NIT Acceptance

[August_West]

Is there even 1 team ever who has said no to the NIT? These are really good teams in this tourney--this is the basis of how this college started getting good. No one would ever consider this train of thought.

Yes, Uconn in 1993?( iirc) Calhoun declined NIT invite

 

[CAHUSKY]

Yes, Uconn in 1993?( iirc) Calhoun declined NIT invite

Calhoun just wishes he would have turned down the NIT in 1993. (Jackson State/Lindsey Hunter)

 

[freescooter]

Georgetown did one year I know. And that was when it still had a modicum of prestige. This event has become the 1aa playoffs of basketball. Not exactly the basketball. Com tourney I guess but not much better

Is there even 1 team ever who has said no to the NIT? These are really good teams in this tourney--this is the basis of how this college started getting good. No one would ever consider this train of thought.

 

[August_West]

Calhoun just wishes he would have turned down the NIT in 1993. (Jackson State/Lindsey Hunter)

You're of course right . So why do I have us not going one year? Might just be I had too many party favors with bill Walton and hallucinated it.

 

[scrappy2.0]

In 2010 we went to the NIT in 2011 we won the NCAA's Just deal with it!

 

[Matias]

The right attitude is to move forward and do the best they can with what they got dished and we will all be behind them 100%. It would be great to see them take their never-give-up-despite-being-overmatched mentality far into the NIT, but you have to understand that the NIT is probably just as hard as if not harder than the NCAA for an accomplished team with dashed aspirations to win.

The NIT will be fought with hungry teams with talent, good coaching, that have never won anything and they are very hard to beat when your team doesn't have something as equally important to play for.

 

[Huskygamble19]

Despite the fact that it is not the NCAA it is still an opportunity for postseason play where UCONN can get valuable playing time for the younger players. Ollie will get them prepared for this tournament like any other one and I feel that they will do well. The main thing is that more play can only help for next year. Experience is never a bad thing.

 

[boog204]

Arguably getting some of the first experience in the NCAA with the 30 second shot clock in the NIT could be a blessing going forward. It's only a matter of time before the 30 second clock becomes permanent imo. Can't understand how the women have played with 30 seconds for years but the supposedly more athletic and skilled men need 35 seconds.

Excellent point... I wish they'd go to a 24 second clock to try to rebuild some excitement and action into the college game. The quality of play is just pretty low right now. Speeding things up will at least force some pace back into the game.

 

[storrsroars]

I didn't realize Florida was sub-.500 until the NIT selection show. So things could be worse for us. I'm sure Billy Donovan would've LOVED to get his team into the NIT.

Perspective is simply that five of the last 11 NCs are not in the big dance this year. Six of last 12 if you include Cuse.

 

[Husky25]

That doesn't make sense. The Gators lost 4 seniors and the core of an NCAA #1 seed and Final 4 team. They should have absolutely contended for the SEC title again.

The Boneyard doesn't do perspective. This is the land of unreasonable and unadjusted expectations.

 

[Kembacity]

Don't get me wrong, the way we played this year, we deserve the NIT, and I'll watch and root on our guys.

But are you really trying to compare UConn football, to its mens bball team?!? Because if so, these two programs are in entirely 2 different time zones, let alone continents. The football squad is more comparable to Alabama Basketball, where our men's basketball is more Alabama Football. Just because the football team would be overjoyed to play in the "Family Dollar Store" Bowl, doesn't mean the mens bball squad should be honored to play in the NIT. The football team has a looooong way to go to be even distant cousins to UConn Men's Basketball.

A quote from our best player:
"I didn't come back my senior year, to play in no NIT".... Doesn't seem like the captain is overjoyed

He said that during the season, I didn't read him saying it again after the loss to SMU.

You should understand that a player says that as a way to make his teammates believe in him and their mission. I highly doubt he means it literally and will refuse to play in the NIT, rather than having pride in his own skills and the name on his jersey and realizing he has the opportunity to will this team to A tournament championship even if its not the big one. Another of his famous quotes (to me) is "We love it when you count us out", well what better way to show that love than by winning the NIT and showing the world that we weren't that bad this year