bballnut90
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Feel free to agree/disagree with anything below, but I just thought I'd share some of my thoughts on this season/the newest UCONN dynasty.
1. First and foremost, a huge congrats to UCONN for thoroughly dominating another season of women's basketball. Despite a couple of "close" calls earlier in the year, UCONN was far and away the best team all season. There were only 2-3 teams that had a fighting chance to make games competitive, and when they did, they had to play near perfect basketball. Tuck had her ups and downs this year but clearly proved herself as one of the very best players in the nation, Stewart was unreal all season, and Jefferson was steady-eddy in the backcourt and quietly makes a strong claim as one of the best point guards ever and may have been this year's team MVP.
2. I rediscovered that I still cannot stand Doris Burke as an announcer. I hate how openly biased she is when she announces.
3. Where does this UCONN team rank in history? Honestly, I'd put them above 2002 if you're comparing head to head. 2002 had a great roster, but this team's ball movement was as good, if not better, than 2002's, and the frontcourt is taller, more versatile and significantly more athletic. The cohesion/chemistry on the court might not be at the same level as 2002 (if it isn't, it's darn near close), but I think head to head there's no question 2016 would stomp on 2002 UCONN. I do think 2014 would give 2016 a run for their money, but this team had 5 starters, all major 3 point threats and all with 2:1 A/TO ratios. I think there are very few teams ever that have had 5 starts with positive A/TO ratios, let alone all with 2:1 ratios. That's nuts.
4. Where does Stewart rank on the all time greats list? She's definitely up there--I think she's a harder one to evaluate compared to the likes of Taurasi/Moore/Holdsclaw/Parker/Griner/Miller/etc. because she's had by far the best teammates of any of the players who can stake an argument for GOAT. Her resume of 4 titles, 3 NPOY awards, going 116-1 over her last 3 years with all wins by 10+ points, her ridiculous all around stats, etc. give her one heck of an argument. On the flip side, you could make a strong argument that every title team she was on could have won a title without her. All of the others listed had seasons (some with multiple seasons) where if they don't play, their team doesn't win a title. Not something to diminish her achievements, but it's something to think about.
4. The run UCONN has had the last 3+ years could easily be the best run we'll ever see in collegiate women's basketball. The crazy thing is, I don't think any women's college basketball fan is all that surprised. When UCONN beat Notre Dame in 2013, I thought it was signed sealed and delivered that UCONN would roll to 3 straight undefeated seasons with the talent they had on board and their coaching staff. It still is honestly more shocking that Stanford pulled off the insane upset than it is that UCONN went a ridiculous 116-1 over the last 3 years with all victories by 10+. This speaks to the fact of how far ahead of everyone else Geno Auriemma and Connecticut is.
5. In regards to the "UCONN is bad for the women's game" arguments--I completely see both sides of it. On the grander sports scheme, UCONN is great for women's basketball. The average 20 something male who knows nothing about basketball will be well versed about UCONN's dominance, and might even want to tune in to see for himself. UCONN's dominance will definitely bring in new fans and attention to the sport, which is great considering the sport is still relatively young and in a growing stage. For fans who already follow women's basketball? It kills a large piece of excitement that the women's game used to have. For the last 3 years, there was little to no doubt that UCONN was going to walk away with the hardware, the only uncertainty was how dominant the victory would be. Compare the last 8 years to the previous 8:
From 2009-2016, there have been 5 blowout title games (4 by UCONN), 2 somewhat competitive games (both UCONN) where the outcome wasn't ever really in doubt after midway through the 2nd half (2015 and 2010), and 1 competitive title game (2011).
From 2001-2008, there were 3 incredibly exciting championship games ( 2001, 2003, 2006), 2 blowout title games (2005, 2008), and 3 competitive but predictable games (2002, 2004, 2007).
From a non-UCONN fan standpoint, the dominance makes seasons completely predictable and less exciting. Even if there is a great Final Four game (ex. 2009 Louisville/OU, 2015 ND/SC), fans know the winner still has virtually 0 chance of knocking off Connecticut. Compare that to previous years or the men's game where there is more parity and if a program wins a Elite 8 or Final Four game, it's a lot more exciting for the fans of that program because they know they do have some shot of winning a title. If Connecticut is stacked, they have no chance no matter how they scheme.
And this isn't a knock on Geno or the program at all. It's truly a compliment to how successful the program is, but for outside fans the lack of a competitive atmosphere does kill much of the excitement.
7. Looking onto next season, it'll be interesting to see if parity hits the women's game again. UCONN will be significantly less intimidating without Jefferson/Stewart, but they'll still be a heavy title favorite with a loaded roster. Baylor/SC/ND should all be very competitive, and it'll be interesting to see how teams like Syracuse, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington perform next year. Also, most of the kids from last year's transferpalooza will be playing on their new squads which should create a different landscape for some prominent programs. My bet is this will be the most competitive season since 2011 where there were 5-6 really outstanding championship contending teams. My early money would be on the usual suspects--Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina and potentially Ohio State.
1. First and foremost, a huge congrats to UCONN for thoroughly dominating another season of women's basketball. Despite a couple of "close" calls earlier in the year, UCONN was far and away the best team all season. There were only 2-3 teams that had a fighting chance to make games competitive, and when they did, they had to play near perfect basketball. Tuck had her ups and downs this year but clearly proved herself as one of the very best players in the nation, Stewart was unreal all season, and Jefferson was steady-eddy in the backcourt and quietly makes a strong claim as one of the best point guards ever and may have been this year's team MVP.
2. I rediscovered that I still cannot stand Doris Burke as an announcer. I hate how openly biased she is when she announces.
3. Where does this UCONN team rank in history? Honestly, I'd put them above 2002 if you're comparing head to head. 2002 had a great roster, but this team's ball movement was as good, if not better, than 2002's, and the frontcourt is taller, more versatile and significantly more athletic. The cohesion/chemistry on the court might not be at the same level as 2002 (if it isn't, it's darn near close), but I think head to head there's no question 2016 would stomp on 2002 UCONN. I do think 2014 would give 2016 a run for their money, but this team had 5 starters, all major 3 point threats and all with 2:1 A/TO ratios. I think there are very few teams ever that have had 5 starts with positive A/TO ratios, let alone all with 2:1 ratios. That's nuts.
4. Where does Stewart rank on the all time greats list? She's definitely up there--I think she's a harder one to evaluate compared to the likes of Taurasi/Moore/Holdsclaw/Parker/Griner/Miller/etc. because she's had by far the best teammates of any of the players who can stake an argument for GOAT. Her resume of 4 titles, 3 NPOY awards, going 116-1 over her last 3 years with all wins by 10+ points, her ridiculous all around stats, etc. give her one heck of an argument. On the flip side, you could make a strong argument that every title team she was on could have won a title without her. All of the others listed had seasons (some with multiple seasons) where if they don't play, their team doesn't win a title. Not something to diminish her achievements, but it's something to think about.
4. The run UCONN has had the last 3+ years could easily be the best run we'll ever see in collegiate women's basketball. The crazy thing is, I don't think any women's college basketball fan is all that surprised. When UCONN beat Notre Dame in 2013, I thought it was signed sealed and delivered that UCONN would roll to 3 straight undefeated seasons with the talent they had on board and their coaching staff. It still is honestly more shocking that Stanford pulled off the insane upset than it is that UCONN went a ridiculous 116-1 over the last 3 years with all victories by 10+. This speaks to the fact of how far ahead of everyone else Geno Auriemma and Connecticut is.
5. In regards to the "UCONN is bad for the women's game" arguments--I completely see both sides of it. On the grander sports scheme, UCONN is great for women's basketball. The average 20 something male who knows nothing about basketball will be well versed about UCONN's dominance, and might even want to tune in to see for himself. UCONN's dominance will definitely bring in new fans and attention to the sport, which is great considering the sport is still relatively young and in a growing stage. For fans who already follow women's basketball? It kills a large piece of excitement that the women's game used to have. For the last 3 years, there was little to no doubt that UCONN was going to walk away with the hardware, the only uncertainty was how dominant the victory would be. Compare the last 8 years to the previous 8:
From 2009-2016, there have been 5 blowout title games (4 by UCONN), 2 somewhat competitive games (both UCONN) where the outcome wasn't ever really in doubt after midway through the 2nd half (2015 and 2010), and 1 competitive title game (2011).
From 2001-2008, there were 3 incredibly exciting championship games ( 2001, 2003, 2006), 2 blowout title games (2005, 2008), and 3 competitive but predictable games (2002, 2004, 2007).
From a non-UCONN fan standpoint, the dominance makes seasons completely predictable and less exciting. Even if there is a great Final Four game (ex. 2009 Louisville/OU, 2015 ND/SC), fans know the winner still has virtually 0 chance of knocking off Connecticut. Compare that to previous years or the men's game where there is more parity and if a program wins a Elite 8 or Final Four game, it's a lot more exciting for the fans of that program because they know they do have some shot of winning a title. If Connecticut is stacked, they have no chance no matter how they scheme.
And this isn't a knock on Geno or the program at all. It's truly a compliment to how successful the program is, but for outside fans the lack of a competitive atmosphere does kill much of the excitement.
7. Looking onto next season, it'll be interesting to see if parity hits the women's game again. UCONN will be significantly less intimidating without Jefferson/Stewart, but they'll still be a heavy title favorite with a loaded roster. Baylor/SC/ND should all be very competitive, and it'll be interesting to see how teams like Syracuse, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington perform next year. Also, most of the kids from last year's transferpalooza will be playing on their new squads which should create a different landscape for some prominent programs. My bet is this will be the most competitive season since 2011 where there were 5-6 really outstanding championship contending teams. My early money would be on the usual suspects--Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina and potentially Ohio State.
