My wife and I watched the quarter, semi and final of the 2011 BE Tournament the past three nights to get away from reality and it struck me how quickly we had forgotten how fast and strong and deep our teams once were, how relentless they were on defense and how well they ran the break. The passing, acrobatic shots, steals and dunks were a thing of beauty. Hard to think of the last three years' teams having as many great moments in their whole seasons as the 2011 team did in the BE Tournament.
The past few teams haven't had to face the endless lineup of opponents with great players UConn used to face night in and night out in the BE, so maybe the Coach should have the current team members watch those games and see firsthand what effort and selflessness it takes to win, especially as the nine seed in a league that put eleven teams in the NCAA tournament that year. If anyone doubts which league had the strongest lineup of teams in any year in history they're deluding themselves if they don't automatically think BE. That tournament has to be the best ever.
We had also forgotten the important minutes Donnell Beverly played and how we started three freshmen in some games. Lamb, Smith, Napier and Olander all made major contributions in one or more games and Giffey also gave some good minutes.
Oh, if we can get back there, how sweet it will be......................
The past few teams haven't had to face the endless lineup of opponents with great players UConn used to face night in and night out in the BE, so maybe the Coach should have the current team members watch those games and see firsthand what effort and selflessness it takes to win, especially as the nine seed in a league that put eleven teams in the NCAA tournament that year. If anyone doubts which league had the strongest lineup of teams in any year in history they're deluding themselves if they don't automatically think BE. That tournament has to be the best ever.
We had also forgotten the important minutes Donnell Beverly played and how we started three freshmen in some games. Lamb, Smith, Napier and Olander all made major contributions in one or more games and Giffey also gave some good minutes.
Oh, if we can get back there, how sweet it will be......................