Back in 2012, you'd have taken this

[Matrim55]

- four consecutive 20-win seasons
- 1 national title
- top-5 recruiting class on the way
- top-10 defense
- no off-court or in-classroom embarrassments

We're not quite where we were from '94-'11, but we're getting very close.

 

[tcf15]

Yeah, I wouldn't argue with that.

 

[OkaForPrez]

This post plays great after a 30
Point win.

 

[BoatShow]

This post plays great after a 30
Point win.

This is the type of post that should ALWAYS play great.

 

[Matrim55]

This post plays great after a 30
Point win.

For sure - but I was more focused on the fact that it was No. 20. Back in 2012 I expected us to have at least a couple of sub-.500 seasons and a "what happened to them?" era -- not as bad as Indiana's, but not really that much better.

I really am pleasantly surprised, and gratified.

 

[OkaForPrez]

For sure. I'm a well established boneyard optimist, just congratulating @Matrim55 on his impeccable timing

 

[Jaker]

we are in good shape and like our future as long as we get out of this conference soon

 

[Matrim55]

we are in good shape and like our future as long as we get out of this conference soon

I like it better if we get out of the conference, for sure. But I think we'll be a top 20 team pretty consistently even if we're damned to this purgatory for the next decade.

 

[Dove]

we are in good shape and like our future as long as we get out of this conference soon

Yeah. Since we can't win it we need to get out.

 

[Matrim55]

Bump. Here's a reminder of how we ended the 2012 season, Calhoun's last as head coach:



That's 6 wins and 11 losses in our final 17 games, including faceplants against UCF, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Tennessee, and Providence. Those teams were ranked 91, 59, 114, 58, 112 in 2012 Kenpom, respectively. Current Houston? 52. That UConn team, under Calhoun, went 2-6 in games decided by 3 points or less during that stretch.

That UConn team also had 3 first-round draft picks, including an NBA All-Star (Drummond) and another lottery pick (Lamb), as well as perhaps the most clutch player in school history (Bazz). There were two other draft picks as well (DeAndre & AO), and in Roscoe, Boat & Niels there were 3 other guys who've gone on to be really good pros in good European leagues. By any measure they were significantly more talented than the current team.

Today's loss sucked. But please, have some perspective. We're a much better team than we were last season, we have a bunch of talented guys returning, and we have a great recruiting class coming in. This isn't a half empty/half full situation, this is a glass that's about 80% full.

Try to enjoy it a little bit.

 

[djct1999]

Bump. Here's a reminder of how we ended the 2012 season, Calhoun's last as head coach:



That's 6 wins and 11 losses in our final 17 games, including faceplants against UCF, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Tennessee, and Providence. Those teams were ranked 91, 59, 114, 58, 112 in 2012 Kenpom, respectively. Current Houston? 52. That UConn team, under Calhoun, went 2-6 in games decided by 3 points or less during that stretch.

That UConn team also had 3 first-round draft picks, including an NBA All-Star (Drummond) and another lottery pick (Lamb), as well as perhaps the most clutch player in school history (Bazz). There were two other draft picks as well (DeAndre & AO), and in Roscoe, Boat & Niels there were 3 other guys who've gone on to be really good pros in good European leagues. By any measure they were significantly more talented than the current team.

Today's loss sucked. But please, have some perspective. We're a much better team than we were last season, we have a bunch of talented guys returning, and we have a great recruiting class coming in. This isn't a half empty/half full situation, this is a glass that's about 80% full.

Try to enjoy it a little bit.

The glass is no where near 80% full. Last I checked, we play and will continue to play in the AAC. By default, the glass starts at 50%. That is the problem. Perception has become reality and the margin for error in the AAC is 0. Think about it. Temple will win the regular season title and is out of most brackets. Although I appreciate your research, we cannot compare the state of the program in 2012 to that of today's. Its apples to oranges. Back then, almost every game was a resume builder. Today, not only do we have to schedule a far more difficult out of conference schedule, but we have to win most of those of games. That's a lot of pressure for any team to start a season. Once conference play starts, 1/2 of our schedule are games that are "can't lose". If we stumble a few times we automatically become a bubble team. If we go 5-5 or 6-4 vs the top of the league, we become a bubble team. Sure, next year looks good on paper. Tell you the truth, so did this year. Being good on paper only gets you so far. Sooner or later, reality catches up to you. The reality is, as long as we stay in this conference, the UConn of today and the UConn of tomorrow will look nothing like the UConn of old. For UConn to look anything like that, it has to dominate this league. Teams like Gonzaga, Wichita State, Butler in the horizon days, Memphis with the squid became nationally relevant by not losing. To go 33-20 in three years in this league is not only embarrassing, its pathetic. There is nothing half full about that.

 

[Matrim55]

Teams like Gonzaga, Wichita State, Butler in the horizon days, Memphis with the squid became nationally relevant by not losing. To go 33-20 in three years in this league is not only embarrassing, its pathetic. There is nothing half full about that.

DOOMED!!

We've already won a title and secured a top-5 recruiting class while in this conference. None of the teams you mentioned can claim that.

The sanctions were designed to kill our program, and they didn't - and given where we were left 4 years ago, we're trending upward. It's sad that so much of our fanbase has become so spoiled that they can't see it, even after a frustrating loss.

 

[djct1999]

DOOMED!!

We've already won a title and secured a top-5 recruiting class while in this conference. None of the teams you mentioned can claim that.

The sanctions were designed to kill our program, and they didn't - and given where we were left 4 years ago, we're trending upward. It's sad that so much of our fanbase has become so spoiled that they can't see it, even after a frustrating loss.

The verdict is still out on that. If we are excluded from the next wave of realignment, the sanctions absolutely would have effectively killed this program. This isn't about being spoiled. This is about being realistic. 9 months ago, when we landed Gibbs and Miller the optimism was pretty high. Now, people are making excuses. What will happen next year if the team underachieves? The freshmen class wasn't as good as expected, JA and Enoch didnt develop, Hamilton never reached his potential....etc. I see a disturbing pattern forming. Maybe people on this board need to stop making excuses and start looking in the mirror. Life in the AAC has been worse than imaginable and UConn's brand, its mens basketball program, is weakening.

 

[Rocktheworld]

The verdict is still out on that. If we are excluded from the next wave of realignment, the sanctions absolutely would have effectively killed this program. This isn't about being spoiled. This is about being realistic. 9 months ago, when we landed Gibbs and Miller the optimism was pretty high. Now, people are making excuses. What will happen next year if the team underachieves? The freshmen class wasn't as good as expected, JA and Enoch didnt develop, Hamilton never reached his potential....etc. I see a disturbing pattern forming. Maybe people on this board need to stop making excuses and start looking in the mirror. Life in the AAC has been worse than imaginable and UConn's brand, its mens basketball program, is weakening.

Enoch's defense has improved and Adams has improved in his ability to get inside and facilitate for others.

And I don't think you know what that bolded phrase means.

Basically, you're an idiot

 

[Matrim55]

The verdict is still out on that. If we are excluded from the next wave of realignment, the sanctions absolutely would have effectively killed this program. This isn't about being spoiled. This is about being realistic. 9 months ago, when we landed Gibbs and Miller the optimism was pretty high.

The expectations were unrealistic - a transfer from Cornell and a transfer from Seton Hall, both bad teams last season, weren't going to make us a top 10 team.

They have helped make us a top 30 team, which is a significant improvement over last season. And we'll continue to improve next season as well.

 

[djct1999]

The expectations were unrealistic - a transfer from Cornell and a transfer from Seton Hall, both bad teams last season, weren't going to make us a top 10 team.

They have helped make us a top 30 team, which is a significant improvement over last season. And we'll continue to improve next season as well.

It made us a top 20 team. And most on this board felt that was too low.

 

[intlzncster]

- four consecutive 20-win seasons
- 1 national title
- top-5 recruiting class on the way
- top-10 defense
- no off-court or in-classroom embarrassments

We're not quite where we were from '94-'11, but we're getting very close.

And this is happening in a very short amount of time (as you alluded to). Not sure what people expected post Calhoun, but clearly, there was no candidate in America who could fulfill it.

Especially in the context of (as we all know) recruiting sanctions, post season ban, new conference, post HOF coach, new athletic administration....

 

[Stainmaster]

Not sure what people expected post Calhoun, but clearly, there was no candidate in American who could fulfill it.

This this this. To think someone could walk right in and be at the level of the G.O.A.T. is preposterous.

 

[jibsey]

Not worried about losing Gibbs but what about Miller, any ideas on his replacement? In a league like this we have to be like Calipari was at Memphis, winning everything in conference especially when your OOC is not that successful. Adams and Gilbert can create shots so thats an upside next year.

 

[Matrim55]

It made us a top 20 team. And most on this board felt that was too low.

Most on this board are deluded, though.

 

[intlzncster]

It made us a top 20 team. And most on this board felt that was too low.

Most of the board is terrible at assessing expectations for a coming season on a year in year out basis. They totally overrate guys, overlook opposing (weak) teams, don't understand that losses are happening to great teams across MCBB at what seems like a greater rate than years ago, etc etc. These people's overinflated expectations, and their inabiliy to reconcile them with reality, are the problem.

 

[intlzncster]

Most on this board are deluded, though.

This was a much tidier summation than my thoughts above.

 

[tzznandrew]

The expectations were unrealistic - a transfer from Cornell and a transfer from Seton Hall, both bad teams last season, weren't going to make us a top 10 team.

They have helped make us a top 30 team, which is a significant improvement over last season. And we'll continue to improve next season as well.

This is the reality we've had to face. Hamilton is the jack of all trades, master of none, whose upside isn't as high as we thought. Purvis was great at the end of last year, and shows flashes, but he is what he is. The two transfers--despite some hatred on the board--have helped significantly, but weren't enough despite our hopes. They will have served to make the bridge from the very last Calhoun players (Boatright) to the very first consistently great KO teams (optimistic we get that in a year or two) smoother than it would have been.

But our hopes that this was a title contender this year were clearly misplaced. We have to hope this team does what it needs to get into the NCAA, and that it provides useful experiences for Enoch, Adams, and DHam so that next year, with the addition of our new team, we might be able to make a run.

 

[dennismenace]

DOOMED!!

We've already won a title and secured a top-5 recruiting class while in this conference. None of the teams you mentioned can claim that.

The sanctions were designed to kill our program, and they didn't - and given where we were left 4 years ago, we're trending upward. It's sad that so much of our fanbase has become so spoiled that they can't see it, even after a frustrating loss.

You make a number of great points (as usual) and have a great "forest from the trees" view. Probably no one is more disappointed than KO I would think. As others have said today we are just going to have to wait until replacements arrive next year and build a more "representative" UConn team that actually is coachable and capable of being motivated. No question the sanctions hurt us and the future does look a lot brighter starting next year. I don't agree that it is spoiled, though, to expect people to play defense
and hustle when it is a game that is very important. Shows the real character of certain individuals I believe. Sadly, I had a feeling this was going to happen today.
The reason: It was a very big game. I'll leave it at that. Acceptance.

 

[tzznandrew]

Not worried about losing Gibbs but what about Miller, any ideas on his replacement? In a league like this we have to be like Calipari was at Memphis, winning everything in conference especially when your OOC is not that successful. Adams and Gilbert can create shots so thats an upside next year.

This league is nothing like the league Calipari dominated. That terrible league had lost it's best teams, including Cincy. It was Memphis and no one. There were far more bottom-level teams to it, and no one with any reputation. That league could not have hired Larry Brown or Kelvin Sampson, either.

If Memphis gets its act together, Cincy-Memphis-UConn and some combination of SMU-Temple-Tulsa-Houston will make this league like the mid-2000s CUSA, a conference that had two Final Four participants in 3 years (Marquette in 2003, Louisville in 2005), and consistently was able to get its best teams high seeds. Every team still wanted out, but you could still win a title from it.

This league, top to bottom, has gotten better. The first year, with Louisville, was the best at the top, but it's better this year than last, and next year it will be better than this.