Sean Miller Post Game on A.K.

[gsmooth]

Spoiled? Without question, and I will forever thank JC for taking us to heights beyond my wildest dreams of the early 1980's.

Arrogant? Only when fans of an unworthy opponent try to act as if we are peers in the college basketball landscape.

Those Dom Perno years and early Jim Calhoun years were really rough. Calhoun had the very valid excuse of rebuilding and cleaning up Perno's mess. Dom Perno was awful and I never understood as a child in the 80s and even now why UConn fans back in the 80s liked him so much. I lived in Storrs until 1996 and whenever I was at games or on UConn's campus he was spoken about in such high terms. Even the Hartford Courant gushed about him. Why?

I remember feeling like UConn was so small time and was the little kid among the adult big time schools like GTown, Syracuse, Nova, St. John's, Duke, North Carolina, DePaul, etc. They were never on national TV while those other schools were on it a lot. I had 2 favorite teams in those years. One of them was of course UConn and the other one was............................
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wait for it........................................
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Duke.

I thought in the mid 80s, UConn will never be big time enough to play Duke so I would never have to choose between the two-it was like UConn was in the minor leagues and Duke was the was in the major league. I think I cheered for Duke vs GTown in the 1989 Elite 8 game (Laettner vs Mourning). Once Duke played UConn in 1990 in the Elite 8, I was going for UConn all the way and then when Laettner hit that shot, I despised Duke, Laettner, and Bobby Hurley, especially considering Laettner's behavior and irritating behavior.

It was a surreal twilight moment in 2023 championship game to see Bobby Hurley wearing a UConn jacket and cheering for them. The power of Dan Hurley and his staff in full force.

 

[Ewekon]

Sean Miller made some very flattering comments about last year Uconn team before the ncaa tournament began.

He really went out of his way to praise Alex, and Alex deserves every drop of praise. Nobody better to mentor LM and everyone on that team.

He's circling like a shark for when or if Danny gets 15MM+ a year from an NBA team. Plus ridiculous and allowable perks.

Of course, DH stays.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

@gsmooth

Perno stole the ball from Bill Bradley to preserve an upset win over Princeton to send us to our first ever regional final.

During his time as head coach there were a lot of people (sportswriters, fans) who would see that every time Perno's name was mentioned. To them, anything he did after that sweet sixteen game could be excused because of that one play.

 

[SCNCHuskie]

I get the feeling that Coach Miller is not gonna miss Alex next year when he's playing in the NBA. LOL

What are you talking about, Alex will be coming back to win four straight!

 

[CT2SC]

@gsmooth

Perno stole the ball from Bill Bradley to preserve an upset win over Princeton to send us to our first ever regional final.

During his time as head coach there were a lot of people (sportswriters, fans) who would see that every time Perno's name was mentioned. To them, anything he did after that sweet sixteen game could be excused because of that one play.

Perno also brought in the Corny Thompson, Mike McKay recruiting class. I was really young at the time, but I think Corny was a Parade All-American that was recruited by North Carolina and Kentucky. Him staying home may have been what ultimately got us invited to the Big East. Perno also brought in Phil Gamble and Cliff which paved the way for our first taste of success with the NIT title. So ultimately, despite being a very mid coach, I give Perno credit for 3 major milestones in UConn history.

 

[Matrim55]

I get the feeling that Coach Miller is not gonna miss Alex next year when he's playing in the NBA. LOL

I am praying with all my soul that he's there for the Celtics to pick at the tail end of the first.

 

[HCCForever]

Perno also brought in the Corny Thompson, Mike McKay recruiting class. I was really young at the time, but I think Corny was a Parade All-American that was recruited by North Carolina and Kentucky. Him staying home may have been what ultimately got us invited to the Big East. Perno also brought in Phil Gamble and Cliff which paved the way for our first taste of success with the NIT title. So ultimately, despite being a very mid coach, I give Perno credit for 3 major milestones in UConn history.

Let's not forget that the Morris Mountain Chuck Aleksinas transferred to UConn in his sophomore year after winning a championship with Kentucky.

And local legend Norm Bailey was on that team as well.

 

[superjohn]

I'll always be a Sean Miller fan, really wish he would have healthy team one of these years.

 

[Umami Zen]

What are you talking about, Alex will be coming back to win four straight!

25 NBA scouts disagree with you

 

[87Xfer]

Pretty sure there was an "in the huddle" thing where Miller was yelling that AK was going to score 40 last season. He clearly thinks a lot of him.

 

[Umami Zen]

Maybe Mazzulla wanted to check him out in person the other night on one of his off days.

I am praying with all my soul that he's there for the Celtics to pick at the tail end of the first round.

 

[RuffRuff]

25 NBA scouts disagree with you

Not really sure they were there for Alex as he’s a known commodity at this point. I honestly don’t see his draft stock moving much off what it has been, as he’s not doing a ton differently, other than maybe blocking shots. It will take a team that really likes him to go significantly higher than what he’s been tagged already, in what is seen as a strong draft class. Upside is a deep and steady rotational guy.

 

[Matrim55]

Maybe Mazzulla wanted to check him out in person the other night on one of his off days.

He's definitely a Mazzulla-type player with his range and defensive switchability.

Here's a question for y'all: Is Alex the best off-ball cutter in UConn history? The only one I can think of in his league recently is AJax. Going back through the memory banks, obviously Rip & Ray were all-time great, elite, Hall of Fame off-ball guys, but their movement was less about pure cutting and more about change-of-pace and screen navigation.

Nadav is the only one I can think of from the olden days who was an exceptional cutter. But I feel like there's someone I'm missing.

 

[Umami Zen]

Maybe Mazzulla wanted to check him out the other night on one of his off days.

He's definitely a Mazzulla-type player with his range and defensive switchability.

Here's a question for y'all: Is Alex the best off-ball cutter in UConn history? The only one I can think of in his league recently is AJax. Going back through the memory banks, obviously Rip & Ray were all-time great, elite, Hall of Fame off-ball guys, but their movement was less about pure cutting and more about change-of-pace and screen navigation.

Nadav is the only one I can think of from the olden days who was an exceptional cutter. But I feel like there's someone I'm missing.

Dav for sure. Always thought Burrell and Donny Marshall were good without the ball.

 

[Matrim55]

Dav for sure. Always thought Burrell and Donny Marshall were good without the ball.

Both very good. Donny especially very smart about releasing early to get those run-outs. But neither were in AK or AJax's tier whne it came to cutting in the half-court.

Man, I can't believe how lucky we've been as a fanbase the past 35 years.