alexrgct
RIP, Alex
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 10,091
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ESPN Classic aired the 2000 NC game the morning of this year's NC game, and I recorded it on my DVR. I just finally watched it, and it was a fun trip down memory lane for sure. Some thoughts:
-Hey, ESPN, are you sure you can't figure out how to show the whole game in a two-hour block? Maybe we don't need Bill Cosby's intro to your program from 13 years ago, the extended starting lineups introductions, or the broadcast team's initial analysis of the game? Maybe I'd prefer to watch the three-plus minutes of actual game play you decided was less important?
-If there was an NC-winning team to compare the 2013-14 team to, 2000 is one I'd hope proved to be apt. I mean, given the continuity of personnel, 2013 might end up being more apt, but in terms of a pillar-to-post season, 2000 may well apply. In 2000, UConn had two viable NPOY candidates in Svet and Shea. KML and Breanna may well fit that bill for UConn. Can Mo have the kind of sophomore season Sue did? That's a tall order, but a breakout sophomore campaign wouldn't be shocking in any event. Morgan Tuck has drawn a million Asjha Jones comparisons, and I wouldn't complain at all if she had the kind of tournament off the bench Asjha did (not sure if Morgan is going to start or be sixth woman- we'll have to see). Could Saniya be Kennitra Johnson? Stef will be the answer at the five, something it took a while for Geno to figure out on the 2000 team. Could Kiah and Shumacher have some things in common? I wouldn't complain. Swin and Bria aren't especially comparable, but bottom line, both teams were loaded and versatile.
-I know not everyone agrees with me on this point, but damn it, this rivalry needs to come back in a big way. The 1999-00 incarnation of these two teams REALLY didn't like each other. That was fun. I also recently re-watched the 2003 and 2004 finals. There was just an intensity there you rarely see today. Similarly, I hope UConn-ND is able to resume after this upcoming season, that UConn-Stanford continues, and that UConn-Baylor continues to be a meaningful game.
-This game was not as close as the final 19-point deficit would imply. UConn was up by as many as 27 with 6:00 to go, after which Geno started bringing in subs.
-Tennessee made a huge tactical error at the outset by trying to establish Michelle Snow in the blocks instead of getting Catchings involved early and often. Snow was completely ineffective, and by the time Catchings really got involved, the game was already out of hand. Catchings, the NPOY for 2000, and finished with somewhere between 17 and 19 points in this game, but those were quiet points. A big part of it was that UConn was doubling Catchings early any time she touched the ball, but her teammates also weren't looking for her enough.
-In addition to Snow being God-awful, Kara Lawson and Sameka Randall were also ineffective. That was the difference in this game, in fact. UConn's stars played solid ball, whereas Catch was marginalized, UConn's role players like Asjha and Kelly were magnificent, whereas no one showed up for Tennessee and made UConn pay for the attention Catch was getting.
-Mike Patrick: I don't miss you. My favorite moment: says Sue is called for a foul. Not only was the whistle in question on Tennessee, but Sue wasn't even on the court. But I mean, other than that, he totally nailed that call.
-Another signature moment that encapsulated why UConn dominated this game: Shea boxes out what seems like everyone on the floor at the time for the LVs, grabs an o-board, and throws up and twisting, seemingly impossible putback shot, which she makes AND draws Catch's second foul. Just an extraordinary individual effort.
-Matt Mitchell sighting at 9:35! Dude looks almost exactly the same.
-I know the game ended 13 years ago, and most of the stars of that game are closer to the ends of their pro careers than they are the beginnings...but I still think UConn just scored again on a backdoor cut. Good gravy.
-And Shuie just blew up another attempt by the LVs to score within 15 feet of the basket.
-Hey, remember when Jen and Rebecca were the recent alumnae in the stands? I don't really.
-Interesting halftime stat: Tenn's 19 points tied them for second lowest in the first half of a championship game. La Tech had also had 19 in 1988, and Purdue had 17 just a year prior. Both La Tech and Purdue won their respective NCs! Don't touch that dial, America! Of course, UConn shattered that record in 2010...and also came back and won the game. Another record to be proud of, indeed. Maya and Tina agree that was special.
-Plural references were made to the "remarkable" recruiting classes coming in for both programs. Well, this kid from the 2000 class certainly turned out ok:
Overall, still a wholly satisfying game and an emphatic passing of the torch to UConn as the #1 program in WBB, a title that, despite a few relatively "down" years in the middle of the previous decade (to the extent that two E8s and a S16 count as down), the Huskies have yet to relinquish.
-Hey, ESPN, are you sure you can't figure out how to show the whole game in a two-hour block? Maybe we don't need Bill Cosby's intro to your program from 13 years ago, the extended starting lineups introductions, or the broadcast team's initial analysis of the game? Maybe I'd prefer to watch the three-plus minutes of actual game play you decided was less important?
-If there was an NC-winning team to compare the 2013-14 team to, 2000 is one I'd hope proved to be apt. I mean, given the continuity of personnel, 2013 might end up being more apt, but in terms of a pillar-to-post season, 2000 may well apply. In 2000, UConn had two viable NPOY candidates in Svet and Shea. KML and Breanna may well fit that bill for UConn. Can Mo have the kind of sophomore season Sue did? That's a tall order, but a breakout sophomore campaign wouldn't be shocking in any event. Morgan Tuck has drawn a million Asjha Jones comparisons, and I wouldn't complain at all if she had the kind of tournament off the bench Asjha did (not sure if Morgan is going to start or be sixth woman- we'll have to see). Could Saniya be Kennitra Johnson? Stef will be the answer at the five, something it took a while for Geno to figure out on the 2000 team. Could Kiah and Shumacher have some things in common? I wouldn't complain. Swin and Bria aren't especially comparable, but bottom line, both teams were loaded and versatile.
-I know not everyone agrees with me on this point, but damn it, this rivalry needs to come back in a big way. The 1999-00 incarnation of these two teams REALLY didn't like each other. That was fun. I also recently re-watched the 2003 and 2004 finals. There was just an intensity there you rarely see today. Similarly, I hope UConn-ND is able to resume after this upcoming season, that UConn-Stanford continues, and that UConn-Baylor continues to be a meaningful game.
-This game was not as close as the final 19-point deficit would imply. UConn was up by as many as 27 with 6:00 to go, after which Geno started bringing in subs.
-Tennessee made a huge tactical error at the outset by trying to establish Michelle Snow in the blocks instead of getting Catchings involved early and often. Snow was completely ineffective, and by the time Catchings really got involved, the game was already out of hand. Catchings, the NPOY for 2000, and finished with somewhere between 17 and 19 points in this game, but those were quiet points. A big part of it was that UConn was doubling Catchings early any time she touched the ball, but her teammates also weren't looking for her enough.
-In addition to Snow being God-awful, Kara Lawson and Sameka Randall were also ineffective. That was the difference in this game, in fact. UConn's stars played solid ball, whereas Catch was marginalized, UConn's role players like Asjha and Kelly were magnificent, whereas no one showed up for Tennessee and made UConn pay for the attention Catch was getting.
-Mike Patrick: I don't miss you. My favorite moment: says Sue is called for a foul. Not only was the whistle in question on Tennessee, but Sue wasn't even on the court. But I mean, other than that, he totally nailed that call.
-Another signature moment that encapsulated why UConn dominated this game: Shea boxes out what seems like everyone on the floor at the time for the LVs, grabs an o-board, and throws up and twisting, seemingly impossible putback shot, which she makes AND draws Catch's second foul. Just an extraordinary individual effort.
-Matt Mitchell sighting at 9:35! Dude looks almost exactly the same.
-I know the game ended 13 years ago, and most of the stars of that game are closer to the ends of their pro careers than they are the beginnings...but I still think UConn just scored again on a backdoor cut. Good gravy.
-And Shuie just blew up another attempt by the LVs to score within 15 feet of the basket.
-Hey, remember when Jen and Rebecca were the recent alumnae in the stands? I don't really.
-Interesting halftime stat: Tenn's 19 points tied them for second lowest in the first half of a championship game. La Tech had also had 19 in 1988, and Purdue had 17 just a year prior. Both La Tech and Purdue won their respective NCs! Don't touch that dial, America! Of course, UConn shattered that record in 2010...and also came back and won the game. Another record to be proud of, indeed. Maya and Tina agree that was special.
-Plural references were made to the "remarkable" recruiting classes coming in for both programs. Well, this kid from the 2000 class certainly turned out ok:
Overall, still a wholly satisfying game and an emphatic passing of the torch to UConn as the #1 program in WBB, a title that, despite a few relatively "down" years in the middle of the previous decade (to the extent that two E8s and a S16 count as down), the Huskies have yet to relinquish.
