additionally Miller is the only player to be NCAA top 10 all time in both scoring and rebounding. Convinced?

Cheryl Miller Stats:

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1982-83	USC	33	973	55.1%	73.7%	9.7	3.5	3.5	2.4	20.4
1983-84	USC	33	726	57.0%	75.2%	10.6	3.6	3.2	2.5	22.0
1984-85	USC	30	805	52.8%	69.6%	15.8	2.9	3.9	2.7	26.8
1985-86	USC	32	814	60.9%	75.3%	12.2	2.9	4.0	2.5	25.4
Career		128	3018	56.5%	73.5%	12.0	3.2	3.6	2.5	23.6

 

[JonathanXIV]

There is a strong case for Maya Moore (there's always a strong case for Maya Moore).

4x All American (unanimous each time)
3x Big East Player of the Year
3x Wade Trophy
2x USBWA Player of the Year
2x AP Player of the Year
2x Naismith Player of the Year
2x John Wooden Award
2x National Champion
2x Final Four All Tournament Team
Final Four MOP

And scored over 3000 points. Not bad.

 

[oldude]

For the sake of discussion would like for you to consider the collegiate resume of Cheryl Miller.

2 Time National Champion.​

2 Time MOP of Tournament​

4 time consensus AA​

3 Time National Player of the year.​

Miller's career stats exceeded Stewie in almost every statically category: FG% (56.5 to 53) : RPG (12 to 7.8) : PPG (23.6 17.6) : SPG (3.6 to 1.5) APG (3.2 to 2.8).
Stewie exceeded Cheryl in FT% (79.7 to 73.5) and BPG (2.7 to 2.5). The BPG is remarkably close considering that Miller played the SF position.

In summary, for an average game where you start Stewie and I start Cheryl you would be spotting me 6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals & .4 assists. When it comes down to winning a championship that would largely depend on who else is on the squads. Both players had great teammates. Cheryl played with HoF Coop and the McGee sisters. Stewie played with AAs: Hartley, KML, Dolson, Jefferson, Tuck, KLS, Williams, & Collier as well as defensive stalwarts Faris, Stokes, & Nurse. Overall I would say Stewie had more help in winning those 4 championships than Cheryl did in winning her two.
One last note about the exquisite Cheryl Miller (not the Stewie is not exquisite in her own right) after 33 seasons Miller remains top 10 all time in NCAA scoring and is only one of two player in the top 10 to have achieved this distinction WITHOUT the use of a 3Pt line. Additionally Miller is the only player to be NCAA top 10 all time in both scoring and rebounding. Convinced?

Cheryl Miller Stats:

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1982-83	USC	33	973	55.1%	73.7%	9.7	3.5	3.5	2.4	20.4
1983-84	USC	33	726	57.0%	75.2%	10.6	3.6	3.2	2.5	22.0
1984-85	USC	30	805	52.8%	69.6%	15.8	2.9	3.9	2.7	26.8
1985-86	USC	32	814	60.9%	75.3%	12.2	2.9	4.0	2.5	25.4
Career		128	3018	56.5%	73.5%	12.0	3.2	3.6	2.5	23.6

You left out that Miller has an award named after her...

 

[CocoHusky]

You left out that Miller has an award named after her...

Give Stewie some time and she will as well.

 

[chrissaran]

No, I'm not convinced. UConn players have never been about stats. Their only concern was about winning. Breanna did winning better than all of them, even after making the prediction before she played her first game.

 

[oldude]

No, I'm not convinced. UConn players have never been about stats. Their only concern was about winning. Breanna did winning better than all of them, even after making the prediction before she played her first game.

Not to quibble over the GOAT, but the winningest players in the history of WCBB are Saniya Chong and Tierney Lawler with an all-time record of 152-2. Just sayin.

 

[CocoHusky]

No, I'm not convinced. UConn players have never been about stats. Their only concern was about winning. Breanna did winning better than all of them, even after making the prediction before she played her first game.

Pure urban legend that Stewie made a prediction before her first game. She simply said she came to UCONN to win 4 championships. What UCONN player doesn't? Cheryl Miller was all about winning, it says so right there in the dictionary! Both players put up the stats to enable wins which is the very reason we can have this discussion.

 

[Carnac]

Breanna Stewart
4 time National Champion
4 time MOP of the Final 4
3 time Consensus First Team All American
3 time Consensus National Player of the Year

No other WCBB player has a resume that comes close to Breanna's. Change my mind.

Those first two achievements can be tied but never broken. She’s on my personal UConn WBB Mount Rushmore. Others may disagree, but she achieved things no other Husky has in program history.

She was also kind enough to humor me by taking a picture with me when I bumped into her 2 years ago. So I’m a little prejudiced where she’s concerned. I was a big fan of hers anyway, but especially after that. She was very pleasant and cordial to a big UConn fan that recognized her, and just happened to be wearing some UConn gear at the time.


I’m probably the only person here that saw Miller at least two dozen times (or more) in person her first two (championship) years at USC. We lived in the area of the LA Sports Arena (that has since been torn down).

I took my kids to the Women of Troy games because they were both in the beginning stages of playing organized basketball. I wanted them to see what good basketball play looked like.

The price of admission was nominal and fan attendance was poor (under a thousand), which allowed us to sit (basically any where we wanted to) on the second row from the floor center court opposite the benches. Best seats in the house. We never experienced any lines for anything. I still remember the starting 5.

Miller was always the best player on the floor every night. She had no peers at the time. We were all USC women’s BB fans. We got a chance to meet her (and her parents) also. She too was cordial and gracious to us fans, as were the rest of her teammates. She made quite an impression on my daughter.

 

[Huskybass]

For the sake of discussion would like for you to consider the collegiate resume of Cheryl Miller.

2 Time National Champion.​

2 Time MOP of Tournament​

4 time consensus AA​

3 Time National Player of the year.​

Miller's career stats exceeded Stewie in almost every statically category: FG% (56.5 to 53) : RPG (12 to 7.8) : PPG (23.6 17.6) : SPG (3.6 to 1.5) APG (3.2 to 2.8).
Stewie exceeded Cheryl in FT% (79.7 to 73.5) and BPG (2.7 to 2.5). The BPG is remarkably close considering that Miller played the SF position.

In summary, for an average game where you start Stewie and I start Cheryl you would be spotting me 6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals & .4 assists. When it comes down to winning a championship that would largely depend on who else is on the squads. Both players had great teammates. Cheryl played with HoF Coop and the McGee sisters. Stewie played with AAs: Hartley, KML, Dolson, Jefferson, Tuck, KLS, Williams, & Collier as well as defensive stalwarts Faris, Stokes, & Nurse. Overall I would say Stewie had more help in winning those 4 championships than Cheryl did in winning her two.
One last note about the exquisite Cheryl Miller (not that Stewie is not exquisite in her own right) after 33 seasons Miller remains top 10 all time in NCAA scoring and is only one of two player in the top 10 to have achieved this distinction WITHOUT the use of a 3Pt line. Additionally Miller is the only player to be NCAA top 10 all time in both scoring and rebounding. Convinced?

Cheryl Miller Stats:

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1982-83	USC	33	973	55.1%	73.7%	9.7	3.5	3.5	2.4	20.4
1983-84	USC	33	726	57.0%	75.2%	10.6	3.6	3.2	2.5	22.0
1984-85	USC	30	805	52.8%	69.6%	15.8	2.9	3.9	2.7	26.8
1985-86	USC	32	814	60.9%	75.3%	12.2	2.9	4.0	2.5	25.4
Career		128	3018	56.5%	73.5%	12.0	3.2	3.6	2.5	23.6

You did a nice job of laying out Cheryl Miller's credentials. I always liked her, both as a player and on air personality. However, 4 National Championships with MOP of the Final 4 EVERY TIME is unbeatable in my mind. When you are the most important piece of a National Championship in each of your 4 years, that is the best college resume you can have in my opinion. I'm sure Cheryl Miller would gladly trade some of her stats for another National Championship or two.

 

[pvdoggy]

Breanna did not even make the top Uconn player according to the people who are pretty close to the program. SNY did a top ten shows last year

 

[bballnut90]

Breanna Stewart
4 time National Champion
4 time MOP of the Final 4
3 time Consensus First Team All American
3 time Consensus National Player of the Year

No other WCBB player has a resume that comes close to Breanna's. Change my mind.

On paper, yes. A huge part of her success came from her teammates. Stewart was excellent, but it helped that almost every season she had multiple All-Americans in her starting lineup. I mean she played 4 years with Moriah Jefferson (#2 WNBA pick), 3 years with Morgan Tuck (#3 pick) and KML (#3 pick), and then two years with Hartley/Dolson. No one else has had the luxury of teammates that Stewart has had. She's definitely in the conversation, but I wouldn't call her a slam dunk. And not to nitpick, but she wasn't the consensus POY in 2014 and honestly most would agree that the 2015 F4 MOP should've gone to Jefferson (Stewart even said this in her interview). Regardless though, in terms of individual and team accomplishments, she stands alone with 4 titles, the MOP awards and POY awards.

On the flip side, there are several other players in the conversation like Miller, Taurasi, Holdsclaw, Parker and Moore. Miller's success was documented by CocoHusky.

Taurasi doesn't have the stats but she has three titles and won 2 of them with far less talent than Stewart had.

Holdsclaw is before a lot of people's time but she won 3 titles, 2x POY (and won a POY award as a soph too, so arguably 3x) and was the standout star of the 90s. She won one title with very little talent and another as the clear standout star on one of the best teams of all time. The minute she touched the hardwood it was clear she was the most unique and talented player in the country. She didn't have a standout WNBA career but in college she was remarkable to watch.

Moore had a LOT of similarities to Holdsclaw in that the minute she suited up she was clearly one of the very best players in the country. She's the only player ever who was top 2 in POY voting all 4 years and went a ridiculous 150-4 in wins/losses. Her teammates, while strong, did not compare to the roster strength that Stewart had either. Aside from Charles/Montgomery, she didn't have a ton to work with, as Kalana Greene and a streaky Tiffany Hayes were her best teammates. She "only" won 2 titles, but much of that was due to her team rather than anything she could have done. Maya came in with a weak class and the class after her ended up being weak too by UCONN standards. Stewart on the other hand had Tuck/Jefferson alongside her the last 2 seasons. Stat wise, Maya is superior to Stewart IMO and in terms of consistency, Maya wins that battle too. And I know that WNBA shouldn't factor into it, but I think it is worth noting what Moore was able to accomplish in the pros with better teammates. In her first 7 years in the W she won 4 titles and played in 6 finals. Truly the ultimate winner in women's basketball.


Parker I don't think is anyone's top pick since she only played 3 seasons, but I'd certainly put her in the conversation with what she accomplished in three years at Tennessee. 2 titles, 2 POY seasons, forced to play a variety of positions and was so unique with her skill set and ability at 6-4. We hadn't seen anybody do what Parker did at 6-4. She was also ridiculously clutch at Tennessee and would regularly make huge plays down the stretch with games on the line. Missing a full season though puts her lower for me though.


Honestly, it all comes down to what you value in the argument for best of all time. Is it awards? Stats? Ability to carry a team? Ability to come through in the big moments? I don't think there is a consensus right or wrong answer, but Stewart (along with the players above) all have arguments and are clearly among the very best ever.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewie doesn't have the longevity to be the best ever. But give her time.

 

[Huskybass]

Stewie doesn't have the longevity to be the best ever. But give her time.

Longevity is limited to 4 seasons of play in Women's College Basketball. Stewart played 4 years, won 4 National Championships, and was Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four all four years. This discussion is limited to college careers as stated in the title of the thread.

Best overall Women's Basketball Player is an entirely different discussion, and names like Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore seem more fitting at the top of the list given their accomplishments domestically and abroad at the professional level.

 

[Zanzman]

Moriah deserves onof those Mop awards

 

[MilfordHusky]

Longevity is limited to 4 seasons of play in Women's College Basketball. Stewart played 4 years, won 4 National Championships, and was Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four all four years. This discussion is limited to college careers as stated in the title of the thread.

Ah, I missed the "C." Thanks.

 

[intlzncster]

Breanna Stewart
4 time National Champion
4 time MOP of the Final 4
3 time Consensus First Team All American
3 time Consensus National Player of the Year

No other WCBB player has a resume that comes close to Breanna's. Change my mind.

BS is the most accomplished, without a doubt.

But in college she played with 4 years of what, with all due respect to Sue Bird, might be the best uconn PG of all time.

DT led a less than spectacular crew to 2 championships, while be the singular focal point of every single opponent. While injured. And at a time when refs, who were even worse than they are now, let players absolutely abuse Taurasi. Her ability to lift other players, many of whom were not elite, through force of will is second to none. I don't think BS could have done the same in 03 and 04.

DT is like Michael Jordan in my mind. It'll take a whole hell of a lot to knock her off that perch. Breanna may do it.

 

[chrissaran]

Just sayin their number of wins has nothing to do with how great they were as players. Breanna even said Moriah should have been the MOP. That also shows just how great she is. She was never about stats or awards, only about winning. Winning is what determines the best ever, along with the players affect on the winning. Bill Russell: 11 championships in 13 years, and I hate the Celtics.

 

[Bama fan]

You left out that Miller has an award named after her...

And she has Miller Time too.

 

[diggerfoot]

No one else has had the luxury of teammates that Stewart has had.

You use this argument repeatedly, and have been deceptive repeatedly. Stewart and Taurasi both have a unique claim in winning a championship. As a freshman Stewart was able to put the team on her back in the FF, particularly the Notre Dame game, something neither Taurasi nor Moore were able to do in their situations. Taurasi definitely had a better cast of teammates than Stewart had as a freshmen. Charles and Montgomery also are a better duo than Dolson and Hartley (Jefferson had not yet come into her own, no matter how deceptively you want to present that). You can rationalize comparisons of Hayes v KML all you want but, particularly against Notre Dame, KML does not make such a comparison obvious.

On the other hand Taurasi did something Stewart did not do. Her teammates were much more inexperienced than Stewart's when she was an upperclassmen. Stewart did not accomplish what Taurasi did, but she did not have the opportunity to do so, so we do not know for sure that she could not. FWIW, I personally do not think Stewart or anyone else could instill the confidence in inexperienced players like Taurasi can, but we don't know for sure because the opportunity was not there. On the other hand Taurasi did have the opportunity to carry a team as a freshmen but, even though they were more talented than what surrounded Stewart at the time (Bird, Jones, Cash, Williams, Schumacher v Dolson, Hartley, KML, come on!) she did not succeed.

I agree it's not a slam dunk. Once again, you cannot know what Stewart would have done with Moore's or Taurasi's classes. For that matter you cannot know what Stewart would have done with any of Miller's classes, or the one year Holdsclaw did not win a championship, or the one year Parker didn't. But, one final time, Stewart won a championship under every condition presented to her, including carrying a team with a Notre Dame monkey on its back as a freshmen. So while it's not a slam dunk because you can't compare between different situations, Stewart is the only one who never faltered at whatever FF situation presented itself.

Moore may be the best all around college player for all four years (in a debate with Miller and maybe Holdsclaw), but she did not succeed at carrying a team as a freshmen like Stewart, despite playing with a future Olympian, nor could she carry an inexperienced as a senior like Taurasi, even though her inexperienced cast eventually became AAs.