Dont blink: it's hard to stay consistent.

[Jaydumo20]

As an open discussion: we have had our ups and downs since 2014 but I feel like we have righted the ship enough where our program has remained a destination for recruits.
It helps to reflect on some programs that haven't been so lucky. There are many: the first one that comes to my mind is Stanford. In the late 90s and early 00's this team was always in the convo. Now, along with many other pac12's, it's hard to remember the last time they were a force.
What team sticks out to you as a squad whose salad days are a distant memory?. This is not a thread to knock other programs, but rather a chance to gain some perspective on how hard it is to remain relevant.
Who's your team?

 

[SubbaBub]

Limiting to NCAA Champions:
Florida - Dovovan flash in the pan
Syracuse - LDO
Maryland - Ain't coming back in the B1G
Arkansas - Same in the $$$EC
UNLV - obviously
Louisville - Both KY programs are struggling only one will turn it around, this isn't the one.
Indiana - Reminds me of...
Georgetown - One coach wonder. Neither program has an excuse to be irrelevant this long.
NC State - To date the flukiest Champion in the modern post 1979 era and been proving it ever since.

Programs on the brink of irrelevance:
Michigan State - Izzo about to pull a Boeheim?
Villanova - Managed to find two HOF coaches, can they really luck out a third time?

Program that has not been relevant for a long time but always seems to be close to a resurgence:
Arizona

 

[Jaydumo20]

@SubbaBub I've always gotten an Indiana=Uconn vibe. Obviously without as many trophies. Similar fan base. What it means to the state. Etc
Arkansas is another that popped into my head. Nice list.

 

[HCCForever]

One that comes to mind is Texas. They have been in tournament recently but have not been to the Sweet Sixteen since 2008.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

As an open discussion: we have had our ups and downs since 2014 but I feel like we have righted the ship enough where our program has remained a destination for recruits.
It helps to reflect on some programs that haven't been so lucky. There are many: the first one that comes to my mind is Stanford. In the late 90s and early 00's this team was always in the convo. Now, along with many other pac12's, it's hard to remember the last time they were a force.
What team sticks out to you as a squad whose salad days are a distant memory?. This is not a thread to knock other programs, but rather a chance to gain some perspective on how hard it is to remain relevant.
Who's your team?

Stamford is a school that is favorably compared to Harvard
They have a $37,000,000,000 endowment . They have an annual budget in excess of $8,000,000,000
UConn has more students with a budget of $1 500,000,00 . They spend more on research than our entire budget
If they wanted to compete in basketball they can do so at the drop of a hat , in these days of professional college athletics you can simply buy a team if you choose to.
UConn is a nice school but any comparison to them on multiple levels is ludicrous.
Maybe Cincinnati would be a better choice .

 

[ClifSpliffy]

too soon. all that was then, this is now -the age of mercenaries for hire, rent-a-player, one year gigs, g leagues, fancy 'not actually high school academies,' nil, an all that.
comparing apples to mufflers.
adapt or die!
harsh.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Stamford is a school that is favorably compared to Harvard
They have a $37,000,000,000 endowment . They have an annual budget in excess of $8,000,000,000
UConn has more students with a budget of $1 500,000,00 . They spend more on research than our entire budget
If they wanted to compete in basketball they can do so at the drop of a hat , in these days of professional college athletics you can simply buy a team if you choose to.
UConn is a nice school but any comparison to them on multiple levels is ludicrous.
Maybe Cincinnati would be a better choice .

With respect to open discourse, this is a basketball only thread. Not academics or endowment. Stanford men’s basketball is irrelevant in reality.

 

[SubbaBub]

@SubbaBub I've always gotten an Indiana=Uconn vibe. Obviously without as many trophies. Similar fan base. What it means to the state. Etc
Arkansas is another that popped into my head. Nice list.

That ended when we won in 2014 and they haven't been relevant since they lost in the Final with Mike Davis. For a supposed basketball crazy state, they have massively underperformed for a long time. Only 2 of Knight's titles are post Bird/Magic. The others may as well have been in another sport.

UCLA has a bit of this too, but any team with Kareem and Bill Walton is winning regardless of the era so they are a bit of a special case. UCLA also has a title in 1995 and looks resurgent under Cronin. Indiana hasn't despite having a number of supposedly good coaches.

 

[aburks41]

Stamford is a school that is favorably compared to Harvard
They have a $37,000,000,000 endowment . They have an annual budget in excess of $8,000,000,000
UConn has more students with a budget of $1 500,000,00 . They spend more on research than our entire budget
If they wanted to compete in basketball they can do so at the drop of a hat , in these days of professional college athletics you can simply buy a team if you choose to.
UConn is a nice school but any comparison to them on multiple levels is ludicrous.
Maybe Cincinnati would be a better choice .

Stanford aside, I always find it odd that we are the only elite program without a single billionaire donor. Duke, UNC, Kentucky, KU, etc seem to have multiple billionaire alumni (or fans) who can perpetually prop them up if times ever got bad. Most SEC and Big 10 schools like MSU and Arkansas have billionaire alums.

It must make fundraising efforts a lot easier when a $5M check is a drop in the bucket for those guys, but it's probably a 6 month long process for UConn to raise that much money

 

[XLCenterFan]

Just off the top of my head - Maryland. Arkansas. UNLV. Georgetown.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Pittsburgh always seemed like the best team that never did a damn thing. Their ship has now sailed.

 

[superjohn]

Stanford aside, I always find it odd that we are the only elite program without a single billionaire donor. Duke, UNC, Kentucky, KU, etc seem to have multiple billionaire alumni (or fans) who can perpetually prop them up if times ever got bad. Most SEC and Big 10 schools like MSU and Arkansas have billionaire alums.

It must make fundraising efforts a lot easier when a $5M check is a drop in the bucket for those guys, but it's probably a 6 month long process for UConn to raise that much money

Dr. Trisha Bailey says she's about to be a billionaire, stay tuned...

 

[Matt1010]

Dr. Trisha Bailey says she's about to be a billionaire, stay tuned...

Between her recent donation and Marc D'Amelio quickly becoming more involved hopefully we have a few more decent options in the future.

Stanford aside, I always find it odd that we are the only elite program without a single billionaire donor. Duke, UNC, Kentucky, KU, etc seem to have multiple billionaire alumni (or fans) who can perpetually prop them up if times ever got bad. Most SEC and Big 10 schools like MSU and Arkansas have billionaire alums.

It must make fundraising efforts a lot easier when a $5M check is a drop in the bucket for those guys, but it's probably a 6 month long process for UConn to raise that much money

Quick google search says that there are ~750 billionaires in the US so not overly surprising that none are UConn alum/die hard fans. We need someone on the BY to make it big lol.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Can someone post the list of largest CBB budgets? I found a list but it's from 2021. I'm curious to see how much it guarantees success and how that will change with NIL. As a die hard Tampa Rays fan I've seen continued success with a miniscule budget. I'm skeptical

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Pittsburgh always seemed like the best team that never did a damn thing. Their ship has now sailed.

Pittsburgh?

19-8, 3rd acc.

 

[Rich]

Between her recent donation and Marc D'Amelio quickly becoming more involved hopefully we have a few more decent options in the future.

Quick google search says that there are ~750 billionaires in the US so not overly surprising that none are UConn alum/die hard fans. We need someone on the BY to make it big lol.

Stamford alum not only contribute hard cash but in many instances equity shares in their ventures - see Page, Larry and Google.

I always say that if the IV's plus Stanford lost their collective inhibitions tomorrow and committed to winning the CFB playoff they could do so in a heartbeat. Gotta believe their NIL networks could absolutely annihilate the best the Ess Eee Cee has to offer without breaking a sweat.

'Yes yes we'd like you to commit to a few appearances-we'll send a car to bring you to Goldman's HQ and a private jet to fly you to our annual investment conference in Zurich. And POTUS would like you to stand next to him on stage for a few minutes next month. Are you free?'

 

[Billy Jack]

It’s not hard to come up with a list of programs which achieved a high level of success and then declined. Because almost everyone who’s ever won a national title has done exactly that.

What’s hard is to come up with a list of programs which have maintained a high level of success.

Kentucky - NIT title in 1946 & most recent NC 66 yrs later in 2012
N Carolina - 1st title in 1957 & last 60 yrs later in 2017
Kansas - 1st title in 1952 & last 70 yrs later in 2022
Indiana - 1st NCAA title in 1940 & most recent 47 yrs later in 1987
Louisville - 1st title in 1980 & 3rd in 2013, 33 yrs later
Villanova - 1st title in 1985 & 3rd in 2018, 33 years later
UCLA - 1st title in 1964 & last in 1995, 31 years later

Those programs have been extraordinary for achieving the highest level of success so many years apart. They are the only ones who have accomplished at least a 3-peat over a 30+ span of years. Everyone else has been a relative flash in the pan by comparison. (Well, maybe not Duke.)

The shortest 3-peat was San Francisco, winning their 1st NC in 1949 and their 3rd just 7 years later in 1956. They went back to the Final Four in 1957, and were then never heard from again at that level.

 

[ucp990411]

Stamford is a school that is favorably compared to Harvard
They have a $37,000,000,000 endowment . They have an annual budget in excess of $8,000,000,000
UConn has more students with a budget of $1 500,000,00 . They spend more on research than our entire budget
If they wanted to compete in basketball they can do so at the drop of a hat , in these days of professional college athletics you can simply buy a team if you choose to.
UConn is a nice school but any comparison to them on multiple levels is ludicrous.
Maybe Cincinnati would be a better choice .

You aren’t comparing the UConn and Cincy basketball programs are you?

 

[gtcam]

Limiting to NCAA Champions:
Florida - Dovovan flash in the pan they have a young coach who can recruit
Syracuse - LDO - nothing until The Picker moves on
Maryland - Ain't coming back in the B1G - except for the toe stub tonight check out their record
Arkansas - Same in the $$$EC - the success speaks for itself - see below
UNLV - obviously Intensive - Don't follow this program at all
Louisville - Both KY programs are struggling only one will turn it around, this isn't the one. - Intensive Care Unit but $ can buy lots in CBB
Indiana - Reminds me of... They are very much like UConn - recruits well but still looking for effective coaching
Georgetown - One coach wonder. Neither program has an excuse to be irrelevant this long. Love PE but he needs to go back to the NBA
NC State - To date the flukiest Champion in the modern post 1979 era and been proving it ever since. - they play in the ACC and performed better than UConn in the AAC and the NBE

Programs on the brink of irrelevance:
Michigan State - Izzo about to pull a Boeheim? Izzo is at the end of his reign but MSU will never be irrelevant
Villanova - Managed to find two HOF coaches, can they really luck out a third time? Nova wont hang on to Neptune too long - Jay Wright will make sure of that

Program that has not been relevant for a long time but always seems to be close to a resurgence:
Arizona - very solid program that has a great young coach and is the destination of a lot of young players - only Miller could screw up there

Addressing the programs that were specifically chosen, if you go back to when the last of the group (incl. UConn) won a NC, let's look at the NCAA results as far as number of appearances and total NCAA victories in these appearances starting in 2014-2015 season:

UFLA - 4 appearances 5 total games won
Cuse - 4 appearances 8 total games won
Maryland - 4 appearances 4 total games won
Arkansas - 5 appearances 8 total games won
UNLV - NADA
Louisville - 3 appearances - ALL VACATED
Indiana - 3 appearances - 2 total games won
GTown - 2 appearances - 2 total games won
NCState - 2 appearances - 2 total games won
MSU - 7 appearances - 8 total games won
Arizona - 5 appearances - 7 total games won
UConn - 3 appearances - 1 total game won



I'm not even going to address Nova - we all know their recent history

What team sticks out to you as a squad whose salad days are a distant memory?.
Out of this list above I can say UNLV and maybe GTown if they hang on to Ewing

But I wouldn't completely omit UConn until it shows it can win some NCAA games - as you can see, they rank at the bottom based on total wins since 2014/2015 which was a mere 8 years ago

 

[uconnfan68]

Stamford is a school that is favorably compared to Harvard
They have a $37,000,000,000 endowment . They have an annual budget in excess of $8,000,000,000
UConn has more students with a budget of $1 500,000,00 . They spend more on research than our entire budget
If they wanted to compete in basketball they can do so at the drop of a hat , in these days of professional college athletics you can simply buy a team if you choose to.
UConn is a nice school but any comparison to them on multiple levels is ludicrous.
Maybe Cincinnati would be a better choice .

Actually, they probably can’t compete, based on their own admission policies. Why would a one-and-done bother going to school there?

 

[August_West]

Pittsburgh always seemed like the best team that never did a damn thing. Their ship has now sailed.

They are having a nice season ( for then) right now, but yeah they’ve been in the dump for a while

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Stamford is a school that is favorably compared to Harvard
They have a $37,000,000,000 endowment . They have an annual budget in excess of $8,000,000,000
UConn has more students with a budget of $1 500,000,00 . They spend more on research than our entire budget
If they wanted to compete in basketball they can do so at the drop of a hat , in these days of professional college athletics you can simply buy a team if you choose to.
UConn is a nice school but any comparison to them on multiple levels is ludicrous.
Maybe Cincinnati would be a better choice .

pretty sure he was talking about basketball programs.

 

[SubbaBub]

Until the top 5 list of NC's in the last 20 years doesn't include UConn, UConn will remain relevant.

 

[Windsorlocks]

Holy Cross. First New England team to win it all. 1947. Only took 3 games…

“Led by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Alvin “Doggie” Julian and captains Ken Haggerty and Joe Mullaney, the Crusaders tallied a 27-3 record en route to the first national championship in school history.The team entered the NCAA Tournament riding a 20-game winning streak and defeated Navy, City College of New York and Oklahoma to capture the title. Future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy was a member of the team and George Kaftan was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Holy Cross became the first school in the Northeast to win the NCAA Tournament.”

 

[Billy Jack]

Actually, they probably can’t compete, based on their own admission policies. Why would a one-and-done bother going to school there?

How does Duke compete with e same admissions policies?

 

[Billy Jack]

Holy Cross. First New England team to win it all. 1947. Only took 3 games…

“Led by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Alvin “Doggie” Julian and captains Ken Haggerty and Joe Mullaney, the Crusaders tallied a 27-3 record en route to the first national championship in school history.The team entered the NCAA Tournament riding a 20-game winning streak and defeated Navy, City College of New York and Oklahoma to capture the title. Future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy was a member of the team and George Kaftan was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Holy Cross became the first school in the Northeast to win the NCAA Tournament.”

I’m not sure that anyone was able “to win it all” back in those days. Not when half of the top teams went to the other tournament. I think of almost all of the tournament champions in those days as co-champions, winning a share of the national title.

Occasionally someone did win it outright. Wen Kentucky played in both tournaments in 1949, winning the NCAA tournament but losing ti Loyola (Chi) in the NIT semi’s before San Francisco beat Loyola for the tournament championship, it seems to me that the NIT became the de facto national championship tournament that year and that USF had a legitimate claim to having won it all. Same for CCNY the following year when they won both tournaments.

In my book, the UConn 1999 team was the first New England team to win it all.

 

[The Yakk]

How does Duke compete with e same admissions policies?

Lol Puke has been paying their players fat stacks since at least the Corey Magette era, and probably earlier.

Any one-and-done would be perfectly happy to attend Stanford for a year if the money were right.