If we had not won the National Championship last season

[upstater]

But seriously guys, what if we didn't win World War 2?

Niels Giffey and Enosch Wolf would be starting.

By decree.

 

[TopDog18]

It's people like you that really piss me off. We've now had disappointing seasons four of the last six years and you find a silver lining. There is no silver lining. It's embarrassing to think that 67% of the time since 06-07 we as a fan base have been disappointed. If it's embarrassing for us imagine how the players and coaches must feel. Do you think Jc shrugs it off and says, "oh well. We've made a finalfour an won a ship, gee whizz what a ride it's been. Nothing to be disappointed about here.". No, that's like having a genius as a kid and being excited when he brings home a 3.0 GPA. People like you drive me nuts because you think we've won 3 championships and give the team a pass. As far as I'm concerned we should win a championship every year and anything less is a dissapointment. It's even worse when you have the talent we have on a yeArly basis and continually piss it away. There is no reason that a team that recruits like us should ever have a bad year. We aren't UNC, Duke , MSU, Kansas or Kentucky - we are a joke - and if you don't get that maybe you should go elsewhere. I hear BC is happy with NCAA appearances, it's only a couple hours to Cgestnut Hill, perhaps you make the drive?

Perhaps your mother should have told you she loves you more then she did. You're an embarrassment of a UConn fan. No silver lining? Not that fact we won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP last year!?!? Get over yourself.

 

[Fishy]

But seriously guys, what if we didn't win World War 2?

This thread would be in German.

And it would still be spectacularly easy to pick out the two dumbest bastards in this thread.

 

[mets1090]

It's people like you that really piss me off. We've now had disappointing seasons four of the last six years and you find a silver lining. There is no silver lining. It's embarrassing to think that 67% of the time since 06-07 we as a fan base have been disappointed. If it's embarrassing for us imagine how the players and coaches must feel. Do you think Jc shrugs it off and says, "oh well. We've made a finalfour an won a ship, gee whizz what a ride it's been. Nothing to be disappointed about here.". No, that's like having a genius as a kid and being excited when he brings home a 3.0 GPA. People like you drive me nuts because you think we've won 3 championships and give the team a pass. As far as I'm concerned we should win a championship every year and anything less is a dissapointment. It's even worse when you have the talent we have on a yeArly basis and continually piss it away. There is no reason that a team that recruits like us should ever have a bad year. We aren't UNC, Duke , MSU, Kansas or Kentucky - we are a joke - and if you don't get that maybe you should go elsewhere. I hear BC is happy with NCAA appearances, it's only a couple hours to Cgestnut Hill, perhaps you make the drive?

Incredible post.

 

[Chin Diesel]

This thread would be in German.

And it would still be spectacularly easy to pick out the two dumbest bastards in this thread.

So, is the wife taking a bathroom break and you have time for the board?

 

[UC990411]

But seriously guys, what if we didn't win World War 2?

People would have said it was ok, after all we did win World War 1.

 

[mets1090]

So, is the wife taking a bathroom break and you have time for the board?

Yeah your wife is taking a bathroom break right now so I was able to sneak on to the laptop for a few minutes before she came back to bed.

I know your post wasn't directed at me but if it were, this is how I would have responded.

 

[mets1090]

People would have said it was ok, after all we did win World War 1.

Touche

 

[Robertelamin]

People would have said it was ok, after all we did win World War 1.

Maybe you need to follow an imaginary team that makes the final four and wins championships every year.

 

[Ts5034]

I always point to the 2004 National Championship as the turning point i guess. If you think about it, a lot of things happened that changed the college basketball landscape. Starting with the 05-06 season the Big East conference went through a dramatic change adding really successful basketball schools (Louisville, Marquette, Cincy). The more top teams that are added the harder it will be to dominate each year. Those schools had a tradition of success before they joined and since they have been in the Big East, they put a pretty good amount of losses on Uconns record.

Something else i point to is when they changed the NBA draft age limit which basically meant kids had to attend college for at least one year. That has made a lot better teams all over the country. One top level kid can elevate a team from the bubble to a Final Four contender. Look at the monster seasons by Durant in 06 and Rose in 07. Just imagine if Lebron went to college for one season.

Finally, it is a 100% fact there is more parity in the game. You always had your upsets in the NCAA tournament before but that was mostly a team getting really hot and lucky to win a first round game then get blown out in the 2nd round. Now it seems like a yearly thing when mid-majors break through and get to the Final Four. Overall i think its harder to win a championship now then ever before.

 

[UC990411]

Maybe you need to follow an imaginary team that makes the final four and wins championships every year.

Maybe you should continue to be excited about mediocrity

 

[Fishy]

Maybe you should continue to be excited about mediocrity

Perhaps you should aspire to it.

 

[UC990411]

Then we would have too much in common

Perhaps you should aspire to it.

 

[zls44]

Then we would have too much in common

Your idiocy is breathtaking

 

[partial]

Someone needs to make a direct comparison to Hitler for the cherry on top to this thread. I thought we were getting there a few posts ago.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Jesus guys, enough with the ad hominem attacks.

Our success over the last 15-20 years is something that very few programs experience at a time, or ever in their existence, and it is something we should appreciate and not take for granted.

On the other hand, the fact is that we have not been as traditionally dominant on the Big East or the national stage over the last 6 years as we had been over the previous 13. If you consider a 3-seed or above as a legitimate title contender, we've had 2 of those years out of the past 6, versus 9 out of 13 years from 1994-2006. We were fortunate that both of those 2 years resulted in FF appearances. Most run-of-the-mill programs would be elated with 2 "contending" years out of 6, but blue bloods like Kansas and Duke would not.

More often than not lately we've been "just another team", middle of the road in conference -- even last year. Numerous mainstream commentators have said that our program is fragile, on a precipice, and it's time we take our heads out of the sand and acknowledge that this is a perilous time and if the powers that be don't make some very good decisions, we will not be a perennial power anymore.

 

[Fishy]

Jesus guys, enough with the ad hominem attacks.

Who do you think you are? Hitler or something?

Mission accomplished.

 

[partial]

I just wish people would stop using counterfactual statements as indicating some sort of support for their crazy theories.

edit: God damn it I should know better than to read a Fishy post while drinking something; my computer screen does not thank you.

 

[businesslawyer]

You could really argue that if Kemba had not carried us on the miraculous run through the BE and NCAA tournaments last season, that the program is in decline. It doesn't translate well to posting here but I broke Jim Calhoun's time at UCONN into 5 year segments starting with the season (regular season D1 wins only). As you can see, the team's regular season winning percentage the past 5 years is similar to Calhoun's first 5 years and regular season losses are nearly averaging double digits.

If you take the last 3 years only, this has been the worst stretch of JC's career from a regular season point of view. I don't know how much of this is the result of the uncertainty over JC's health and future (which started in 2009) but there has been a noticeable drop-off.

Some will say that regular season losses are not the key indicator of a program's health but I say it is a big factor because it impacts you getting into the NCAA's and your seeding if you manage to get there. The higher your seeding the better your team's chance of making a deep tourney run. As other posters have pointed out, top programs are relevant and in the discussion as a championship contenders every year.

In 1999 and 2004, we were one of the top couple teams mentioned and in contention for a title all year so it was no shock when we won. Last year, we really caught lightning in a bottle and rode Kemba Walker to an unexpected championship. You could make an argument that if we had lost early in the BE tourney last year, there was a chance (maybe a low chance) that we would have missed the NCAA tourney. With that in mind, we missed it in 2009-10 and could very likely miss it this year (and next year...). This is why I say thank God for last year. Because of that crazy run, we still have the 2011 National Championship to entice recruits with even though the program is going through a rough time. Without last year's improbable run where would we be as a program? Looking at four staight years missing the NCAA tournament?

With all of the looming issues concerning our eligibility for next year's NCAA tourney, JC's coaching future, the impact on recruiting etc. this is a precarious time for the program.

We need some clarity very soon as far as the future of the program as the uncertainty is killing us at a time we can least afford it. Clearly George Blaney is not the future. It also seems like we are taking shots from everywhere now, be it the NCAA or the media. The worst part is hearing game announcers ridiculing the team's situation and poor play on the court. I never thought I'd see a Jim Calhoun team being the subject of ridicule and this for me has been the worst part of this season.



***Those Ray Allen years of 1993-96 were pretty impressive (we just ran into some tough tourney matchups or we might have won a championship or two).

Regular Season D1 Only W L Avr Wins 5 Year Period Avr Losses 5 Year Period Avr Winning % 5 year Period
1986-87 9 18
1987-88 13 13
1988-89 16 11
1989-90 25 5 18 9 67%
1990-91 18 9
1991-92 19 8
1992-93 15 11
1993-94 26 3
1994-95 23 3 21 6 78%
1995-96 27 2
1996-97 14 13
1997-98 26 4
1998-99 25 2
1999-00 21 8 22 6 79%
2000-01 19 10
2001-02 21 6
2002-03 19 8
2003-04 24 6
2004-05 21 6 22 7 76%
2005-06 26 2
2006-07 18 13
2007-08 24 7
2008-09 27 3
2009-10 17 14 21 9 70%
2010-11 21 9
2011-12 16 10

You really can't make this stuff up.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

 

[huskyharry]

Kemba was a great player, but all this talk about him carrying the team to the championship last year is very much overstated. It could certainly be argued that Kemba carried UConn to the SDSU victory and Cincy victories...both incredible performances. However, against Arizona, Kentucky and Butler he shot less than 50% and played well but did not "carry"the team in those games. Even though the remainder of the players were mostly the same players we have today, the simple fact is that last year's team played MUCH MUCH better as a team. They hustled, they boxed out, they played great team defense including challenging shots at the 3 point line (remember JLamb blocking the 3 point shot by Butler's star, Mack & Shabazz having the reputation of being a lock-down defender and him totally locking up Brandon Knight)...we were not so much better last year because Kemba was the most sensational player ever....don't get me wrong, he was a super player, but the team was a lot better last year.

AO is starting to come around, but he was better during the 11 game stretch last year, JLamb has been steady but he shot 64% from 3 during the 11 game stretch and he has shot <30% over the last 11 games, Shabazz is also starting to come around offensively but his defense was worlds better last year. Roscoe's defense was much better last year. I have no idea why our players have regressed but that regression is as much of the problem as the loss of Kemba

 

[The Funster]

It's people like you that really piss me off. We've now had disappointing seasons four of the last six years and you find a silver lining. There is no silver lining. It's embarrassing to think that 67% of the time since 06-07 we as a fan base have been disappointed. If it's embarrassing for us imagine how the players and coaches must feel. Do you think Jc shrugs it off and says, "oh well. We've made a finalfour an won a ship, gee whizz what a ride it's been. Nothing to be disappointed about here.". No, that's like having a genius as a kid and being excited when he brings home a 3.0 GPA. People like you drive me nuts because you think we've won 3 championships and give the team a pass. As far as I'm concerned we should win a championship every year and anything less is a dissapointment. It's even worse when you have the talent we have on a yeArly basis and continually piss it away. There is no reason that a team that recruits like us should ever have a bad year. We aren't UNC, Duke , MSU, Kansas or Kentucky - we are a joke - and if you don't get that maybe you should go elsewhere. I hear BC is happy with NCAA appearances, it's only a couple hours to Cgestnut Hill, perhaps you make the drive?

I guess I've pretty much seen it all now. At first I thought this post was a joke but subsequent posts indicate that it's probably not.

I'd insult you but you're probably not bright enough to get it.

 

[tzznandrew]

I guess I've pretty much seen it all now. At first I thought this post was a joke but subsequent posts indicate that it's probably not.

I'd insult you but you're probably not bright enough to get it.

It does seem as though we have one of the dumbest, most entitled fan bases out there, doesn't it?

 

[mauconnfan]

I guess I've pretty much seen it all now. At first I thought this post was a joke but subsequent posts indicate that it's probably not.

I'd insult you but you're probably not bright enough to get it.

Funster, Fishy? There were always whacko's but where the hell did our fanbse pick up the likes of huskymagic's and alike?? Yikes it's painful...........

 

[willie99]

dude took a lot of time to put stuff together that leads nowhere and impresses very very few

what if his parents never met?

do you think there's a god? who created god?

did you know? during the Ray Allen era, JC was a coach who couldn't win the big one!!!! that's what people were saying, FACT!

 

[huskymagic]

Funster, Fishy? There were always whacko's but where the hell did our fanbse pick up the likes of huskymagic's and alike?? Yikes it's painful...........

mauconn that guy is going overboard but his message should we be well received. We are happy that we won a title last year and should have won as well in 09 but the past is the past. This is a new year and a new opportunity. I am not satisfied with past achievements because then mediocrity becomes acceptable.