Public Perception of the UConn Program

[Tenspro2002]

The two recent national championships have kept us in the running with the elites of the elites....

But real talk, (outside of the incredible Kemba-led run in 2011) our last Confernce Tourney Championship was 2004?!? And to top it off, our last Conference Regular Season Championship was 2006!?!

Just saying we can't get too "uppity", we still have some room to grow, but the future looks mighty bright indeed

Well, it's not like our 2011 BET Championship doesn't count.

But it's true that we've been, overall, a mediocre regular season team 6 years running. That does need to change. Recent history aside, in the future we have a better chance of winning championships coming off dominant regular seasons than off of so-so ones.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

My general sense is that the public perception of UConn is much, much better than the Boneyard's perception.

All this stuff about "we loving being the scrappy underdog" is irreconcilable with the general public's view of UConn as a powerhouse program. I know people who do not give a ____ about college basketball and they know that UConn is an elite program.

 

[Chief00]

Who cares? Just win.

 

[Fishy]

My sense is that the general public can suck UConn's left nut.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I actually think UCONN should be pushing the UCONN vs the P5 angle. I think it would sell. Little school from the middle of nowhere. Left for dead by the P5. I love it. I'm not exactly sure how we do it, but I know it would partly rely on success in the NCAA tournament.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I'm not sure if I articulated myself very well. This is sorta what I was thinking.

 

[Hoophound]

I actually think UCONN should be pushing the UCONN vs the P5 angle. I think it would sell. Little school from the middle of nowhere. Left for dead by the P5. I love it. I'm not exactly sure how we do it, but I know it would partly rely on success in the NCAA tournament.

"Little school from the middle of nowhere" is the ESPN angle on us, but usually it is shown in negative light. Anyone that has left the Northeast knows that being an hour from Boston, 2.5 hours from NYC and 20 minutes from the Greater Hartford megalopolis only qualifies as the middle of nowhere in the minds of people that want UConn to go away and stop taking their cheese. UConn is in an incredible location and the fact that so many people and so much media are an easy drive away is a huge advantage. You wait, when we join the B1G or ACC, suddenly UCONN will be ground zero for tons of network activity. Winning teams and an easy, inexpensive trip from New York and Bristol.

 

[uconndoit]

I met my SO's family recently. When I told her father that I'm a UConn fan/alumnus he grimaced and said he doesn't like UConn but then immediately admitted that it's probably because "they win too much".

 

[Inyatkin]

We're a little school in the middle of nowhere, except that we're a good-sized school in the middle of the country's most densely populated region.

 

[MexicoHusky]

We're a little school in the middle of nowhere, except that we're a good-sized school in the middle of the country's most densely populated region.

for sure, but i still don't mind the narrative. I also don't see this narrative as some kind of slam by espn. Of all the lousy things espn does their depiction of uconn as the little guy bothers me the least

 

[HuskyCLT]

I actually think UCONN should be pushing the UCONN vs the P5 angle. I think it would sell. Little school from the middle of nowhere. Left for dead by the P5. I love it. I'm not exactly sure how we do it, but I know it would partly rely on success in the NCAA tournament.

UConn: A little rustic school on the rollin' tumblin' praries of Storrs, a bunch of small town kids banding together, nothin' but heart, desire, determination and brotherhood. A bunch a srappy little fellers fightin' the big bad boys of the P5 conference. A true underdog story.

 

[MexicoHusky]

UConn: A little rustic school on the rollin' tumblin' praries of Storrs, a bunch of small town kids banding together, nothin' but heart, desire, determination and brotherhood. A bunch a srappy little fellers fightin' the big bad boys of the P5 conference. A true underdog story.

Exactly....but not exactly the same narrative as the one from 2011 and before. This time we have the P5 as the bad guy. An organization that's easily hate-able. They ruined basketball for the sake of football. They similarly mucked up ncaa ice hockey. We can become the leader of the little guys, but the secret is we aren't a little guy. We actually have some means and ability to compete....that part would be downplayed.

Maybe this is a marketing opportunity. More recruits...who knows. I'm no expert.

 

[MexicoHusky]

The headline for NCAA basketball in general would be "UCONN vs the P5". And if we can manage a championship once in the next 2 years we will actually be dead even with the P5 in the championship column since conference realignment.

 

[bellairehusky]

Down here in Houston, pretty much every sports fan knows that UConn has a great basketball program (the women's program is almost as recognizable here). Maybe its because we have won in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio the past 11 years. Still amazes me when I say that, 3 out of the last 11 years.

I would go so far as to say that the respect for UConn BB down here is at least as much as, if not more than, Kentucky, Duke, NC, etc. IMO I think its because when the likes of Kentucky and Duke do something, it's "in your face" overly dramatized, but when UConn does something, they just do it.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Who cares? Just win.

The 7 pages worth of people discussing it.

 

[Palatine]

UConn is 90 minutes from Boston and a little over two hours from the city playgrounds of New York. It is 30 minutes from ESPN World Headquarters and 30 minutes from the spot were basketball was invented and the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Obviously, that's the middle of nowhere.

 

[tcf15]

Around 24:00 mark they explain why UConn wasn't on the top 15 programs list: http://www.cbssports.com/audio/play...gesuite.net/mensbasketball0708/091615_mbb.mp3

 

[HuskyCLT]

Around 24:00 mark they explain why UConn wasn't on the top 15 programs list: http://www.cbssports.com/audio/player?playlist=http://podcasts.cstv.com/feeds/mensbasketball.xml&trackGuid=http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/mensbasketball0708/091615_mbb.mp3

Their reasons were solely based off of speculation and saying they thought our previous wins were shaky. They think Ollie may still be unproven - he's only coached 3 years but they didn't like the process of our whole season on the way to our National Championship (yeah that NC wasn't good enough for them!). They think Ollie is going to leave within the next 5 years (he didn't leave to coach Westbrook and Durant, who is he going to leave for anytime soon?). They think NC State will have a better recruiting class than ours, which already has 3 great players and is ranked as high as #2 (we HAVE the players committed, not NCST who MIGHT have the players commit - we all know how recruiting goes. By that logic we MIGHT have some other great 2016 players who are coming to visit soon so we should be consensus #1, stupid logic). They basically took all of the facts and spun them in a negative light. It just sounds like these kids are buffoons and just can't let themselves trust we will be good. Go ahead guys, let us prove you wrong some more.

 

[BUConn10]

for sure, but i still don't mind the narrative. I also don't see this narrative as some kind of slam by espn. Of all the lousy things espn does their depiction of uconn as the little guy bothers me the least

This attitude will never get UConn into a P5 conference. Think B1G.

 

[Pudge]

Their reasons were solely based off of speculation and saying they thought our previous wins were shaky. They think Ollie may still be unproven - he's only coached 3 years but they didn't like the process of our whole season on the way to our National Championship (yeah that NC wasn't good enough for them!). They think Ollie is going to leave within the next 5 years (he didn't leave to coach Westbrook and Durant, who is he going to leave for anytime soon?). They think NC State will have a better recruiting class than ours, which already has 3 great players and is ranked as high as #2 (we HAVE the players committed, not NCST who MIGHT have the players commit - we all know how recruiting goes. By that logic we MIGHT have some other great 2016 players who are coming to visit soon so we should be consensus #1, stupid logic). They basically took all of the facts and spun them in a negative light. It just sounds like these kids are buffoons and just can't let themselves trust we will be good. Go ahead guys, let us prove you wrong some more.

This says:

We are All-In on Mark Gottfried.

That is a simply insane POV. Or Mark Turgeon? Thad Motta? In the "I think I can" world of Thomas the Tank Engine.

 

[James]

@HuskyCLT @tcf15 i dont plan on listening to that but, did they really suggest KO is an unproven coach? How can you say that, but then follow it up by claiming KO is a lame duck coach ready to jet for the league? he was highly sought after by professional organizations for a reason, he's one of the best coaches in ncaa.

 

[BUConn10]

Around 24:00 mark they explain why UConn wasn't on the top 15 programs list: http://www.cbssports.com/audio/player?playlist=http://podcasts.cstv.com/feeds/mensbasketball.xml&trackGuid=http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/mensbasketball0708/091615_mbb.mp3

I listened to that, and all it says to me is that these guys are bigger morons than I originally estimated. They cite Ollie probably leaving and the fact that they did poorly last year, which both are so assumptive and short sighted it makes my head hurt. How can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me Witchita St has a better future in basketball than UCONN. I simply dont understand. Its like saying Memphis has a brighter future in football than Oklahoma because they happen to be good right now and OK is down.

One of the reporters goes on to say that UConn might have had a case to be in over teams like NC State (so clearly they knew leaving UConn out would be controversial, probably because its flat out wrong) but then goes on to say, "DESPITE UConn having the #2 class overall in 2016, Im not sold and think a team like NC State will CLEARLY [he reallllly emphasized the 'clearly' here] will end up with a better class than UConn and a better position for success". WTF? I dont understand how it always seems like UConn is held to a different standard than everyone else. To these guys, our coach will be gone without doubt, yet they all assume the top 15 programs they ranked will all be rock steady for the foreseeable future... Again, I repeat, WICHITA STATE, VIRIGINA were both top 10 in this list, right because guys like Marshall and Bennett are lifers at those mid level programs that clearly have such a storied history of success and support /s. Ridiculous all around.

 

[tcf15]

@HuskyCLT @tcf15 i dont plan on listening to that but, did they really suggest KO is an unproven coach? How can you say that, but then follow it up by claiming KO is a lame duck coach ready to jet for the league? he was highly sought after by professional organizations for a reason, he's one of the best coaches in ncaa.

Yeah - Parrish was pretty much saying a lot of his reputation comes from a three week period. 10-15 years from now are we gonna say that was the start of a great coaching career or are we gonna say how the hell did Kevin Ollie win a national championship. Something like that.

 

[CL82]

Level of uncertainty of Ollie staying at Connecticut.
He's a good coach and a good recruiter.
UConn 2014 result was good but "process wasn't impressive...and I'm a process guy."
UConn # 2 for 2016 but NCST may have a better recruiting class, eventually.
-----------
KO had 10 loss season and 15 loss season.
"I think he's good but his entire reputation is rooted in 3 week run."
------------
UConn 4 NC in 15 years but it is ridiculous that they won. St. Joe's "should have" beaten them.
KO won't be a coach by 2020.
They are a top 20 program, I'd put them at #18, but they aren't close to being a top 15 program.

I'll let the logical inconsistencies speak for themselves.

 

[James]

Yeah - Parrish was pretty much saying a lot of his reputation comes from a three week period. 10-15 years from now are we gonna say that was the start of a great coaching career or are we gonna say how the hell did Kevin Ollie win a national championship. Something like that.

ha , this is legitimate trolling. They must have forgot the whole 'process' where KO developed a defensive philosophy throughout the season that made uconn's one of the more sophisticated in the country. those dimwits are probably still under the assumption KO parachuted into a bunch of talent, when he had actually been there years as a lead assistant developing personnel. yeah no process there.

 

[BUConn10]

What bothers me in things like this isnt the perception of UConn as a program to soccermoms in the grocery store, that means nothing to the program in the grand scheme of things. What worries me is that UConn is continually treated like this by those who claim to be "in the know", the professionals whose career is college sports. So if they think of us like this, then I assume those who dictate things such as network scheduling/exposure and conference realignment/P5 ADs must think the same thing. And judging by how we were screwed in CR, i'd say that likely an accurate assessment.

 

[James]

What bothers me in things like this isnt the perception of UConn as a program to soccermoms in the grocery store, that means nothing to the program in the grand scheme of things. What worries me is that UConn is continually treated like this by those who claim to be "in the know", the professionals whose career is college sports. So if they think of us like this, then I assume those who dictate things such as network scheduling/exposure and conference realignment/P5 ADs must think the same thing. And judging by how we were screwed in CR, i'd say that likely an accurate assessment.

in general ncaab coverage/reporting/writing is garbage. I mean obviously the nba is shoulders above it because its a pro sport ( in terms of objectivity) , but i feel all these ncaab writers rely so much on conjecture and speculation... example A ; continually bringing up KO is going to the nba soon. They have no insiders in his circle, but with nothing else to write about they'll throw against a wall to see if it sticks. And they are a surly bunch, I just spotted norlander ( the self loathing ct native himself) talking about how the '16 class isn't that impressive because he isn't 'bullish on gilbert'. you're not a scout buddy, gilbert is evaluated as an elite recruit by everybody ( hence the usa mini camp invite).

 

[HuskyCLT]

Yeah, basically all you get from listening to this is that the people explaining why we aren't on their top 15 list are complete morons. It's like they cite reasons why we should be on their list, but then just spend a bunch of time trying to reason with themselves why it doesn't matter and continue to spin it until they've convinced themselves that we shouldn't be on it. At least the one guy who actually wrote the list defends that he thinks we belong on the list and only omitted us because these other dorks voted against it.

 

[BUConn10]

Yeah, basically all you get from listening to this is that the people explaining why we aren't on their top 15 list are complete morons. It's like they cite reasons why we should be on their list, but then just spend a bunch of time trying to reason with themselves why it doesn't matter and continue to spin it until they've convinced themselves that we shouldn't be on it. At least the one guy who actually wrote the list defends that he thinks we belong on the list and only omitted us because these other dorks voted against it.

But remember, the senior members on this board have told us that members of the media have no such bias against certain schools and are completely impartial in their work, only an idiot would think otherwise.

 

[HuskyCLT]

But remember, the senior members on this board have told us that members of the media have no such bias against certain schools and are completely impartial in their work, only an idiot would think otherwise.

Right? I don't really think anyone has an agenda against us in particular, but there is some bias in this podcast(?) at least. I think this is more a matter of the people talking just being unintelligent and new to the business. It's not totally their fault, they probably aren't ready for the job to begin with. I definitely don't like the public perception that their bias brings. I do realize that the only thing that matters is winning, but some people really do take these articles for fact. Simpletons? Yes. But the overall perception hurts. I've seen a lot of talk about how UConn needs to build it's brand to improve our public perception and grow as a program and this kind of BS doesn't help us at all.