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Retrospective comparisons are for the offseason. But someone started it, so this thought occurred to me. This year's team is a bit of a challenge to the mind but only if you expected them to play in the UConn WBB ideal, by now. Circumstances prevented that but they are burrowing into one's heart by navigating their travails as they have without losing team spirit (just watch how the bench celebrates every good thing that happens on the court) and continually growing mental fortitude. It was a team which ESPN believed to be the favorite for the NC before the season began but......
It is easy to look back with the mind to appreciate UConn's undefeated NC teams or others with a loss or two who won the NC. Based only on what I have seen: starting 2001-2002 Bird-Diana last year together, the Maya-Tina NC-undefeated years as well as the Stewie-MoJeff-Morgan four-year NC sweep. It has been easy to be seduced by the play and accomplishments of those teams and be spoiled.
But for me, the teams closest to my heart were, at first: the last two years of Diana, young and inexperienced teams, first won the NC and then repeated. Later came the last two years of Gabby & Kia - a guard manning the post and on offense became the primary playmaker and excelling on both counts - the rotation seldom more than six in crucial games, exhaustion couldn't have been too far away as the season progressed, with the pressure of a winning streak that reached 111 consecutive games hanging over their heads. They proved the run to the FF was no fluke by making it back the following year. Alas, minor injuries diminished them - with Katie Lou's injury bug continuing both years and Gabby not fully healthy off and on her senior year. Despite not winning the NC, those two years were among the most heroic teams of UConn WBB. They took my heart.
As this year's team emerges from the tunnel of difficulties with their better selves rise on display, you can see their seemingly unbounded collegiality not only along with their dramatically improved play but also from the unabashed cheering from the bench. They are competing for a top place in the heart, perhaps close to the other two mentioned above, as they continue to put the difficulties behind, get better, and be ready for the tournaments. First things first: Big East regular season title!
Go UConn WBB 2021-2022!
It is easy to look back with the mind to appreciate UConn's undefeated NC teams or others with a loss or two who won the NC. Based only on what I have seen: starting 2001-2002 Bird-Diana last year together, the Maya-Tina NC-undefeated years as well as the Stewie-MoJeff-Morgan four-year NC sweep. It has been easy to be seduced by the play and accomplishments of those teams and be spoiled.
But for me, the teams closest to my heart were, at first: the last two years of Diana, young and inexperienced teams, first won the NC and then repeated. Later came the last two years of Gabby & Kia - a guard manning the post and on offense became the primary playmaker and excelling on both counts - the rotation seldom more than six in crucial games, exhaustion couldn't have been too far away as the season progressed, with the pressure of a winning streak that reached 111 consecutive games hanging over their heads. They proved the run to the FF was no fluke by making it back the following year. Alas, minor injuries diminished them - with Katie Lou's injury bug continuing both years and Gabby not fully healthy off and on her senior year. Despite not winning the NC, those two years were among the most heroic teams of UConn WBB. They took my heart.
As this year's team emerges from the tunnel of difficulties with their better selves rise on display, you can see their seemingly unbounded collegiality not only along with their dramatically improved play but also from the unabashed cheering from the bench. They are competing for a top place in the heart, perhaps close to the other two mentioned above, as they continue to put the difficulties behind, get better, and be ready for the tournaments. First things first: Big East regular season title!
Go UConn WBB 2021-2022!