You guys can't have it both ways. Either injuries count or they don't. Shabazz was as gimpy as Cotton was. The only guy that was injured that would have been a factor in the Gampel game was Calhoun. The front court guys are pretty interchangeable; and I would argue the depletions actually helped DD realize that he needed to be more assertive.
As far as programs go; there is no comparison. What I contend, and you guys never concede is that EC has PC playing a lot closer to where UCONN currently is than you care to admit. It's why guys like Dunn, Ledo and Austin chose PC over UConn. It's why the big fella may.
The landscape has changed. UCONN is still a top program; but the guy who won 3 NCs ain't walking through that door. Will Ollie succeed; my money would bet that he does. Buy does that mean NCs? It's tough to do. Time will tell.
Injuries matter, of course they do. UConn beat PC while playing 6 guys. PC lost to UMass and PSU. Wins and losses also count.
As to your assertion about Calhoun being the only guy that would have been a factor, that's a joke. Giffey was/is a very important player and would have been a factor.
EC had PC closer to UConn last year than most years. Whether that was because PC is truly on the upswing or UConn had a bump on the road with the coaching transition/NCAA penalty, that remains to be seen.
On the court, UConn had the better record, the better quality wins and two head to head victories. While UConn would have been an NCAAT team (4-9 seed depending on theoretical BET results), PC was an NIT and not even that close to the NCAAT bubble. Basically, even while closer, the gap is still quite big, even in Cooley's best year at PC (so far).
As for recruiting, PC has had some nice wins with Dunn and Austin, but they also had Coleman not that long ago. Ledo never played for PC, so I don't know how to factor him.
UConn picked up Calhoun instead of Dunn, and personally I throw 2013 recruiting battles almost out the window with the coaching transition and Ollie's contract. Cooley got Austin, but it's impossible to know what Austin would have done if Ollie were on a long-term contract.
Considering UConn has Purvis coming in/playing and Hamilton committed for 2014, I think Ollie is off to a great recruiting start, not to mention Facey, Samuel, Brimah and Kromah coming in this year.
As for next year, PC has a good amount of talent on paper, but they also have a ton of unknowns. Can Austin acclimate to college BBall quickly? Will Harris or Derosiers provide anything more than the limited stats they put up on their old teams? Batts and Cotton are solid starting blocks and Dunn should be able to improve some, but filling Council's shoes may not be easy.
UConn returns pretty much everyone. UConn only loses Evans and maybe Wolf. They replace Evans with Samuel and Kromah. They replace Wolf with Facey and Brimah.
How many non-NCAAT years does Cooley have at PC before he is canned?