Number 6.. just wow | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Number 6.. just wow

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WhereistheDove? said:
Imagine heading into the ‘99 season someone telling you that UConn would have passed Indiana, Duke, and be tied with UNC in championships by 2024….
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Back that up fifteen years. If in 1984 someone told me that in my lifetime I would see the day where only UCLA and Kentucky had more titles that us I would have though they were on some very serious halucinogens. No exaggeration, at that time, the idea of us winning multiple national titles in men's basketball was more far fetched than the idea today of us winning a national title in football.
 
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husky99 said:
I was wrong on hurley... crushing the sport
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I was pushing hard for him before we got Ollie and then I was right there leading the charge for him to prove he can win close games and show it in the tournament.

It's mind blowing, he's blown everyone out for two straight seasons. I questioned his Nova press conference "It's coming" because I needed to see the results. Holy hell.

Luke, Kimani, and Tom are the absolute best in the business but Hurley hired all of them. It's all Hurley, the guy is unreal.
 
Buzzyboy said:
After 1990, I always felt that there was a strong possibility but I surely wouldn't have put a whole lot of money on it. Nadav Henefield coming to Storrs changed my mindset on what UConn could and would be ...
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Some early recruits made a shift for uconn. Cliff comes to mind.
 
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FfldCntyFan said:
Back that up fifteen years. If in 1984 someone told me that in my lifetime I would see the day where only UCLA and Kentucky had more titles that us I would have though they were on some very serious halucinogens. No exaggeration, at that time, the idea of us winning multiple national titles in men's basketball was more far fetched than the idea today of us winning a national title in football.
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The two teams ahead of us haven't done much of anything in the last 30 years, comparatively speaking ... almost all of their titles were won before a whole lot of the Boneyarders were born .... particularly, Kentucky
 
Chin Diesel said:
You can't rank your kids. You love them all. But,,,,,,,

2024
1999
2004
2023
2014
2011

Seems right. You could almost group them in pairs. 2024 and 1999. 2023 and 2004. 2011 and 2014.

Three sets of twins.
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If we're doing them in pairs I don't see how you could possibly NOT pair 2011 and 2023. There were so many damn similarities to those teams it was honestly insane.

  • Started the season unranked
  • Set the world on fire in non-con and at one point in non-con had an abnormally large jump in ranking (NR to #7 in 2010-11, #20 to #8 in 2022-23)
  • Finished non-con undefeated
  • Had a somewhat rough conference season in a dogfight of a Big East
  • Figured it out somewhere towards the end of conference play to re-earn a top 4 seed (#3 for 2011, #4 for 2023)
  • Was the best remaining seed in a Final Four that set the record for worst seed to achieve that (2011 being the first Final Four with no 1 or 2 seeds, 2023 being the first with no 1s 2s or 3s)
  • Won the championship in Houston
  • With the combination of the 3rd and 7th points, finished the entire season undefeated in non-con play, having only struggled in an extremely tough conference season
 
NowInStorrs said:
Okay I realize it's all subjective but you're all sleeping on 2011. Magical run. Amazing year. That said, 2023 and 2024 have to be up there. Dominant. And 2004 was a killer team. And 1999 cause it's the first. And 2014 because it was out of nowhere. Okay. This is tough.
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It’s just nice we can even have these conversations about which one our championship teams is the best.
 
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husky99 said:
Something special... wow
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I haven't posted in here in forever, but I'm just so happy I got to experience this Final Four. Just look at Hurley in this picture I took!
1000020887.jpg
 
Marat said:
Up until 1998, I didn't think UConn would ever win it ! Wow.
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It’s kind of crazy in hindsight, because realistically our “long suffering“ era was 5 years long. 1990 was a magic carpet ride, and then we slipped backwards in 1991 (an 11 seed that made it to Sweet 16), 1992 (9 seed blown out by Ohio State) and 1993 (NIT).

Then the resurgence in 1994 and the Donyell missed FTs, loss to UCLA in 1995 and Mississippi State in 1996. That’s when the angst kicked in. NIT in 1997, and a 2 seed that lost to UNC in Greensboro in 1998.

With perspective, it was pretty short suffering. But it felt long at the time.
 
gsmooth said:
I remember after losing to Mississippi State in the Sweet 16 in 1996, I felt so dejected as I really wanted Ray Allen to make it to the Final Four. To go from that to tonight is going from one extreme to another
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Eh, Ray's in the basketball Hall of Fame. He's smiling just the same.
 
EnochRoot said:
Eh, Ray's in the basketball Hall of Fame. He's smiling just the same.
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Oh I am sure and with good reason. Winning 2 NBA title and an Olympic gold medal along with many other notable personal accomplishments. I was just explaining the extremes in emotion I felt from that day to today.
 
This was a fun sidebar to write. Got Tom Moore as the nets were being cut to reflect on these two teams and the first two championship teams, which he was on staff for:

dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com

UConn’s repeat draws parallels to its first two crowning moments

Tom Moore and Dan Hurley (third and fourth from left) reconstructed UConn when arriving in 2018, building to back-to-back national champions...
dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com dalydoseofhoops.blogspot.com
 
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WhereistheDove? said:
Imagine heading into the ‘99 season someone telling you that UConn would have passed Indiana, Duke, and be tied with UNC in championships by 2024….
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I remember after losing to UcLa in 95 i felt so dejected and i started thinking we wouldnt win a title and at best we might get to one final four which was all i was hoping. Just get to one final 4. I felt like that for a couple years but in 98` after losing to UNC in the Elite 8 i started thinking we had a really good chance and that it could be our one chance lol! 25 years later and 6 titles later it still feel a bit unbelievable. We are doing some historic stuff and one thing i definitely did not expect was going back to back. Never crossed my mind until this season.
 
I was a sophomore living on Windham 4th (what a dump the Jungle was... but it was the place me and a bunch of partiers and straight out reprobates called home that I will never forget for as long as I live) when the NIT Championship and that bonfire happened in '88. And yeah, me and my buddies contributed plenty of "fuel" into that fire :D

Then I was there for that magical ride of the Dream Season two years later... lucky enough to witness our first Big East Tournament Title and eventual last second heartache to Laettner and the Dookies in the Meadowlands in person while doing both on the radio for WHUS. Not realizing then how torturous the next 9 Marches were going to be before we finally broke through in '99. Lucky enough again to be on hand for our first NCAA Title which still ranks as one of the 2 or 3 best Championship Games ever at Tropicana Field.

Never, ever would I have believed we would be on National Title #6 within 25 years. And to do the one thing we had not come close to doing before... going Back-to-Back, and in such dominant fashion. I have never felt such a sense of utter amazement, elation and yet also profound satisfaction as a fan of any other team before.

We are the luckiest fans in all of college basketball... Thank you Jim Calhoun, Danny Hurley and every single person who has made this such an amazing run for each and every one of us.

Haven't slept yet... and I don't think I will until tonight.

I absolutely love this team. The way they play the game of basketball on both ends of the floor, so hard and yet so selflessly, has been a true gift to watch this year.

Best. Sports. High... EVER!
 
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KembaRunner said:
Respect your opinion but nothing can ever beat 99.
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99 truly shocked not only the world, but even UConn. I remember reading that Lew Perkins said during the game, "we can actually win."
 
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