Maybe this year gives some needed perspective

[GoUconn7961]

UConn holds a bunch of impressive records:

• A 111 game win streak
• A separate 89 game win streak
• 14 consecutive Final Fours (that’s 14 years)
• 30 years without back to back losses

These are incredible achievements that I believe UConn fans take for granted. Just the first item on the above list - how hard is it to win 100+ consecutive times at anything (darts, poker, solitaire, tiddlywinks)? Beating top ranked teams, getting up against bad teams where others might lose focus, championships, on the road, through illness, finals, heck, breakups with boyfriends…. It’s remarkable that so many different groups of 18-22 year olds could do any of the stuff on that list.

I see a lot of posters on the board have expectations of UConn teams each year based on what UConn teams of the past have done. That’s erroneous. Every year presents its own set of challenges to a different cast of characters. To assume that each season will be some kind of replay of a previous year makes no sense to me.

Can we just try to keep in mind what’s going on with this year’s team without expecting them to turn into a version of a prior year team? Can expectations be adjusted for the realities of this season?

I love all of the Huskies I’ve been privileged to see play for the last 30 years. I’m proud of all of their accomplishments. I don’t know that I’ve ever been prouder than I am of this year’s group of warriors. They truly do have the Heart of a Husky, every one of them.

This is why teams celebrate so much when they beat UConn. To beat a team of UConn’s caliber is not something that happens every day. For some,it’s their championship game.

 

[Boreifs]

Another perspective. There are plenty of teams that use only six or seven players. The difference is that the one or two bench players play more than 20 minutes and collect points, rebounds and assists. No one should reasonably expect that any on our current bench will be productive against top teams. When one of them is on the floor, the other four have to play with even more energy and face much tougher defense. It’s equivalent to defending a power play in hockey. This current situation is unprecedented.

 

[JRRRJ]

You are dreaming. Of course there are other teams with talent like that. But there is no other team that has has four likely starters ( Brady, Paige, Azzi and Ducharme ) who haven't played a minute in 2023. ( okay, AZZI played one game before she was re-injured...and had sat for 6 weeks )

Small correction-- Azzi has played 250 minutes in 9 games (avg. 28), Caroline 301 minutes in 12 games (avg. 25).

 

[boscolino]

And IMO the most important thing is that we are talking about a University. Studying, learning, education must be priorities.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Here's a few more

Most consecutive NCs (4)
Most consecutive Div 1 NCAA Tourney wins (28)
Most consecutive 30 win seasons (14) (along with most 30 win seasons 25)
Most undefeated seasons (6)

Do provide some additional perspective, that is more undefeated seasons that every other program - combined. And no other program has more than 1 undefeated season.

But more than all of these records, what is my greatest source of pride is how the players have conducted themselves, on and off the court, during these last 30 years. I'll never forget that when the 111 game streak was snapped on a last second shot in OT during the Final Four, the team ran off the court as if it were any other game.

 

[BBallF]

It would be like SC losing Boston ( Paige) and Cooke (Azzi- not fair comparison since Azzi will be an AA soon enough) then Cardoso the sixth man (Caroline) and their best freshman. It would have decimated them. The fact that Lou, Nika, Aaliyah and Aubrey outperformed all expectations does not detract from the losses of those other players. Lou is a total surprise, Nika is a transformed player and so is Aaliyah and Aubrey is almost miraculous. If they (Paige, Azzi, CD, Ice) were all healthy you might be saying that this was the greatest team in the history of womens college basketball.

 

[Jokerman619]

UConn holds a bunch of impressive records:

• A 111 game win streak
• A separate 89 game win streak
• 14 consecutive Final Fours (that’s 14 years)
• 30 years without back to back losses

These are incredible achievements that I believe UConn fans take for granted. Just the first item on the above list - how hard is it to win 100+ consecutive times at anything (darts, poker, solitaire, tiddlywinks)? Beating top ranked teams, getting up against bad teams where others might lose focus, championships, on the road, through illness, finals, heck, breakups with boyfriends…. It’s remarkable that so many different groups of 18-22 year olds could do any of the stuff on that list.

I see a lot of posters on the board have expectations of UConn teams each year based on what UConn teams of the past have done. That’s erroneous. Every year presents its own set of challenges to a different cast of characters. To assume that each season will be some kind of replay of a previous year makes no sense to me.

Can we just try to keep in mind what’s going on with this year’s team without expecting them to turn into a version of a prior year team? Can expectations be adjusted for the realities of this season?

I love all of the Huskies I’ve been privileged to see play for the last 30 years. I’m proud of all of their accomplishments. I don’t know that I’ve ever been prouder than I am of this year’s group of warriors. They truly do have the Heart of a Husky, every one of them.

So true and thanks to remind us. They are the UConn Huskies. They will definitely keep thier number one seed. And win the Big east. And to do what they do best. Win win win. Go Huskies

 

[Jokerman619]

It would be like SC losing Boston ( Paige) and Cooke (Azzi- not fair comparison since Azzi will be an AA soon enough) then Cardoso the sixth man (Caroline) and their best freshman. It would have decimated them. The fact that Lou, Nika, Aaliyah and Aubrey outperformed all expectations does not detract from the losses of those other players. Lou is a total surprise, Nika is a transformed player and so is Aaliyah and Aubrey is almost miraculous. If they (Paige, Azzi, CD, Ice) were all healthy you might be saying that this was the greatest team in the history of womens college basketball.

So freaking true

 

[Carnac]

This is why teams celebrate so much when they beat UConn. To beat a team of UConn’s caliber is not something that happens every day. For some,it’s their championship game.

Any win against UConn is celebrated, but......................was THIS team of 5 (with no bench) really representative of UConn? Of course not. But Marquette celebrated very enthusiastically anyway, they just beat UConn, short-handed or not. I had no problem with their celebration. You know, I know and they know..................if we have our full roster available, they don't come within 20 points of a win.

To repeat what I've said several times this season, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. This IS NOT UConn's year. I really believe next year is our year!!! You can make all of the excuses you want. You can't have the number of highly talented players (including two core players) on the bench in street clothes and still think you're going to do something special this year. We've had some posters lose their mind over this last loss. When Emery (the owner of this board) and Nan have to step in and admonish posters to knock it off and settle down, you know it's bad, so don't look over your glasses at me.

What has to happen to make the light turn on for some of us? I'm as optimistic as the next guy, but I'm also a realist. You can't make this our year by wishing it so. What you saw Wednesday night is who we are right now. None of us can change that. Geno keeps saying that the girls are tired physically and mentally, but it's not getting through to some of us. You can tell by the tenor of some of the comments posted after the game.

Right now, I have no expectations for this team. They are at a low point right now. Whether they can recover is yet to be seen. They lost to Marquette, they can lose another BE game. This IS NOT your father's UConn WBB team. Some of us forget or are unwilling to admit that we have no bench. Please understand I'm not throwing shade at the reserves, just sharing an observation that has manifested itself over and over the past 5-6 games. The bench got zero points and 2 rebounds combined in the last 2 games.

The 5 starters have to do it all themselves. 38-40 minutes each game the rest of the way if Caroline does not return. I will continue to support them 100%, and continue to watch them play, and follow them as long as they survive and advance in the NCAAT. This is my take, agree or not, but this is the way I see things as they stand for us right now. I'm still excited to see this team play and see if they can play their way out of this funk they are in.

 

[Longtime fan]

Small correction-- Azzi has played 250 minutes in 9 games (avg. 28), Caroline 301 minutes in 12 games (avg. 25).

But my note said 2023. What were the numbers for each this year? Not 2022

 

[faithfulfan]

All 4 UCONN losses this year were to very good teams, no shame in that when you include how many injuries they've had to key players!
Imagine, losing the 3 best shooters on your team and still doing this well!
Amazing results!

 

[faithfulfan]

Any win against UConn is celebrated, but......................was THIS team of 5 (with no bench) really representative of UConn? Of course not. But Marquette celebrated very enthusiastically anyway, they just beat UConn, short-handed or not. I had no problem with their celebration. You know, I know and they know..................if we have our full roster available, they don't come within 20 points of a win.

To repeat what I've said several times this season, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. This IS NOT UConn's year. I really believe next year is our year!!! You can make all of the excuses you want. You can't have the number of highly talented players (including two core players) on the bench in street clothes and still think you're going to do something special this year. We've had some posters lose their mind over this last loss. When Emery (the owner of this board) and Nan have to step in and admonish posters to knock it off and settle down, you know it's bad, so don't look over your glasses at me.

What has to happen to make the light turn on for some of us? I'm as optimistic as the next guy, but I'm also a realist. You can't make this our year by wishing it so. What you saw Wednesday night is who we are right now. None of us can change that. Geno keeps saying that the girls are tired physically and mentally, but it's not getting through to some of us. You can tell by the tenor of some of the comments posted after the game.

Right now, I have no expectations for this team. They are at a low point right now. Whether they can recover is yet to be seen. They lost to Marquette, they can lose another BE game. This IS NOT your father's UConn WBB team. Some of us forget or are unwilling to admit that we have no bench. Please understand I'm not throwing shade at the reserves, just sharing an observation that has manifested itself over and over the past 5-6 games. The bench got zero points and 2 rebounds combined in the last 2 games.

The 5 starters have to do it all themselves. 38-40 minutes each game the rest of the way if Caroline does not return. I will continue to support them 100%, and continue to watch them play, and follow them as long as they survive and advance in the NCAAT. This is my take, agree or not, but this is the way I see things as they stand for us right now. I'm still excited to see this team play and see if they can play their way out of this funk they are in.

If UCONN is healthy next year, not even the refs will be able to stop UCONN from NAtional Championship #12!

 

[Jokerman619]

Any win against UConn is celebrated, but......................was THIS team of 5 (with no bench) really representative of UConn? Of course not. But Marquette celebrated very enthusiastically anyway, they just beat UConn, short-handed or not. I had no problem with their celebration. You know, I know and they know..................if we have our full roster available, they don't come within 20 points of a win.

To repeat what I've said several times this season, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. This IS NOT UConn's year. I really believe next year is our year!!! You can make all of the excuses you want. You can't have the number of highly talented players (including two core players) on the bench in street clothes and still think you're going to do something special this year. We've had some posters lose their mind over this last loss. When Emery (the owner of this board) and Nan have to step in and admonish posters to knock it off and settle down, you know it's bad, so don't look over your glasses at me.

What has to happen to make the light turn on for some of us? I'm as optimistic as the next guy, but I'm also a realist. You can't make this our year by wishing it so. What you saw Wednesday night is who we are right now. None of us can change that. Geno keeps saying that the girls are tired physically and mentally, but it's not getting through to some of us. You can tell by the tenor of some of the comments posted after the game.

Right now, I have no expectations for this team. They are at a low point right now. Whether they can recover is yet to be seen. They lost to Marquette, they can lose another BE game. This IS NOT your father's UConn WBB team. Some of us forget or are unwilling to admit that we have no bench. Please understand I'm not throwing shade at the reserves, just sharing an observation that has manifested itself over and over the past 5-6 games. The bench got zero points and 2 rebounds combined in the last 2 games.

The 5 starters have to do it all themselves. 38-40 minutes each game the rest of the way if Caroline does not return. I will continue to support them 100%, and continue to watch them play, and follow them as long as they survive and advance in the NCAAT. This is my take, agree or not, but this is the way I see things as they stand for us right now.

Yes I agree to a point. But relief is coming very soon. And i would put uconn full bench against anyone in the league. Never count them out. Not wishing, but facts. So will continue to support. Go Huskies.

 

[Longtime fan]

Yes I agree to a point. But relief is coming very soon. And i would put uconn full bench against anyone in the league. Never count them out. Not wishing, but facts. So will continue to support. Go Huskies.

We all hope " relief is coming soon." But Caroline is still wearing ear plugs to keep the sounds of the arena from causing her to pass out, and no one even asks about AZZI any more. We all just assume they will both be fine around march 7. And you know what assuming does.

 

[Carnac]

Yes I agree to a point. But relief is coming very soon. And i would put uconn full bench against anyone in the league. Never count them out. Not wishing, but facts. So will continue to support. Go Huskies.

Absolutely!!! I've tempered my expectations to stay in line with their recent play. They struggled with an unranked 12-12 Georgetown team. I'll support them to the end, but I must go by what I see, not what I want, wish, or hope for. I completely understand the dynamics they are experiencing. They are doing the best they can. I (and I can only speak for myself here) respect and support that. They are playing with a severe handicap that's difficult to overcome. Geno has said and repeated the fact that they are all tired. Some have minor injuries.

When 5 players are asked to play 38+ minutes every game, they will get tired, and their play in the 2nd half will reflect it. Fans that have never played a basketball game at the college level can't understand or appreciate how hard and taxing it is to play that many minutes.
When you've walked down that road, you aren't so quick to criticize.

 

[SCNCHuskie]

At the end of this thread could someone please compile a comprehensive list of all the records into one list. I know UConn is a few weeks away from the record for most consecutive weeks in the top 25, I am also pretty sure they have the longest streak at number one. I know USC just tied them for the fourth most consecutive weeks at number one, but I believe UConn also has the longest streak being ranked number one.

UConn holds a bunch of impressive records:
• A 111 game win streak
• A separate 89 game win streak
• 14 consecutive Final Fours (that’s 14 years)
• 30 years without back to back losses
Most NT Champion 11
Most consecutive NCs (4)
Most consecutive Div 1 NCAA Tourney wins (28)
Most consecutive 30 win seasons (14)
along with most 30 win seasons 25
Most undefeated seasons (6)

One thing that I will say, casual fans that do not follow women’s basketball closely, do not realize the severity of UConn’s injuries. I worked with a gentleman this week, while working at USC in South Carolina, who is a huge USC fan. He was giving me a hard time about the loss to USC. I explained I was relatively happy with the outcome due to the injuries, and how optimistic I was if we could get a couple players back. Firstly, he was almost oblivious to the injuries, and then he said, “Everybody has excuses.“ Most people that I come into contact with that discuss women’s basketball do not have enough knowledge and strictly go by win or losses. That is all that matters.

 

[Carnac]

Absolutely!!! I've tempered my expectations to stay in line with their recent play. They struggled with an unranked 12-12 Georgetown team. I'll support them to the end, but I must go by what I see, not what I want, wish, or hope for. I completely understand the dynamics they are experiencing. They are doing the best they can. I (and I can only speak for myself here) respect and support that. They are playing with a severe handicap that's difficult to overcome. Geno has said and repeated the fact that they are all tired. Some have minor injuries.

When 5 players are asked to play 38+ minutes every game, they will get tired, and their play in the 2nd half will reflect it. Fans that have never played a basketball game at the college level can't understand or appreciate how hard and taxing it is to play that many minutes.
When you've walked down that road, you aren't so quick to criticize.

Until (and unless) Caroline and Azzi come back, I don't expect things to improve. It's like a device that's battery-operated. When the batteries are just about to go out, the device starts to slow down more and more until it stops. That's what I see when I look at our team. Their play would improve greatly if our starters only had to play 24-28 minutes a game. Right now, that's not the case.

 

[Zinethar]

I absolutely love this team for who they are. UConn has 3 on the bench but they don't add points usually when the come in. That is what keeps them out of the games for the most part. Amari is the only one that usually will take an open shot. Geno rarely used more than 7 in a championship run but those bench players would score as well as play defense and rebound. Notice I said would score not could score. They need the confidence to shoot the ball when open.

I was a bit down when I heard Geno's remark when talking to the limited bench that he wasn't expecting that to change anytime soon. That was 180 out of his recent more upbeat talks of how the two remaining injured players were improving (no Ice and Paige don't count - they are not playing this year).

 

[Carnac]

At the end of this thread could someone please compile a comprehensive list of all the records into one list. I know UConn is a few weeks away from the record for most consecutive weeks in the top 25, I am also pretty sure they have the longest streak at number one. I know USC just tied them for the fourth most consecutive weeks at number one, but I believe UConn also has the longest streak being ranked number one.

UConn holds a bunch of impressive records:
• A 111 game win streak
• A separate 89 game win streak
• 14 consecutive Final Fours (that’s 14 years)
• 30 years without back to back losses
Most NT Champion 11
Most consecutive NCs (4)
Most consecutive Div 1 NCAA Tourney wins (28)
Most consecutive 30 win seasons (14)
along with most 30 win seasons 25
Most undefeated seasons (6)

One thing that I will say, casual fans that do not follow women’s basketball closely, do not realize the severity of UConn’s injuries. I worked with a gentleman this week, while working at USC in South Carolina, who is a huge USC fan. He was giving me a hard time about the loss to USC. I explained I was relatively happy with the outcome due to the injuries, and how optimistic I was if we could get a couple players back. Firstly, he was almost oblivious to the injuries, and then he said, “Everybody has excuses.“ Most people that I come into contact with that discuss women’s basketball do not have enough knowledge and strictly go by win or losses. That is all that matters.

He's not the only one. Injuries are real and do affect a player's ability to perform. I have no doubt that some of our starters have nagging minor injuries that affect their play, but not enough to keep them from playing. We know Lou is hurting. Aaliyah and Nika both suffered ankle injuries yesterday but played through it.

Aubrey was winching after being grabbed from behind on a break-a-way block and sprint down the sidelines toward the basket. We won't know the severity of those injuries, but I'd be willing to bet it won't keep any of them out of Wednesday's game with Creighton. They know Geno has no replacements for them, so they tough it out as best they can. As the season wears on, it's becoming more and more difficult for them to perform at the level we're used to seeing. Some fans understand this, some don't.

 

[Outrigger]

Let’s not forget that our current starting 5 could be playing that 24 to 28 or max 30 minutes per game. Geno has chosen (his prerogative) to severely underutilize his 3 currently healthy bench players because of the substantial drop off in their effectiveness and I am sure this is very difficult dilemma for him. But, for the sake of consistency he should never wring hands over what everyone including Geno sees as excessive minutes being played by the 5 current starters that in effect are physically exhausting them. I see at the minimum a whiff of Geno wringing his hands over this - but he could rectify the excessive minutes played by the starters at a snap of his fingers. Quite a dilemma.

 

[Carnac]

I absolutely love this team for who they are. UConn has 3 on the bench but they don't add points usually when the come in. That is what keeps them out of the games for the most part. Amari is the only one that usually will take an open shot. Geno rarely used more than 7 in a championship run but those bench players would score as well as play defense and rebound. Notice I said would score not could score. They need the confidence to shoot the ball when open.

I was a bit down when I heard Geno's remark when talking to the limited bench that he wasn't expecting that to change anytime soon. That was 180 out of his recent more upbeat talks of how the two remaining injured players were improving (no Ice and Paige don't count - they are not playing this year).

This comes under the heading of (The definition of insanity) doing something over and over, and expecting a different result. I don't expect things to change until some reinforcements arrive, and take some of the load off the starters. If I'm missing something here, please share.

 

[topogigio]

Rather than looking back at the ridiculous records from the past, actually look (youtube) at some of the games from the past 30 years. What I don't see anymore is the crisp ball movement, ball not touching the floor, sharp cuts and backcuts, relentless offensive rebounding, playing defense without fouling, minimal turnovers and mental mistakes, great overall foul shooting, and on and on. I do realize the level of competition, and overall skill is much better than the last few decades and UConn doesn't intimidate opponents just by showing up. However, I believe even given the injuries and lack of bench right now, this team is just missing stuff we are used to. Just my take,

 

[HuskyNan]

Rather than looking back at the ridiculous records from the past, actually look (youtube) at some of the games from the past 30 years. What I don't see anymore is the crisp ball movement, ball not touching the floor, sharp cuts and backcuts, relentless offensive rebounding, playing defense without fouling, minimal turnovers and mental mistakes, great overall foul shooting, and on and on. I do realize the level of competition, and overall skill is much better than the last few decades and UConn doesn't intimidate opponents just by showing up. However, I believe even given the injuries and lack of bench right now, this team is just missing stuff we are used to. Just my take,

The Huskies are playing primarily 2 guards. When forwards handle the ball a lot, there isn’t as much crisp passing. I think the UConn forwards are doing an extraordinary job of finding their teammates and making great passes. But you won’t see the same level of ball handling, passing, and low turnovers as you might with more guards.

Also, Geno has the players going one on one more because individually, the players match up with anyone. That will also result in fewer passes and, potentially, more turnovers.

 

[topogigio]

The Huskies are playing primarily 2 guards. When forwards handle the ball a lot, there isn’t as much crisp passing. I think the UConn forwards are doing an extraordinary job of finding their teammates and making great passes. But you won’t see the same level of ball handling, passing, and low turnovers as you might with more guards.

Also, Geno has the players going one on one more because individually, the players match up with anyone. That will also result in fewer passes and, potentially, more turnovers.

It's good for fans to have different opinions, we all want the same thing for these young ladies. That is part of the fun of the boneyard!

 

[HuskyNan]

It's good for fans to have different opinions, we all want the same thing for these young ladies. That is part of the fun of the boneyard!

We have no problem. I’m just adding my perspective to yours. All is good