As this program navigates a difficult stretch, I want to make one thing clear

[intlzncster]

Just like Jim Calhoun was a couple El-Amin free throws away from potentially losing to a 10 seed in the Elite 8, a miraculous 12-0 run away from losing to Duke in the semifinal or a Jamelle Horne three ball, that to this day is still on it's way in the basket, away from being a loser also.

My balls just shot up towards my stomach reading that one. No lie.

 

[sammydabiz]

My point isn't about this season, it's about longer-term trends.

Yes, you're right that, looking at this season, there's still a chance for it to be a gel-late-in-the-year team like 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, or arguably 2011 or 2014. But we already know this isn't going to have been a dominant team a la 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2006, or 2009. We already know a 1 or 2 seed isn't in the offing, and probably not a 3-5 seed either.

My point is, in the 2010's we haven't been a year-in, year-out reliably contending team, in a manner completely inconsistent from what we were blessed to have for 15-20 years. I am not content to be a fringe Top 25 team most years and maybe make a run two or three times a decade. That's beneath the standards of this program. I don't want to see us become another Georgetown or UCLA or Indiana.

Couldn't agree more tenspro, no intentions of being a downer.... In life, I just prefer to call "a spade a spade" and we haven't been "the alpha"in quite some time.

 

[UConn990411]

I can't help but feel the same. The expectations among the fanbase has really dropped off in the last 5 years. Hopefully next decade the narrative becomes that this down period was just temporary and a consequence of horrific recruiting in 2012-2014 due to uncertainty in the program regarding sanctions and the coaching situation.

I think we are past the point of denying that we are in a down period, however.

You don't seem pleasant.

 

[sammydabiz]

For me, it's a matter of remembering very well the Perno days when we were the Big East doormat, and appreciating very much all I've been fortunate enough to experience since, as we rose to the prominence you cite.

I also understand the combination of extenuating circumstances we've faced in the last five years and don't expect them to remain the prevailing circumstances.

I believe the program is in good hands with Ollie and that our situation will stabilize again at a higher plane than it is right now.

Life goes in waves. Enjoy the ride as long as you trust the driver.

You may be on to something here, like much in life, things are largely based on one's perspective. For me, growing up becoming a fan during the Mid 90's, I knew (or endured) very little of the Perno days or even the breakout years for the program at the turn of the decade. I was really fortunate to only know UConn as a consistent national powerhouse.

I suspect there's a number of guys/gals here who became diehards around the time of Kemba, and have come to accept being a fringe top 25 regular season team, because unfortunately that has been the norm the last 5 years.

Life does go in waves, and who knows how this season will end. I'm still very much optimistic, based solely on the fact that we have the talent, just still waiting for everything to"click". Talent-wise, the future is bright in Storrs. Just hoping this recent recent "lull" is attributed to sanctions/coach change/conf change and is not the new normal for UConn of the American Athletic Conference.

 

[champs99and04]

Lets relax on that, CCSU, Tulane, and Temple were 3 of those 4 opponents. Not exactly a murderer's row. Maryland, Gonzaga, Cuse all shot over 45% as a team, and UMass-Lowell shot 50% vs this "defensive mastermind".

Here are my two cents.

1. 2012-2014's offense was heavily dependent on Shabazz's ability to isolate and hit bail out 3's. This kept a lot of games close and won us a lot.
2. I would contribute us shooting 90% + from the FT in 2014 the biggest reason why we won the National Championship.
3. Defensive mastermind is a little overkill. Yes, our defensive stats are imposing. That is because we play no one and like 6 cupcakes a year where we dominate. To me, defense is measured by the eye-test. Some teams get lucky and shoot out of their ass. Some teams play lazy, undisciplined defense that get exposed often. We are the latter.
4. Game awareness and substitution patterns have not improved since 2012. This includes when to take TO's. This is a real concern.
5. Working the refs is an integral part of the game. All the good coaches do it. KO does not, or not nearly enough.

Before you jump at my throat, I'm an Ollie fan. But I also am a realist and understand this is his 4th year of coaching. He's not on the hot seat at all, nor deserves to be. 2 out of his 4 teams are fundamentally flawed and lack the correct players in key positions. The next 2-3 years will tell how good of a coach he can be. Its up to him and the guys to capitalize on the talent we have / have coming in. Gotta show up.

The defensive mastermind statement is based primarily on what I saw him do schematically in 2013 and 2014 to mitigate large size and strength deficits in the post. Again, look at the big men we had during that stretch, and name me one big man who had a huge day against us. Harrell, maybe, but he did the bulk of his damage on the glass.

By no means has the defense been great this season, and yes, three of our last four opponents have been pretty bad. But it hasn't just been Tulane and Temple; it was Ohio State and Texas, too. Those are top 50 teams, and neither could get into much of a rhythm offensively. To dismiss the measurable improvements that have been made on that end since the beginning of the season is not fair, particularly when the bedrock of our defensive footprint exited the lineup abruptly.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

The defensive mastermind statement is based primarily on what I saw him do schematically in 2013 and 2014 to mitigate large size and strength deficits in the post. Again, look at the big men we had during that stretch, and name me one big man who had a huge day against us. Harrell, maybe, but he did the bulk of his damage on the glass.

By no means has the defense been great this season, and yes, three of our last four opponents have been pretty bad. But it hasn't just been Tulane and Temple; it was Ohio State and Texas, too. Those are top 50 teams, and neither could get into much of a rhythm offensively. To dismiss the measurable improvements that have been made on that end since the beginning of the season is not fair, particularly when the bedrock of our defensive footprint exited the lineup abruptly.

Patrick Young of Florida comes to mind in the National Semi Final as a big that had a pretty damn good game. Boatright was just downright NASTY defending the perimeter in that game. You are correct though KO's defensive schemes were excellent during that run to the title.

"However many flaws permeated Hamilton’s game during the 2014-15 season are only documented so extensively in this space to demonstrate the responsibility that mirrors his immense talent." Champs99and04

The question I guess then becomes how do we turn Hamilton into a great player considering he has immense talent? Just time. Maybe that's the magic answer? Patience? Is this another team without the complimentary pieces like last year? Maybe we just have to wait for the 2016 class? Honestly from a fan perspective objectively speaking wouldn't it be hard to give any UConn coach a pass on back to back NIT years? Maybe the answer is yes. A National Title carries quite a bit of weight.

I think this team still has the potential to click this year and probably will make the NCAA tournament but the whole "its only January..." logic is fine for a typical passive fan to have but doesn't really take into consideration the importance of January as a whole as it relates to the season.

 

[champs99and04]

Patrick Young of Florida comes to mind in the National Semi Final as a big that had a pretty damn good game. Boatright was just downright NASTY defending the perimeter in that game. You are correct though KO's defensive schemes were excellent during that run to the title.

"However many flaws permeated Hamilton’s game during the 2014-15 season are only documented so extensively in this space to demonstrate the responsibility that mirrors his immense talent." Champs99and04

The question I guess then becomes how do we turn Hamilton into a great player considering he has immense talent? Just time. Maybe that's the magic answer? Patience? Is this another team without the complimentary pieces like last year? Maybe we just have to wait for the 2016 class? Honestly from a fan perspective objectively speaking wouldn't it be hard to give any UConn coach a pass on back to back NIT years? Maybe the answer is yes. A National Title carries quite a bit of weight.

I think this team still has the potential to click this year and probably will make the NCAA tournament but the whole "its only January..." logic is fine for a typical passive fan to have but doesn't really take into consideration the importance of January as a whole as it relates to the season.

Ollie absolutely does not get a pass, or anything close to it, if this team goes to the NIT again. You would have no choice but to give any coach a failing grade for getting that little out of the talent at his disposal.

However, that thought, and the one expressed in the original post, aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I can throw my entire weight behind Ollie as the guy to take this program forward while conceding that there have been some major bumps. I don't see this team going to the NIT, though, so hopefully, it is a moot point.

Your question on Hamilton is a good one. There are times when I think he is very close to becoming a great offensive player. Defensively, I'm not sure he'll ever get it, but we can live with that if he's going to be the guy who punishes defenses repeatedly in big games. The problem is that he's just not a great shot maker, and D-1 coaches aren't stupid; they realize that his biggest weapon is his ability to pass, and they are going to model their help structures accordingly.

Honestly, this team doesn't really have a 'go get me a bucket' guy, and when you don't have that, any offense is going to look stagnant because the defense can take so many liberties. A bunch of other teams have a guy where, if they can draw a switch, it's game over. Our best bet might be Miller.

 

[David 76]

Naysayers, what's the point? Do you want to fire Ollie? Do you want the rest of us to be more pessimistic and angry.

We are not as good as we were in the 90s. True. A lot happened to us. We lost our coach, our conference and and some scholarships and even NCAA eligibility. It is frustrating and hard to take.

But we never had a guarantee that making the sweet 16 would be a minimum every year. It isn't an entitlement. They are working on improving it

 

[Tuna]

I can't help but feel the same. The expectations among the fanbase has really dropped off in the last 5 years. Hopefully next decade the narrative becomes that this down period was just temporary and a consequence of horrific recruiting in 2012-2014 due to uncertainty in the program regarding sanctions and the coaching situation.

I think we are past the point of denying that we are in a down period, however.

Expectations by year:
2011-2012 - Coming off a national championship with addition of Andre Drummond. Expectations were a repeat.
2012-2013 - Zero expectations as team was banned from post season play.
2013-2014 - Coming off a 20 win season with entire team back, expectations were high again
2014-2015 - Coming off a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, expectations in check due to loss of much of nc cast. Can blame that on recruiting but I don't think Daniels was expected to be a 2 year player and if he was around, that team is a lot better.
2015-2016 - Everyone is talking final four contender going into the season.

A. Wtf are you talking about re expectations?
B. Wtf do the fans' expectations even matter?
C. Some of the posters here are insufferable. I've been a lurker here for a long time and seen entirely too much nonsense but this one drove me out of the shadows.

 

[gtcam]

My point isn't about this season, it's about longer-term trends.

Yes, you're right that, looking at this season, there's still a chance for it to be a gel-late-in-the-year team like 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, or arguably 2011 or 2014. But we already know this isn't going to have been a dominant team a la 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2006, or 2009. We already know a 1 or 2 seed isn't in the offing, and probably not a 3-5 seed either.

My point is, in the 2010's we haven't been a year-in, year-out reliably contending team, in a manner completely inconsistent from what we were blessed to have for 15-20 years. I am not content to be a fringe Top 25 team most years and maybe make a run two or three times a decade. That's beneath the standards of this program. I don't want to see us become another Georgetown or UCLA or Indiana.

Also, you're an awesome poster who produces incredible vids. Don't ruin that by making snarky comments. The board has enough of those people as it is.

Lets remember that this team was hit with sanctions and that had implications on recruitment
What do all the elite programs have in common? The ability to recruit at the highest level.
KO is coming off one of the best recruiting classes (next year's) in the nation and that is despite "the league"
I will be concerned IF the upcoming class is an anomaly and not the norm going forward.

As far as gelling later this year, while I would love to see it, I am not quite sure the personalities on this current team will allow that.
It's a strange group of guys who act like - "if it happens today, GREAT, if it don't, the sun will still come up tomorrow"
There is no assassin on this team and there is no "get in your face" guy = very strange for a UConn team.

 

[gtcam]

Expectations by year:
2011-2012 - Coming off a national championship with addition of Andre Drummond. Expectations were a repeat.
2012-2013 - Zero expectations as team was banned from post season play.
2013-2014 - Coming off a 20 win season with entire team back, expectations were high again
2014-2015 - Coming off a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, expectations in check due to loss of much of nc cast. Can blame that on recruiting but I don't think Daniels was expected to be a 2 year player and if he was around, that team is a lot better.
2015-2016 - Everyone is talking final four contender going into the season.

A. Wtf are you talking about re expectations?
B. Wtf do the fans' expectations even matter?
C. Some of the posters here are insufferable. I've been a lurker here for a long time and seen entirely too much nonsense but this one drove me out of the shadows.

WOW - stay lurking - it fits you better

 

[intlzncster]

KO is coming off one of the best recruiting classes (next year's) in the nation and that is despite "the league"
I will be concerned IF the upcoming class is an anomaly and not the norm going forward.

Just to temper your expectations, you can't expect another barn burner class the year after next. Maybe 2 guys? Because there will be so many positions filled by quality experienced players, that a lot of kids who want to play out of the gate will stay away. That's life. Happens to every team not named UK.

 

[dennismenace]

Naysayers, what's the point? Do you want to fire Ollie? Do you want the rest of us to be more pessimistic and angry.

We are not as good as we were in the 90s. True. A lot happened to us. We lost our coach, our conference and and some scholarships and even NCAA eligibility. It is frustrating and hard to take.

But we never had a guarantee that making the sweet 16 would be a minimum every year. It isn't an entitlement. They are working on improving it

This is a very good summary. Many things have changed and there are many hills to climb back to the powerhouse program of the 90's. I believe in KO and the recent
recruiting (next years) plus JA and SE with T .Larrier are all positives. We have to overcome the crumby conference and not being in the P5 money. I hope this team will get it's
collective and individual acts together and start hustling their butts off and good things will happen. Positive attitudes and relentless work effort. The talent is already there. Put it into action.