I think were going to be fine.

[ASweet3781]

We just lost to 2 unranked teams at home.

That is a recipe for disaster in this league.

 

[yankeewc]

I would like to agree with you, but I'm not so positive after that game. With the way last seasons team rounded into shape at the exact right time, Calhoun has earned the benefit of the doubt to some degree. Unforunately, this sad crew is more likely to end up as the 09-10 team, battling it out with Virginia Tech in an intense NIT game. Facts are, this team was coming off two losses where they played like , had a week of practice to prepare for a home game, and came out and took another dump on the floor.

This team is a carbon copy of the 09-10 team to this point, although they probably have more talent.

The half-court offense that this team runs is simply mind-boggling. When is the last time a team with two lottery picks missed out on the tournament entirely? I'm not even sure the 2010 Carolina team managed to do that. I'm not exactly sure what Calhoun does in practice, but part of the problem is certainly the fact that NOBODY on this team can set a decent screen. If you think I'm exaggerating, watch the tape. At the same time, nobody knows how to use a screen except maybe Lamb, nobody can consistently beat their man off the dribble except Boatright, and we have no low post game. So while Calhoun isn't exactly drawing up plays like a wizard, the materials he has to work with are very limited, something I never thought I'd say at the begginning of the season.

Honestly, the defense is actually pretty good. But with this UConn team, the normal 50/50 balls are more like 25/75 balls. It's probably a comination of instincts, agility, and effort...to go along with the fact that our starting small forward plays like he's constapated.

Really, our best bet to get things turned around is to turn the keys over to Boatright. He shows a better understanding of getting into the teeth of the defense and kicking the ball out than Shabazz does, he's much faster/quicker, and a much better finisher. Most of all, he's the only kid on the team who looks like he gives a out there. Let's turn the keys of the offense over to him, maybe send a message to Shabazz, and see if the team climbs on his back. It really is unfortunate that the kid is a freshman, because he looks like a natural born leader. I think by the time he's a junior (I hope he sticks around) he will have a Kemba-like impact from a leadership/electricity perspective. Boatright has been one of the few bright spots this season.

 

[Danzz]

It appears Shabazz plays more under control and smarter on both defense and offense when the threat of Calhoun yanking him out is there. Last year we had Kemba and even Dbev who could be the second handler if Bazz was being taught a lesson.

We never had Beverly as a ball handler because he couldn't handle the ball very well.

 

[CBallfan]

UConn is currently at 9th in the Big East. Like last year. I want to believe...

I want to believe too, but last year they lost games but also looked like they were getting better. This year they continue to lose and they look worse and worse!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

We never had Beverly as a ball handler because he couldn't handle the ball very well.

Beverly was a steady ball handler and a calming influence over the team because of his leadership. Really enjoyed Donnell's four year career at UConn.

 

[RS9999X]

We just lost to 2 unranked teams at home.

That is a recipe for disaster in this league.

1-3 in the BE on the road isn't good.
o-1 OOC on the road
2-1 on a neutral court.


2 road losses in this 4 game stretch means a losing road record in the BE.
----------------------
@ Georgetown
Seton Hall
@Syracuse
@Louisville
-----------------------

 

[champs99and04]

1-3 in the BE on the road isn't good.
o-1 OOC on the road
2-1 on a neutral court.


2 road losses in this 4 game stretch means a losing road record in the BE.
----------------------
@ Georgetown
Seton Hall
@Syracuse
@Louisville
-----------------------

2-2 on the road in the Big East sir...

 

[sledog]

What have U been sniffin'?? March is 4 weeks.

 

[Danzz]

Beverly was a steady ball handler and a calming influence over the team because of his leadership. Really enjoyed Donnell's four year career at UConn.

Beverly was a great kid and he was a claming influence but he was also a turnover machine.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Beverly was a great kid and he was a claming influence but he was also a turnover machine.

I only did this because I really liked Beverly, but just for shts and giggles.

Kemba Walker TO/40 mins = 2.83
AJ Price TO/40 mins = 3.23
Donnell Beverly TO/40 mins = 3.37 (in about 1/4th of Dyson and Walkers minutes and 1/3 of Price's minutes)
Jerome Dyson TO/40 mins = 3.63

Kemba and AJ are in the NBA, while Jerome is in the D-League. I'd say for a back up PG he wasn't half bad.

 

[NOTaDIME]

what the hell is 'IT'

Kemba Walker

 

[kobebeanbryant]

i was really expecting the whole boatright thing to jumpstart this team. honestly, if that can't i'm not sure what will.

 

[Prezidint]

One thing you can say about UConn, as an elite program, under Jim Calhoun: we go through the wildest performance swings of any elite program, probably ever.

99 - win it all.
00 - bounced 2nd round.
01 - NIT
02 - elite eight.
03 - Sweet 16
04 - win it all.
05 - bounced 2nd round.
06 - / Elite 8 one of the biggest upset losses in history.
07 - NIT
08 - bounced first round
09 - final four.
10 - NIT
11 - win it all
12 - Looking like NIT at this point, hate to say - we're losing to some teams.

Really, if you look at the emotigraph, above, it's freakin' feast or famine under Calhoun, and he's got as many NIT bids as NCs in the last 13 years. Pretty damn remarkable that he pulls the NC out of nowhere last year. Damn remarkable.

And if you get cynical, and you look at his last 6 years, it's damn good he got Kemba and the NC, otherwise he may have finished with 3 NIT teams and a 1st round bounce in the last 6 seasons, the last one of which had two lottery picks on it, and that would get people asking whether he was losing it toward the end.

Of course, in my heart, I still think we're going to pull off the miracle and win it all again.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I don't think this team will accomplish much this year either. There is no real leader to light a spark under guys. The only guy that can do that is Boatright. The sooner he becomes the team leader the better for the program.

 

[champs99and04]

One thing you can say about UConn, as an elite program, under Jim Calhoun: we go through the wildest performance swings of any elite program, probably ever.

99 - win it all.
00 - bounced 2nd round.
01 - NIT
02 - elite eight.
03 - Sweet 16
04 - win it all.
05 - bounced 2nd round.
06 - / Elite 8 one of the biggest upset losses in history.
07 - NIT
08 - bounced first round
09 - final four.
10 - NIT
11 - win it all
12 - Looking like NIT at this point, hate to say - we're losing to some teams.

Really, if you look at the emotigraph, above, it's freakin' feast or famine under Calhoun, and he's got as many NIT bids as NCs in the last 13 years. Pretty damn remarkable that he pulls the NC out of nowhere last year. Damn remarkable.

And if you get cynical, and you look at his last 6 years, it's damn good he got Kemba and the NC, otherwise he may have finished with 3 NIT teams and a 1st round bounce in the last 6 seasons, the last one of which had two lottery picks on it, and that would get people asking whether he was losing it toward the end.

Of course, in my heart, I still think we're going to pull off the miracle and win it all again.

Hey...I'll take this resume over Pitt any day

 

[uconnfan68]

Obviously not a top 5 team in the country but I think we are going to right the ship. Be a tough team come March. At this time last year I hated our team. Trust our coaches to figure it out.

IF we were going to be OK, it would have come through TODAY. It didn't. And the problem isn't the terrible offense, it's the lackadaisical defense. I think AD has more potential than anyone to ever play at UConn, but whether he ever delivers on it is another story. He has a LOT to learn. Same with DD and RB. We've been depending on them and it shows. The best we played all year was the 2nd half at ND. None of them had a significant part in that.

 

[Burnsbros23]

When I say March I mean when the NCAA's start which i do think we will be in. I'll say this if I'm a one seed I dont wanna play UConn in the second round. I understand the people who r jumping ship, some have more faith than others.

 

[Tenspro2002]

One thing you can say about UConn, as an elite program, under Jim Calhoun: we go through the wildest performance swings of any elite program, probably ever.

99 - win it all.
00 - bounced 2nd round.
01 - NIT
02 - elite eight.
03 - Sweet 16
04 - win it all.
05 - bounced 2nd round.
06 - / Elite 8 one of the biggest upset losses in history.
07 - NIT
08 - bounced first round
09 - final four.
10 - NIT
11 - win it all
12 - Looking like NIT at this point, hate to say - we're losing to some teams.

Really, if you look at the emotigraph, above, it's freakin' feast or famine under Calhoun, and he's got as many NIT bids as NCs in the last 13 years. Pretty damn remarkable that he pulls the NC out of nowhere last year. Damn remarkable.

And if you get cynical, and you look at his last 6 years, it's damn good he got Kemba and the NC, otherwise he may have finished with 3 NIT teams and a 1st round bounce in the last 6 seasons, the last one of which had two lottery picks on it, and that would get people asking whether he was losing it toward the end.

Of course, in my heart, I still think we're going to pull off the miracle and win it all again.

I'm glad you posted this, because I was thinking about it all day but afraid of getting flamed into oblivion if I said anything suggesting we were losing it as a program. To me, this is the one element keeping us from being truly in the class of Kansas, Duke, UNC, etc. It truly takes us years to rebuild; we're never championship contenders multiple years in a row.

And lately, the rebuilding has been more frequent and more extreme. Of course, the 2006 exodus was unprecedented and really started this recent cycle.

My feeling is that last year's championship was compensation for not winning it in one of those years we were expected to (1995, 1996, 2006) and allows us to overlook the fact that we haven't been routinely as dominant as we were in the decade+ from ~1994-2006.

 

[Ts5034]

That is so funny because i was thinking about this exact same thing when it became clear we would drop out of the top 25. I know polls dont mean much but when was the last time Duke or KU or UNC was not ranked during the season? The other stat that surprises me is Uconn has never made the NCAA tournament 5 years in a row...its always broken up by an NIT or in the case of 07 missing the post season all together. I agree thats probably why people view Uconn as a step below those other schools.

 

[Burnsbros23]

UNC was in the NIT two years ago I believe. In that stretch they have been in the NIT 3 times. KU and Duke are on very consistent runs. There really isnt anyone else though.

 

[zls44]

When people talk about how they can't believe Jim Calhoun isn't clearly 1A or 2 behind K, this is why.

Izzo, K, Self, even that idiot Rick Barnes- they don't go through these massive ridiculous swings from season to season. The 2006 cycle mucked up the whole works; using every scholarship in one fell swoop, instead of saving 1 or 2 for 2007 to try and get back on a normal cycle, was insane.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Barnes?...... Rick Barnes?......... Dude you just lost a lot of Boneyard credibility delete that post before the old boneyarders wake up for their mourning coffee.

 

[zls44]

Barnes?...... Rick Barnes?......... Dude you just lost a lot of Boneyard credibility delete that post before the old boneyarders wake up for their mourning coffee.

Rick Barnes is an awful coach who wastes more talent than Amy Winehouse (too soon?), but he has also been in the NCAA's 17 of the last 18 years, across three schools.

I'll take Calhoun every day of the week, but I refuse to believe that these championships could not have been won without lessons learned in NIT years. The 2001 and 2010 teams weren't in the NIT because of growing pains, they were there because of wasted talent.

 

[Ts5034]

When people talk about how they can't believe Jim Calhoun isn't clearly 1A or 2 behind K, this is why.

Izzo, K, Self, even Barnes- they don't go through these massive ridiculous swings from season to season. The 2006 cycle mucked up the whole works; using every scholarship in one fell swoop, instead of saving 1 or 2 for 2007 to try and get back on a normal cycle, was insane.

Great point. I think the situation with the scholarships after 2006 gets overlooked. Ive felt that way for a while how that set the program back with all of those players leaving. It put them in a situation where over the next two years they couldnt get any players. Luckily one of them was Kemba Walker but thats one of the reasons this team has not had many seniors the last two years.

 

[freescooter]

I agree at some point we will get it going we are still young, but people need to stop comparing this team to last years team these are two different teams. At this point in the year last year the team had some impresssive wins and showed the ability to be able to scrap out wins in close games, this year i would argue we have not done either. The season isn't over we can still right the ship the talent is there but the execution and focus is lacking.

this drives me crazy! Still young? Um, we have 10 guys on the roster who played on the national championship team last year. Can we please drop the "we're still young" excuse? We added 3 top 30 recruits. And we're 20 games into the season. Heck, Kentucky starts 3 freshmen and has a couple of others who play significant minutes and they've lsot what 1 game?