What would these UH legends' 2K ratings be?
NBA 2K20 is officially being released today, so I thought it would be fun to look at some UH legends from a few regions and give them their own UH rating. I have a few things to note before jumping in.
First, this is what I rate this player at the current moment. All of these players have been playing for many years, and just like with 2K’s historic teams or all-time teams, these players would have different ratings if I was giving them a rating in their prime. Also, I’m rating them compared to their league, not the national tournament. While I’ve only seen most of these players at the national level, I wanted to curb that toward their own leagues since that is where they play the majority of the time.
Secondly, I didn’t have a specific criteria for who to choose from each region that I did. My two flexible guidelines for this was that these must have been players that have played for many years in UH and in hundreds of games. Also, I must have seen them play in person on multiple occasions so I could be as accurate as possible.
Sonny Young-Graves
Player rating - 83
Player archetype - Pure Sharpshooter
Top attributes: 3-pointer - 88, Driving layup - 82, Passing - 81, Mid-range - 79, On-ball defense - 75
We’ll start with the oldest region in UH. There are a lot of options to choose from, and I chose Sonny because I’ve seen him play dozens of games and there’s only two players who have played more than him in UH history.
Young-Graves is a shooter first, second and third, as 68% of his shots have come from 3-point range. That has continued to increase as his career has progressed. This season, 77% of his shots have come from deep, making them at a clip of 40%. He has the ability to shoot while spotting up or off the dribble, which increases his overall 3-point rating.
He’s a combo guard capable of playing point or shooting guard, but his strength comes off the ball. When he does play point, he has the ability to attack the hoop or find open teammates. He’s also not known for his defense, but he’s underrated in that aspect, as he’s able to stay in front of guards and handle bigger guards/wings.
2K player comparison - Lou Williams
Mckinsey Golfin
Player rating - 90
Player archetype - Shot-creating sharpshooter
Top attributes: Driving layup - 94, 3-pointer - 91, Mid-range - 89, Strength - 83, Drawing contact - 79
It’s no surprise that the all-time leading scorer in UH history has all of his top five attributes be connected with scoring. Golfin is a score-first point guard that can score from anywhere on the floor. For a guard listed at 5’11”, you’d expect him to do most of his scoring from outside of the paint, which is something Golfin can do well, but one of the best features of his game is his finishing around the rim. He can attack the rim with consistency and either get a bucket against bigger defenders or draw a foul.
When he’s not driving, he’s successfully shooting from the outside. He has shot 45% from deep in his UH career, and that is up to 46% this season in Shelby. In fact, Golfin’s scoring is just above his career average this season.
Career - 20.8 points with shooting splits of 55/45/75
This season - 22 points with shooting splits of 54/46/69
2K player comparison - Kemba Walker
Fred Dudley
Dudley (17)
Player rating - 92
Player archetype - Sharpshooting slasher
Top attributes: Off-dribble shooting - 96, Contested shot - 92, 3-pointer - 87, Ball control - 84, Post scoring - 82
Dudley is another pure scorer that can find many different ways to get buckets. His two best ways of scoring is going iso to create off the dribble and spot-up shooting from deep.
On X Over’s run to a national title in Las Vegas, Dudley was a microwave from deep, spreading the floor and burying open 3s when defenses fell asleep. When he plays in different leagues across Arizona, he becomes a go-to scorer that shoots at a high volume. He’s averaging 36.2 points in the Gilbert Draft League this season on 23.6 shot attempts. He’s able to use his ball-handling and size to either open up a shot or shoot over a defender. Once he’s on, it becomes nearly impossible to stop him.
2K player comparison - Devin Booker
Michael Mastro
Player rating - 95
Player archetype - Stretch 4 rebounder
Top attributes: Rebounding - 99, Passing - 95, Shot IQ - 92, Low-post defense - 87, 3-pointer - 85
Mastro is a Swiss army knife of a player, capable of doing multiple things on both ends. We’ll start with his rebounding, which he does better than anyone in all of Ultimate Hoops. He’s the only player with over 5,000 boards, and he has 817 more than Chris Maher in second place. He’s always scrapping for rebounds on both ends, and combines his strength and positional awareness to grab 15.6 a game.
On offense, Mastro is at his best when he’s looking to create for teammates. In this year’s New York National Tournament, he was crisply passing the ball around with ease, constantly finding teammates with extra passes to set up open shots. He’s able to run point, execute touch passes and drive-and-kick. He’s mainly a forward who will play off ball, but when he has the ball there’s not a pass he can’t make.
On defense, he’s a dog that attempts to wear down his opponents. He can guard multiple positions at his size, and he always knows where to be on the floor to prevent his opponent from getting a bucket.
2K player comparison - Al Horford
Chase Skinkis
Player rating - 97
Player archetype - Playmaking slasher
Top attributes: Dunking - 99, Passing - 98, Shot IQ - 94, On-ball defense - 92, Driving layup - 88
Athleticism and IQ are the two best traits for Skinkis, as he’s capable of controlling a game on both ends. He’s extremely comfortable with the ball in his hands, especially when it gets to him to start a break. His head is constantly up looking for options down the floor, and if defenders start to take away outlets for him to pass to, he can drive to the hoop and finish.
Those are the things that stick out when Skinkis plays his type of game, but we all know the best thing he does is throw down. This is something that is highlighted more in his dunking mixtapes, but he’s more than capable of spectacular in-game dunks as well.
His athleticism and finishing (and since he’s averaged a triple-double in Summerlin during multiple seasons) is the main reason why I compare him to Russell Westbrook, but there’s a lot that is different from the two. Skinkis is an elite defender, an unselfish player and someone who takes smart shots all the time. That sentence would not describe Westbrook, but there’s enough there to make the comparison.
2K player comparison - Russell Westbrook
Luke Hanlon
Player rating - 50
Player archetype - Hype bench mob
Top attributes - Self-awareness - 95, Hustle - 89, Yells positive remarks from the bench - 81, Willingness to set screens - 77, Mid-range - 69
I had to give myself a ranking to set a control for the rest of the group. I’m not very good at basketball, but I know it, which is my biggest strength. I rarely shoot, meaning I rarely take bad shots. I always know who the best player is on the team and am willing to get them the ball or set a screen for them. I try on defense despite not being quick enough to guard any guards that can drive to the hoop.
I don’t have many actual skills that would make me an asset to a team, but I do have a nice mid-range shot that I can burry when teams leave me open (which they often do). I looked up the lowest-rated player in 2K19 and found it incredibly fitting that it was also someone named Luke. Luke Kornet came in with a rating of 65, so I had to lower myself quite a bit for accuracy purposes. If anyone needs some positive energy on the bench, I’m available.