After we recently announced the All-Time Ultimate Hoops Mt. Rushmore, LC Comine and Joe Neuenfeldt decided to dive into the UH Las Vegas history and select a Mt. Rushmore specific to Vegas.

Here is Part 3. Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Who belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of UH Vegas?  With UH Nation voting on the Mt. Rushmore for all the positions across UH, I have decided to look at our region and come up with our own Mt. Rushmore. 

Joe’s selection:  Hollis Hale

Criteria for this Spot: After awarding the three previous spots to legendary players I have a great deal of familiarity with, I felt this spot needed to go to someone who's had a great Ultimate Hoops career that was not apart of UH Vegas during my tenure. 

First, apologies go to Stefan Hanania and Will Holvoet; two great players with a legitimate claim to this final spot on Mt. Rushmore.

Second apology goes to Rob Sandoval. But along that same line, I believe it was a must that I award this final spot to someone who came into UH Vegas as a Green Valley player. Let's face it, me coming in here and awarding four Mt. Rushmore spots to all Summerlin guys, where UH Vegas originated and the only club in Vegas that I was a League Coordinator of, would have undoubtedly labeled me as a biased homer. And my list would certainly be met with eye rolls and a loss of credibility.

With that in mind, it came down to two guys; Charlie Farber and Hollis Hale. 

Here's the deal. I have seen both of these guys play limitedly. But their stats speak for themselves. Both guys are Ultimate Hoops Top 20 of All Time in points scored. And they have very similar stats.

Hollis has 16 championships and Charlie with 14.

I cannot actually tell you which player is better if they match up against each other. Perhaps you could argue that both of these guys should be on Mt. Rushmore of UH Vegas.

Just imagine if they had played in the league in its first four years of existence. They could both be in the top 5 of all time. I mean, 3 of the top 7 scorers ever are first ballot Hall of Famers. Either Charlie or Hollis or both could easily argue that had they arrived in 2012 as Chase did, their names could be on the Hall of Fame banner.

But they missed out on those years. They were Club Sport guys. I can't fault them for that. I'm all about rivalries. But knowing what they do now about Ultimate Hoops, I wonder if they'd change anything from the past. The league was there for them to be apart of. Maybe it isn't their fault that they joined the league when they did. But it's also not our fault that they missed those formative years either. 

I had to really go through their stats to try and figure out which guy is more deserving of the Mt. Rushmore spot. Hollis has a better career PPG average and shoots better from three point range and the free throw line. Charlie has a better overall FG% and is a better rebounder and passer. Charlie averages more steals but he also averages more turnovers.

Neither player seems to have a real weakness, especially on the offensive side of the ball. A strong argument could be made for Charlie over Hollis. More games played, points, rebounds and assists (Top 40 All Time in every category). And in their match up this past winter in the Green Valley Veteran's Division, Charlie had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists to Hollis' 15 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

With Charlie's Houdini team earning the win on their way to 8-0 and a #1 seed in a cut short season. But my final pick of Hollis came down to three different items. 

First, who's play is better in the Open Division? This isn't the 2014 Open Division. The Vegas talent is currently incredible. And although they have similar overall numbers (big surprise), Hollis' 22.2 PPG average to Charlie's 19.1 PPG average gets the edge. Further, in the most recent Open Division season, Hollis averaged 21 PPG. And Charlie appears to have hung up the Open Division shoes for good (last played in the summer of 2019). No shame in it. But it needs to be considered. 

Second, which player has performed better in the National Tournament? We can agree that the National Tournament has simply become a completely different level of play. And Charlie and Hollis' stats certainly reflect that difference in play. But again, Hollis has the edge. More games played (20 to 17), a better PPG average (10.1 to 7.9) and a better FG% (40% to 37%). 

Finally, which player possesses more star power? Admittedly, I am far from the expert in making that assessment. Also, what goes into that definition? I am told both players at times can be difficult to play with but they will both tell you that right up front which I respect.  Yet I am quite entertained and captivated by Hollis' trash talk to his opponents.

Also, Hollis scored 87 points in a game. And if that wasn't enough, he scored 100 (against poor Dan Orozco bother times). How am I going to keep the guy who scored 100 points in a game off of Mt. Rushmore?

I look forward to watching both of these guys play in the future. See if I assessed correctly by choosing Hollis over Charlie. And I definitely want to see a head to head battle. That would certainly go a long way in making a final decision on which of these two future Hall of Famers belong on Mt. Rushmore over the other. 

L.C’s selection:  Charlie Farber

This last selection was a tough one for me. 

I really could have gone in a lot of different ways.  There are several players who deserve to be considered on this Mt. Rushmore.  Whether its Hollis Hale, JYD, Rob Sandoval, NFZ Travis Scribner, Josh McCarver, Kerry Knoll, or Stefan Hanania. 

You can argue all of these guys have done something memorable or impactful during their careers as a player or employee.  However, for me, when I look at everything the player that has done the most for UH out of everyone in his career is Charlie Farber. 

Charlie made his UH Vegas debut on January 7th, 2015 in the very first UH game in Green Valley as his Houdini squad defeated Flight Vegas 84-68.  Houdini then went on to run the table in the GV open league and complete an impressive 11-0 season and capture the very first championship in GV. 

Over the next 5 years, Charlie has gone on to play in 465 games which is 33rd all time, capture 342 wins which is 14th all time, and win 14 titles which is tied for 14th all time.  Charlie’s titles have come in the Open league, Rec league, Vet league, Vet B league, and Draft league.  He has primarily played all his seasons in GV but did play 2 seasons in the Summerlin Open league back in 2016 with New Edition.

Charlie’s accomplishments alone makes hit easy for me to select him for this Mt. Rushmore but that’s not the main reason why. 

When I look at Charlie I look at him as the face of UH in Green Valley. 

He has been the leader since day one and I think we can all attest he has been vocal and at the end of the day he cares about the league just as much as anyone.  You will see Charlie in the gym almost every single league night whether or not he is playing.  If his game is over he always hangs out and chats with the guys and hangs around and watches the games. 

He will be the first player to tell me positive or negatively how the league is doing and will bounce ideas off me about the future of the leagues.  On the court he may be the one everyone is gunning for from time to time but off the court he is respected and gets a long with everyone.  The camaraderie in the GV gym is second to none and I think having someone like Charlie being there since day one is a big reason why.

Like I said, this last spot could have gone to a few guys but as you dig into the stats Charlie has been quite impressive on the court.  His championship resume has already been touched on but for his career Charlie has scored 9,602 career points, which puts him 11th all time, 2,662 assists, which ranks him 9th all time, and 3,012 rebounds which is 37th all time. 

Charlie averages 20.6 PPG with shooting splits of 53/35/77.  I think we are going to see Charlie be in the UH Hall of Fame rather soon and I think it's well deserved especially for what he has meant to the leagues in Green Valley.