anyone else have a real concern about the future of UConn basketball?

[freescooter]

It looks like the Big East Football league is going to be left at the curb by the next round of the BCS, whatever it is called. In effect the Big East is being demoted to the status of C-USA. That will, in my estimation result in a downgrade of the basketball league, too. And with the new additions, a bunch of yuck schools and 2nd rate programs, that will be harmful as well. Quite honestly, with the likes of SMU, Central Florida and Houston joining the already mid-major quality programs at St Johns, Seton Hall, South Florida, Providence, DePaul(well mid-major or worse), Rutgers, the Big East basketball league has taken a huge hit. More than half the members are for all intents and purposes, no where near major conference status. Given all that background, and with a coaching change happening, and regardless of what you think of Ollie, he isn't Jim Calhoun now and probably never will be, I have a sick feeling that the days of UConn as a major power are just not going to be there for the next decade. If the Big East is reduced to mid-major status, it will be very critical for us to be at the top of that conference year in year out in order to retain even a modest degree of relevance. And that as much as anything is why I don't love the Kevin Ollie choice. At a point like this, bringing in an absolute unknown carries a huge risk.. If he doesn't very quickly re-establish UConn on the national stage, we could end up as UMass, a modest program always struggling for relevance not just nationally but regionally. Now that is the worst case. But even the best case could end up with UConn at the level of a Xavier or a Gonzaga, not quite a major player. Now this is a concern with or without Ollie as head coach. But it absolutely puts enormous pressure on him to produce, I think. Assuming he gets the job long term, he absolutely has to produce and produce at a very high level and do it quickly. Unlike say North Carolina or kentucky, both of whom are part of Big time conferences, UConn likey will no longer be, so its margin for error is far smaller.

 

[upstater]

It looks like the Big East Football league is going to be left at the curb by the next round of the BCS, whatever it is called. In effect the Big East is being demoted to the status of C-USA. That will, in my estimation result in a downgrade of the basketball league, too. And with the new additions, a bunch of yuck schools and 2nd rate programs, that will be harmful as well. Quite honestly, with the likes of SMU, Central Florida and Houston joining the already mid-major quality programs at St Johns, Seton Hall, South Florida, Providence, DePaul(well mid-major or worse), Rutgers, the Big East basketball league has taken a huge hit. More than half the members are for all intents and purposes, no where near major conference status. Given all that background, and with a coaching change happening, and regardless of what you think of Ollie, he isn't Jim Calhoun now and probably never will be, I have a sick feeling that the days of UConn as a major power are just not going to be there for the next decade. If the Big East is reduced to mid-major status, it will be very critical for us to be at the top of that conference year in year out in order to retain even a modest degree of relevance. And that as much as anything is why I don't love the Kevin Ollie choice. At a point like this, bringing in an absolute unknown carries a huge risk.. If he doesn't very quickly re-establish UConn on the national stage, we could end up as UMass, a modest program always struggling for relevance not just nationally but regionally. Now that is the worst case. But even the best case could end up with UConn at the level of a Xavier or a Gonzaga, not quite a major player. Now this is a concern with or without Ollie as head coach. But it absolutely puts enormous pressure on him to produce, I think. Assuming he gets the job long term, he absolutely has to produce and produce at a very high level and do it quickly. Unlike say North Carolina or kentucky, both of whom are part of Big time conferences, UConn likey will no longer be, so its margin for error is far smaller.

LOL, given the urgency, you'd think you would give him all the support he needed to succeed.

 

[dapriest]

Well good post. A bit sad, but life is like that.

I'll put it this way.

It's absolutely very possible that we just lived through the 25 year golden age of UConn basketball, and that now, Rome is being sacked by the Vandals and the Goths. It may linger on as a Byzantine - a presence, to be sure, but not the empire it once was.

And, if that's the case, then that's how it is, and, while not my preference, I'm okay with it.

Because I personally got a hell of a lot of enjoyment out of being part of the Empire for 25 or so years, and I know that, as a fan back in 85ish with zero expectations, the run I got to enjoy was one that very, very few fans have ever enjoyed.

 

[freescooter]

Well good post. A bit sad, but life is like that.

I'll put it this way.

It's absolutely very possible that we just lived through the 25 year golden age of UConn basketball, and that now, Rome is being sacked by the Vandals and the Goths. It may linger on as a Byzantine - a presence, to be sure, but not the empire it once was.

And, if that's the case, then that's how it is, and, while not my preference, I'm okay with it.

Because I personally got a hell of a lot of enjoyment out of being part of the Empire for 25 or so years, and I know that, as a fan back in 85ish with zero expectations, the run I got to enjoy was one that very, very few fans have ever enjoyed.

actually dapriest, this is something that really concerns me about UConn's fan base. I think a huge percentage of them have your view, which will lead to acceptance of a modest level of success as ok. I doubt that you would ever see a post like yours from a North Carolina fan or a Kentucky fan or a Kansas fan, or even heaven forbid, a Syracuse fan. the fact that too many UConn fans see it your way and are not going to demand that the program continue to be a national one actually adds to my concern.

 

[CTBasketball]

I trust the coaching staff to put a winning team on the court every game. It doesn't matter what conference we're in or the strength of the conference, as long as the coaches develop a winning team, we won't fade away. I'd rather be a Gonzaga/Butler/UNLV team who dominate smaller conferences and go to the Final Four here and there, then be a bottom dweller in the AC (cough, cough BC).

 

[dante]

It all depends on how you see the glass, half full or half empty either would be better then a glass with nothing.

 

[aceboon]

I trust the coaching staff to put a winning team on the court every game. It doesn't matter what conference we're in or the strength of the conference, as long as the coaches develop a winning team, we won't fade away. I'd rather be a Gonzaga/Butler/UNLV team who dominate smaller conferences and go to the Final Four here and there, then be a bottom dweller in the AC (cough, cough BC).

Yea, have the right coach in place(which I believe Ollie is) and you can do quite well for yourself in a weaker conference, if that's ultimately what the Big East will become after the defections. Just look at what Memphis did in CUSA, UNLV, Xavier, etc. For football fans its obviously disappointing at what the BE has become and if they lose BCS status then the program takes a huge hit, but I honestly don't really care about UConn football.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

No

 

[EROCK CONN]

No

What he said!!

Minor concern - perhaps the slightest as we are in a period of transition with a head coach with no track record, who at the very least, we know can recruit. I've followed the coaching transitions at Notre Dame since Lou Holtz was run out of town so I'm wise enough to know that everything below is irrelevant without a good Coach and will not drink the cool aid until the results are there.

I think the future is bright for UConn basketball for the following reasons;

1) We are approximately halfway between New York and Boston (two largest media markets in the country).
2) We are situated in the 29th(?) largest media market
3) Talent base - being the closest major program to the basketball capital of the universe, on top of being the only major program in New England (another talent hotbed) is similar to the recruiting advantage that Alabam, Florida, Texas, USC, and Ohio State enjoy in football.
4) Just broke ground on $30 million practice facility
5) I think the fan base is large enough and rabid enough that it wil not accept failure.
6) The University has higher enrollment, has a higher rating and overall is a much better option then it was 25 years. Also, don't forget, Public Universities are a much more attractive now due to the cost of private institutions.

Further, I'm 28, so I don't know UConn basketball without Calhoun, but I can't imagine how anyone could possibly think we are in a worse position now then we were pre Calhoun.

The conference situation is currently troubling, but I really do believe we have to many advantages to be without a chair when the music stops.

Go Huskies and as another yarder so nobly suggested - Ollie boomaye (sp?) - I don't speak African

 

[Hoophound]

We will have an awesome practice facility and we will still play Georgetown, Nova, Marquette etc. We will be fine and we should end up in another conference at some point.

However, I totally agree that we need to keep our foot to the floor in terms of football, basketball AND UConn's overall academics. UConn must be a top flight major university in every way to assure us a soft landing. It is of the utmost importance that we have very strong, bold and aggressive leadership right now. My major fear is that we won't cough up the cash needed to achieve our goals. I would say I am concerned, but not terribly.

 

[Hoophound]

We will have an awesome practice facility and we will still play Georgetown, Nova, Marquette etc. We will be fine and we should end up in another conference at some point.

However, I totally agree that we need to keep our foot to the floor in terms of football, basketball AND UConn's overall academics. UConn must be a top flight major university in every way to assure us a soft landing. It is of the utmost importance that we have very strong, bold and aggressive leadership right now. My major fear is that we won't cough up the cash needed to achieve our goals. I would say I am concerned, but not terribly.

To add to that, it is much easier to play a great schedule in college basketball than in football. As long as we challenge ourselves, we will stay in the public eye.

 

[superjohn]

An emphatic no.

 

[EricLA]

For me, I"m pretty much in agreement with hoophound. Even look at schools like Gonzaga and Butler - they've sustained good success as well as UNLV, Memphis, Xavier, and other "mid major" types of programs. It's more about the coaching and getting the kids to the NBA if they are good enough.

IF UCONN stays affiliated with the BE for any length of time, they will still have Georgetown, Marquette, Nova, SJU, and going forward Memphis which should have good teams. I get that UCONN wants to play regional games, but they may have to beef up their OOC schedule which is something they can look to do.

So in a time of great change, of course fans are going to be concerned. But I hope Ollie is the HC for the next 30 years and I certainly think/hope he can lead UCONN to great heights no matter what conference we are in. A dynamic/young HC coupled with our history and a state of the art practice facility is about the best we can do to draw quality players to UCONN...

As a side note, obviously I hope UCONN ends up in the ACC or Big-whatever. I think ultimately it will have much more of an impact on our football program than our hoops program.

 

[hooskies]

shaking. my. head.

 

[Scot-e]

When you lose a HOF coach you always have to understand that nothing will be the same for a while and that the road back to the level where you are competing for FF can be bumpy and long. Look at IU ( I realize they had more problem then just losing chair thrower) and Uk- two of the blue bloods in college ball and the time it took them to rebound.

The X factor is Ollie. If he can get a few top 100 players in two sign up- our road may be less bumpy then the schools I mentioned.

Free enjoy the pain while you can hopefully it will only last a few seasons and the rest of us can then look forward to being happy again- but for the time being you should have lots of fodder for your sweet spot- negativity.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

The conference situation concerns me. The head coaching situation (assuming that Ollie gets an extension) does not.

 

[freescooter]

For me, I"m pretty much in agreement with hoophound. Even look at schools like Gonzaga and Butler - they've sustained good success as well as UNLV, Memphis, Xavier, and other "mid major" types of programs. It's more about the coaching and getting the kids to the NBA if they are good enough.

IF UCONN stays affiliated with the BE for any length of time, they will still have Georgetown, Marquette, Nova, SJU, and going forward Memphis which should have good teams. I get that UCONN wants to play regional games, but they may have to beef up their OOC schedule which is something they can look to do.

So in a time of great change, of course fans are going to be concerned. But I hope Ollie is the HC for the next 30 years and I certainly think/hope he can lead UCONN to great heights no matter what conference we are in. A dynamic/young HC coupled with our history and a state of the art practice facility is about the best we can do to draw quality players to UCONN...

As a side note, obviously I hope UCONN ends up in the ACC or Big-whatever. I think ultimately it will have much more of an impact on our football program than our hoops program.

See here's one big difference, I think...You guys are happy to be Xavier or Gonzaga. Butler had a great run but it remains to be seen if they can do it consistently. Gonzaga had a short run and have more or less fallen back to top 20-30. Is that fine? It really has nothing to do with Ollie, except that the timing and his lack of a track record increases the risk, but whether it is Ollie or pretty much anyone not named Jim Calhoun I think it increases the risk. But I think it just got a lot harder to be relevant for UConn. The league we are in has just been demoted in effect to 1A. We're not 1AA but we're not a power conference any longer. We won't generate the same level of dollars that those other schools will, or the same level of coverage, we won't be "big time" any more. You talk about Georgetown,Villanova and St Johns(St Johns? When were they last a serious national contender?, and don't say 2011 when they won 19 games, got a gift from the Big East officials who quit early in the tourney and lost in round 1 of the NCAAs) but Villanova has been to 1 final four since 1985. Same with Georgetown. Neither is seriously seen as a national power any longer. They are a level down. More like Georgia Tech, or Marquette or Gonzaga or one of those places than an elite program. We had reached the point where UConn would get ranked in the preseason not because we were necessarily good, but because we were UConn. In the brave new world of the new Big East, that ain't happening because the new Big East will very likely be closer to th eA-10 than the Big 10 in terms of quality but more importantly in terms of respect.

 

[freescooter]

The conference situation concerns me. The head coaching situation (assuming that Ollie gets an extension) does not.

This is much less about the coaching situation except that it is an unfortunate time for Jim Calhoun to have left. It is absolutely about the conference situation. It is far more difficult to be relevant from CUSA and the A-10 than it is from the ACC or the Big 10. When you are in a weak league, losses get magnified and wins get minimized. By definition the Big East is no longer a top tier league and it will no longer be portrayed as one. And the real problem for UConn is that it isn't even about basketball. But basketball will bear significant fallout.

 

[partial]

Well being a fan means you're always concerned to some extent. The capital that has been built up for a quarter of a century won't disappear, UConn will have that history and no matter where we are as a program we won't be far from being nationally relevant.

 

[nomar]

I'm confused as to why freescooter is concerned...my understanding was that he didn't like UConn basketball.

But a tip of the hat to freescooter's 1,049,587th consecutive negative post.

 

[EricLA]

See here's one big difference, I think...You guys are happy to be Xavier or Gonzaga. Butler had a great run but it remains to be seen if they can do it consistently. Gonzaga had a short run and have more or less fallen back to top 20-30. Is that fine? It really has nothing to do with Ollie, except that the timing and his lack of a track record increases the risk, but whether it is Ollie or pretty much anyone not named Jim Calhoun I think it increases the risk. But I think it just got a lot harder to be relevant for UConn. The league we are in has just been demoted in effect to 1A. We're not 1AA but we're not a power conference any longer. We won't generate the same level of dollars that those other schools will, or the same level of coverage, we won't be "big time" any more. You talk about Georgetown,Villanova and St Johns(St Johns? When were they last a serious national contender?, and don't say 2011 when they won 19 games, got a gift from the Big East officials who quit early in the tourney and lost in round 1 of the NCAAs) but Villanova has been to 1 final four since 1985. Same with Georgetown. Neither is seriously seen as a national power any longer. They are a level down. More like Georgia Tech, or Marquette or Gonzaga or one of those places than an elite program. We had reached the point where UConn would get ranked in the preseason not because we were necessarily good, but because we were UConn. In the brave new world of the new Big East, that ain't happening because the new Big East will very likely be closer to th eA-10 than the Big 10 in terms of quality but more importantly in terms of respect.

Fair enough, but I'm just not that close to the ledge yet. we are 1 year removed from a NC. yeah the BE sucks with no relief in sight, but I'm hopeful it will be a moot point if/when we get invited to another conference. If we don't, oh well. Being worried won't change anything. Yeah i'm concerned. But i'm not freaked out. It would be a different story if RU, L'ville were gone from the BE and only UCONN is left.

 

[Kitaman]

Our legacy wasn't built only on the BE. UConn branding came as a result of excellent players and a HOF coach known to play 100% and known never to quit. We were always hard to beat. I don't see that changing because of the exodus and changes to the league.

Free you are acting like in the near future teams would jump at the chance to play us as if we will now be an easy victory no longer to be feared. That ain't happening, starting with Ollie.

 

[Hoophound]

Fair enough, but I'm just not that close to the ledge yet. we are 1 year removed from a NC. yeah the BE sucks with no relief in sight, but I'm hopeful it will be a moot point if/when we get invited to another conference. If we don't, oh well. Being worried won't change anything. Yeah i'm concerned. But i'm not freaked out. It would be a different story if RU, L'ville were gone from the BE and only UCONN is left.

That is a nightmare only because if UL and RU get out first, basketball and football will split. Bye bye Georgetown, Nova et al. Then we are screwed.

 

[ctchamps]

It looks like the Big East Football league is going to be left at the curb by the next round of the BCS, whatever it is called. In effect the Big East is being demoted to the status of C-USA. That will, in my estimation result in a downgrade of the basketball league, too. And with the new additions, a bunch of yuck schools and 2nd rate programs, that will be harmful as well. Quite honestly, with the likes of SMU, Central Florida and Houston joining the already mid-major quality programs at St Johns, Seton Hall, South Florida, Providence, DePaul(well mid-major or worse), Rutgers, the Big East basketball league has taken a huge hit. More than half the members are for all intents and purposes, no where near major conference status. Given all that background, and with a coaching change happening, and regardless of what you think of Ollie, he isn't Jim Calhoun now and probably never will be, I have a sick feeling that the days of UConn as a major power are just not going to be there for the next decade. If the Big East is reduced to mid-major status, it will be very critical for us to be at the top of that conference year in year out in order to retain even a modest degree of relevance. And that as much as anything is why I don't love the Kevin Ollie choice. At a point like this, bringing in an absolute unknown carries a huge risk.. If he doesn't very quickly re-establish UConn on the national stage, we could end up as UMass, a modest program always struggling for relevance not just nationally but regionally. Now that is the worst case. But even the best case could end up with UConn at the level of a Xavier or a Gonzaga, not quite a major player. Now this is a concern with or without Ollie as head coach. But it absolutely puts enormous pressure on him to produce, I think. Assuming he gets the job long term, he absolutely has to produce and produce at a very high level and do it quickly. Unlike say North Carolina or kentucky, both of whom are part of Big time conferences, UConn likey will no longer be, so its margin for error is far smaller.

Quite honestly, this is an indirect way of trying to get the fan base upset with JC by making the contention JC forced the issue of hiring KO. I think a better argument could be made that all the issues you are making regarding UConn, would be the result of Jeff Hathaway. if Jeff had been any good at making selections for coaches, he would not have selected PP, the football program wouldn't be losing to mid majors, and the bb program wouldn't have any urgency associated with it even by the one or two people who want to use any argument they can to criticize JC as the only reason for KO's hire.

So I say to you, even if JC had been the sole reason for KO being hired, an argument I strongly disagree with, there is no guarantee WM or UConn could do any better with a national coaching search as demonstrated by the track record of PP. There is absolutely no benefit to stir up trouble before the season has even begun. The only benefit is to repeat over and over again the selection was JC's doing in the attempt to create the subconscious idea that if KO fails JC was the fault. When it comes to making repetitive arguments with the purpose of creating an illusion that something is a fact, you are a rank amateur. You could take lessons from chief.

From my perspective, It is quite interesting that someone who is quite intelligent and articulate, as you are, can be pathetic in this process as compared to someone who is .......

 

[Pmurph678]

See here's one big difference, I think...You guys are happy to be Xavier or Gonzaga. Butler had a great run but it remains to be seen if they can do it consistently. Gonzaga had a short run and have more or less fallen back to top 20-30. Is that fine? It really has nothing to do with Ollie, except that the timing and his lack of a track record increases the risk, but whether it is Ollie or pretty much anyone not named Jim Calhoun I think it increases the risk. But I think it just got a lot harder to be relevant for UConn. The league we are in has just been demoted in effect to 1A. We're not 1AA but we're not a power conference any longer. We won't generate the same level of dollars that those other schools will, or the same level of coverage, we won't be "big time" any more. You talk about Georgetown,Villanova and St Johns(St Johns? When were they last a serious national contender?, and don't say 2011 when they won 19 games, got a gift from the Big East officials who quit early in the tourney and lost in round 1 of the NCAAs) but Villanova has been to 1 final four since 1985. Same with Georgetown. Neither is seriously seen as a national power any longer. They are a level down. More like Georgia Tech, or Marquette or Gonzaga or one of those places than an elite program. We had reached the point where UConn would get ranked in the preseason not because we were necessarily good, but because we were UConn. In the brave new world of the new Big East, that ain't happening because the new Big East will very likely be closer to th eA-10 than the Big 10 in terms of quality but more importantly in terms of respect.

The NBE for basketball is just as good as the SEC, if not better, and Kentucky looks just fine. We don't need conference mates to make us look good, having Uconn makes the conference look good.

I am only worried about the Big East's basketball future when we leave it.