Greatest wcbb team of all time?

[alexrgct]

Can we call it? No opponent came within 11 points. Played a great schedule during the regular season AND postseason against very fine teams and dominated. Even made Geno cry! C'mon, this team is the most accomplished, most dominant, and the best we've ever seen

Isn't it?

 

[sarals24]

I loved last year's team, but I love this team more. Obviously the 2000-era Diana ones were amazing, but for some reason Stewie, MoJeff, Stef etc are just....no words.

 

[JellyBean]

They are up there. I just loved the way we played this tournament. Wow. Talk about Heart of a Champion. This team ranks up there with the greats in our history.

 

[Custom Tee's]

Right on!! No better program in the country.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

At least a tie with 2002. Love to see 2009 and this team play each other.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Damn good! Really, really damn good!

The first 6 players are awesome!!

 

[Tenspro2002]

The greatest team of all time never had a shot at a championship. RIP, 2001.

 

[NoelAustin]

This 2014 team has a combination of backcourt savvy and frontcourt dominance that is unmatched in my viewing experience. They have such stifling defence and so many weapons on offence. I would rank them slightly ahead of the 2002 and 2009 UConn teams, as great as they were.

 

[Flyegirl]

I don't know if they were the best but they were and are my favorite! I love their character, they way they represent, share the ball....I have said before that teams were my favorite but this one surpasses them all!

 

[DaddyChoc]

give me Run-TMR (Tina, Maya, Renee)

 

[Vowelguy]

2002

 

[johnnyc]

It'll be fun to talk about that's for sure.

 

[uconnfan68]

Can we call it? No opponent came within 11 points. Played a great schedule during the regular season AND postseason against very fine teams and dominated. Even made Geno cry! C'mon, this team is the most accomplished, most dominant, and the best we've ever seen

Isn't it?

Too hard to compare eras... just enjoy what we have.

 

[sarals24]

They've definitely made their case. I think a lot of what we think about the 2002 team is colored by how well all of them did professionally and internationally. If our starting five have the same type of success we might hold them in the same air...

 

[hoophuskee]

Can we call it? No opponent came within 11 points. Played a great schedule during the regular season AND postseason against very fine teams and dominated. Even made Geno cry! C'mon, this team is the most accomplished, most dominant, and the best we've ever seen

Isn't it?

No. I'd go with 01-02. In the NCAA did 01-02 ever trail?

 

[NoelAustin]

No. I'd go with 01-02. In the NCAA did 01-02 ever trail?

I don't know if the 2002 team trailed in any game. Or how much that should be a benchmark for comparing great teams. I do believe that the 2002 Huskies had one of the less impressive championship game performances of all UConn champions. The reason that DT's back-in on Stacey Dales is a part of UConn lore is that the outcome of the game was still in question with 90 seconds left in regulation.

 

[hoophuskee]

I don't know if the 2002 team trailed in any game. Or how much that should be a benchmark for comparing great teams. I do believe that the 2002 Huskies had one of the less impressive championship game performances of all UConn champions. The reason that DT's back-in on Stacey Dales is a part of UConn lore is that the outcome of the game was still in question with 90 seconds left in regulation.

I disagree.

First off the OP is using a 11 point margin as a barometer. That Baylor game was a lot tighter. If he can use that which I don't believe tells a fully story - I think NCAA games which I used is more telling.

Secondly, trailing in the few games in NCAA i s a barometer of how well you are playing at season's end.

Third the 01-02 team demolition of Teennesse in final four was more impreesive than this team's win vs stanford in final four. Andprobably the elite 8 and S16 01-02 stronger as well.

Fourth, I thoughtOklahoma was the best team we faced in the finals other than maybe stanford. This ND team with Achonwa would have been toughest. Plus this ND team had no decent amount of time to play without her whichich left them very vulnerable. Thus I thought the finals victory vs Oklahoma was awesome because we won in such a differeent way than how 01-02 usually won. I do think this win tonight was among elite awesome though. I believe this can be 2nd best team ever- I'd have to think about that more.

Fifth and a huge factor for me was the play you speak of vs Oklahoma. Geno had said afterwards he could have run that isolation play all night but that isn't how he wants to play. DT was just too big for this current crop of guards of Mo and Bria.

 

[blaqtech]

At least a tie with 2002. Love to see 2009 and this team play each other.

2009 would win......

 

[wire chief]

This team is certainly up there; that said, Tina is #1 in my heart.

 

[alexrgct]

Here's the argument I think you can make for 2014:

• The schedule may have been weakened somewhat by conference play, but the Big East wasn't a powerhouse in 2002 either, was it? Meanwhile, UConn faced every #2 seed (Louisville, Stanford, Duke, Baylor), half the Elite 8 teams, and, ultimately, all of the other three teams in the Final Four. That schedule is pretty intense, but no team came within fewer than 11 points. Even Virginia Tech came within nine of the 2002 team.
• This finale matched up two undefeated teams this season and was as good a matchup as you ever anticipate...and this team still won by 21.
• In fact, the average MOV was 34 points. Has any team ever done that?
• In terms of this year's honors, we have the NPOY, three kids in the WBCA AA team, and the DPOY. Those are some serious accolades, at least on par with those won by the 2002 team.
• The 2002 team featured four of the top six WNBA draft picks, plus Diana. I think this 2014 team will have a number of high picks: Stewie, Stef, Bria, KML, and Mo. And when all was said and done, three of the 2002 team ended up on the Huskies of Honor Wall. All five starters from 2014 will be on the Wall, assuming MoJeff makes one of the First Team AA squads.

In short, whether you're using the "body of work" criterion or the "caliber of talent" criterion, there's at least a case to be made for this past season. In any event, we can thank Geno for two masterpieces, as well as for the work of art that was 2009.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Don't overlook 2010 either. I go with either 09 or 10. Our defense those years was just insane. We had the ability to impose our will with the defense. This year's D is good but not nearly as good as those years.

In terms of talent, I'd say it's a coin flip between 2002 and 2014. But as a team I thought 09 and 10 were a tad better.

 

[Aluminny69]

If you use the WNBA draft as a measurement, the 2014 team will probably not match the 2002 team. Two #1 picks, #3, #5 and #6. Stewart will be a #1 pick, not sure how high the other five will be. We will find out on Monday, but don't think Dolson or Hartley will go higher than #4. But, as always, I could be wrong.

This 2014 Teams accomplishments are diminished slightly by the fact that they played in a relatively weak conference, and that Achonwa was injured right before the big showdown. Certainly, UConn would have fared very well in the ACC or SEC or any other conference, but they didn't have that chance. And they also would have beaten Notre Dame WITH Achonwa, but again, they didn't have that chance either.

Make no mistake, this was a very, very good basketball team. Their willingness and ability to share the ball was a joy to watch. I'm sure Aristotle had this team in mind when he said
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”