ESPN: Is the UConn Dynasty Dead or on the Verge of a Resurgence?

[Cornell Lt]

I don't know if the dynasty is finished, but a few impressive streaks were broken this year.

 

[bovwa10]

I just think that the talent pool is so much deeper now than even 10 years ago that no team is ever gonna have the continued success that UConn has had for 20+ years now

 

[Bald Husky]

Don't worry, next year we will be back and knock the crap out of everybody.

 

[fomalhaut]

Don't worry, next year we will be back and knock the crap out of everybody.

Unfortunately, that's what everyone said at the end of last season.

 

[Dezoworld]

I just knew with all our snapped streaks this year a run to the final 4 wasn't a good chance we continued

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Boston isn't coming back. She will be the No 1 pick this year. Next year she is 2 at best. SCar has 6 sen/grads leaving. Maybe 2 will make an opening day roster. The team they leave behind will be a pile of question marks. Can Cardoso stay on the court for 30 min without fouling out? Can Johnson recover from her ACL enough to play long minutes? Who will be able to defend with Saxton and Beale gone?


A healthy UConn will dominate wcbb next year. People will seriously ask if they could win against a W team. Bueckers and Fudd are at a pro level already and Edwards will be next year. Get your tickets early.

She might; when she changed the color of her braids to garnet, before the tournament, she said that was relevant to an announcement after the season. I still doubt the likely #1 pick would come back. It would be ironic for me, personally, because I'm going to be in NYC in May, partially to see the Fever play at the Liberty. Even if Aliyah comes back, Destanni Henderson still plays for the Fever. I also love games at Barclays and MSG.

 

[Longtime fan]

These articles are foolish. We were National Runner-ups last year. Terrible. Our dynasty has dimmed? What does that even mean? Total invention of the writer, so they can write something negative about our program.
How many other coaches/teams wish they were "stuck" on 11 National Championships?

I know you are angry , but it is not unrealistic to pose the question: is the dynasty of UCONN women basketball at an end? True, we made it to the finals just last year. But we were not competitive in the final game. This year, we have gone out in the round of sixteen, ending our extraordinary streak of multiple final four appearances. We used to regularly attract the HS player of the year. Now, not so much. For this year's team to be as competitive as it was, we required four internationally-sourced players. Next year, we have signed two fine guards and a wing ( of relatively little renown). But this is not like signing Paige or Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Katy Samuelson or KML, etc. And our coach is far closer to the end of his career than to the beginning. In addition, he has had back to back brutal seasons both personally and physically. Some would say they notice a drop off in energy and creativity in the guidance the team has been provided. This is all to say, we are no longer what we once were. It is difficult to argue that we are ascending rather than the opposite. No one fears UCONN anymore. And we aren't surprising and/or upsetting higher ranked teams, as we used to do. It does remind me of the road UCLA men's BB has traveled since the "Wizard of Westwood" stepped down. The team remains competitive, and fun to watch, but national championships are the one's in the trophy case from way back when. I think UCONN women's basketball has peaked, and is now sliding down the grade. What did we expect, really? You cannot sustain what UCONN once achieved. No one can. None of us want to let go. But the world ( of women's basketball) has caught up and, to some extent, passed us by. See you next year.

 

[HuskyNan]

It's Voepel, what do you expect. As time has gone by, his negativity on our program has intensified.

What makes me mad: Not a word about how much talent our roster has for the next 2-3 years. We aren't going anywhere.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Those streaks won’t happen again in men’s or women’s basketball. Those two plus the 111 game streak are honestly more impressive than 11 NCs.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

I hope everyone counts us out, and next year when we are healthy.... well I hope we are healthy.... I hope everyone has to eat crow because this team will put the game out of reach of outside forces like the refs and will win it in landslide fashion like we used to. Next year.... pray we are healthy.

 

[Littlemin]

If dynasty means winning 11 rings in 21 years or whatever the math is, yes, it is dead IMO, just too much parity. If it means Uconn stays in the mix year after year for championships, no, it is very much alive.

 

[Nolefan]

We have all the talent if we can stay healthy I’m just hoping Geno changes his style of play a little bit because against really physical teams if we don’t shoot we struggle .. We need folks to take it to the rim and bang the boards and not all this finesse stuff imo

 

[Performance]

14 straight final fours and the dynasty may be dead? I just don't understand. There isn't one other team even close!

ESPN home of the UCONN haters, you wouldn't know they are based in Connecticut.

 

[Longtime fan]

ESPN home of the UCONN haters, you wouldn't know they are based in Connecticut.

Dead is not the word, but " over" might be. No one will ever do what UCONN once did. There are too many girls playing basketball now ( I use "girls" to mean 6,7 and 8 years olds ). and the popularity of the sport is no longer limited to a few areas of the USA. It is everywhere. ( UCONN women just this year have players from Croatia, France, Canada, Portugal and Egypt ). So the talent base has exploded, and the appeal ( "come play at a fine US university......get an education and maybe earn money" in the process )has broadened. More schools will have more great players. For those of you paying attention, there is a guard on Va, Tech who once played "Australian Rules Football, " and the BB player she remind me of is Paige. She does everything well, is tough as nails, and puts the team on her back. Taking a realistic view about where UCONN ( women ) currently sits in the competitive cycle, does not constitute a UCONN hater. We continue to love the Lady Huskies, but we are moving away from the assumption that " we either win the national championship, or consider the season a failure." From now on, we have to see who shows up healthy and ready to play, and enjoy how they perform against that day's opponent. We have already learned how easily any and all expectations can be dashed due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

[Alydar]

She might; when she changed the color of her braids to garnet, before the tournament, she said that was relevant to an announcement after the season. I still doubt the likely #1 pick would come back. It would be ironic for me, personally, because I'm going to be in NYC in May, partially to see the Fever play at the Liberty. Even if Aliyah comes back, Destanni Henderson still plays for the Fever. I also love games at Barclays and MSG.

Bird and Taurasi both said tonight that with NIL available players should stay in college as long as they can.
Sorry about your loss tonight. It's difficult to repeat. Iowa just outscored you. Ironic that the game was iced when Iowa got that last offensive rebound and a second chance.

On to next year. I pay little attention to the W. I'll pat more after Bueckers and Fudd get there.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Why not ask the question about South Carolina

 

[Alydar]

Why not ask the question about South Carolina

Exactly. ESPN has promoted the new Gamecock Dynasty now for weeks. Will tomorrows FF headline read: "Dawn's Dynasty Dies in Dallas"?

 

[willtalk]

Can not pose the question at all, because South Carolina never had a Dynasty.

 

[fomalhaut]

We saw tonight how hard it is to go undefeated even once: South Carolina walked the tightrope at least twice already this year, and finally fell off tonight. Possibly Connecticut's most unbelievable stat is winning six undefeated national championships, when the rest of Division 1 has three total.

 

[MSGRET]

We saw tonight how hard it is to go undefeated even once: South Carolina walked the tightrope at least twice already this year, and finally fell off tonight. Possibly Connecticut's most unbelievable stat is winning six undefeated national championships, when the rest of Division 1 has three total.

Hopefully they can make SEVEN next year with their 12th National Championship. I hope that the injury bug passes the Huskies next season so that they can show how good this team can be with everyone available to participate for a whole season.

 

[Longtime fan]

Hopefully they can make SEVEN next year with their 12th National Championship. I hope that the injury bug passes the Huskies next season so that they can show how good this team can be with everyone available to participate for a whole season.

If that is the only thing that will make you happy, I hope you get lucky. But we saw this year, how easily hopes are dashed and trashed due to injury. You ( we) have no idea how Paige will perform next year. Or even if she will be healthy. Same holds true for every player. ND would have gone much further had they not lost their star point guard just before the tournament started. Without Boston, SC would not have been in the final. And we need not even contemplate how Iowa's year would have been without Caitlin. So, project away. But beware.

 

[Longtime fan]

We saw tonight how hard it is to go undefeated even once: South Carolina walked the tightrope at least twice already this year, and finally fell off tonight. Possibly Connecticut's most unbelievable stat is winning six undefeated national championships, when the rest of Division 1 has three total.

It is far harder to do this now than it was when UCONN did it. Many teams are much better. Iowa had to play the game of their life to edge out South Carolina, and that game could have gone either way.

 

[maple]

It is far harder to do this now than it was when UCONN did it. Many teams are much better. Iowa had to play the game of their life to edge out South Carolina, and that game could have gone either way.

As if UConn won all their perfect seasons against a bunch of scrubs! Let us not forget that, for example, they had to beat the reigning heavyweights Lady Vols TWICE in '94-95 to win it all. And their other seasons weren't strolls in the park. And you can beat every single team playing those UConn teams was giving it their all, since everyone wants to be the team to kill a perfect season.

But the fact is, the hardest opponent you will ever face is yourself. The more you win and the longer you go undefeated, the easier it is to have a mental slip-up.