So anyone else stopped reading the recruiting threads?

[UC313]

Recruiting threads .... i just cant quit you.

 

[gtcam]

I agree. The UConn basketball program as I knew it for most of my life is now over and it is extremely frustrating. The really sad thing is that there are no easy fixes to turn things around. We are stuck with Ollie's contract, play in a mid major conference, can't recruit, and now due to mass transfers have that label associated with us.

Not sure how long "most of my life" really is
I've been following UConn MBB since 1964 and have seen both the craters as well as the mountain top.
If anyone doesn't think the abolishment of the OBE and the disadvantages UConn faces due to being on the outside of the P5 has had a huge effect is kidding themselves. Recruiting has been hurt by this and attracting the top of the class into the conference is a HUGE road block. Saying "can't recruit" is simplistic - yes they are stumbling with the big fish but who outside the P5 isn't?
I personally don't feel UConn is "stuck" with KO's contract.
Going from the Yankee Conference to the Big East was as unexpected as getting the cold shoulder when Pitt, Cuse and the others screwed the OBE.
You have to live with these peak and valleys.
It appears that you and over 50% of posters here are young enough to have only experienced the OBE days and I can appreciate that point of view, however, being as old as I am and being closely tied to UConn athletics, especially MBB and soccer, I can be, in my mind, a bit more tolerant at this point.
BTW, this AAC is hurting recruitment within soccer as well.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I love basketball. I coach youth basketball and I still play regularly (albeit at a much slower and more gravity restricted level than in the past), and closely follow both the NBA and college basketball. I have been a UConn fan since I received my acceptance to the school, and used to love talking about the program for hours with anyone that would listen.

I have nothing to say about the situation UConn is in now. It isn't so much anger as acceptance. Other than repeating the same complaints that others have made, I have nothing to add. There is no insight or observation left to make. Using a chess metaphor, UConn has not so much lost its queen and both rooks, as the pieces and board have been put away. If we are not consistently making he final 5 cut for borderline top 100 players that we want, then the game is over.

Football recruiting happens in the film room and basketball recruiting happens in the living room. Basketball is a much easier sport to evaluate talent than football because there are only 5 players on the court and everyone plays against everyone. This means there are far fewer recruiting surprises in hoops than football. This is true from top tier college all the way to 5th grade travel basketball. This puts a premium on making the sale, and we aren't making any of them.

 

[djct1999]

I love basketball. I coach youth basketball and I still play regularly (albeit at a much slower and more gravity restricted level than in the past), and closely follow both the NBA and college basketball. I have been a UConn fan since I received my acceptance to the school, and used to love talking about the program for hours with anyone that would listen.

I have nothing to say about the situation UConn is in now. It isn't so much anger as acceptance. Other than repeating the same complaints that others have made, I have nothing to add. There is no insight or observation left to make. Using a chess metaphor, UConn has not so much lost its queen and both rooks, as the pieces and board have been put away. If we are not consistently making he final 5 cut for borderline top 100 players that we want, then the game is over.

Football recruiting happens in the film room and basketball recruiting happens in the living room. Basketball is a much easier sport to evaluate talent than football because there are only 5 players on the court and everyone plays against everyone. This means there are far fewer recruiting surprises in hoops than football. This is true from top tier college all the way to 5th grade travel basketball. This puts a premium on making the sale, and we aren't making any of them.

For me, the problem transcends UConn. The big business of college athletics has pushed me to the brink. I simply don't care like I used to. I will always be a fan of UConn athletics and will always hope they do well, but like you said, I have accepted the reality that UConn has been left out and the best days for basketball are behind us. That being said, I also am able to truly appreciate how amazing the last 30 years have been. What a ride.

 

[UConnNick]

For me, the problem transcends UConn. The big business of college athletics has pushed me to the brink. I simply don't care like I used to. I will always be a fan of UConn athletics and will always hope they do well, but like you said, I have accepted the reality that UConn has been left out and the best days for basketball are behind us. That being said, I also am able to truly appreciate how amazing the last 30 years have been. What a ride.

I agree with you up to a point, but I'm not quite ready yet to start shoveling dirt on our coffin.

Unlike football, it only takes one trancendent player to revive a BB program at any level. We're only one season removed from a mid major winning the NCAA title. Walker and Napier did it for us. Anthony did it for Syracuse, not that they were a mid major at that time, but the effect is still the same. I realize these type of players don't grow on trees. It's more difficult to attract one playing East Carolina, USF and Tulane rather than Syracuse, Pitt and West Virginia, but it can still happen. You just have to work the recruiting trail really hard and make your own luck.