Hawkins - The couple 3s he took didnt fall but he legit looked like an NBA athlete out there

[Waquoit]

So...KenPom had been the metric being used by everyone in this discussion. You silently decide to use Sagarin to make the home slate look just as bad as this year's, and then when I point out you were wrong you're annoyed and say the numbers don't really matter?

Again, the specific numbers aren't the point, necessarily. But for an overall comparison of the schedule of this year's and ones in the past, it seems odd to pop in, make a snarky comment based on different data, and then get annoyed when someone points out that you are using whatever numbers might fit your argument and then obscuring that.

I was annoyed when incorrectly pointed out I was wrong because in your end-of-season numbers 1 of 5 teams I cited wasn't 300 it was 277. That just seemed like complete chickens hit.

I didn't "silently decide" to use anything. In 2006, Sagarin was the readily available rating published very week in USA Today. I followed it real time and I was using those real time facts from memory. UConn played 5 teams that were over 300 when they played. Fact.

And I didn't say the numbers didn't matter, that's a lie. I said "is 277 that much different than 300?" You really think the ratings have that much precision down near the bottom? I gave an example of a loaded squad that had the worst SOS (Sagarin) in the country on December 31. That team ended up being the biggest underachievers in program history which I used as a counter to the other example showing a weak sched leading to a FF team. When did you turn into one of them, tzz?

 

[Get a Job]

And the talent/experience of 1-2-3 in 2014 surpasses 1-2-3 now.

It's a guards' game, and our guards are good, but not nearly up to Bazz-Boat caliber.

It's a shooters' game, and none of our players can shoot as well—and consistently—as Giffey-Bazz-Boat-Daniels.

On top of all that, let's not overlook the fact that it was a god damn miracle UConn won that year. We were not the best team, or even close to it. So even if one could make a watertight case that this year's team is better than the 2014 team, one would still have a long way to go to make a compelling case that they have a double-digit probability of winning it all.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

On top of all that, let's not overlook the fact that it was a god damn miracle UConn won that year. We were not the best team, or even close to it. So even if one could make a watertight case that this year's team is better than the 2014 team, one would still have a long way to go to make a compelling case that they have a double-digit probability of winning it all.

We had the best player in the country in 2014 though

 

[jibsey]

And the talent/experience of 1-2-3 in 2014 surpasses 1-2-3 now.

It's a guards' game, and our guards are good, but not nearly up to Bazz-Boat caliber.

It's a shooters' game, and none of our players can shoot as well—and consistently—as Giffey-Bazz-Boat-Daniels.

Correct but… let’s envision Hawkins being a great shooter for a second, now Cole and Gaffney get even better good looks and they are already good shooters. It elevates everything for us. We’ll know soon enough. But you’re right about Bazz and Boat one of my favorite combinations ever to play for UCONN.

 

[Get a Job]

We had the best player in the country in 2014 though

Post/handle

 

[superjohn]

"We" was the 2014 team that was underseeded at 7, had multiple key players who not only had been to the NCAAs before, but had won a title. It had a first team AA and perimeter defense that slowed down quality opponents in ways that neither Cole nor Gaffney has shown they can do.

That team is light-years different from this one. And there's no overlap, not even on the bench. What happened in 2014 is irrelevant.

Shabazz is clearly better than anyone on this team, he was the best player in the country by the end of the season but this team is clearly more athletic, bigger and has more NBA talent on the roster.

 

[mussels]

We’ve got like five iron cage death matches in a feel good thread about our new freshman. Impressive even by boneyard standards.

 

[jibsey]

Shabazz is clearly better than anyone on this team, he was the best player in the country by the end of the season but this team is clearly more athletic, bigger and has more NBA talent on the roster.

We don't have a player with his control and swagger in the pg position but Cole is good and I'm happy with him and Gaffney.

 

[imno1]

On top of all that, let's not overlook the fact that it was a god damn miracle UConn won that year. We were not the best team, or even close to it. So even if one could make a watertight case that this year's team is better than the 2014 team, one would still have a long way to go to make a compelling case that they have a double-digit probability of winning it all.

We were playing the best ball in the country at that time. So by season's end we were the best team.

 

[Get a Job]

We were playing the best ball in the country at that time. So by season's end we were the best team.

If you define the "best team" as the team that wins the championship, I cannot argue that UConn wasn't the best team. I think that definition is asinine, however. The NCAA tournament winner is a fluke. Sure, the best team has a better chance to win it than any other team, but if you give me the field vs. the best team in a given year, I'm taking the field every time.

I think a better definition of "best team" is a team that would have the best record in a hypothetical tournament in which every team plays every other team a few times each. Of course, there is a hopelessness to that definition because of how unrealistic the hypothetical is, but are there really any reasonable people who would argue that UConn was the best team at the end of that season based on my proposed definition? Reasonable people can probably disagree where any of the top 10-15 teams from that year might land, but I contend that no one would put UConn at number 1.

 

[tzznandrew]

Shabazz is clearly better than anyone on this team, he was the best player in the country by the end of the season but this team is clearly more athletic, bigger and has more NBA talent on the roster.

But the NBA talent (Hawkins, Jackson) is young and inexperienced.

 

[tzznandrew]

I was annoyed when incorrectly pointed out I was wrong because in your end-of-season numbers 1 of 5 teams I cited wasn't 300 it was 277. That just seemed like complete chickens hit.

I didn't "silently decide" to use anything. In 2006, Sagarin was the readily available rating published very week in USA Today. I followed it real time and I was using those real time facts from memory. UConn played 5 teams that were over 300 when they played. Fact.

And I didn't say the numbers didn't matter, that's a lie. I said "is 277 that much different than 300?" You really think the ratings have that much precision down near the bottom? I gave an example of a loaded squad that had the worst SOS (Sagarin) in the country on December 31. That team ended up being the biggest underachievers in program history which I used as a counter to the other example showing a weak sched leading to a FF team. When did you turn into one of them, tzz?

Are we on the same side on this? I thought you were using the data to show how meaningless the home slate SOS is...

 

[Rocktheworld]

He certainly looks the part

Noticed he has some kind of what I’ll call “happy hips” when he’s guarding someone on the perimeter, looking like he’s Dak Prescott doing his pregame rotation warmups lol but it struck me as him kind of overcommitting each direction his opponent would start showing; gonna want to clean that up if he’s going to defend NBA players. But that’s easy to fix; just an observation

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Silky smooth from Hawk. Kids gonna be a PROBLEM.

 

[CL82]

We were not the best team, or even close to it.

The trophy they got at the end of the year would seem to say otherwise.

 

[dennismenace]

Our most talented players are young and very young and one is coming back from a severe injury. No telling how far they can go but so far they show real desire. I love the no quit attitude on D and crashing the boards. They are going to be fun to watch and root for.

 

[Waquoit]

On top of all that, let's not overlook the fact that it was a god damn miracle UConn won that year. We were not the best team, or even close to it.

How do you figure? In their bracket they beat the 2, 4 and 5 seeds. They beat Sparty, the team that everybody picked to win. They beat the end-of-season number 1 team twice. In the biggest game, they never trailed. They had the best player in the country. No team ever shot FT's like them. They were the best team that year, or close to it.

 

[superjohn]

How do you figure? In their bracket they beat the 2, 4 and 5 seeds. They beat Sparty, the team that everybody picked to win. They beat the end-of-season number 1 team twice. In the biggest game, they never trailed. They had the best player in the country. No team ever shot FT's like them. They were the best team that year, or close to it.

It's pretty hard to argue against UConn being the best team in the nation by the end of the season that year. I remember going into the title game against Kentucmy thinking we already won the championship. Don't think I ever felt that way before a title before. Felt that team could've played another 6 and won them all.

 

[Get a Job]

How do you figure? In their bracket they beat the 2, 4 and 5 seeds. They beat Sparty, the team that everybody picked to win. They beat the end-of-season number 1 team twice. In the biggest game, they never trailed. They had the best player in the country. No team ever shot FT's like them. They were the best team that year, or close to it.

See post #135.

 

[Umami Zen]

See post #135.

Champions are winners. Champions played better than anyone else. Champions are the best team in that particular competition. Have heard it said that "The best team won".. Have rarely heard it said "the best team lost." Occasionally the best team also possesses the best player in that particular competition.

 

[Waquoit]

See post #135.

Huh? All you do repost your weak take adding that "reasonable" people agree with you. We beat the #1 team twice that year. We took out all top comers in convincing fashion. I'll accept that it wasn't the strongest year of CBB but at the end of the year when it mattered, they were the best team not "10-15".

 

[Get a Job]

Huh? All you do repost your weak take adding that "reasonable" people agree with you. We beat the #1 team twice that year. We took out all top comers in convincing fashion. I'll accept that it wasn't the strongest year of CBB but at the end of the year when it mattered, they were the best team not "10-15".

You asked how I figured. My aforementioned post answered that question as well as I can. You don't agree. It's OK.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Definitely, looks like Ray Ray out. He’s exciting to watch. Is it Wednesday yet?!

 

[Umami Zen]

You asked how I figured. My aforementioned post answered that question as well as I can. You don't agree. It's OK.

Wow

 

[HooperScooper]

I don't understand how Hawkins wasn't rated higher as a recruit. Just looking at him for 5 minutes he looks every bit of the part. Long, athletic, can shoot. I'm not a scout but he just looks to have "it".