I truly believe we can win it all | Page 2 | The Boneyard

I truly believe we can win it all

Scrappy3 said:
I feel we have much more than others think we have.
Defense and rebounding trending up
I believe our center position is top 5 of 68
We have 3 legit scorers
2 bench players I feel will have a more polished game than the reg season in Mahaney and Stewart
And a healthier Diarra
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I like the optimism. I feel this team has a lot more to give.

Its a whole new season. The BET is a great opportunity
 
LStudfellow said:
We are better at certain positions, yes. But are we better overall than the 2006 team, for example (a much more apt comparison)? No. And what was their fatal flaw? Similar to the current team, their guard play was not championship caliber. @kobebeanbryant is right.

Hey, I am all good with Scrappy's, yours and anyone else who wants to be wildly optimistic about this year's team Deepster. The team's play since the St. John's game has gone up a notch and it has rightly given some optimism to our chances going into the post season.

But if you can't see the biggest difference between the 2011, 2014 and this year's team I don't know what to tell you.

Kemba and Shabazz were obviously the best guards in each of those respective tournaments. It made all the difference in the world. We don't have that this year (with all do respect to both Diarra and Ball). Not by a long shot. And it will be our fatal flaw.

I am not being negative, just honest. I bet on us to win it all last year in February. No way am I making a bet on us this year.
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I don't feel like I'm "wildly" optimistic and I don't think they're near a favorite to win it.

But a core of this team has been there.
The coaches have been there.
You don't know our draw, region or who we'll end up playing and how they match up with our strengths.

As far as differences from those prior teams? This place was shovelling dirt on both their caskets at this point heading in. We used a set of testicles for the 2014 team's mojo because that team had no balls and got blown out by Louisville leading up to the BET. And it's not a player by player matchup. No doubt Napier and Boatright were phenomenal. But I'll take Diarra, Ball and our 2 centers vs DeAndre Daniels and Phil Nolan down low. And Karaban/McNeeley are a completely different animal to match up against than either the 2011 or 14 team had.
 
Umami Zen said:
FWIW -Bilas thinks that Karaban's productivity is our X factor and the key to our post season. Still considers us a dangerous team.
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I'd have to agree, because we all know that Dan is going to live & die with him. You can't expect Alex to go out his last year as a quiet sidepiece, he's got a lot of bad basketball to make up for and is finally coming around. Legacy will be important to him, and Hurley in how he goes out. Dan is going to ride him even if he goes 0-20 in the BET.
 
Deepster said:
Agree to disagree. I don't think there's a great chance, but I definitely think they have a chance.

2011 we started Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriahki, Olander, Lamb and Kemba.
2014 we started Nolan, DeAndre Daniels, Boatright, Giffey and Napier.

You're dead wrong if you don't think we're better than either of those teams.
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Those teams had the best player on the court every game, regardless of the opponent.

This team is lucky to have the 3rd best.
 
kobebeanbryant said:
Those teams had the best player on the court every game, regardless of the opponent.

This team is lucky to have the 3rd best.
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You're not exactly going out on a limb to say that this team is unlikely to see a Final Four this year, but I genuinely don't know how anyone who's watched college basketball for the last 20 years or so can say there is "no chance" of anything happening. Unless you thought NC State was going to end up in the Final Four when they finished 4 spots behind Syracuse in the ACC.
 
gtcam said:
The one main reason I feel UConn has an advantage is experience in playing under the big lights of the NCAA tournaments. No other team playing has been to as many tournament games, especially the final two weekends, as has UConn in the last few years. How much of an advantage does it make? I am not sure, but it has to count for something more than a slight edge.
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This 100%
It is not a slight edge. It's a huge edge.
Mentality is so huge. Once again, many posters only go by what they can physically see.
Doctors have known for over a decade that the mind can cause and cure many diseases, yet for some reason the mind can't win a basketball game???
Mojo is invisible and more powerful than our teeny brains can comprehend.

VII
 
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UC0NN said:
If 2 out of 3 guys shoot well AK LM Ball shoot well, we beat most teams. All 3 shoot well, we beat anyone.

And we can lose to any team in the tournament field.

The last couple games we have been rebounding great. That adds another layer to our ability to win.
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Also would be nice if every contested inbound wasn't an Odyssey...
 
Deepster said:
Because you know who'll be on the other side of the court....
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I’m just speaking generally. If we were to advance deep in the tournament we would eventually be playing top 10 caliber teams. And that’s roughly how I think our roster stacks up.

My general point is that while 2011 & 2014 weren’t “great” teams, they had arguably the best player in the country. We don’t even have a 1st team all conference guy on this roster.
 
kobebeanbryant said:
I’m just speaking generally. If we were to advance deep in the tournament we would eventually be playing top 10 caliber teams. And that’s roughly how I think our roster stacks up.

My general point is that while 2011 & 2014 weren’t “great” teams, they had arguably the best player in the country. We don’t even have a 1st team all conference guy on this roster.
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I get you. Although Not having a 1st team all conference guy just means we don't have anyone who was consistently great all year. But right now we have a few guys playing at that level, and March > November.

Also, in march I'd rather have karaban than anyone on that 1st AC line. And that's by a mile
 
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This is by far the most inconsistent team of the Hurley era. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if we’re completely outclassed in the first round. And if everything goes right (Ball/McNeeley/Karaban hitting from 3, improved team defense, solid play from Johnson/Reed, and serviceable minutes from Mahaney/Stewart) it wouldn’t shock me to make the Final 4. I’m most likely expecting a round of 32 or Sweet 16 exit. We shall see.
 
kobebeanbryant said:
I’m just speaking generally. If we were to advance deep in the tournament we would eventually be playing top 10 caliber teams. And that’s roughly how I think our roster stacks up.

My general point is that while 2011 & 2014 weren’t “great” teams, they had arguably the best player in the country. We don’t even have a 1st team all conference guy on this roster.
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Napier wasn't even a Naismith finalist....but you can keep up your end of this argument if you'd like.
 
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Solo , Liam , alex, Samson\Reed. We need these four to perform. If they all show up , we can def best anybody.
3/4 we have a good shot-
2/4- we probably lose in first round.
 
Deepster said:
Napier wasn't even a Naismith finalist....but you can keep up your end of this argument if you'd like.
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He wasn't. But was there any doubt that he was the most dangerous player on the court for that entire run? His confidence and swagger were next level, and he backed it up.

I think the simple fact about the 2011 and 14 was not just "the best player" but that we had dominant guard(s) who could make plays. That is the one missing ingredient for this team. 11 and 14 you knew that Kemba, Bazz, or Boat could make a play with the ball in their hands.
 
Beating St. John’s would have been a help in boarding that Karabandwagon.
 
Deepster said:
Napier wasn't even a Naismith finalist....but you can keep up your end of this argument if you'd like.
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Do you really disagree that Shabazz was “arguably” the best player in the country that year?

I would take Shabazz over any of those guys that made Naismith finalist.

Anyways, we are derailing…my point is that this year’s team has no “great” player, so I don’t see how any comparison to 2011/2014 makes any sense.
 
boog204 said:
He wasn't. But was there any doubt that he was the most dangerous player on the court for that entire run? His confidence and swagger were next level, and he backed it up.

I think the simple fact about the 2011 and 14 was not just "the best player" but that we had dominant guard(s) who could make plays. That is the one missing ingredient for this team. 11 and 14 you knew that Kemba, Bazz, or Boat could make a play with the ball in their hands.
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I agreed to that....and we're much stronger at center and from the forward position than either of those teams.

And just for kicks? In his last 10 regular season games, Napier scored single digits twice (7 and 9) and between 16-18 pts 6 times. In the 3 BET games, he scored 11, 15 and 16 pts heading into the NCAA's. He was not torching the nets by any means leading up to the 6 NCAA games. No reason to think some combo of Ball, Alex and Liam couldn't more than carry the load for us.
 
Deepster said:
Agree to disagree. I don't think there's a great chance, but I definitely think they have a chance.

2011 we started Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriahki, Olander, Lamb and Kemba.
2014 we started Nolan, DeAndre Daniels, Boatright, Giffey and Napier.

You're dead wrong if you don't think we're better than either of those teams.
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Didn’t we have Senor Testiculo on one of those team? That’s a big advantage
 
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Deepster said:
I agreed to that....and we're much stronger at center and from the forward position than either of those teams.

And just for kicks? In his last 10 regular season games, Napier scored single digits twice (7 and 9) and between 16-18 pts 6 times. In the 3 BET games, he scored 11, 15 and 16 pts heading into the NCAA's. He was not torching the nets by any means leading up to the 6 NCAA games. No reason to think some combo of Ball, Alex and Liam couldn't more than carry the load for us.
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Yeah defense is the problem. That team was top 15 defensively going into the tournament, and then played even better defense in the tournament. We just cracked the top 100 a week or 2 ago.

Also, we weren't in the Big East.
 
7774 said:
Yeah defense is the problem. That team was top 15 defensively going into the tournament, and then played even better defense in the tournament. We just cracked the top 100 a week or 2 ago.

Also, we weren't in the Big East.
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No arguments there.

All I'm saying here is don't let us get hot.
 
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RuffRuff said:
This - who knows what can happen. We have 4 guys that we know are capable of monster games, get a couple of those clicking simultaneously and crazy things can happen. Doing it for 6 is unlikely but who knows.
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Your final sentence is a CYA coda offered to stem fears of looking foolish. It also is the thing that ensures you look foolish.

And that's nothing personal. It applies to every poster who feels the 'need' to put their post "in context." Guys are falling all over each other to prove they aren't blind, unknowledgeable, unaware of Tournament history, etc. What the hell for? Are you trying to outflank and/or appease the informed grumblers. Screw them. They're to stupid to shut up as the regular season shifts to the post season.

You say you'd love to be wrong? I'd love for you to keep it to yourself.

You say you aren't putting any money on this team? So what. The coaches and they players aren't doing so either.

You want to prove you know what you're talking about about? You're proving that you don't know how to cheer your team to victory?

Which do you want?

The satisfaction of pointing out imperfections and questions and doubts in advance, or the joy of supporting your team?

Fewer people are keeping score on these matters than you think. Fewer still will be bellowing, "I was right, and you were wrong." And fewest will be those admitting, "I was wrong and you were right." Your efforts to control & manage your emotions is advance obedience to a false god or your own fabrication.

Choose what you want in advance, and choose what you get after the fact.

This is your team. Your penetrating "fanalysis" is only marginally better (if at all) than that of everybody who thinks it's a suspect enterprise to put your energies into such efforts.

Cheer for these Huskies unreservedly now, in anticipation of Thursday's opponent after it's known, and against each opponent one game at a time until there are no further opponents.

Somebody's team wins each conference tournament. Somebody's team wins the NCAA Tournament. Let it be ours. It might as well be. That's what I'm here for, and it's none of my business what I think or feel about that.
 
I’ve been rooting for Duke and The Johnnies. They are safe bets. If one of them win then the season wasn’t a total disaster. We don’t have a chance in …. But if we win a game or two, it was a good season.
 
I too, am getting the feeling like it’s not impossible if we are firing on all cylinders.

There have been many good teams where I would not have this hope. Our best would not be good enough… But this teams has more answers than most, the question to me - do they come into tourney “locked in” like they have in the past?

If they do, it’s still unlikely they win it all but not a miracle if the do either… They are a very good team. But odds stacked against…
 
My heart tells me UConn can win it all. My head and my wallet tell me they will gracefully exit in the 2nd round.

And we will love them all the same.
 
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WeAreUCONN said:
I’ve been rooting for Duke and The Johnnies. They are safe bets. If one of them win then the season wasn’t a total disaster. We don’t have a chance in …. But if we win a game or two, it was a good season.
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Are you for real? Is this a bot account? Please tell me this isn’t a real post.
 
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