UConn won 14 games this past season. 14. I think winning 20 or more games next season would represent significant improvement and signal that UConn is well on its way to becoming relevant again on a national level. The team was basically dysfunctional the past two seasons. Expectations should be tempered a bit for the first 2 years.
Careful, you'll be labeled a Hurly apologist in no time. Deep tourney run or bust brah.
Well, those exact sentiments last season would have had the poster labeled as an Ollie apologista. I guess I'm just curious why the standards have changed on that end.
No one has seriously said deep tourney run or bust. Most people have said they expect to make the tournament, period.
IIRC I predicted 18 wins for us in the AAC at the beginning of last season in one of the polls someone posted here. Barring injury, I thought that was a reasonable expectation, which, combined with our OOC record, likely would have translated to an NCAA appearance. When Gilbert went down, that expectation ended. And when the team dropped those turds vs. Arkansas and Auburn and Ollie had no answers, my support for Ollie ended.
But now we reasonably expect a fully healthy Gilbert (or at least I do), at least by December. And Sid Wilson in place of Larrier, which I hope to at least be an upgrade in terms of energy and motor. And we have some front court players with a season under their belts and coach who is motivated and has a plan for their use and improvement; and I don't believe we lost anyone who hasn't been replaced by at least an equal player, if not better.
So I guess I'm wondering why some of you guys are so hesitant to hold Hurley to at least the same standards. Or why it is so offensive to you that I and many others do so.
To be clear: I love the hire and I believed it was time for Ollie to go. I just don't think anyone is doing any favors for the program to set the bar so low when it would not have been acceptable to them if Ollie had merely returned with the same players.