Enjoy this

[Rico444]

The last 9 days have been absolutely exhilarating, and we've played our best basketball of the season right at this time you want to. For the next week, remember to take a minute here and there to be present in the moment. These kind of seasons don't come along every year, even for the best of the best teams in sports. Soak this in. Win or lose, this has been about as special a year as we could have asked for. Don't let it pass by without taking it all in and acknowledging that fact.

 

[bluestreak]

Uconn is making it look easy right now. It is not.
When these players got to know each other and started believing in each other, they jelled.
It's a very special thing. I'm sleeping better too.

 

[XLCenterFan]

It’s particularly special considering the state of our program only 6 years ago. I remember being at a game with my brother. I think it was Tulsa or Tulane on a weeknight. There was no one there. Place was completely dead. Any resemblance to a program that could compete nationally was gone. I looked up at the banners and told my brother "it was a fun ride…we will be lucky to ever get another one of those…this program is in shambles."

We've been resurrected. Cooley called us entitled but he was way off. We are hungry. I will never take winning for granted again. DH did it. Pay that man.

 

[Mike9904111]

It’s particularly special considering the state of our program only 6 years ago. I remember being at a game with my brother. I think it was Tulsa or Tulane on a weeknight. There was no one there. Place was completely dead. Any resemblance to a program that could compete nationally was gone. I looked up at the banners and told my brother "it was a fun ride…we will be lucky to ever get another one of those…this program is in shambles."

We've been resurrected. Cooley called us entitled but he was way off. We are hungry. I will never take winning for granted again. DH did it. Pay that man.

The leadership should have never put us in that position for football. Look I love our football program and pull for them, but we came up to the Big East essentially for the money and the Big East conference itself. Then we stayed with the football side of things by staying in the AAC for the money and potential to move up to a Power 5. We are and have always been a BASKETBALL school. Being in the AAC all those years was a mistake. Our football program failed there, and basketball was slowly dying there. Going from the Big East to Tulsa, Tulane, ECU etc... Was TERRIBLE.

It impacted our recruiting. It impacted our fan base. It impacted literally everything about our program.

We're in the right spot now. We have some of our rivalries back. The additions of Creighton, Xavier, Butler were good adds, and its a conference based on basketball.

I am excited to see what the future holds!

 

[ElGreco]

It’s particularly special considering the state of our program only 6 years ago. I remember being at a game with my brother. I think it was Tulsa or Tulane on a weeknight. There was no one there. Place was completely dead. Any resemblance to a program that could compete nationally was gone. I looked up at the banners and told my brother "it was a fun ride…we will be lucky to ever get another one of those…this program is in shambles."

We've been resurrected. Cooley called us entitled but he was way off. We are hungry. I will never take winning for granted again. DH did it. Pay that man.

Could never believe we were actually in the morbid AAC and would ever become nationally relevant again. How things have changed. Credit to our school administrators for making this happen. In Hurley we trust. We are a Blue Blood in the best basketball conference!

 

[XLCenterFan]

Could never believe we were actually in the morbid AAC and would ever become nationally relevant again. How things have changed. Credit to our school administrators for making this happen. In Hurley we trust. We are a Blue Blood in the best basketball conference!

AD Dave heard us. I was among a few people I know that would email him telling him something had to change. We either had to move past KO, get back into the BE, or both. He did both. Look where we are now!

 

[warbler1055]

The last 9 days have been absolutely exhilarating, and we've played our best basketball of the season right at this time you want to. For the next week, remember to take a minute here and there to be present in the moment. These kind of seasons don't come along every year, even for the best of the best teams in sports. Soak this in. Win or lose, this has been about as special a year as we could have asked for. Don't let it pass by without taking it all in and acknowledging that fact.this

Great reminder of no past nor future worries or plans, just live the present! Really sobering thought. Thanks.

 

[OkaForPrez]

The last 9 days have been absolutely exhilarating, and we've played our best basketball of the season right at this time you want to. For the next week, remember to take a minute here and there to be present in the moment. These kind of seasons don't come along every year, even for the best of the best teams in sports. Soak this in. Win or lose, this has been about as special a year as we could have asked for. Don't let it pass by without taking it all in and acknowledging that fact.

Ed?

 

[Rico444]

Ed?

Nelson? Unfortunately not, he's a much better rapper.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Nelson? Unfortunately not, he's a much better rapper.

Cooley.

 

[Scot-e]

 

[Scot-e]

I tried adding text to picture but I’m too tired to work it out right now. Do I look short? I really hope he stays one more year!

 

[VivaLsVgs]

I tried adding text to picture but I’m too tired to work it out right now. Do I look short? I really hope he stays one more year!

Great pic! Did you catch them coming back to Resorts World after the game? I love how Andre has his net clipping tied to his hat. Go Huskies!

 

[Rico444]

View attachment 85958

He might be my all-time favorite player. What a pleasure it's been to watch him play these last three years.

 

[ElGreco]

AD Dave heard us. I was among a few people I know that would email him telling him something had to change. We either had to move past KO, get back into the BE, or both. He did both. Look where we are now!

Apparently it worked! Picked a perfect coach too!!

 

[bluestreak]

View attachment 85958

That's a million dollar picture right there. And yes, he makes you look short.

 

[Palatine]

The leadership should have never put us in that position for football. Look I love our football program and pull for them, but we came up to the Big East essentially for the money and the Big East conference itself. Then we stayed with the football side of things by staying in the AAC for the money and potential to move up to a Power 5. We are and have always been a BASKETBALL school. Being in the AAC all those years was a mistake. Our football program failed there, and basketball was slowly dying there. Going from the Big East to Tulsa, Tulane, ECU etc... Was TERRIBLE.

It impacted our recruiting. It impacted our fan base. It impacted literally everything about our program.

We're in the right spot now. We have some of our rivalries back. The additions of Creighton, Xavier, Butler were good adds, and its a conference based on basketball.

I am excited to see what the future holds!

It wasn't the AAC. It was the LOSING. Everything was fine when we womn a NC and had a top 5 recruiting class class in the AAC. If we start losing now, the same thing will happen.

Answer this question, why couldn't we compete in the AAC while Houston and others were going deep in tourney including final fours? Don't say recruint Ollie had a top five recruiting class in the AAC. Why couldn't we compete in the AAC.

 

[jake14mw]

I agree with the OP's sentiment. I'm just enjoying the ride. It's extremely difficult to win a NC. Heck, it's extremely difficult to make the Final 4! We may not win it this year, but I love being in it every week. I love the anticipation, the actual game, and the aftermath. It's just a fun ride!

 

[Mike9904111]

It wasn't the AAC. It was the LOSING. Everything was fine when we womn a NC and had a top 5 recruiting class class in the AAC. If we start losing now, the same thing will happen.

Answer this question, why couldn't we compete in the AAC while Houston and others were going deep in tourney including final fours? Don't say recruint Ollie had a top five recruiting class in the AAC. Why couldn't we compete in the AAC.

Easy...

1. We didn't have ANY rivalries. Playing Tulsa, Tulane, ECU, SMU, etc... That is/was normal for Houston.
2. Houston, Memphis, UCF, SMU etc... All improved there situations with the AAC, where as ours got worse.
3. Ollie could recruit, he couldn't coach. Sure he "won" a title in 14. Just like Tubby Smith won a title in 96.
4. Regionally we 100% didn't belong.
5. Recruiting was taking a hit. It was dwindling. Very easy to see if you actually look.
6. There was no excitement from the fans. Not just because of losing or having mediocre seasons. We have had double digit loss seasons and still packed the house. It was the competition. Again, no rivalries, no excitement, everything was trending down.
7. Perception was big. We were playing in a conference where getting 2 in was great. In the Big East we get more and the perception is better.

When we initially built it St. Johns, Providence, Marquette, Depaul, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Villanova were supposed to be there. We were going to keep the Big East name. We were still going to have the conference tournament in MSG. When they split and took the Big East name with them we were left with nothing but C-USA promotions. Rutgers went to the B1G. Louisville went to the ACC. When we lost our rivalries, a lot of our recruiting footprint, we lost our identity.

In regards to womens hoops vs mens it is a completely different story. Even until about 6-7 years ago there were only a handful of programs who could actually compete for a women's title consistently. If you wanted to win, you went to one of those schools. We also had the top coach.

We're getting more recruits from the NE. We've gotten out identity back. We're doing well. Also yes, we have to give Coach Hurley his due. He has turned us around!

Year One: 16-17
Year Two: 19-12
Year Three: (First year in Big East) 15-8 (NCAA Tournament)
Year Four: 23-10 (NCAA Tournament)
Year Five: So far 29-8 (Final Four and still playing)

In my opinion, had we joined the Big East and split with the others then. We wouldn't have ever been in as bad of a position as we were. We 100% didn't belong in a conference with Midwest and lower rung southern teams. At least not without the seven other programs mentioned. Xavier, Creighton, and Butler are all improvements over what we were dealing with the AAC as well.

Regarding Houston- They have always had the potential. They were dog crap for 30 years until they hired Sampson. The difference between them and us is that they were still playing the same teams they had been playing since their C-USA days and like I said, they improved their situation with the AAC in general. Big difference in situations.

 

[phillionaire]

maybe the real national championship is the friends we made along the way

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Not to rehash this but:

1 - If we remained at a very high level in men's basketball (KO dropped the ball, kicked it down the road and started walking in the opposite direction) the AAC could have worked out.

2 - As a rebuild, in a conference with limited local exposure and no true rivalries or even local opponents, the job of fixing the program would have been nearly impossible there.

It's over, let's enjoy the next seven days.

 

[ctchamps]

View attachment 85958

I rushed passed this photograph and in that instantaneous moment thought it was Hurley getting a belly and getting shorter!

I guess it's because I was going to create a thread describing the special relationship Andre and Hurley have just before coming to this thread. Really good job @Rico444. Savor every moment of these rare wonderful times Boneyarders. We're not going to change outcomes this weekend by worrying about it. So enjoy this week.

Apologies to you @Scot-e It's only a slight belly btw.

Andre is a special player and a special person. If we make a ranking of players who bleed the UConn bb program Andre would make a strong consideration for number 1 and just behind Kemba's mom for all time fans or players who bleed blue.

Students learn from teachers. Teachers learn from students. Andre and Hurley learn from each other and as a result their growth is exponentially better than it would have been if they had not had the opportunity to cross paths and be in the program together. The interview after beating Gonzaga proves the impact Hurley has on Andre. Harder to prove is my belief that Hurley made changes with his in game behavior towards refs because it was contributing to a negative behavior in Andre. I'm not sure Hurley change otherwise without this special relationship.

I have spoken!

 

[Tex-Lager93]

No question. Many thanks to this team for allowing me the chance to CONTINUE reading every article, listening to all the podcasts, browsing competitive boards, browsing our board, watching the entire replays of the '99, '04, '11 and '14 runs, replaying the highlights of this run, hitting the back button to replay key highlights within the highlights - including watching the same replay over and over again to gauge the different reactions from people in the crowd, searching airfare prices and hotel options, finding unique food options, etc, etc. Thanks for giving me these extra moments, yet again.
[most amazing nugget found so far was while in an El Paso news search...Tristan Newton scored over 3,000 points in HS, that's absurd]

 

[Umami Zen]

No question. Many thanks to this team for allowing me the chance to CONTINUE reading every article, listening to all the podcasts, browsing competitive boards, browsing our board, watching the entire replays of the '99, '04, '11 and '14 runs, replaying the highlights of this run, hitting the back button to replay key highlights within the highlights - including watching the same replay over and over again to gauge the different reactions from people in the crowd, searching airfare prices and hotel options, finding unique food options, etc, etc. Thanks for giving me these extra moments, yet again.
[most amazing nugget found so far was while in an El Paso news search...Tristan Newton scored over 3,000 points in HS, that's absurd]

IIRC..TN averaged 37 pts/game as a senior

 

[businesslawyer]

Easy...

1. We didn't have ANY rivalries. Playing Tulsa, Tulane, ECU, SMU, etc... That is/was normal for Houston.
2. Houston, Memphis, UCF, SMU etc... All improved there situations with the AAC, where as ours got worse.
3. Ollie could recruit, he couldn't coach. Sure he "won" a title in 14. Just like Tubby Smith won a title in 96.
4. Regionally we 100% didn't belong.
5. Recruiting was taking a hit. It was dwindling. Very easy to see if you actually look.
6. There was no excitement from the fans. Not just because of losing or having mediocre seasons. We have had double digit loss seasons and still packed the house. It was the competition. Again, no rivalries, no excitement, everything was trending down.
7. Perception was big. We were playing in a conference where getting 2 in was great. In the Big East we get more and the perception is better.

When we initially built it St. Johns, Providence, Marquette, Depaul, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Villanova were supposed to be there. We were going to keep the Big East name. We were still going to have the conference tournament in MSG. When they split and took the Big East name with them we were left with nothing but C-USA promotions. Rutgers went to the B1G. Louisville went to the ACC. When we lost our rivalries, a lot of our recruiting footprint, we lost our identity.

In regards to womens hoops vs mens it is a completely different story. Even until about 6-7 years ago there were only a handful of programs who could actually compete for a women's title consistently. If you wanted to win, you went to one of those schools. We also had the top coach.

We're getting more recruits from the NE. We've gotten out identity back. We're doing well. Also yes, we have to give Coach Hurley his due. He has turned us around!

Year One: 16-17
Year Two: 19-12
Year Three: (First year in Big East) 15-8 (NCAA Tournament)
Year Four: 23-10 (NCAA Tournament)
Year Five: So far 29-8 (Final Four and still playing)

In my opinion, had we joined the Big East and split with the others then. We wouldn't have ever been in as bad of a position as we were. We 100% didn't belong in a conference with Midwest and lower rung southern teams. At least not without the seven other programs mentioned. Xavier, Creighton, and Butler are all improvements over what we were dealing with the AAC as well.

Regarding Houston- They have always had the potential. They were dog crap for 30 years until they hired Sampson. The difference between them and us is that they were still playing the same teams they had been playing since their C-USA days and like I said, they improved their situation with the AAC in general. Big difference in situations.

Look, as someone who supported staying with the remaining Big East conference for football purposes when the basketball schools left, there is no question that from the perspective only of basketball, staying in the all purpose conference was a negative. I doubt many would argue with that. But that isn't the real reason we fell off the cliff. KO was the main reason we fell off the cliff, and the thought that if we stayed in the Big East he would have developed players better, or worked harder at recruiting after the one big class, or otherwise have been a better coach is pretty silly, don't you think?