Imagine if the 05/06 team...

[Woof 101]

Had the heart and soul of this one. We would be looking at four banners on the wall...

 

[ASweet3781]

And if Missouri has played better defense on Tyus Edney.....if Donyell hit a free throw....if Tate George didnt drop the ball out of bounds...if Marcus White didnt get the ball stuck...if Ricky Moore/Khalid/AJ didnt get hurt.

 

[FluxTZ]

Had the heart and soul of this one. We would be looking at four banners on the wall...

I would like to forget that season ever happened. We had an NBA team that year but all our best players mentally checked out when it mattered the most.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I actually was just thinking about the fact that we won 20 games (and would win a lot more if everyone came back next year) with the "leftovers" of the 2012 team. We're going to look back on that roster and really shake our heads.

 

[UCDaveD]

 

[ASweet3781]

I actually was just thinking about the fact that we won 20 games (and would win a lot more if everyone came back next year) with the "leftovers" of the 2012 team. We're going to look back on that roster and really shake our heads.

Arguably the worst coaching job of Calhoun's career.

I think the cancers on that team really destroyed it.

 

[alexd]

Just a terrible tourney in '06. I will never forget the first rd game vs Albany. I was at Slider's in Plainville with a bunch of people from work. When we fell behind by 10 in the 2nd half, I had had enough and chugged the rest of my beer and just left the place. Driving home, I refused to turn the game on. By the time I got home we were up 6 and pulling away but I told my wife, "this team does not have IT. They won't win it all, even with all that talent."

 

[7774]

They were very good, but that team was missing stuff. We don't usually win without 2 high level ball handlers, and because of A.J. we didn't have them. Marcus was really carrying us by the end and it wasn't good enough.

 

[blackbird]

We probably could have used AJ's basketball intelligence and heart more than his ball handling on that team..

 

[HuskyNationJE]

They were great. That game was a heartbreaker. Just like if Jerome Dyson wasn't injured in 09 and Kemba didn't miss 7 (?) foul shots against Michigan St. in the Final Four, we could have 5, and also be undefeated in Final 4 play. Nice that we're 3-0 in NC games tho!

 

[mauconnfan]

Let's not forget George Mason had a little something to do with it too.......their 2 bigs were throwing in from all angles and sometimes that stuff happens........they couldn't make a shot in the National semi's......

 

[tzznandrew]

Let's not forget George Mason had a little something to do with it too.......their 2 bigs were throwing in from all angles and sometimes that stuff happens........they couldn't make a shot in the National semi's......

2006 is maligned, not unfairly, for not living up to its talent. But people forget how well GMU was playing to have already beaten UNC and MSU to get to us, and their big guys were low-center of gravity guys who killed us. Despite that, our team was up at half.

I think the ball-handler situation is worse than people remember. Marcus had to pretty much play the whole game, and he was not a well-conditioned player. At the end of some games he struggled.

Despite this, that team lost two regular season games--but we paper over how many end-of-season close games that team had to win: they went to OT against a mediocre ND team at home, and beat an NIT-bound Louisville team by 4 at home in the season finale. Marcus was exhausted, and it showed. Yet Gerry McNamara had to hit a prayer to get that game to OT in the BET, otherwise that team gets some wins there.

I can't account for the terrible performance against Albany other than agreeing that the team overlooked them. But the other two close games (Washington and GMU) happened largely because teams realized we didn't trust Craig Austrie, and that neither Rashad nor Denham could dribble or distribute. Those teams just ball-pressured the hell out of Marcus and hoped for the best. A different bounce here or there, and they were in the Final Four.

Not trying to valorize them, but I think the silly story-lines of heart or passion are over-played. The team lacked some focus, for sure, but the lacked any secondary ball handler. Couple that with Marcus not being in great shape (both from his own lack of focus, and for missing half the year of practice) and the team was bound to struggle somewhere down the line.

Oddly, that 2006 Villanova ended the season with only 3 regular season losses and had the opposite problem: too many great ball-handlers and no guys down low. It's no surprise Florida took them out with relative ease. Give us Allen Ray, Randy Foye, or Kyle Lowry, and we win the whole thing easily; give Villanova Boone or Armstrong, and they do.

 

[Kitaman]

Getting back to this team, they are some gritty . No team like them. They were not supposed to be this good, and actually they weren't. But they had like the OP said heart and soul. Not checking the facts but with this 'marginal' team we only had a handful of double digit losses, like a normal very good team. Our paper roster looked piss poor but we had grit.

Goes to show you that you can have all the talent in the world (2006) without grit, well, its just talent.

In the dictionary it says grit = anything connected to Ollie.

 

[willie99]

this year's team lacked bigs but had plenty of guards

that year's team had plenty of bigs but only one ball handler, MW

 

[Scoe]

Just a terrible tourney in '06. I will never forget the first rd game vs Albany. I was at Slider's in Plainville with a bunch of people from work. When we fell behind by 10 in the 2nd half, I had had enough and chugged the rest of my beer and just left the place. Driving home, I refused to turn the game on. By the time I got home we were up 6 and pulling away but I told my wife, "this team does not have IT. They won't win it all, even with all that talent."

Did you at least get the Insane wings at Sliders

 

[Waquoit]

Not trying to valorize them, but I think the silly story-lines of heart or passion are over-played.

Nah. I'll never get over "the yawn". That said it all.

 

[tzznandrew]

Nah. I'll never get over "the yawn". That said it all.

I don't remember what yawn you are talking about--but to suggest that because someone yawns means they have no concern about what is currently happening is overly reductive.

 

[CTBasketball]

04/05 could have won too.

Not to mention if Thabeet stayed for his senior year, that team was loaded. But had the same mental problems as 05/06. They could get away with it though because they were the most talented team by far. 09/10 was not.

 

[tzznandrew]

04/05 could have won too.

Not to mention if Thabeet stayed for his senior year, that team was loaded. But had the same mental problems as 05/06. They could get away with it though because they were the most talented team by far. 09/10 was not.

04/05 had the exact same problem as 05/06: not enough guard-play. Now, they should have gotten past NCState, but Marcus Williams was just physically exhausted. Also, Rashad Anderson almost freakin' died that year from a staff infection (aside from the AJ Price stuff).

 

[CTBasketball]

04/05 had the exact same problem as 05/06: not enough guard-play. Now, they should have gotten past NCState, but Marcus Williams was just physically exhausted. Also, Rashad Anderson almost freakin' died that year from a staff infection (aside from the AJ Price stuff).

True. We just never had a quality backup guard. This is what makes me think next year's team has a good shot.