I echo the sentiment insofar as it doesn't imply that they're more lovable than any other UConn team.
I'm not trying to be ultra-cynical guy here, I'm really not. But playing hard is a condition of their scholarship. With seven guys yesterday, they definitely went above and beyond the call of duty; I just wonder if their effort is elevated to something more noteworthy than it is by a talent that doesn't exist with say, UConn football.
Much like the guys on the football board back the players but express disappointment in the coaches, I apply the same standard here. The players are all good kids who try hard, but my tolerance to find good in something that is a far lesser product than it should be has subsided, and as much as I'd like to extract hope from the Ohio State and Syracuse games, I'd be lying if I said I saw anything but bad basketball. The defense has improved, but not considerably - the uptick in efficiency is, to some degree, fools gold. Syracuse and Ohio State missed an a** ton of shots. Ohio State, especially, did nothing to win that game (2 for 18 from three).
The injuries are a legitimate excuse but at the same time an unwarranted crutch. We have enough here to expect better - enough to expect Ollie to manage the rotations better, enough to expect better treatment from officials, and enough to expect to beat a listless Ohio State team in front of a dead crowd.
It is what it is. For whatever Ollie struggles with - which is too much, at this point - he still does a hell of a lot right. At no point has it even crossed my mind that I would want anybody else coaching this program. The players...I feel these losses, for them. It's the last go-round for Purvis, Brimah, and Facey and it can't be what they envisioned. Still a lot of ball to be played, though.