I'm one of the "older" BYU fans who saw Ainge play in person at BYU and also was a witness of Jimmermania.

Both are great players. Jimmer is a scoring machine. But Ainge is a better all-around player. He had the total package. If he would have dominated the ball like Jimmer did, he likely would still hold the BYU scoring record. Plus, consider that Ainge played prior to the 3-point line in college. That would have had a significant impact on his scoring as well.

One particular play I will never forget. I don't remember the team they were playing, but Ainge was bringing the ball down the court and an opponent stole it and was heading for an uncontested layup. Ainge regrouped, chased down the player, dove headlong, and swiped the ball back mid-dribble. It was probably the most amazing and athletic defensive play I've ever seen.

Ainge could do it all in basketball. Plus, he was a bona fide major-leaguer in baseball, and could have played in college and probably the NFL in football if he had decided to follow that path.

In my opinion, Ainge tops them all in terms of BYU basketball players, and probably tops them all when you consider all sports.

2nd place? In terms of athletic ability is might be Kreshmir Cosic. I never saw him play in person, but I've seen some film and he was an absolute athletic freak. He was very tall and could dribble, shoot, drive, play defense--he could do it all. He was one of the first big-time European players to come to the US. He opted to stay and play in Yugoslavia instead of the NBA, and became a national hero.

There are a lot that could be 2nd place. Cosic, Young, Detmer, McMahon, etc. But I think as #1, Ainge stands alone.