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Message: [QUOTE="oldude, post: 3410042, member: 7511"] Sometimes it can take just a few games for a team’s personality to emerge. Sometimes it can take the better part of a season. This year’s team has been an enigma. The long stretches when UConn plays “beautiful basketball” seemingly scoring with ease and putting the game out of reach early, have been rare this season. More often, UConn grinds it out winning close games against teams like Memphis, UCF and again yesterday vs TN. As I thought more about the game last night it occurred to me that the Husky team we watched grind it out against a long, athletic LV team last night is in fact the personality of this team. Last night, more than any other game in recent memory, [B]this team played Old School UConn WBB[/B], reminiscent of days gone by, when UConn won games not because of precision motion offense and great shooting, but simply because they were tougher than everyone else. Think back to the 2010 National Championship game when UConn couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean in the 1st half, falling behind Stanford by double-digits. In the second half the Huskies clawed their way back to win maybe the ugliest championship game in the history of WBB by a score of 53-47. Frequently this season, UConn has played soft against inferior opponents. Only Crystal has consistently shown the toughness that typically characterizes UConn WBB. What I witnessed last night was a UConn team coming together to play tough, physical basketball against a talented TN team. Inspired by our two amazing freshmen, UConn scratched and clawed for every loose ball or rebound. Finally getting the message that she needed to play harder, Liv gave us the best 12-minute stretch of her career to date. She mixed it up with TN’s Bigs, fouling out Key. Liv aggressively went after every rebound and even dove on the floor after loose balls. While Christyn and Megan didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, they rebounded and defended like their lives depended on it. This is who we are this season. It may not always be pretty, but the fact is that if this UConn team continues to dig down and play tough defense and scrap for every rebound and loose ball, they can beat any team in the country. Other than a 4-minute stretch vs Baylor, UConn has prevailed against everyone they have played this season. A lot of folks think the Huskies won’t be able to overcome the size and talent of OR & SC in the next few weeks. Kelly Graves and Dawn Staley know better. Those games will be wars. If the UConn team we saw last night shows up, the Huskies absolutely have the ability to knock off the Ducks and the Gamecocks. In my mind, I’ve been going back and forth this season trying to answer the question of whether or not UConn could possibly get back to their 13th straight FF and somehow win their 12th National Championship. While it will certainly be an enormous task, last night I clearly saw a path for the Huskies to prevail. The games may be tough, grind-it-out basketball. [B]But in the end, if UConn puts together another ugly 53-47 championship, it will be a thing of beauty. [/B] [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach