Favorite UConn team ever?

[UConn Hoops1]

Either this year or the Dream Team. I think this one carries the day. I think people knew the Dream Team would be good, they just hadn't factored in Henefeld. This year's team, with nothing to play for and a new coach, is completely unexpected. And they play the way I want my kid to play.

1999 and 2004 were actually exhausting seasons. While I like winning it all, it is more fun to be the underdog than the favorite. 1999 and 2004 weren't really fun until after the season was over.

Gotta go with a range of dates. 2000-2002. One reason.............James Caron Butler. There are two players in my two favorite sports(soccer and college hoops) who just lit up the venue no matter where they played. They both had the extreme opposite qualities of swagger and humility that set them apart; and always had you waiting for the next spectacular thing that they were going to do...the next rabbit that they were going to pull out of their hat. They could, quite literally, drag a team along with them...raise everybody's level of play. One was Caron and the other was Eric Cantona (Manchester United). They ALWAYS made the game worth watching.

GO HUSKIES!!! BEAT THE HOYAS!!!

 

[RoderickSpode]

1998-99.

It's really no contest for me. A little background: I was 6 years old during the Dream Season and didn't understand the game at all, so I knew who Tate and Smith and Nadav were, even got to meet Tate on draft night, but most of my knowledge of that season came from obsessively watching my dad's copy of the Huskymania VHS during the offseason after I got into the Huskies in 1994-95 (I can play back Joe D's call of "The Shot" in my head whenever I like)

So I was very fortunate to grow up down the road from UConn as the Huskies made their ascent. I was in Greensboro with my parents when Rip won it at the buzzer over that German giant, and nearly committed suicide when I heard Rip broke his foot over the summer - luckily it turned out to be no big deal.

So for 1998-99 I was a high school freshman, and, after all our near misses in the tourney, about as racked with sports anxiety as one can be at that tender age. Still, I emphatically stated all year that we could beat Duke, and developed a healthy disdain for Dickie V and the rest of the sheep in sports media. So many memories stand out that year, from the obvious like Khalid at Pitt, to the crazy split we had with Miami, to Kevin Freeman talking about Duke being a big Cyclops whose eye required surgical removal.

The personalities, the style of play, the feeling of it being your first time at the big show -- I just love that team.

 

[RichZ]

Over time it has changed and changed back again for me, among the first two championships and Caron's final season. But '10-'11 has solidly taken the lead in my mind. Never lost a 'one-and-done' game. 14 and 0 when there was a trophy on the line. And of course that involved the 11 game stretch of single elimination game victories that stands alone in the college b-ball world and will never be repeated. The emotion just kept building with every tip-off. I can remember telling my wife in the minutes following the Pitt game that this team was going to win it all, and when they did, this would go down as the best single season in UConn history. Nothing's changed since then.

 

[Palatine]

For style of play no one beats that 1996 team.

They are the only team in NCAA history to score over 90 points in every game leading up to the loss in the regional final. They scored 90+ in all four games (including the lost to UCLA).

 

[CTMike]

After tonight's game, I may need to reconsider my decision to not give the nod to this years team...

 

[uconndoit]

I'd like to distinguish between favorite seasons and favorite teams.

My favorite seasons were:
1999 - couldn't believe it happened. I had just moved to Portugal and was following the team very closely via Internet and teletext on TV. The NC game finished at around 4am and I was pacing my apartment listening on tinny speakers on my laptop via dialup connection (paying who knows how much per minute). When they won i opened the window and screamed out across Parque Eduardo VII and the Marques de Pombal roundabout. Just special.
1990 - my first year at UConn. The buzz got me hooked and was the first season I had followed any sport.

Teams:
1999 - they were a bunch of talented and not-so-talented guys who seemed more hungry than other teams littered with a few players who gave off an air of being entitled. These players were playing for the team.
2012-13 - this team gets docked unfairly in my list for having no possibility of real glory. But this team is a favorite because they have so much heart and are overachieving just based on raw will. His team also seems like the perfect transition. A clean break with the past with all the transfers of players who maybe don't have the passion and heart to fit with the future - the Ollie era. Very romantic (in the literal sense).

 

[Dooley]

Either this year or the Dream Team. I think this one carries the day. I think people knew the Dream Team would be good, they just hadn't factored in Henefeld. This year's team, with nothing to play for and a new coach, is completely unexpected. And they play the way I want my kid to play.

1999 and 2004 were actually exhausting seasons. While I like winning it all, it is more fun to be the underdog than the favorite. 1999 and 2004 weren't really fun until after the season was over.

Excellent question. I think this years team is my favorite team ever. Need proof? After last nights game was over, instead of sulking about a loss, the first thing I said (and still say) was "God, I love this team". The effort and energy that this team plays with on a nightly basis is astounding. It really is a shame that the crooked NCAA and defunct Big East Conference has decided to ban this team from postseason play. To me, this team epitomizes the college athlete and why I love watching college (read: UConn) sports.

 

[Adios]

I have to go with championship squads, since the point of playing the game is winning it all.

1) 1998-99 - our first championship.
2) 2010-11 - our surprise while feeling down championship.
3) 2003-04 - established our place amongst the big boys.

 

[ktuck911]

Gotta go with my UCONN era - '89-'90 squad... Campus was bonkers that season... close 2nd is the '99 Nat'l Championship squad...

 

[ShockedTheWorld]

I gotta go 04 and OKAFOR!

BUT I love em all even tho they make me brake stuff sometimes!!!

Man that team was maddening during the regular season at times- and the first 36 minutes of the Big East Championship game. But the basketball they played throughout the tournament was something else.

I am going to have to go with 2011. We haven't really had a team with no expectations just jump onto the scene like that in 20 years. That 11 game run to end the season was probably the most fun I've ever had as a fan.

 

[SubbaBub]

I liked the 1995 team that lost to UCLA in the elite 8. Had that game been played anywhere outside the state of California, UConn would have had its first championship then.

95 isn't getting enough love. That team had the look of a national champ and a bunch of guys who epitomized what a JC team was about. I have yet to see a team run the break better than this one.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Excalibur]

I gotta go 1999 as my favorite team. The 1990 season was incredibly fun and unbelievable. At the end we all kind of realized that Calhoun was right and Dare to Dream didn't just mean we could compete with the big boys, but that we could win. If they had made the final four it might be slightly different.

So to me nothing compares to the first time you win it all and the fact that the team had a lot of 'we are the best but nobody else knows or believes it' made it all the more fun to beat the supposed super-team and hated Dookies.

That's kind of how I feel. 98-99 and 89-90 are 1 and 1A for me. The dream season was incredible, and I remember running around the house like a madman when Tate hit The Shot, but for us to win against what everybody thought was the best team since UNLV 1990, and for me to be courtside when it happened, can't ever be topped.

Next behind those two are the 2002 team, who came together after an awful loss on the shoulders of one of my favorite players, and the 2011 team.

 

[gampelcrazies]

2010-2011 for life

 

[Tenspro2002]

I think we give a lot of love to 2010-11 because it was recent and it was unexpected. But my goodness, there was a stretch of games where they were absolutely brutal on offense -- Kemba would shoot like 7-25 and nobody else would do anything.

We were looking like a 6/7 seed and an early-round flameout heading into the BET. Then we got our groove back.

The 2006 team is villainized because they should have done so much more, but they only lost 2 games in the regular season! They looked uninspired at times, but for the most part got the job done. If Denham hits that step-back 3, this team immediately vaults into the top 5, possibly higher.

 

[Husky]

I have a soft spot for the Cinderella teams, but every fan needs a team like the 2004 huskies to reflect on. when you're feeling down, watch highlights of them basically pillaging all opponents

 

[joober jones]

1. 2005-2006: Up until the George Mason loss, it was the most exciting season of UConn basketball I've ever watched

2. 2010-2011: Needs no explanation

3. 1998-1999: You'll never forget your first NC

4. 1993-94: I didn't live in CT until late '92 so this was my first time actively watching a UConn team making a post-season run

5. 2012-2013: Nothing to play for but pride and they never give up.

 

[Durks07]

1) 98-99: I was 10 and it was the first Uconn year I actually remember anything from. I probably remember "We shocked the world" and the camera cutting to Gampel (and the thousands of people screaming and celebrating in the dark) more vividly than anything else from that part of my life.

2) 10-11: As much for the redemption year as anything else. Throughout my four years at Uconn, we never beat Pitt, G'Town, or won a game in the BET. All three taken care of in one season. It was incredible. Watching Kemba cash the game winner over McGee's broken ankles goes into the pantheon of great singular Uconn moments. I have never loved watching a team more than them.

3) 03-04: How that team didn't get a #1 seed that year is still incredible to me. Only one game in the tournament was decided by less than nine points.

4) 08-09: If that game is played outside of Michigan and Dyson didn't get hurt...I still wonder.

5) 05-06: I hated every minute of watching that team play in March (save for Rashard vs. Washington).

 

[Gurleyman]

.

3) 03-04: How that team didn't get a #1 seed that year is still incredible to me. Only one game in the tournament was decided by less than nine points.).

The one that was nine points deserves an asterisk, too. Georgia Tech hit something like six threes in a row in the last three minutes to move that score from 20+ down to nine.

 

[Gurleyman]

In terms of the fun of the whole season, as it was happening, I'd rank them:

1) 1989-90. If you didn't live it, you can't understand. Magic carpet ride for months.
2) 2010-11. Yes, the dry spell in Feb sorta sucked, but the start and the finish were just so so good. Out of nowhere good. Even going through the bumps was somewhat easy to handle, with a team that young.
3) 1997-98. Same cast of characters as the NC year right after, but without the crushing burden of expectations. Could enjoy it more.
4) 2001-02. That team started slow, had a "wow" win at Arizona, stumbled, then won 12 straight. Watching Caron, Ben and Emeka grow up before our eyes was very enjoyable.
5) 1993-94. Most talented team we ever had, just a bit too young when the pressure was on. A lot of fun to watch though.

The one common theme to all those seasons? We were in the NIT the year before - it made the highs a little higher and the lows a little easier to take since we were clearly making progress and much better than we were the year before. This year would bump 93-94 off the list, but the cloud of no postseason has made it tougher to enjoy it as much. We're not building toward the end game.

As it was happening, 1998-99 was a grind. The "no Final Four" tag was a grand piano on our backs and the feeling was we HAD to do it that year. Even a great win at SJU was offset by the injuries right after. We stressed ourselves out over Marathon Oil. Gonzaga was the worst sporting event of my life as it was happening.

My looking back in hindsight list would be:

1998-99 (that team was just constructed perfectly, national championship game is in a battle with USA-USSR for greatest sporting event in the history of the planet, and the USA still had to beat Finland)
2010-11 (wow - just wow. How #%%^ did we do that???)
2003-04 (regular season was uneven, but that postseason was awesome - blew out 7 teams and ripped the heart out of our two biggest rivals at the time with torturous comebacks)
1989-90 (will never be duplicated, without sucking for 10 straight years in a new conference first)
2001-02 (12 straight wins and best NCAA loss we ever had, in terms of lack of broken furniture immediately after)

 

[huskyharry]

I absolutely LOVE this team...they are ##2 to the 89-90 dream team in my book!
Cardiac Kemba's 2011 team is a strong third

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I'm not sure which team is my favorite, the Dream Season probably gets the nod, but I can say that after the Red Sox came back from 0-3 in the '04 ALCS and then swept St. Louis in the World Series, I thought I'd never have a more enjoyable, exciting two weeks as a sports fan, but then Kemba and company blew that out of the water in 2011. That Big East tournament run will not be topped, and as soon as they beat Louisville I had a bizarre certainty that they were destined to win the whole thing. Once they beat Arizona I had zero doubt that they were going to do it. Just a crazy couple weeks - never more fun to be a UConn fan.

 

[Dogdeacon]

In terms of the fun of the whole season, as it was happening, I'd rank them:

1) 1989-90. If you didn't live it, you can't understand. Magic carpet ride for months.
The one common theme to all those seasons? We were in the NIT the year before - it made the highs a little higher and the lows a little easier to take since we were clearly making progress and much better than we were the year before. This year would bump 93-94 off the list, but the cloud of no postseason has made it tougher to enjoy it as much. We're not building toward the end game.

As it was happening, 1998-99 was a grind. The "no Final Four" tag was a grand piano on our backs and the feeling was we HAD to do it that year. Even a great win at SJU was offset by the injuries right after. We stressed ourselves out over Marathon Oil. Gonzaga was the worst sporting event of my life as it was happening.
)

Interesting perspective on the in-season enjoyment. In some respects its hard for me to even remember what it was like to be amazed that the HCC was even sold out or loud and that we were winning games. So I can remember what it felt like during a few of these moments such as the Georgetown game (even though I was there re-watched on TV that night and love remembering the announcer its 14-0,its 16-0, ITS 18-0) and later I vividly remember ordering multiple 'trays of pizza' and inumerous pitchers of beer at the old Civic Pub and being absolutely ecstatic over trouncing vastly inferior BU & California teams in Hartford during opening round of NCAA's.

So in retrospect, it is easier to say that season wasn't as good, but game for game and moment for moment you are probably right that for any long-time Husky fan that almost has to be the most fun season.

 

[SouthTampaBill]

Nice hearing from guys who have some history from 1980 and earlier and realized how small time Yankee Conference UConn was and what they became.

Also nice hearing from guys who were 10 when they first were a big fan. Really?

Pre-puberty fans? Good perspective

 

[caw]

Nice hearing from guys who have some history from 1980 and earlier and realized how small time Yankee Conference UConn was and what they became.

Also nice hearing from guys who were 10 when they first were a big fan. Really?

Pre-puberty fans? Good perspective

So, you weren't a fan of any team (pro or college) when you were ten? You don't hold any fond memories of any of those teams?

 

[Excalibur]

So, you weren't a fan of any team (pro or college) when you were ten? You don't hold any fond memories of any of those teams?

Well, at that time, they didn't have televisions, radios, automobiles, or state universities . . .

Bill is 6'6", 250, 125 of which is his scooter.

 

[Excalibur]

It's wrong to refer to the '98-99 season as a grind. '04 was a grind. '06 was a grind. Those teams had long stretches where they played poorly. '99 had a few minor setbacks, but that season was filled with great moments.

 

[Kitaman]

I said it the other day and I'll say it again this very team is my favorite. They remind me of the Chris Smith teams bringing excitement and a renaissance of sorts to UConn basketball. Any recruit can look at the school and see something is changing and the future is bright.

This team has no superstars like the above mentioned team, marginal talent, they had a ton of defections, they have a brand spanking new coach who replaced a legend, they are a true donut, there are no seniors on this squad, and they are small as hell. That's what Ollie is working with and they are near 20 games in wins, play hard as hell, and never give up.

We have beaten some damn good teams. So no they have not won a Championship or a BE title but what they have is a heart of a Champion and clearly play UConn basketball. I will say this team can match the heart of any and every previous UConn team, all they lack is talent. So yes this team is my favorite and if they all stay together will be almost everyone's favorite next year.

 

[jdb50]

Winning the Big East tournament for the first time during the Dream season was really the stunner. After so many years of no success in those games we put it all together and beat some very good teams under the bright lights. We were pretenders until we knocked them all down in a row.