Jersey Guy Pushing Our Buttons

[CL82]

Love these clown responses. I was in the front row in Dallas, I saw 2 rings in 4 years of college. I loved every second of it. It's not my point.

We still have not been a consistent Top 25 team since '09. Closest was '11, in which our late season Big East run put us to a 3 seed and a lot of pundits picked us to make a run. It's frustrating, and there's no way can disagree.

Geez....Stupid is stupid no matter how many times you restate it.

What's worse that a troll? A troll clown.

 

[MASSconn]

I'll respectfully disagree

 

[CAHUSKY]

What I remember about 2014 was UConn getting beaten 3 times during the season by Louisville....Oh actually, I barely remember that and those UL loses now seem irrelevant. Instead I just remember all the UConn player's celebrating and confetti falling when UConn won it all in San Antonio. ...

Right state, wrong city. We were celebrating in Arlington.

 

[dwalks93]

My bad on Arlington.

UConn has celebrated so many championships it is tough to remember all the cities we've won in...

 

[Marty Jackson]

I don't think this is anti-UConn, and he's not really wrong. Being left in the American was a body-blow. It isn't the Big East, which was at least a "BCS" league. Now we are considered the rough equivalent of mid-major. Those in the P5, and their fans, look at UConn as similar to say, Gonzaga. Decent hoops...otherwise useless. The perception needs to change. We do need to do some ass kicking.

A nice Sweet 16 run would help. Ollie being a bit more of a cheerleader would help. I thought Diaco was a good hire because I thought he could be an evangelist for UConn football, and he has. I never thought we needed one for basketball, but where is Kevin Ollie? Calhoun was in the news constantly. He was on TV, he was everywhere. Everyone knew him, and many hated him, but that's fine. Ollie is just too quiet. He needs to make some noise, and start talking up his program a bit. We need a bit of bombast, some flair.

Agree with your point of view. Not sure this was anti-uconn.
Winning is the only voice needed.

 

[Marty Jackson]

He kinda was. He took a team from D2 to league champs in 3 years and a d1 NCAA bid. And as for Providence who is a top 25 team and who is a couple of losses from the nit? It is really a sad thing how far UConns stock has fallen in such a short time and most of you know it. Just don't want to admit it.

Couldn't disagree more.
The program hasn't fallen at all. You are looking through the eyes of someone who has seen 4 NC's, the latest of which was 2 years ago. You've just feasted on what could be one of the greatest runs in college ball the past 16-17 years and now you're looking around thinking "what's next?"...
If you remember the climb up the hill, you aren't so quick to head down. It took 10 years and several heart breaking losses between 1989 and 1999. In that time, there were no NC's yet those were great years too. The close calls, the tough losses left you hungry for next year. Could next year be the year?

Sorry but your point of view is like nails on a chalkboard to folks who have followed the program for 30+ years. So please, continue to tell me how the program has fallen. Educate me. Please.

 

[Marty Jackson]

He's not talking about the last 2 decades. He's talking about 2016 and beyond. Some of you are pretty clueless if you don't see how far we've fallen in public perception. Losing Calhoun and ending up in the American has been a huge setback whether you want to admit it or not.

If you need the media and national attention to be a fan, that kind of makes you a fair weather fan.

 

[Stray_Dog]

If you need the media and national attention to be a fan, that kind of makes you a fair weather fan.

kinda...maybe, but I as a fan, am hoping we are in a P-5 so I don't have to look back to determine who was right on this or not as for national perception versus being a fan.

However, it is my opinion that the longer we are in the AAC, the more likely it will be that due to national interests when scouting talent, that those in the P-5 will have a major leg up on us. So as a fan, I will root for whoever suits up in UConn colors, but I wont be kidding myself if/when that talent pool starts to drop and we become more concerned with winning the AAC conference title game than the NCAA final four. ...and just because that currently negative view may exist - don't think that we are not fans! And know this is not going to happen tomorrow, but what happens when Coach K.O leaves for an NBA job??? Who replaces him? Lets be honest, it is much easier to replace a coach when your school is synonymous with the sport and has consistently good recognizable talent to play against. This may not be the case going forward. Right now UConn is relegated to the G-5. People in CT reminisce about the Whalers, so how well has the Wolf Pack caught on? CT is relegated to every pro minor league team out there and for what? So as a fan, it hurts to see UConn being relegated to the minors of college sports.

 

[dwalks93]

kinda...maybe, but I as a fan, am hoping we are in a P-5 so I don't have to look back to determine who was right on this or not as for national perception versus being a fan.

However, it is my opinion that the longer we are in the AAC, the more likely it will be that due to national interests when scouting talent, that those in the P-5 will have a major leg up on us. So as a fan, I will root for whoever suits up in UConn colors, but I wont be kidding myself if/when that talent pool starts to drop and we become more concerned with winning the AAC conference title game than the NCAA final four. ...and just because that currently negative view may exist - don't think that we are not fans! And know this is not going to happen tomorrow, but what happens when Coach K.O leaves for an NBA job??? Who replaces him? Lets be honest, it is much easier to replace a coach when your school is synonymous with the sport and has consistently good recognizable talent to play against. This may not be the case going forward. Right now UConn is relegated to the G-5. People in CT reminisce about the Whalers, so how well has the Wolf Pack caught on? CT is relegated to every pro minor league team out there and for what? So as a fan, it hurts to see UConn being relegated to the minors of college sports.

No one is disagreeing UConn's status in the AAC is hurting the short term excitement surrounding the athletic program. I think most fans miss the Big East type environment but missing it will not change the reality. Remember UConn did not choose to be in this position and it is amazing how well UConn has weathered the storm.

UConn basketball is still a big time player. This year's men's bb team is probably not our best ever but it would not be shocking to make a run in the NCAA tournament. Next year's the men's bb is bringing in a monster recruiting class, arguably UConn's best class ever, so obviously the AAC is not hurting our brand in bringing in talent. KO may eventually leave or he may not but as far as I can tell he seems happy at UConn. As fans we cannot allow the fear of an unknown future to cloud the present state of the program. There is no reason to think UConn basketball is faltering and as long as there is an NCAA tournament in which UConn can participate, players will come to Storrs. Winning a NC out of the AAC is the same process as winning a NC out of the ACC and recruits know they can win a NC at UConn while building an NBA resume.

Bottom Line: the sanctions, the banned tournament, the NCAA allowance of player transfers, and Calhoun's retirement slowed the men's basketball program a little but UConn has rebounded quickly. As for the women's bb program, it would be impossible to be any more dominate.

Football is a bigger issue. A program cannot win with only 5 good players (unlike in basketball) and the huge money involved makes P5 status a near necessity for perennial success. Yet, even with AAC status, UConn football is improving. There is no reason to be down on UConn football....we are trending in the right direction.

I get it... being in the AAC lacks the excitement of playing comparable P5 programs. And yes, being a non-member of the P5 hurts especially when listening to other obnoxious P5 fan bases. But I truly believe President Herbst and the UConn Athletic Department have done everything to position UConn appropriately for a P5 slot. Instead of feeling down about the direction of UConn athletics, we should be excited the UConn has rebounded and remained relevant.

Any critic who is taking shots at UConn is not recognizing how well UConn has persevered. UConn is still outperforming our regional rivals...even from the G5. UConn won't be there forever.

 

[BlueandOG]

No one is disagreeing UConn's status in the AAC is hurting the short term excitement surrounding the athletic program. I think most fans miss the Big East type environment but missing it will not change the reality. Remember UConn did not choose to be in this position and it is amazing how well UConn has weathered the storm.

UConn basketball is still a big time player. This year's men's bb team is probably not our best ever but it would not be shocking to make a run in the NCAA tournament. Next year's the men's bb is bringing in a monster recruiting class, arguably UConn's best class ever, so obviously the AAC is not hurting our brand in bringing in talent. KO may eventually leave or he may not but as far as I can tell he seems happy at UConn. As fans we cannot allow the fear of an unknown future to cloud the present state of the program. There is no reason to think UConn basketball is faltering and as long as there is an NCAA tournament in which UConn can participate, players will come to Storrs. Winning a NC out of the AAC is the same process as winning a NC out of the ACC and recruits know they can win a NC at UConn while building an NBA resume.

Bottom Line: the sanctions, the banned tournament, the NCAA allowance of player transfers, and Calhoun's retirement slowed the men's basketball program a little but UConn has rebounded quickly. As for the women's bb program, it would be impossible to be any more dominate.

Football is a bigger issue. A program cannot win with only 5 good players (unlike in basketball) and the huge money involved makes P5 status a near necessity for perennial success. Yet, even with AAC status, UConn football is improving. There is no reason to be down on UConn football....we are trending in the right direction.

I get it... being in the AAC lacks the excitement of playing comparable P5 programs. And yes, being a non-member of the P5 hurts especially when listening to other obnoxious P5 fan bases. But I truly believe President Herbst and the UConn Athletic Department have done everything to position UConn appropriately for a P5 slot. Instead of feeling down about the direction of UConn athletics, we should be excited the UConn has rebounded and remained relevant.

Any critic who is taking shots at UConn is not recognizing how well UConn has persevered. UConn is still outperforming our regional rivals...even from the G5. UConn won't be there forever.

Love it! Do you have any interest in being our new AD?

 

[dwalks93]

Love it! Do you have any interest in being our new AD?

I'd love to be UConn's AD but I do not think crying in public would help our image. It took me almost 24 hours to work up the energy to write that pep talk. The rest of the time I spend in the fetal position, crying, drinking, and asking God when UConn will get a P-5 invite.

To quote Winston Churchill "if you are going through hell, keep going." This has been a rough ride for UConn and its fans but we are going to make it to the P5. Instead of quitting UConn has battled and remained relevant..UConn will eventually be rewarded.