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NT
Rank the best five non-champions of the Calhoun era
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joober jones
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Teams or players?
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94 and 96 were Sweet 16 teams.
I'd say the 90, 95, 02 and 06 teams were the best. It's a cop-out, I know, but those were all teams that could have won it. I'm not sure any others, save for 09, fit that bill.
Ask me to pick just one, and I take the 95 team. That game vs. UCLA was amazing.
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Sorry, should have been more clear: non-championship teams. Caw's list is pretty good but I think I'd have the 97-98 team on there that won it the next year.
joober jones
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I loved the 2005-2006 team even though in the end they let us down. Nearly every game that season was a 40 minute highlight reel.
CTBasketball
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The team that shall not be named will forever be known as the team that gave it away. They have to be #1.
2- 1996
3- 2009
4- 1995
5- 1990
2- 1996
3- 2009
4- 1995
5- 1990
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Totally agree. I love watching the highlights from that season.
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If they pass gmu they win the title. we beat a really really good Washington team and we didn't even play well. marcus Williams was an elite college guard averaging 22 and 11 in post season play. lots of depth
With the way they were playing at the time there is no way they would beat Florida.
intlzncster
i fart in your general direction
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intlzncster
i fart in your general direction
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1.1990
2.1995
3.2006
4.2009
5.2002
2.1995
3.2006
4.2009
5.2002
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The 2009 team is criminally underrated. They are easily the best non-champion. They went to the Final Four, which no other non-champion did.
Behind them, 1996, 1995, 2006 (legitimate championship contenders) and, since I have to add one more, 1990 for nostalgia's sake.
Behind them, 1996, 1995, 2006 (legitimate championship contenders) and, since I have to add one more, 1990 for nostalgia's sake.
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The only part I agree with is that we played badly against Washington. Just like we played badly against Albany when we almost lost in the first round. Just like we played badly against Syracuse when we lost in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Not sure what you were seeing that made you think we would beat even better teams if we got by George Mason.
We had one player on that team who could dribble.
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06 had a real high ceiling , they got to the gmu game playing like . Casually strolled to an elite 8. That's why I think they could have done something. I do agree we desperately needed another ball handler, but the team had this crazy on switch I haven't seen since
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I guess you think almost losing every game is casually strolling. I consider it struggling. Casually strolling to the elite eight is what we did in 2004.
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The 2006 team had depth in the front court, not much in the backcourt without AJP. Add a senior Craig Austrie type to that team and look out.
Yes, they were maddening in the post season but that run through the regular season was incredible. Look at the regular season wins, where they won, and by how much. Back to back wins vs top twenty teams at the Carrier Dome and at Freedom Hall, winning at Assembly Hall and at WVU against top 15 teams. That team was superbly talented.
Even the losses (all 2 of them) were events because they were so talented. The two post season losses were 1 possession OT losses. One was to a Syracuse team who went on to win 4 in 4 to make the NCAA's. Sometimes you run into a team on one of those runs. To view that team as a bad team is unfair. Flawed? Disappointing? Maddening? All fair, IMHO.
CTBasketball
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When they showed up to play, nobody could beat them.
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I'm going to go by which team could have actually won the title (which hurts 1990, since they weren't beating UNLV, 1996, since without Ricky they weren't beating Kentucky [or with him...] and 2009, since they likely weren't beating UNC without Dyson).
1. 1995 - if they win that UCLA game, they win the whole thing. Tough tough match against UCLA, and I think in any other bracket they were in the National Championship--and would have won due to the later injuries on UCLA. This team always haunted me--didn't underachieve, but would have been a team that, with luck, would have been a worthy champion.
2. 2002 - if they beat Maryland, they won the whole thing (hell, Maryland played a poor Indiana team in the title game). They had Maryland almost beat--but you tip your hat to them (and get annoyed that Baxter was able to bully Emeka) and call it a day.
3. 2006 - lots of talent, poorly put together (due to AJP not being able to play). That said, this team rose to the challenge frequently. People knock them for thinking about their NBA careers (and, to be fair, Calhoun has said as much). I don't think it was effort, I just think they were confident in the worst possible ways: if they didn't respect you, you weren't getting them to play well. Also, by the NCAAs Marcus had been run ragged due to his idiot suspension keeping him from being in shape. I do think, though, that if Denham's shot went in, they would have won the whole thing. Florida and UCLA were good teams, but not great. Good enough that our guys would have taken them seriously, but not so good that we couldn't have overcome them. Oh well.
4. 1990 - last second shot from the Final Four. Would they have gotten to the title game (perhaps) or beaten UNLV (probably not), who knows. I wish I had been old enough to appreciate them.
5. 2009 - They were in the Final Four, and could have beaten MSU if it were not in Michigan or if Kemba played well. I'm not sure if they would have beaten UNC for the title, but Hasheem was exactly the type of player who would have given Hansborough a hard time, and UNC's best defenders on the wing (as opposed to MSU, who shut down AJP). It would have been a good game. But MSU had us dead-to-rights--a coach near-equal to Calhoun, and a defensive guard who took our best player.
Biggest what-if: 2000. Is that team the best? No. But Khalid's injury cost them a title-game appearance. They got their together for the BET (lost in the BET Final) after a frustrating defense. Then, with Khalid's injury, they weren't able to take out Tennessee. But, if he had been healthy, they could and should have won that game. Tennessee lost to 8th seeded UNC--a team 2000 UConn would have been primed for (being that they lost in the E8 to them two years before). Who did UNC beat in the E8? 7th-seeded Tulsa. I say, like UNC, a healthy UConn team takes them. Who did UNC lose to? Mike Miller-led 5th seed Florida. Again, a very winnable game. Then they get Michigan State....they probably lose that. But still--until 2011, I feel like UConn never really got (or, perhaps, capitalized on, since the 1994 team would have played Boston College in the E8 if Donyell hit a FT) the tournament breaks that brings about championships for a number of other teams. 2011 did change that, but there is a long list of UConn teams (and, indeed, all elite programs) that could have won it all.
1. 1995 - if they win that UCLA game, they win the whole thing. Tough tough match against UCLA, and I think in any other bracket they were in the National Championship--and would have won due to the later injuries on UCLA. This team always haunted me--didn't underachieve, but would have been a team that, with luck, would have been a worthy champion.
2. 2002 - if they beat Maryland, they won the whole thing (hell, Maryland played a poor Indiana team in the title game). They had Maryland almost beat--but you tip your hat to them (and get annoyed that Baxter was able to bully Emeka) and call it a day.
3. 2006 - lots of talent, poorly put together (due to AJP not being able to play). That said, this team rose to the challenge frequently. People knock them for thinking about their NBA careers (and, to be fair, Calhoun has said as much). I don't think it was effort, I just think they were confident in the worst possible ways: if they didn't respect you, you weren't getting them to play well. Also, by the NCAAs Marcus had been run ragged due to his idiot suspension keeping him from being in shape. I do think, though, that if Denham's shot went in, they would have won the whole thing. Florida and UCLA were good teams, but not great. Good enough that our guys would have taken them seriously, but not so good that we couldn't have overcome them. Oh well.
4. 1990 - last second shot from the Final Four. Would they have gotten to the title game (perhaps) or beaten UNLV (probably not), who knows. I wish I had been old enough to appreciate them.
5. 2009 - They were in the Final Four, and could have beaten MSU if it were not in Michigan or if Kemba played well. I'm not sure if they would have beaten UNC for the title, but Hasheem was exactly the type of player who would have given Hansborough a hard time, and UNC's best defenders on the wing (as opposed to MSU, who shut down AJP). It would have been a good game. But MSU had us dead-to-rights--a coach near-equal to Calhoun, and a defensive guard who took our best player.
Biggest what-if: 2000. Is that team the best? No. But Khalid's injury cost them a title-game appearance. They got their together for the BET (lost in the BET Final) after a frustrating defense. Then, with Khalid's injury, they weren't able to take out Tennessee. But, if he had been healthy, they could and should have won that game. Tennessee lost to 8th seeded UNC--a team 2000 UConn would have been primed for (being that they lost in the E8 to them two years before). Who did UNC beat in the E8? 7th-seeded Tulsa. I say, like UNC, a healthy UConn team takes them. Who did UNC lose to? Mike Miller-led 5th seed Florida. Again, a very winnable game. Then they get Michigan State....they probably lose that. But still--until 2011, I feel like UConn never really got (or, perhaps, capitalized on, since the 1994 team would have played Boston College in the E8 if Donyell hit a FT) the tournament breaks that brings about championships for a number of other teams. 2011 did change that, but there is a long list of UConn teams (and, indeed, all elite programs) that could have won it all.
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Question for the board, is 98 being excluded since they won it the following year with mostly the same team intact(with a few additions)? To me that team is alot like the 95 team, they were probably talented enough to win it all(the UK team that won it all wasn't that great), they just had to play a stacked UNC team damn near playing on their home floor in Greensboro.
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I thought very hard about picking that 1998 team for my list. A 2-seed that had 4 regular season losses (fewer than 2 of our title teams!) and ran through the BET, they had a good shot with Utah and, as you note, a weaker UK team, in the way.
I ultimately excluded them probably because they won the next year. But really, they should probably be 2 or 3 on that list.
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