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Markelle Fultz: Putting His Season for the Huskies into Context

By Paul Taylor

Feb 4, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies guard Markelle Fultz (20) takes a shot during warm-ups before the start of a game against the UCLA Bruins at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies guard Markelle Fultz (20) takes a shot during warm-ups before the start of a game against the UCLA Bruins at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 25, 2017; Tempe, AZ, USA; Washington Huskies guard Markelle Fultz (20) dribbles the ball against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half at Wells-Fargo Arena. The Sun Devils won 86-75. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Measuring up against the all-time greats

From Calkins’ perspective — there’s that word again — Fultz is having the best individual season in school history. The Seattle Times’ columnist believes his campaign is even better than Brandon Roy‘s senior year, when he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year.

Out of interest, let’s compare the two players. However, let’s add Christian Welp’s junior season, when he was also named Pac-10 Player of the Year:

  • Fultz: 23.2 pts / 6.0 reb / 6.0 ast / 1.6 stl / 1.3 blk
  • Roy: 20.2 pts / 5.6 reb / 4.1 ast / 1.4 stl / 0.8 blk
  • Welp: 19.4 pts / 8.5 reb / ast not recorded / 0.7 stl / 2.2 blk

So yes, purely from a statistical standpoint, Fultz is enjoying a better season that Roy and Welp. However, let’s now compare the team records for the three seasons in question:

  • 2016-17: 9-14 (overall) / 2-9 (conf) / 11th in Pac-12 / N/A
  • 2005-06: 26-7 (overall) / 13-5 (conf) / 2nd in Pac-10 / Sweet 16
  • 1985-86: 19-12 (overall) / 13-5 (conf) / 2nd in Pac-10 / NCAA 1st round

As you can see, the contrast is staggering. Again though, how much blame does Fultz deserve for failing to inspire his teammates, compared to Lomar Romar just putting good enough talent around him?

From my perspective, you can keep all the pretty statistics – it’s winning that matters most. This has always been my argument for saying Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning, even before the events of these past few seasons.

More from Washington Huskies Basketball

In that respect, if your preference is just for numbers, Welp’s stats were actually better in his senior year compared to his junior season. However, the Huskies had a worse record, did not qualify for March Madness and he didn’t win the Pac-10 Player of the Year award.

So what does this all mean? Essentially, praise Fultz for the amazing figures he’s putting up, but — fairly or not — the Huskies’ lack of success stops me from proclaiming he’s having the best ever individual season for the Huskies.

Ultimately, If anything, you can argue the honor belongs to Bob Houbregs for what he did in 1952-53, even though the setup was different back then. The Huskies went 28-3 and made their only ever Final Four appearance.

While full statistics are not available, we do know Houbregs averaged 25.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. This was good enough to be named as a consensus All-American and the NCAA Player of the Year, putting him firmly in the running for best individual season in school history.

Next: The Hits Just Keep on Coming for the Huskies

What’s your take on the performances of Fultz this season? Do the Huskies’ overall struggles work for or against him in respect of what he has achieved up to this point? Further, what’s your criteria for naming the best individual season in school history and who deserves the honor? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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