Candid Coaches: Will UConn at least make a third straight Final Four this season?

[CTtoSanDiego]

There was a link in this article to a previous one, "Who will be the best team" or something like that. My favorite part of that article was this:

"Will the Huskies three-peat?
It'll be difficult, obviously. But I did go back and look at what percentage of the vote UConn got in advance of last season when we asked the same question, and what I found is that only 1.9% of the coaches we polled back then told us they believed the Huskies would be the sport's best team. UConn then went out and won the Big East regular-season title, Big East Tournament title and six consecutive games in the NCAA Tournament (by double-digits) to collect a second straight national championship. That means 98.1% of the coaches we polled a year ago were wrong to believe somebody other than UConn would win it all. Now Dan Hurley and his staff are preparing to prove 92.3% wrong again this season."

For those not good at math, this year 7.7% picked UConn, which was the 5th best.

 

[dennismenace]

Glad to see Hassan getting some props here, as I fully agree he is going to be better than expected and a catalyst to keep the Fanta wagon in motion. Hassan brings every intangible you want to this system, is a leader and has an end to end engine. It’s his time to shine and I think he’s ready to embrace that role. Third year in the system, playing arguably most important position on the court, and he’s done nothing but get better. I’m expecting big things from him, and to be a key leader on the floor.


"I absolutely see it. Obviously, Alex Karabanwill get a huge bulk of the preseason hype (and it is well-deserved), along with the expectation of a sophomore jump from Solo Ball and Jaylin Stewart, and Liam McNeeley could be a lottery pick. But I think the straw that will stir the drink here is having a veteran like Hassan Diarra leading the way. I think he is an absolute unsung hero that could find himself on the Cousy finalist list if the season goes as well for UConn as everyone expects it to. I think the Big East will be more than winnable again, and they should walk into the tournament with a top-2 seed."

Interesting to see one coach question the roster. I could swear this was the same question mark last preseason.

If I were to make a call, would say this is a F4 team this year, perhaps not a full NC. There are a couple teams out there who have such impressive rosters (Kansas and Bama) that I wouldn’t be ready make that call until I see this team gel, and see what Tarris Reed is all about.

Interesting observation. I think we are going to see great play as well from Novell
who can come off the bench and spell Hassan. Now our opponents will have two aggressors to fret about. Just as Hassan gave a huge lift when he came in, so too can I see Novell providing that dog spark. I also expect this spark from Abraham coming in and like Novell, give this great energy and talent just as our opponents are catching their breath. As others have said it's almost like having two complete teams.
We have a team with potential a potential legendary bench that will potentially produce another steamroller in March. The pressure on opponents will be relentless!