2017 - Crucial Year for the Program

[JMick]

????

You mean that you need talented players to win NCAA titles? That's mid-major thinking? Or that having actual restrictions on your recruiting would limit your ability to, you know recruit?

You really aren't reading my posts correctly so I'll settle at that. With our talent level the last two years, we should have at least been a tournament team. I'm not calling for titles - I'm calling for the chance at titles

 

[TasteofUConn]

I've been following the program for 30 years. By following I mean watching most games most years and every game some years. It's just my opinion. My opinion is that we're approaching a fork in the road, if we're not already there.

UConn was insignificant pre JC. UConn was very significant with JC. UConn is what post-JC?

Don't blame the conference, don't blame the ban, don't blame the players.

If it was any of those things, we could be the Gonzaga of the AAC. Or even the Wichita State of the AAC. Being THE power team in a mid major, we could work with that a few years.

We're losing to nobodys. Can't explain that away, notwithstanding what's happened.

But the part that worries me is that we're lacking passion, learning curve, team play, composure, tough D, grit, hussle, effort, FIRE. You can't explain that away by saying we got Phil and O.C. in a down year. The JC teams I watched for almost 30 years fought trench warfare every minute of every game, with only a handful of exceptions in 30 years.

The teams from the last two years have been . . . uninspiring.

Am I not being a good UConn fan?

Frankly, at times, I feel like I'm not watching a UConn team.

 

[TasteofUConn]

????

You mean that you need talented players to win NCAA titles? That's mid-major thinking?

Come on man - you're smart and a good contributor. That is not this dude's point. He is merely pointing out that we are underperforming based on the talent we have. Do you disagree with that?

 

[JMick]

I've been following the program for 30 years. By following I mean watching most games most years and every game some years. It's just my opinion. My opinion is that we're approaching a fork in the road, if we're not already there.

UConn was insignificant pre JC. UConn was very significant with JC. UConn is what post-JC?

Don't blame the conference, don't blame the ban, don't blame the players.

If it was any of those things, we could be the Gonzaga of the AAC. Or even the Wichita State of the AAC. Being THE power team in a mid major, we could work with that a few years.

We're losing to nobodys. Can't explain that away, notwithstanding what's happened.

But the part that worries me is that we're lacking passion, learning curve, team play, composure, touch D, grit, hussle, effort, FIRE. You can't explain that away by saying we got Phil and O.C. in a down year. The JC teams I watched for almost 30 years fought trench warfare every minute of every game, with only a handful of exceptions in 30 years.

The teams from the last two years have been . . . uninspiring.

Am I not being a good UConn fan?

Frankly, at times, I feel like I'm not watching a UConn team.

While I don't necessarily agree with everything you said, it is worrisome to see people defend our last two seasons to the teeth. It's kind of sad.

 

[tzznandrew]

Come on man - you're smart and a good contributor. That is not this dude's point. He is merely pointing out that we are underperforming based on the talent we have. Do you disagree with that?

Perhaps I misread him.

We are underperforming our expectations this year no doubt. And we did last year as well.Some of that undoubtedly goes to our fourth year head coach.

Some of it is that we aren't as talented as we think we are. Some of our bench players would not have been even looked at a second time in the Calhoun heyday, and only got a sniff because of the ban and the sanctions. That's reality.

 

[JMick]

Perhaps I misread him.

We are underperforming our expectations this year no doubt. And we did last year as well.Some of that undoubtedly goes to our fourth year head coach.

That's literally all I'm trying to say but somehow defending more negative posts gets me hate. I love UConn, hire from UConn, go to games, promote it to whoever I can - at the end of the day I just expect more from UConn basketball. Sorry if some people disagree but it's how I feel

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Perhaps I misread him.

We are underperforming our expectations this year no doubt. And we did last year as well.Some of that undoubtedly goes to our fourth year head coach.

Some of it is that we aren't as talented as we think we are. Some of our bench players would not have been even looked at a second time in the Calhoun heyday, and only got a sniff because of the ban and the sanctions. That's reality.

I think you're making a good case for why this team wouldn't make the second week of the NCAA (or even get out of the opening round, perhaps), and ignoring the corresponding drop in competition. I imagine that long-distance travel could be a factor, but it affects the other teams in the league as well. Expectations were very low in 2012-13, and that was a pretty pleasurable team to root for.
Nobody's coming out and saying, "Yeah, I love watching these guys
They really make the most of what they have."

 

[Stainmaster]

Good lord, enough with this BS about fan attitude and complacency. Talk about something that has nothing to do with wins and losses or team performance. I give too much of my time and money to this program for some message board tough guy to tell me my "settling for mediocrity" sickens him or that I sound like a Dayton fan. What the hell are people trying to prove?

 

[JMick]

Good lord, enough with this BS about fan attitude and complacency. Talk about something that has nothing to do with wins and losses or team performance. I give too much of my time and money to this program for some message board tough guy to tell me my "settling for mediocrity" sickens him or that I sound like a Dayton fan. What the hell are people trying to prove?

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. Most of the "negative" posts just expect more out of UConn - that's it. I expect to make the tournament every year. It's not an unreachable or unrealistic goal. Venting about the fact that we have a huge hill to climb, yet again, to do so, doesn't make anyone a bad fan.

 

[BUConn10]

Good lord, enough with this BS about fan attitude and complacency. Talk about something that has nothing to do with wins and losses or team performance. I give too much of my time and money to this program for some message board tough guy to tell me my "settling for mediocrity" sickens him or that I sound like a Dayton fan. What the hell are people trying to prove?

I have yet to see Duke fans have weekly "Is this Wake Forest/Clemson/FSU game a must win". Every game is a must win, whether its against Vermont or Syracuse, whether we are ranked #1 or #50.

Also bro I like you and wasnt referring to you in that post but you put the spotlight on yourself. Replying to posts in other threads about how this team is causing someone emotional pain, which clearly is hyperbole but a totally acceptable thing to say, with references to war veterans and how that is "real suffering" is basically my exact point.

 

[Stainmaster]

Also bro I like you and wasnt referring to you in that post but you put the spotlight on yourself. Replying to posts in other threads about how this team is causing someone emotional pain, which clearly is hyperbole but a totally acceptable thing to say, with references to war veterans and how that is "real suffering" is basically my exact point.

Likewise - even thought we do disagree a bit I appreciate the perspective you bring and your passion for the team.

The way I see it, even thought we are all pretty hardcore fans who devote many hours to UConn basketball, it is always at some level a secondary focus. Whether it's my studies or your job or whatever else it may be, there's something in all of our lives for which the program serves as a distraction from, a welcome diversion that gives us a strong sense of fulfillment when everything is going well. This may be just my own psyche/lack of understanding of others', but I have trouble comprehending such an entity that doesn't have any bearing on any of our livelihoods or the well-being of our loved ones causing legitimate emotional pain or damage. And if that were to happen somehow, I would assume that the affected person's first instinct would be to seek out a qualified professional, not create a thread full of hyperbole on a message board and then re-post it several hours after the mods took it down. That's the mark of attention whoring. If that comes off as insensitive to anyone, I sincerely apologize. Just my view on things.

 

[BUConn10]

Likewise - even thought we do disagree a bit I appreciate the perspective you bring and your passion for the team.

The way I see it, even thought we are all pretty hardcore fans who devote many hours to UConn basketball, it is always at some level a secondary focus. Whether it's my studies or your job or whatever else it may be, there's something in all of our lives for which the program serves as a distraction from, a welcome diversion that gives us a strong sense of fulfillment when everything is going well. This may be just my own psyche/lack of understanding of others', but I have trouble comprehending such an entity that doesn't have any bearing on any of our livelihoods or the well-being of our loved ones causing legitimate emotional pain or damage. And if that were to happen somehow, I would assume that the affected person's first instinct would be to seek out a qualified professional, not create a thread full of hyperbole on a message board and then re-post it several hours after the mods took it down. That's the mark of attention whoring. If that comes off as insensitive to anyone, I sincerely apologize. Just my view on things.

Okay, so I agree reposting it hours later is wrong. Yet I cant help but thinking that at the end of the day, the same Nihilist form of thought can be applied to literally anything under the sun. Any passion you have in your life can be broken down to a form of "well it doesnt affect your ability to breathe and survive so it doesnt matter". To me, UConn basketball is legitimately one of my few true passions in life, I have watched every single UConn game, almost all at least TWICE (shout out tcf), for the last 7 years, so when I see something like what we watched today it will certainly cause an emotional response in me, and as a result I will naturally come to vent on the one place I feel has fans just as dedicated as myself, the BoneYard. Trying to downplay every loss and game just seems bush league to me, and that was my point in the original post in question.

 

[Stainmaster]

Okay, so I agree reposting it hours later is wrong. Yet I cant help but thinking that at the end of the day, the same Nihilist form of thought can be applied to literally anything under the sun. Any passion you have in your life can be broken down to a form of "well it doesnt affect your ability to breathe and survive so it doesnt matter". To me, UConn basketball is legitimately one of my few true passions in life, I have watched every single UConn game, almost all at least TWICE (shout out tcf), for the last 7 years, so when I see something like what we watched today it will certainly cause an emotional response in me, and as a result I will naturally come to vent on the one place I feel has fans just as dedicated as myself, the BoneYard. Trying to downplay every loss and game just seems bush league to me, and that was my point in the original post in question.

I don't see anything wrong with an emotional response at all. I've been known to get very upset myself, I just have different ways of channeling it than the 'Yard. I get that 100%. I was more reacting to the specific language of "suffering", which was in all likelihood me being a bit too sensitive, but still -- getting that level of a response goes over the line between passionate fan and something else IMO.

 

[BUConn10]

I don't see anything wrong with an emotional response at all. I've been known to get very upset myself, I just have different ways of channeling it than the 'Yard. I get that 100%. I was more reacting to the specific language of "suffering", which was in all likelihood me being a bit too sensitive, but still -- getting that level of a response goes over the line between passionate fan and something else IMO.

Haha, well whatever doctor you refer willie to sign me up also.