PG Tremont Waters (UConn Offer)

[nomar]

I still don't get it. We win 4 titles in 15 years, beating Duke and Kentucky each twice en route -- what more is it going to take for UConn to be thought of with these schools? I really just don't understand it. Whatever. Rhetorical question.

 

[BUConn10]

I still don't get it. We win 4 titles in 15 years, beating Duke and Kentucky each twice en route -- what more is it going to take for UConn to be thought of with these schools? I really just don't understand it. Whatever. Rhetorical question.

Serious answer: Winning over the media by building up a brand that is large, and profitable enough for the likes of ESPN, SI, etc to push your "product". Duke, and UK get the most love from them because they have the largest, and most profitable brands and fanbases. Without the $$$, the coverage wont follow, and the average sports viewer is unable to form opinions on their own and largely form their opinions on what sports media feeds them. Therefore if you dont have the support of the media, you wont have the support of the "undecided" fans and guys like Waters in our case.

 

[intlzncster]

Serious answer: Winning over the media by building up a brand that is large, and profitable enough for the likes of ESPN, SI, etc to push your "product". Duke, and UK get the most love from them because they have the largest, and most profitable brands and fanbases. Without the $$$, the coverage wont follow, and the average sports viewer is unable to form opinions on their own and largely form their opinions on what sports media feeds them. Therefore if you dont have the support of the media, you wont have the support of the "undecided" fans and guys like Waters in our case.

Don't underestimate JC's 'colorful' personality either. That did UCONN few favors (leaving aside all the winning) as far as perception goes. Especially in the media.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I still don't get it. We win 4 titles in 15 years, beating Duke and Kentucky each twice en route -- what more is it going to take for UConn to be thought of with these schools? I really just don't understand it. Whatever. Rhetorical question.

This is nothing more than my own anecdotal opinion but it seems to me that - despite the consensus among some here that UConn has always won with cast-offs and kids that no one else wanted - UConn's "brand" in terms of visibility in the national consciousness is at a low point relative to where it was 10 years ago or so. There was a time when UConn was routinely mentioned in the same breath as those schools. It is funny that as the number of national championships increases, the profile seems to be diminishing.

 

[upstater]

And the reason the profile diminishes is because UConn was passed over in realignment.

 

[AfgHusky15]

And the reason the profile diminishes is because UConn was passed over in realignment.

I think it has more to do with the fact that UCONN was consistently ranked really high from 2000-2006 for most of the regular season. From 2011-2014 even though we won the ship twice we were unranked quite a bit and had strong March runs to win it all so we were not in the spotlight for most of the year.

Its similar to Arizona now. They have not won a championship in so long but for the past 5 years they have been ranked very high through their regular seasons, hence they always seem to get a lot of media love, and Zona is no Duke or Kentucky.

 

[AfgHusky15]

I remember an article on tremont when he was in 8th grade when he was in New Haven where he basically said he wasn't even considering UCONN and that Duke was his dream school.

I think we have caught up a lot in the past 3 years to the point where we are either surpassing Duke as his dream school or at the very worst on par with Duke.

By the start of his senior year I think he will be a lock for UCONN but it all depends on the guards UCONN has for 2017.

 

[JesusAllen11]

As crazy as it seems , media attention and consistent rankings mean more in recruiting right now than championships to recruits. Our conference really hurts us too. Our championships would be even more intriguing to recruits if we could package it with playing the in best conference.

 

[superjohn]

I think it has more to do with the fact that UCONN was consistently ranked really high from 2000-2006 for most of the regular season. From 2011-2014 even though we won the ship twice we were unranked quite a bit and had strong March runs to win it all so we were not in the spotlight for most of the year.

Its similar to Arizona now. They have not won a championship in so long but for the past 5 years they have been ranked very high through their regular seasons, hence they always seem to get a lot of media love, and Zona is no Duke or Kentucky.

Exactly

 

[Walker11]

This is nothing more than my own anecdotal opinion but it seems to me that - despite the consensus among some here that UConn has always won with cast-offs and kids that no one else wanted - UConn's "brand" in terms of visibility in the national consciousness is at a low point relative to where it was 10 years ago or so. There was a time when UConn was routinely mentioned in the same breath as those schools. It is funny that as the number of national championships increases, the profile seems to be diminishing.

It's due to our inconsistency IMO. Even in our 2 recent championships, we have been ranked 15-30 through out the most part of the seasons. I hate to give tenspro respect, but he had a stat recently where UCONN was a 1 or 2 seed 9 out of 12 years in stretch spanning from the mid 90's to mid 2000's.

 

[upstater]

I seem to remember UConn having really good rankings in 2011. We were top 10 before the NCAA tourney.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I seem to remember UConn having really good rankings in 2011. We were top 10 before the NCAA tourney.

The 2011 team started out unranked. But after we won Maui in late November, we were ranked in the top 10 pretty much until February. We were 17-2 and then lost to Louisville in double OT. Then we spiraled out of control for the next month.

 

[Inyatkin]

I think it has more to do with the fact that UCONN was consistently ranked really high from 2000-2006 for most of the regular season. From 2011-2014 even though we won the ship twice we were unranked quite a bit and had strong March runs to win it all so we were not in the spotlight for most of the year.

This is revisionist history. In the 2011 season, we were the talk of the sport after Maui. At one point we were 17-2. We had a lull, then the Big East tournament again made us the biggest thing going. Why people forget all this is beyond me.

 

[CTBasketball]

I don't know, I wouldn't label Waters a top priority if he doesn't grow. Being 5'9" (that's shorter than Boat), creates problems at the college level.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

This is revisionist history. In the 2011 season, we were the talk of the sport after Maui. At one point we were 17-2. We had a lull, then the Big East tournament again made us the biggest thing going. Why people forget all this is beyond me.

Yup. Our detractors like to say that we were a mediocre team that just got hot in the month of March. Another way to look at it is if you exclude the month of February, we were (I believe) 29-3 and the best team in the country.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I don't know, I wouldn't label Waters a top priority if he doesn't grow. Being 5'9" (that's shorter than Boat), creates problems at the college level.

Are you nuts? He's one of the best 2017 point guards in the country and is almost certainly a 4-year player because of his size.

Not to mention, we just won a national championship with a 5'11'' shooting guard.

 

[tcf15]

I don't know, I wouldn't label Waters a top priority if he doesn't grow. Being 5'9" (that's shorter than Boat), creates problems at the college level.

Not sure if they are comparable, but Tyler Ulis was a McDonald's All-American at 5'9" and playing for Kentucky right now.

 

[upstater]

The 2011 team started out unranked. But after we won Maui in late November, we were ranked in the top 10 pretty much until February. We were 17-2 and then lost to Louisville in double OT. Then we spiraled out of control for the next month.

February didn't work out but UConn was top 20 before the BET and top 10 after. Of 10m+ ESPN brackets, UConn was the fourth most popular pick. UConn was also highly regarded in 2009.

The falloff in national attention happened with the sanctions, APR issues, etc. I still think this has everything to do with UConn being passed over in realignment. If you read the perspective of other fans, they think the conference judgements reinforce the worse perspectives about UConn as a school that is not quite worthy.

It's also why people tout schools that are 4th in their market as having a great market, while they think of Conn. as a tiny state without much of a market.

 

[BUConn10]

Yup. Our detractors like to say that we were a mediocre team that just got hot in the month of March. Another way to look at it is if you exclude the month of February, we were (I believe) 29-3 and the best team in the country.

I've noticed this to be a VERY common sentiment amongst those who want to downplay UConn's dominance over the past two decades, interestingly I have noticed it the most amongst Kansas fans (maybe they dont like being passed in 15 years what took them almost 100 haha!). Regardless, I agree it is a BS comment but people have short memories and it seems to be more common than the handful of those who think otherwise, which is unfortunate.

 

[Jluc]

2009 was the last time we were consistently in the top 10...maybe even the top 5 all season.

 

[7774]

This is revisionist history. In the 2011 season, we were the talk of the sport after Maui. At one point we were 17-2. We had a lull, then the Big East tournament again made us the biggest thing going. Why people forget all this is beyond me.

Not sure how it was revisionist history. Seems accurate to me.

 

[Gurleyman]

In this five year span we're fretting about, we had an aging coach with health issues (which cost us both wins and surely some success on the recruiting trail), a sudden coaching turnover in the middle of a recruiting season, recruiting violations docking us a scholarship, academic sanctions costing us two more, probation causing a mass exodus of transfers and early entries, and a coach who was unproven on the big stage until six months ago. The fact that we won two national titles in the middle of all this is remarkable. When Kentucky had its issues with probation and coaching changes, they retired the jersey numbers of the four seniors who helped the team get back to the Elite Eight, because they were so grateful to those players who stuck with the program and brought them out of the abyss into the point where they were a buzzer-beater away from the Final Four. They call them "The Unforgettables" - a nice nickname, although personally, I can't forget how Pelphrey just got out of the way and let Laettner shoot, but either way, they became legends for being quarterfinalists. Our version of The Unforgettables won two titles.

The fact that we haven't been top 10 much lately and won two titles anyway is not a sign of the decline of our program, it's a sign that we have a championship pedigree and are almost always a threat to end the year with scissors in our hands.

 

[sdhusky]

I still don't get it. We win 4 titles in 15 years, beating Duke and Kentucky each twice en route -- what more is it going to take for UConn to be thought of with these schools? I really just don't understand it. Whatever. Rhetorical question.

Gosh. Who has a better schedule this year?

When was the last time UConn spent a good part of the year #1 in the country?

We've gotten some lucky bounces the past few years that make up for the bad luck we had with the Ray and Donyell teams, but we aren't a dominating program from nov to March.

 

[AfgHusky15]

This is revisionist history. In the 2011 season, we were the talk of the sport after Maui. At one point we were 17-2. We had a lull, then the Big East tournament again made us the biggest thing going. Why people forget all this is beyond me.

Hmm not sure what you are referring to when you say revisionist history, but here are some facts for you:

- Between 2010/11-2013/14 seasons UCONN spent a total of 21 weeks in the regular season ranked in the top 10.
- 19 of which were in 2011 season alone
- The 2 times they were ranked in top 10 in 2014 season they both came in at #10
- They spent a total of 6 weeks ranked in top 5 over the course of 4 years

Compare to Arizona regular season:

Arizona spent 39 weeks ranked in the top 10 last season alone. Their lowest ranking was #6 and that was in the beginning of the season. They spent 17 weeks as the number #1 ranked team.

This is really a moot point, as a UCONN fan I care much more about ships than number of weeks we spend ranked in top 10, but the reality is Zona has had a slot of success in the past few years during the regular season which is reflected in their rankings.

They have a bright future too with their recruiting classes of late, but I can almost guarantee you we will win another ship before they do, b/c simply we are UCONN and they are not. End of story.

 

[sdhusky]

2009 was the last time we were consistently in the top 10...maybe even the top 5 all season.

That's what we should shoot to get back to. More likely to win NC #5 with a team in the top 4 than in the top 30.

 

[Inyatkin]

We've gotten some lucky bounces the past few years that make up for the bad luck we had with the Ray and Donyell teams, but we aren't a dominating program from nov to March.

And who is, over the past five years?
Duke? I guess if your definition of March means all the way to the first game of the NCAA tournament. Kentucky? Let's ask Robert Morris. Kansas? I guess, but they've basically made losing to an 8/9 seed their thing. Syracuse was pretty dominant for most of last season. So what?

 

[Gurleyman]

Hmm not sure what you are referring to when you say revisionist history, but here are some facts for you:

Arizona spent 39 weeks ranked in the top 10 last season alone. Their lowest ranking was #6 and that was in the beginning of the season. They spent 17 weeks as the number #1 ranked team.

39 weeks? A calendar year is 52.

 

[sdhusky]

And who is, over the past five years?
Duke? I guess if your definition of March means all the way to the first game of the NCAA tournament. Kentucky? Let's ask Robert Morris. Kansas? I guess, but they've basically made losing to an 8/9 seed their thing. Syracuse was pretty dominant for most of last season. So what?

There is a lot to be said about the accomplishment of winning P5 Championships and earning #1 seeds. Those are the teams most likely to win NC's year in and year out.

 

[Inyatkin]

We all want to be in a real conference. There's no debate there. But Gurleyman is absolutely right that the fact that we're still in the hunt almost every year despite everything that's happened is a good sign for us, not a bad one. You can nitpick it different ways, but I don't get why you'd want to. There's nothing higher profile than winning a title.

 

[sdhusky]

We all want to be in a real conference. There's no debate there. But Gurleyman is absolutely right that the fact that we're still in the hunt almost every year despite everything that's happened is a good sign for us, not a bad one. You can nitpick it different ways, but I don't get why you'd want to. There's nothing higher profile than winning a title.

And if the plan is to win a NC with 6+ seeds, we might not see another NC in our lifetimes.