Dejected

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

What was an inflated perspective by minimally 1 1/2 pennies?

 

[Caronimo]

UConn

 

[AdamaNation]

I dont know what to think or feel. This used to be one of the most fun weeks of the year as a basketball/UConn fan, playing in the Big East Tournament, then anticipating the selection show to see who and where we were playing. This is now the third year in a row our season will not continue past Selection Sunday, not even the NIT. March/April 2014 was great, but that honestly feels like it was about 10 years ago, not just 5.

This fan base is starving for success. I think we are willing to cling to anything that resembles it. We thought we were building momentum with our win at ECU, then our performance yesterday vs USF was encouraging, but we ran into a brick wall today and reality hit once again that we are just not good enough again. Thats just a terrible way to put a cap on this season and I just hope we can turn this around.

Well. We finished under .500 so you shouldn’t have been that surprised. With no point guard to boot.

 

[Jaybo]

It’s gonna take these guys a couple more years to get to where they need to be. Hopefully as they get cycled out the next couple years and new guy brought in we will see a huge culture change at UConn and get back to its winning ways again.

 

[LIuconn]

It won't change until the roster turns over. 3 solid players coming in next year, hopefully more

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

post/avatar much?

Wow.

How do you know they weren't borrowed? Or maybe it was a stock photo.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

This team was beaten mentally and physically and they mailed in most of the second half.

Vital was lackadaisical for most of the second half which was a surprise. But it happened.

The moment was too big for Polley. He lost his fine motor skills.

Wilson reverted back to the lost puppy we saw early in the season. There was no purpose to anything he did.

Smith has been overmatched most of the season. He will never be able to shoot even in rec leagues when he is in private business but.... he has a moment on Thursday.

Jalen was great but was he really any better today han he was as a freshman?

AG was almost as good as anyone we had on the court and he was home in Storrs.

Hurley deserves a metal for not letting his team quit all year until today's meltdown. There was no button he could push to stop it, but he shoveled back the incoming tide for as long as humanly possible.

Workin' it...

 

[biggieb1950]

I agree, but we played very well in those two games with Jalen back. Houston is a better team than us, but are they really 40 points better? This is the same Houston team that only beat us by 8 in Hartford a month ago, and we did not have Jalen.

Polley and Vital missed countless shots in first half when game got close. Houston only had to guard J.Adams and Carlton. Everybody else were way over their heads talent wise. Kudos to Jalen Adams and credit to Josh Carlton for his effort.

 

[jibsey]

We did not have the physical toughness or size to compete this year so if we were not making long range shots we couldn’t. Carlton is a nice anchor down there, Akok is the 4 but thin and we need 2 others to back up and battle down low. We have no one on the roster that can do that going forward. All on Danny now.

 

[Candyman]

Next year will depend on how much our freshman are ready to help. Losing Jalen and Smith who both played big minutes wont be easy. Gilbert, Vital and Carlton are good peices but inserting freshman into starters is rough and unless thier 5 star players will need an adjustment period. Who starts the 3 and who starts the 4.

I am of the belief that Polley is not a starter. He is a three pointer shooter off the bench. Someone who if he is on from three can stay on the court and if not sit him. He brings nothing to the table besides his shot from three. That would mean start a rookie in Akok at the 4- is he ready? Sid at the 3- no thank you if his shot doesn't develop and then we probably start another freshman- Bouk most likley.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Honestly half this team wouldnt be starting on a halfway decent team. Whats the point of polley if he cant suoot

More than half this team doesn't start on this team.

 

[businesslawyer]

The good news is that other than Cobb's increasingly useless minutes, we return everyone else who got minutes at the 4 and 5 -- Carlton, Whaley, Polley and Wilson. Carlton and Polley have been making strides, Wilson did at times and Whaley at the least can provide energy. So we should be stronger up front than we were this year even if Akok doesn't push Polley immediately to the bench (and I'm sure Hurley has a pretty good idea by now how much help Akok will be next year). That having been said, we could certainly use one more banger up front, even if he's not better than what we have returning.

We will not replace Adam's talent next year. But we have to hope we play better team basketball. If Gilbert stays healthy and the young guards justify the faith Hurley showed in really wanting them, we can be a significantly better team next year. Not a ranked team, yet, but a better team.

Unless Akok is really going to be NBA ready by 2020-21, in which case we'll see.

 

[GHSWolverines]

As hard as they played this year, this group never earned the right to wear UCONN across their jerseys.

Give me a break! Who are you to say this?

 

[Ts5034]

The good news is that other than Cobb's increasingly useless minutes, we return everyone else who got minutes at the 4 and 5 -- Carlton, Whaley, Polley and Wilson. Carlton and Polley have been making strides, Wilson did at times and Whaley at the least can provide energy. So we should be stronger up front than we were this year even if Akok doesn't push Polley immediately to the bench (and I'm sure Hurley has a pretty good idea by now how much help Akok will be next year). That having been said, we could certainly use one more banger up front, even if he's not better than what we have returning.

We will not replace Adam's talent next year. But we have to hope we play better team basketball. If Gilbert stays healthy and the young guards justify the faith Hurley showed in really wanting them, we can be a significantly better team next year. Not a ranked team, yet, but a better team.

Unless Akok is really going to be NBA ready by 2020-21, in which case we'll see.

Agree, and the roster for next year is still not complete. Theres still another scholarship that will most likeley be used on a grad transfer.

 

[Palatine]

Jalen was great?

Sure. He displayed all conference talent. Beside Carlton, he didn't get any help today. But he is a very talented basketball player and he is and has been great.

That said, here is the thing with Jalen. Can you really say that he was better this year than he was as a freshman? Was there a fire in his belly to get better? And after his last game you wonder. Was it coaching? Was it Jalen? Was it the situation? How much more was there? What if he started working on his left hand after his freshman season, or his shot, or drawing contact? Did he come close to his ceiling?

I wish Jalen the best. He was a great Husky. And I suspect he will make millions playing basketball.

 

[Huskymagic]

The AAC needs to be aggressively courting Gonzaga and BYU to come to the AAC. We need to recreate the old Big East in a modern version. We can then split the league up in East and West divisions with the marquee programs guaranteed to play each other(UCONN, Gonzaga, Cinci, Houston, Wichita St, etc).

UConn will be trending up, but I believe recruiting, revenue, and attendance will be helped tremendously if Aresco can somehow reel Gonzaga in.

 

[SwingDog]

Compared to what? ECU? Yeah sure. But they aren’t a good basketball team.

Well, I would choose Brian Gregory as AAC Coach of the Year in a heartbeat. He turned a perennial basement dweller into a respectable team in two years and got 19 wins this year. Like I said, though they may not be "good" they aren't bad either.

 

[Jaker]

Not surprised, not dejected, the hand writing has been on the wall for sometime.

 

[Purple Stein]

Not surprised, not dejected, the hand writing has been on the wall for sometime.

The handwriting was on the wall for a 40 point loss in the AAC quarters? Come on.

 

[UConnDad]

USF and ECU are not good. We aren’t either. Houston is good.

Today shouldn’t be that shocking.

No but it is brutal!

 

[buddy]

You all are forgetting that Alterique couldn't play.

 

[SwingDog]

No but it is brutal!

Today was brutal AND shocking. We hung with these Houston Cougars and competed just a couple of weeks ago. I was expecting (at least hoping) for them to do the same today. I mean, Houston was only favored by 10 points. Who would have thought they'd win by 39? So equal parts brutal and shocking for me today.