Seth Davis (ahem) link ..... about UConn's future

[Marat]

Thinks UConn headed back to the wilderness .... after Calhoun is gone.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20.../Hoop.Thoughts.UConn/index.html?sct=cb_t11_a0

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

I hate myself for clicking on that link. I know better than that!

 

[bobbygt]

One more careless journalist speculating on recruits, speculating on transfers, and making baseless assumptions ("I'm guessing [Drummond and Lamb] aren't [coming back to uconn next year].

I can't stand this mob mentality meme, in which all of these media people continually try to highlight the negative.

 

[HooperScooper]

I refuse to believe that. But this is what these media types have to write at this point. Just save this so in 10 years we can all write Seth and tell him how wrong he was.

 

[freescooter]

That is a crazy argument. If we get an NCAA ban next year, it could be a temporary problem, and it could take a couple of years to recover, for sure, but 1) in the current NCAA basketball world, you can turn around on a dime with one guy. Land one or two big time recruits and you're there. heck UCONN did it from 2010 to 2011 just by getting a guy who was already there to improve and landing a couple of key role players. It isn't like you need to recruit for 4 years to rebuild. (2) Indiana is a silly example. Bobby Knight had not turned out really good teams for almost a decade. hadn't gotten out of the 2nd round in 7 years, hadn't won the Big 10 in 8 years. They had been a very ordinary high major, sort of the Big 10 version of the current Cincinatti maybe, for a very long time by the time he left Bloomington. (3) On the point of replacing Calhoun with Ollie, or risking alienating Calhoun and the fans, that is simply ridiculous. If the new coach wins, gets the team to the NCAA tournament and makes deep runs, he'll be fine with the fans and Calhoun has more sense than to complain. And if Ollie takes over and is a disaster, and given his lack of experience that is a rela possiblity, and Calhoun is seen as "forcing" that choice, he'll look bad,not good. And a new AD isn't going to surrender one of the defining decisions of his tenure to the outgoing basketball coach to whom he has zero ties. If he did that, he ought not have gotten the job in the first place. Just keep ol' Paul Prendergast in the fron office. 4) It isn't like UCONN knows how to put a winning product on the field or the court in any sports. If they had done it in some other sport, you know, been competetive in something like Womens basketball, baseball, soccer, womens soccer, field hockey, track & field, or football, won other national championships, we might have a chance ot survive the loss of Jim Calhoun. But since we haven't been any good at other sports...oh wait...this was a piece of trash.

 

[ford82]

That guy is absurd. I am still trying to figure out what qualifies him as a CBB expert. Calhoun is UConn, but Calhoun recognized he could win here. What does that mean? It means you can win here! Other UConn sports have been very successful, obviously the UConn women, soccer and even football has had significant success. To say UConn is headed for the wilderness really just shows how little Davis knows about CBB. He really doesn't know his .

 

[SubbaBub]

It's all unknown. The program has taken a lot of hits with the NCAA, APR, and conference realignment. The only thing that will matter is will the successor be able to recruit. There will be no way to know until it happens or doesn't.

The "Brand" matters, but not as much in BB as it does in FB.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[HuskyBballFan]

freescooter makes a lot of good points here.

1) What Calhoun did was remarkable, but anyone who actually thinks that "it's impossible to win in Storrs, CT" or "the only reason kids come to Uconn is to play for Jim Calhoun" needs to do a little research. Do the highly rated baseball and soccer recruits come to Uconn to play for Calhoun? They must have been awfully disappointed when they showed up for practice and he wasn't there.

2) The practice facility, assuming it's done right, is a big deal.

3) Uconn is still a brand name - those pictures of Uconn guys shaking hands with David Stern aren't going to come down when Calhoun retires. Neither are the championship banners.

4) Obviously the biggest factor is the next coach. If it goes to Ollie, there certainly is some risk there. I have no idea if he can run a practice, take the pulse of his own team, give a pregame speech, or draw up a great play in a timeout. What I do know is that since he joined the staff, we got Andre Drummond, Ryan Boatright, DeAndre Daniels, and Omar Calhoun to commit to Uconn. Recruits like him - sometimes, it doesn't take much more than that.

 

[Hoophound]

Bottom line. All of this has me leaning toward paying a guy like Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart instead of hiring Ollie. I just can't go back to living in a world where UConn sucks, this season blows. Don't get me wrong, I would love for KO to get the job and succeed, but it sure would save me a lot of stress to just get a guy like Stevens instead.

 

[Mots010]

I think conference reallignment is going to have the biggest impact on what we can do going forward. I wasnt too worried about big time coaches and players coming to Uconn in the Big East as it stands now. Now if Uconn is left in Conference USA Version 2, without Syracuse, Pitt, WVU, Louisville, Cincy and even Rutgers (ok, maybe not Rugters), then it will be a lot more difficult. The prospects of playing SMU in basketball and lessened television exposure does not get too many excited.

 

[UConn3432]

if we have to accept commitments from Notre Dame, Marquette or Cincinatti caliber recruits for the next few years the worst thing that should happen is we make the tournament. They all will this year even without their best players for the whole season or significant stretches. Getting UK, UNC and Duke caliber recruits hasn't helped us do that this year.

 

[Scot-e]

You only need one NBA type player on your team to get to a FF. We did it in 99. While we have been spoiled with several future NBA players on the floor at one time I would have no problem with us going back to finding gems that play their parts well and a player or two that is "the guy".

Most teams compete and compete well with no NBA/ Mc D AA talent. We will be fine but like the posters above- it might be a few years till we are back in the race for a top ten spot. I am just hoping our current roster of players sticks around next year- along with OC we will have a pretty good group for the nest 2-3 years.

 

[zls44]

Nothing says program going to the wilderness like two Final Fours in four years and a National Championship.

 

[Kitaman]

I hate myself for clicking on that link. I know better than that!

Thanks for the heads up, I won't look at it. Not sure I need the nfo.

 

[CL82]

freescooter makes a lot of good points here.

1) What Calhoun did was remarkable, but anyone who actually thinks that "it's impossible to win in Storrs, CT" or "the only reason kids come to Uconn is to play for Jim Calhoun" needs to do a little research. Do the highly rated baseball and soccer recruits come to Uconn to play for Calhoun? They must have been awfully disappointed when they showed up for practice and he wasn't there.

lol

 

[prankster]

Did you know that this is the last stop on Seth Davis' railroad journey to oblivion.

It seems that people have started to notice that he really doesn't actually know very much and he is dead nuts wrong some 65% of the time.

More people turn the channel when his dopey grin comes on the screen these days, than ever before and it is hurting ratings, overall.

When his contract is up.....Seth will be "elevated" to Sports Editor over at Current TV.....

Write it down....

(I mean that! Write it down....Everywhere you can!....on every message board or comment page on every sports web site you can find....I think we can make this a movement....)

 

[Drumguy]

I think conference reallignment is going to have the biggest impact on what we can do going forward. I wasnt too worried about big time coaches and players coming to Uconn in the Big East as it stands now. Now if Uconn is left in Conference USA Version 2, without Syracuse, Pitt, WVU, Louisville, Cincy and even Rutgers (ok, maybe not Rugters), then it will be a lot more difficult. The prospects of playing SMU in basketball and lessened television exposure does not get too many excited.

Doubt realignment changes bball recruiting at all. The NBE is still going to be a top conference. We lose WVU, Cuse and Pitt for now and gain Memphis and Houston for bball. so it's not all that much of a loss imho for bball. The other schools haven't left yet so you can't include them. Calling the NBE CUSA light is just plain ignorant.

Doesn't change the fact that Seth is an idiot too.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Bottom line. All of this has me leaning toward paying a guy like Brad Stevens or Shaka Smart instead of hiring Ollie. I just can't go back to living in a world where UConn sucks, this season blows. Don't get me wrong, I would love for KO to get the job and succeed, but it sure would save me a lot of stress to just get a guy like Stevens instead.

Bottom line. No elite 4 or 5 star recruit wants to play the Stevens brand of basketball. He is a great bench coach with a limited talent base. His coaching style does not translate well to a program like UConn. Shaka on the other hand...

 

[uconNYC]

I just can't see the program go into oblivion. First and foremost, the university and the fanbase will demand a winner - thus the resources to maintain a top 10 program will consistently be there.

Secondly, the program now has so much tradition (NC, FF, NBA stars) that it would really take several awful coaching hires in a row to erase the positive impact of the last 20 years.

 

[caw]

I just can't see the program go into oblivion. First and foremost, the university and the fanbase will demand a winner - thus the resources to maintain a top 10 program will consistently be there.

Secondly, the program now has so much tradition (NC, FF, NBA stars) that it would really take several awful coaching hires in a row to erase the positive impact of the last 20 years.

Indiana has gone through a similar thing and is building itself back. Michigan as well. Arizona went through a few bad years and seems to have a good future. Even UK went through a few lean years. If the school puts the resources forth to having a good program, it will. UConn is trying to do so. It may take a few bad years or a few bad coaching hires even, but I have no doubt success will come around.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I cant believe the early reports of the death of this program especially after calhoun leaves. What i think this tells us about the national media and just outsiders in general is although they may not come out and say it they really do want to see uconn decline as a program. To me this article wreaks of not assumptions but hoping for the permenent decline of our basketball program. To those of you out there that are truly worried about this programs future during these times of sanctions and the uncertainty of calhouns return heres some perspective:

worst case scenario coach is forced to retire,we dont get into the tourney next season, JL,AO and AD leave the program after this season and the inexperience KO takes over as coach going into next season.

we`ll be back to full scollies by `14,
we`ll likely still have players like SN,RS,NG,RB,OC,DD still on the roster.

KO has been a great recruiter and all this apr business will be in the rear view mirror so i truly believe uconn would be right back among the best teams in the league and the country in no time. it would really be an exciting time for uconn basketball moving forward not a dark time like many seem to think. uncertain yes but what things in life besides taxes and death are?

 

[Ts5034]

Every sports analysts on the major networks is a former player or coach. Seth Davis is the only exception i think. Why is that?

 

[UConn990411]

Seth Davis constantly looks like he has something up his a** when he talks.

I'm just gonna ignore him.

 

[Hoophound]

Bottom line. No elite 4 or 5 star recruit wants to play the Stevens brand of basketball. He is a great bench coach with a limited talent base. His coaching style does not translate well to a program like UConn. Shaka on the other hand...

I agree, but I also know that Brad Stevens is one of the few truly exceptional minds coaching right now. I question what style he would use if he had bigger and faster horses. I suspect he dreams of having the talent we field year after year. I would talk to him about it for sure. Shaka plays a great style for us. I also like that he could probably continue to recruit a lot of the guys he is recruiting right now to fill our bench and role player spots. He also recruits well in some of our current stomping grounds.

 

[Ricky1Moore]

I wouldn't mind poaching Sean Miller from Arizona... Not sure that he would want to as that's a great program and he is a class guy that just got started there... But if he would I would take him. He is a Big East guy... Not that the BE will necessarily be our spot for that long... East coast basketball guy nonetheless... And he can recruit. Love Ollie but this program may be precious to turn over to a newbie too soon (ie if Calhoun has to step down this year or next due to back). He should stay for one more ring, won't be that long we own the tourney