Our future has never looked so exciting..

[Kitaman]

I know it depends on how you look at it, but I am so looking forward to 2013-2014 season. Sure conference realignment screwed us, and having no tourney sucked, BUT damn looks what's coming next season:

1. New Coach who happens to be a great one (and I'm not exaggerating)
2. Young squad with no seniors
3. New Horizons means new challenges, new experiences, new teams to play
4. DD looks to breakout next year along with Giffey
5. Blaney leaving means a another Ollie hire at Coach
6. Calhoun, Boat and Bazz(?) breaking down defenses better
7. Nolan plays with confidence
8. We got more tall players coming
9. Team will know how to play with each other and for coach
10. Ollie ball has been established and will be better next year
11. 2014 mystery play of Olander, Wolf and Leon T.
12. Feel free to add....

Lots of great stuff and new things to see. Not much old stuff with this team.

My glass is half full, and come November, regardless of what Bazz does, this team still will continue to be my favorite of all time. Excitement with anticipation will make my Spring and Summer so enjoyable because irrespective of what is happening around the country concerning college basketball I say look out world; 'UConn basketball' has returned to Storrs.

 

[UChusky916]

2. Young squad with no seniors

SN, TO, and NG will all be seniors ??

Also, the practice facility is something exciting to watch and could be completed by next year.

 

[Huskies4ever]

I know it depends on how you look at it, but I am so looking forward to 2013-2014 season. Sure conference realignment screwed us, and having no tourney sucked, BUT damn looks what's coming next season:

1. New Coach who happens to be a great one (and I'm not exaggerating)
2. Young squad with no seniors
3. New Horizons means new challenges, new experiences, new teams to play
4. DD looks to breakout next year along with Giffey
5. Blaney leaving means a another Ollie hire at Coach
6. Calhoun, Boat and Bazz(?) breaking down defenses better
7. Nolan plays with confidence
8. We got more tall players coming
9. Team will know how to play with each other and for coach
10. Ollie ball has been established and will be better next year
11. 2014 mystery play of Olander, Wolf and Leon T.
12. Feel free to add....

Lots of great stuff and new things to see. Not much old stuff with this team.

My glass is half full, and come November, regardless of what Bazz does, this team still will continue to be my favorite of all time. Excitement with anticipation will make my Spring and Summer so enjoyable because irrespective of what is happening around the country concerning college basketball I say look out world; 'UConn basketball' has returned to Storrs.

I hope everyone comes back, because we should be top 10 preseason, and that will make your last sentence so true. And that's what I want. It will do so much for us going forward as far as recruiting and what not.

My only problem is conference realignment (or BS for short). I don't want us to be in a craptacular conference. I want to be with the big boys, which is where we belong since we are one.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I know it depends on how you look at it, but I am so looking forward to 2013-2014 season. Sure conference realignment screwed us, and having no tourney sucked, BUT damn looks what's coming next season:

1. New Coach who happens to be a great one (and I'm not exaggerating)
2. Young squad with no seniors
3. New Horizons means new challenges, new experiences, new teams to play
4. DD looks to breakout next year along with Giffey
5. Blaney leaving means a another Ollie hire at Coach
6. Calhoun, Boat and Bazz(?) breaking down defenses better
7. Nolan plays with confidence
8. We got more tall players coming
9. Team will know how to play with each other and for coach
10. Ollie ball has been established and will be better next year
11. 2014 mystery play of Olander, Wolf and Leon T.
12. Feel free to add....

Lots of great stuff and new things to see. Not much old stuff with this team.

My glass is half full, and come November, regardless of what Bazz does, this team still will continue to be my favorite of all time. Excitement with anticipation will make my Spring and Summer so enjoyable because irrespective of what is happening around the country concerning college basketball I say look out world; 'UConn basketball' has returned to Storrs.

I don't know, the way I see it, with KO we only have 26 or 28 good years to look forward to, 30 max.

 

[UCweCONN]

How about playing all home games at Gampel and give the team a real home court advantage like the Dukies have? This would be just the lift we need to build momentum given the conference uncertainty etc. A kick-ass home court would be good for a few more wins each season and help with recruiting, regular season league results, and NCAA tourney seeding. Make home court success a sure thing and pick up as many road wins a season as possible. That's the recipe for success.

 

[PacificStorm]

Who is our final 2013 great recruit prospect?That's what I want to add to Kitaman's list.

 

[Kitaman]

SN, TO, and NG will all be seniors ??

Also, the practice facility is something exciting to watch and could be completed by next year.

I was talking about current squad, should have been clearer, guess I was excited.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

My starting lineup (assuming everyone returns):

PG - Bazz
SG - Boat
SF - Calhoun
PF - Daniels
C - Wolf

Giffey
Facey
Nolan
Olander

We are going to see a lot more Giffey, and maybe even some Samuels, because Evans averaged 15 mpg and he is gone. There are minutes for Tolksdorf if he earns them. I expect more true centers on the court and less Daniels playing the 5 on D.

I expect Wolf, Calhoun and Giffey to make major strides in the offseason. Giffey basically just needs confidence. His game is pretty close to being really good. Wolf needs to add a move or two. Calhoun needs to sharpen his handle. Those are all things that can happen in the offseason. If Boatright follows the history of Calhoun/Ollie guards, he should explode in his junior year.

I think after the last two seasons, and with better guard play, Ollie will keep Bazz's minutes down below 35. Daniels should be the leading scorer on the team, and Ollie may even give DD a few minutes at the 3.

I don't like 3 guard offenses, and I don't think teams that lean too heavily on 3 guards can make deep runs. The offense becomes too much 1-on-1 and rebounding suffers. This is the problem I had with last year's team prior to Roscoe getting more time, and a fear I have for next year's squad. I hope to see better play form Bazz/Boat and Calhoun in fewer minutes, with major improvement from Giffey, Daniels and the bigs to allocate minutes a little more towards size.

That team is a Final Four contender.

If Shabazz leaves, the team will still be good, but not a likely Final Four caliber squad.

 

[SubbaBub]

It's nice to be optimistic and we should have more scoring options, but I don't see anymore rebounding next year.

Also didn't like the way Boatright finished the season. Looked like a kid trying to improve his draft stock a la 2006. With potentially 3 guys looking to get drafted next year, KO has his work cut out for him.


Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Huskybass]

It's nice to be optimistic and we should have more scoring options, but I don't see anymore rebounding next year.

Also didn't like the way Boatright finished the season. Looked like a kid trying to improve his draft stock a la 2006. With potentially 3 guys looking to get drafted next year, KO has his work cut out for him.


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Rebounding should be much better next season. Add Facey and Brima to an improved and stronger Nolan and we are already stronger up front. If Wolf returns and TO busts his ass to improve, we will have a very deep frontcourt.

 

[djct1999]

I appreciate the optimism, but a lot has to happen for this team to be considered a final four team. Lets not overreact. College basketball, particularly the Big East, was very weak this year. Did this years team play hard? Yes. Did they play to their potential? Pretty much always. Were they fun to watch? Absolutely. Are they final four caliber? No way. For UConn to be a serious contender, a few things must happen. a) Bazz has to return and stay healty b) Daniels needs to continue to develop, get stronger, mature, etc. c) our bigs have to get better. What we did this year, we did with a premier backcourt and a non-existent front court. That can't happen next year if we want to seriously contend.

My intent is not to dilute anything this team accomplished this year or even dampen the prospects of what next year can bring. I am as excited as anyone. But to place such high expectations on a squad that finished 10-8 in a weaker big east conference is equally unfair.

 

[aceboon]

lets hold off on this thread until after the NBA draft early entrant deadline...

 

[Kitaman]

lets hold off on this thread until after the NBA draft early entrant deadline...

I disagree, this thread is not about how good we will be but more about how exciting this team will be (hence the thread title). Sure Bazz makes us better but Bazz is not bigger than Ollie ball. I expect next year and beyond teams' to show hard play, hustle ball, lion hearted, stiffling defense, gritty play, 100% all game, never giving up and of course 10 toes in. That's why I'm excited about our future under Ollie.

Don't need Bazz for that.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

lets hold off on this thread until after the NBA draft early entrant deadline...

Yes. Let's get at least two "I'm coming back" confirmations from the Big 3 before we get too excited.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I appreciate the optimism, but a lot has to happen for this team to be considered a final four team. Lets not overreact. College basketball, particularly the Big East, was very weak this year. Did this years team play hard? Yes. Did they play to their potential? Pretty much always. Were they fun to watch? Absolutely. Are they final four caliber? No way. For UConn to be a serious contender, a few things must happen. a) Bazz has to return and stay healty b) Daniels needs to continue to develop, get stronger, mature, etc. c) our bigs have to get better. What we did this year, we did with a premier backcourt and a non-existent front court. That can't happen next year if we want to seriously contend.

My intent is not to dilute anything this team accomplished this year or even dampen the prospects of what next year can bring. I am as excited as anyone. But to place such high expectations on a squad that finished 10-8 in a weaker big east conference is equally unfair.

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2013/conferencerpi

The RPI disagrees with your assertion that the Big East was "very weak" this year.

Obviously, players have to get better, but at their age, that's often what they do. Calhoun certainly had a good track record of making players better, and the early indications are that Ollie does too. Obviously, making a Final Four is incredibly difficult and a lot of coaches have great careers and never get to one.

I am not a huge optimist generally. I predicted 17 wins this season with 20 as the realistic upper end of the range. I expected Bazz, Boat and Daniels to play like they did, and Giffey to be better offensively than he was. The surprise was inside and with Calhoun. Wolf is athletic enough to be a good center. Olander was a lot better this year than he was last. Big men tend to get better every year as they learn to better control their big bodies, while sometimes guards and small forwards can max out in their sophomore or junior year. We have a lot of big men with obvious areas to improve that can be improved. These guys don't suck, and Wolf and Nolan in particular could make a big jump by next year if they put the work in.

Next year's team, with Napier, is in the discussion of Final Four contenders. It should be a top 10-12 preseason squad.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Yes. Let's get at least two "I'm coming back" confirmations from the Big 3 before we get too excited.

I think we are a little PTSD'd by all the prior departures. While there are as many as 5 potential departures, the only two that really concern me are Napier and Giffey. I think Napier is around 50/50 to come back, and Giffey is maybe 75/25. Wolf still has a feasible case for making the NBA if he gets better because 7'1 is 7'1. Giffey's path is almost nonexistant, and another year in Storrs is not going to change that.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I think we are a little PTSD'd by all the prior departures. While there are as many as 5 potential departures, the only two that really concern me are Napier and Giffey. I think Napier is around 50/50 to come back, and Giffey is maybe 75/25. Wolf still has a feasible case for making the NBA if he gets better because 7'1 is 7'1. Giffey's path is almost nonexistant, and another year in Storrs is not going to change that.

Wait...what?

 

[Huskybass]

Giffey isn't going anywhere. Too many nice apples around and he can be a real factor next year.

Other than Nadav, nobody leaves early to play overseas. That is unless they get a juicy 45k offer to play in Turkey.

 

[aceboon]

I think we are a little PTSD'd by all the prior departures. While there are as many as 5 potential departures, the only two that really concern me are Napier and Giffey. I think Napier is around 50/50 to come back, and Giffey is maybe 75/25. Wolf still has a feasible case for making the NBA if he gets better because 7'1 is 7'1. Giffey's path is almost nonexistant, and another year in Storrs is not going to change that.

You're just being different for the sake of being different, stop that.

 

[B1GEast]

Is it me, or have there been a lot of cry me a river fans on the BY? Glad to see a positive post, I agree that the future looks bright, can't wait to get the new class in. Does anyone know if any big named opponents are lined up for next year? I wonder if we'll be invited to any of the early invitational tournaments.

 

[B1GEast]

You're just being different for the sake of being different, stop that.

That's just nelson being nelson

 

[phillionaire]

Is it me, or have there been a lot of cry me a river fans on the BY? Glad to see a positive post, I agree that the future looks bright, can't wait to get the new class in. Does anyone know if any big named opponents are lined up for next year? I wonder if we'll be invited to any of the early invitational tournaments.

we're playing in the 2k classic with bc, indiana, and washington

 

[OkaForPrez]

If we bring everyone back next year and assuming Samuels, Brimah and Facey are all good enough to see floor time, we could be 10 deep with a lot of flexibility.

Bazz, Boat and Samuels can all play the 1
Bazz, Boat and Calhoun can all play the 2
Calhoun, Giffeye and Daniels can all play the 3
Daniels, Nolan, Giffeye, Olander and Facey can play the 4
Wolf, Nolan, Brimah and Olander can play the 5.

I would love to see the old 2-2-1 with Bazz and Boat harassing the ball, Daniels and Calhoun/Giff in the center and Brimah sitting back playing goalie. We have the depth, the length, and the harrasing guards to be lethal with this next year.

 

[aboogieee]

No love for LeeLee?

 

[CTBasketball]

Here is what I expect (or hope):

Bazz: To come back.
Boat: To be a better dribbler, passer, and all around game manager. We all know he can score, now he needs to get others involved.
Daniels: Get stronger and play better on-ball defense. More developed offensive game too.
Giffey: To be a dead-eye 3pt shooter and a defensive ace off the bench.
Olander: Rebound, please.
Calhoun: Improve 3 pt shot, dribbling/driving, and defense.
Tolksdorf: Prove that he can hit the 3 consistently and rebound.
Nolan: To play just like the last 3-4 games of this season all next year.
Wolf: To not hit girls and become a monster down low. Hasheem Thabeet-ish during his sophomore year.