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Message: [QUOTE="diggerfoot, post: 3300762, member: 1673"] They had better seasons in 2002 than 2001 because they did not have senior All-Americans ahead of them. They also played better in 2001 when there were no longer senior All-Americans ahead of them. The team played strikingly below their capability, as was apparent to everyone at the time (except you I guess) because they could not gel as a team with the crowded rotation. That explains the numbers better than a magical development spurt from junior to senior years. Laughable? Look at how UConn played Notre Dame with Abrosimova in the line-up v without in the Big East championship. They also played terrific in the NCAAs until the Final Four with Taurasi in her place. That is partly the point. In the biggest moment as a freshmen Taurasi did not deliver with a superb supporting cast while Stewart did, with players who subsequently would have no where near the success of the 2001 squad. Taurasi, however, was extraordinary in turning an inexperienced squad into champions. I'm not sure Stewart could do that. The juniors played better without Abrosimova because a better rotation could be used with players that, in reality, were just as talented as the ones they replaced, as they proved as soon as they were given the rotation consistency to do so. You can only play five at a time. The ones you play the most, the seniors in this case, of course are going to have the better stats, including better efficiency stats from the rotation, whether they are really the best or not. Also, when everyone is great, as the drafts would verify, individual numbers will not be. Jumps in development performance usually come sophomore years, sometimes junior. The jump you cite for the senior year, a jump to being considered by many to being the best team ever, was not due to magical overnight development in their very last year, but opportunity. Once again, they proved this even during their junior year, when they had that "laughable" game against Notre Dame in the Big East championship without Abrosimova. I'll take back and apologize for my disingenuous comment, as it really does seem you believe that, despite the advantages in rotation consistency they were provided, you really think the junior Dolson is better than the junior Jones, or the senior Faris is better than the junior Cash and the latter cases defied the norm of development by being so much better their senior years. I'll bet you a large pizza that most UConn fans think the 2001 supporting cast was better than the 2013 cast, if someone wants to take a poll. [/QUOTE]

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