A Good Loss:

[Husky Dad]

There are different kinds of losses and I think this is a good loss. There are different groups on this team. The young coaching staff, Shabazz, the other Srs, and essentially everyone else. DD and RB have to play better. SN needs to be a dominant leader, the everyone else need to have different individuals begin to step up and the young coaching staff has to be wary when they play Sr level coaches, Larry B and Rick P to name a couple. Calhoun lost his fare share of games they shouldnt lose. He won enough games when he could cowboy up and ride the team and staff into battle and through to success. A combination of player readiness, game plan and coaching of individuals. I think Kevin may not be all the way there yet. The reality is that this team is the first of many good and great Ollie teams. I hope this team goes really far but its going to take some serious stepping up. I think I would rather dump one to SMU and feel embarrassed and on the outside looking in This is likely the needed chip on our shoulder at the right time to take a critical look. Also, does Toraino Walker have any eligibility left?

 

[Dribbles]

There are different kinds of losses and I think this is a good loss. There are different groups on this team. The young coaching staff, Shabazz, the other Srs, and essentially everyone else. DD and RB have to play better. SN needs to be a dominant leader, the everyone else need to have different individuals begin to step up and the young coaching staff has to be wary when they play Sr level coaches, Larry B and Rick P to name a couple. Calhoun lost his fare share of games they shouldnt lose. He won enough games when he could cowboy up and ride the team and staff into battle and through to success. A combination of player readiness, game plan and coaching of individuals. I think Kevin may not be all the way there yet. The reality is that this team is the first of many good and great Ollie teams. I hope this team goes really far but its going to take some serious stepping up. I think I would rather dump one to SMU and feel embarrassed and on the outside looking in This is likely the needed chip on our shoulder at the right time to take a critical look. Also, does Toraino Walker have any eligibility left?

So SMU the first time and Houston weren't the needed chips? We must be growing some HUGE chips by now. Out of the top 25 and now face with a high seed for the March opener. Just what we wanted...

 

[Husky Dad]

I think so. We definitely felt the hurt after that Texas trip. It obviously wasnt fresh enough in our mind. We lost a trap game to a well coached good team that I think we can beat most times. No one here though the SMU game was a big game. Everyone talked Cinci and 'Ville. The other games were fillers. I cant say I know what these guys were thinking but we didnt play our best this weekend. We need to against Ville and Cinci coming up and into the tournament. You could argue that losing to Ville at home is the one we could have lost but now with our backs clearly against a wall everyone needs to focus.

 

[OkaForPrez]

It can't be a good loss because of the logistical outcome. We now don't control our own destiny to the 3 seed or higher in the AAC which means no free win and loosen the jitters in the quarterifnals of the conference tournament. We can be a top 20 caliber team and still reasonably lose at home to cinci and on the road to louisville and find ourselves knocked out of the first round of the tournament.

That put's in the 8/9/10 conversation and an uphill battle for the dance.

No humility gains or increased focus/teamwork can outweigh what we gave up to get it if that's the spin. We are up against the wall now. No margin for error. Need to grind out 2 more gutty wins against tournament caliber teams and get our to the 4/5/6 line to set up any kind of reasonable sweet 16 charge.

 

[superjohn]

You can rationalize it however you would like but it was a terrible loss.

 

[maineuconnfan]

I think the most fitting quote for this situation comes from the legend himself John Wooden - "Failure is never final, but failure to change is." It is always important to be optimistic. That doesn't mean that you don't give the guys a good lecture...or maybe a few screams, but you have to pick up the pieces and move on. The question is, and I will continue to say this, is we do not know yet. Wait until March and see what they finally assemble. Everyone knows that sometimes it is in those final moments that things become clear, that often happens in the basketball season. Will it happen hear, well there is nothing to indicate that it can't happen, nor is there anything to indicate that it will happen. Bottom line, these are my Huskies and it is never over until it is over.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

We're UConn, no such thing as a good loss.

You can play well and with good effort and lose. It happens.

However, with our pedigree, tradition and talent, there's no such thing as a goodloss... especially at Gampel to SMU for christ sake.

 

[UC990411]

You can rationalize it however you would like but it was a terrible loss.

Exactly, a good loss is when everything clicks but the other team is better. This was a bad loss where we just sucked more and turned the ball over like it was a hot potato.

 

[maineuconnfan]

We're UConn, no such thing as a good loss.

You can play well and with good effort and lose. It happens.

However, with our pedigree, tradition and talent, there's no such thing as a goodloss... especially at Gampel to SMU for christ sake.

Obviously you are taking the word good loss too literal and not from the perspective of what can be learned from a loss. It is obvious that no loss is really good, but what you learn from it is....think a little deeper people!

 

[Strummer]

There are different kinds of losses and I think this is a good loss.

Yeah man, I stopped reading right there.
It's like I was reading a book on tasty foods and your opening line was, "There are different kinds of foods and I think lima beans are a tasty treat."

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Obviously you are taking the word good loss too literal and not from the perspective of what can be learned from a loss. It is obvious that no loss is really good, but what you learn from it is....think a little deeper people!

No, I fully understand the OP's premise and maybe I buy the learning experience angle in an early season game.

End of February home losses where we look inept aren't good on any level.

 

[uchusky32]

Can't be a trap game. They beat us. Were and are ahead of us in the standings. Unfortunately we put ourselves in a position that we needed to win out, if one of our goals was to win the conference championship. Maybe we could say it was a good lose becuase we missed shots but played hard nose D. We didn't play hard. A good lose, never has not playing hard as one of its components.

 

[UCONNfan1]

You can rationalize it however you would like but it was a terrible loss.

i'm with you. No such thing as a good loss, especially not at this time of the season. If we lose to Cinci AND L'ville, and both are very very likely, we are likely facing an 8 or 9 seed. All the good momentum and solid play from the wings and front court seems to have evaporated. I think many on here felt a sweet 16 run would have been a great accomplishment, but to make that, as an 8/9 seed we need to beat the 1 seed in the round of 32. It would make for a somewhat disappointing year, even given the modest expectations I had for the team...

 

[maineuconnfan]

No, I fully understand the OP's premise and maybe I buy the learning experience angle in an early season game.

End of February home losses where we look inept aren't good on any level.

What you have to realize, is everything is learning until March, thats the only time it really matters.. . .Unless of course the team is on the bubble or with double digit losses, all of February is still learning material. You never want to lose, but to say that there cannot be good learning from this loss is contrary to growth. I would be more than happy for the team to be 27-0 right now, but these bumps, if used correctly can bring great strength...that is if it is used correctly.

 

[8893]

It was a steaming turd of a loss.

I'm as willing as anyone to buy the theory that losses can strengthen your mettle, but losses like that, at this point, from this group, are simply indicative of what happens when our known weaknesses are exposed. We are what we are: As Shabazz goes, we go. None of the others are good enough, consistently enough--at least not yet--to overcome an off night from Shabazz. And predicting when and what will cause an off night from Shabazz is not easy; although suffocating him with good defense appears to be an effective contributor.

 

[maineuconnfan]

The losses are not only learning points for the players, but for a young coach like Ollie. An optimist seems to excel in using the fuel and learning from it....he could use of course some of Calhoun's demanding ways

 

[Jluc]

Wtf is a good loss?

 

[Edward Sargent]

There are different kinds of losses and I think this is a good loss. There are different groups on this team. The young coaching staff, Shabazz, the other Srs, and essentially everyone else. DD and RB have to play better. SN needs to be a dominant leader, the everyone else need to have different individuals begin to step up and the young coaching staff has to be wary when they play Sr level coaches, Larry B and Rick P to name a couple. Calhoun lost his fare share of games they shouldnt lose. He won enough games when he could cowboy up and ride the team and staff into battle and through to success. A combination of player readiness, game plan and coaching of individuals. I think Kevin may not be all the way there yet. The reality is that this team is the first of many good and great Ollie teams. I hope this team goes really far but its going to take some serious stepping up. I think I would rather dump one to SMU and feel embarrassed and on the outside looking in This is likely the needed chip on our shoulder at the right time to take a critical look. Also, does Toraino Walker have any eligibility left?

Nice try Dad, but that loss hurt us!

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Wtf is a good loss?

- A young, unproven team taking a prohibitive favorite down to the wire. Said young team develops confidence and learns some lessons about (a) how good it can be and (b) what it needs to do to get there.

- A dominant team has been coasting on talent and letting inferior opponents make games closer than they should be. A late season loss to one of those inferior teams drives home the point that talent isn't enough and gets the team to re-focus for the stretch run.

Two quick examples. Feel free to ask if you have more questions.

(This game, by the way, was neither of those. It was just a bad loss.)

 

[uchusky32]

Wtf is a good loss?

You know, one you win!

 

[Henry]

Good loss? They played uninspired at times and couldn't/wouldn't make adjustments to SMU's defense. If you can accept the premise of a good loss, it would be when the team played as hard as they could and were beaten by a team having a better game. Occasionally, these guys figure that we're UCONN and we don't really need to play this game. It's ours. Showing up to play would help.

 

[maineuconnfan]

There are people who are glass half-empty and glass half-full people...I think this board has too many glass half-empties...I myself am extremely competitive and when in competition, I have been known to get pretty heated. I have been a Uconn fan for a long time listening to games through the fuzz of the radio up in the middle of the woods of Maine, when they had Economu and King....Please spare me people of this wringing of hands over this loss, and please spare me of the inability to draw good out of bad. You can be a rabid fan, and have some wisdom...they can go together....Again, this does not mean, they will turn it around, but I think what Husky Dad was trying to do, is tip the balance from half-empties more towards the half-fulls...there is nothing "wtf" about it.

 

[uchusky32]

There are people who are glass half-empty and glass half-full people...I think this board has too many glass half-empties...I myself am extremely competitive and when in competition, I have been known to get pretty heated. I have been a Uconn fan for a long time listening to games through the fuzz of the radio up in the middle of the woods of Maine, when they had Economu and King....Please spare me people of this wringing of hands over this loss, and please spare me of the inability to draw good out of bad. You can be a rabid fan, and have some wisdom...they can go together....Again, this does not mean, they will turn it around, but I think what Husky Dad was trying to do, is tip the balance from half-empties more towards the half-fulls...there is nothing "wtf" about it.

I always hate when my glass gets half empty especially when its Gentleman Jack. So I always say to myself, before I knock it back, " self don't think that your Jack is half empty, think that it's half full". Then knock it back

 

[Henry]

Hey Maine, we're just giving our honest opinions. 2011 proved that anything can happen.

 

[maineuconnfan]

Hey Maine, we're just giving our honest opinions. 2011 proved that anything can happen.

I hear ya...it is good to be honest