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Coming off an 18-16 season in 2009-2010 and losing Dyson, Robinson and Edwards to graduation the UConn program looked like it was in serious trouble heading into the 2010-2011 season. Kemba Walker was returning and while he had a very good summer his sophomore season didn't exactly show us that we had our leader. It looked like we had very little returning and after missing out on the big 3 pg's Knight, Joseph and Selby it looked like we might be reaching with bringing in a tiny kid from Roxbury who was reclassifying to make his way to Storrs. What unfolded in the next 6 or so months was something I've never seen in sports. Kemba went from talented kid who had yet to put it together into the best player in all of College basketball. I was shocked when we stormed through Maui but then reality began to set in and it was starting to look like we were just a one man team and the brutal grind of the Big East was too much for the wide eyed freshman. Kemba was trying to do it all himself and it just wasn't working. The Big East tourney came at just the right time and MSG once again was our place of refuge and where the team had their awakening. It all came together during that Georgetown game and then Kemba's crossover and stepback, crippled Gary McGhee and elevated UConn into a juggernaut that wouldn't be stopped. We had the single greatest run in Big East tournament history and fresh off that accomplishment there was nobody in the NCAA's that would stop us. It took the best coach in the country, the best player in the country and a bunch of wide eyed freshman that turned into men.
Things looked brighter than ever for the 2011-2012 season, we were losing arguably the best player in UConn history but what we were returning and bringing in rivaled some of our greatest collections of talent ever at the University. A surprise commitment from a 5 star wing from LA, a uber athletic little man from Chicago and the hometown kid every Husky fan had been pining for the last 4 years had all pledged their allegiance to UConn. Early on though you could tell it wouldn't be smooth sailing and a black cloud seemed to hover over us, one we thought had disappeared with the amazing run from the season before. The NCAA was coming after us again making life miserable for the Boatright family and then Calhoun got very sick and took a long leave of absence. Our sophomore point guard wanted to lead but didn't know how to do it properly, there was flashes of our brilliant talent but you could tell it was just flashes and nothing more. Too much drama for everything to come together and next thing you know the season was over.
If the lead up to 2010-2011 felt like a low-point, Husky nation was in for the shock of a lifetime. During the past season we found out the NCAA held a meeting and within a day it was decided UConn was being punished again and would not be allowed to play in the NCAA tournament for the upcoming season. If we weren't already knocked down to our knees the next news would cripple the toughest of UConn fans, our fearless leader was calling it a career. He had beaten cancer 3 times but eventually it was his 10 speed that did him in. Our coach the one who saw something special in Storrs all those years ago when nobody else did, the one who built a cow town into a basketball powerhouse, the one who coached circles around coach K in winning a championship and eventually bringing 2 more titles to our sleepy little basketball hamlet. The tough Irish SOB had put enough blood, sweat and tears into it and his health was just no longer agreeing with his profession. But what now, Andre Drummond knew he was a top 10 pick and returning for a season where there is no postseason to play for just didn't make sense, Alex O decided he didn't want to tough it out and left on not the best of terms, and to put the nail in the coffin the kid who played the last month of the season with a black eye was also transferring.
Things in Huskyland looked beyond bleak but most of us knew we had the right guy sitting on our bench in Kevin Ollie and when he was named interim coach we breathed a small sigh of relief, he convinced Shabazz, Boat, Giff and Daniels to stay and assured us there was enough talent in the room for the Huskies to win. The 2012-2013 season turned out to be just what us beaten down Husky fans needed. For a team that was told by outsiders they had nothing to play for they sure played every game like it was the title game. There was a toughness out of that group that I will never forget and they should go down as one of if not the most important teams in Husky history.
With the arrival of the 2013-2014 season things in Storrs had changed, we got through the lowest of the lows and now it was time to have a little fun. It was time for us fans to exhale and have some fun but to the players it was all business, they had everything to play for and they headed into the season with a business like approach. Some of the early games were too close for comfort but they won and then came Shabazz's heroics to take out Florida at Gampel. Husky fans were starting to feel they had another Kemba like season on their hands. Ugh, then the boys packed their bags and headed for Texas and dropped two clunkers to Houston and SMU. Maybe we weren't as good as we thought, instead of hanging their heads and heading back to Hartford, coach Ollie took them on a quick excursion over to Jerry's World to show the team what they would be playing for months down the road. I'm sure some fans rolled their eyes when they heard this news, afterall we just lost to Houston and SMU. The players took Ollie's words to heart though, UConn looked tough for most of the remaining games but there was always Louisville lurking and let's be honest UConn makes Louisville look like the Miami Heat. We were drubbed a couple of times by them and heading into the AAC tournament most Husky fans thought the best we could hope for was a sweet 16 finish and it would be one hell of an accomplishment if that was achieved. In the AAC tournament we wiped the floor with the home team Memphis by reigning threes from everywhere, won a hardnosed battle against a game Cincy team and then ugh here came Louisville again. The game looked like a replica of our last meeting, Louisville was on their was to a huge beatdown but in the second half things started to click for UConn. The deficit was too much to overcome but we outscored them in the second half and kept the score respectable.
On to the NCAA's and the new greatest thing I've seen in my sports life. A Brimah and 1 to send the game into overtime against St. Joe's and more Shabazz heroics for the win. Round of 32 Nova jumped out to an early lead but you could tell we were better than them and we pulled away and won fairly easily. Now back at our home away from home, the bright lights of MSG. It was time for the Huskies to take flight. Everything had officially come together and UConn was now playing at a different level. They pulled away from ISU in a track meet and then after trailing by 9 to MSU, UConn thoroughly exposed the Spartans with dogged defense from Boat, Nolan and everyone else, of course Bazz's timely shot-making helped.
The final 4 started off with a thud but after trailing 16-3 to Florida UConn tied it up in a hurry and never looked back pulling away from the Gators easily. Another final 4 matchup with Squid and Kentucky. For the 6th game in a row just like the 2009-2010 season the "experts" were picking us to lose but any UConn fan with a pulse knew there was no way in hell they were losing this game. It was Kentucky's size at guard against our speedy little guards, we've seen this script play out before. The magical run was now complete with Ollie disposing of Hall of Fame coaches like Jeter does Supermodels. UConn did the unthinkable, they did the exact same thing as they did in 2010 with Kemba but this time it felt even sweeter. I guess it's the countless times we've been screwed by the NCAA, the bashing we take from the media and other fanbases digging our grave. For the second time we proved everyone wrong, we aren't a one coach program, other fans can debate whether we are a blue blood, in my opinion we are better than a blue blood. UConn has accomplished more in 20 years than just about every other program has in 60. The dark clouds have lifted and it's nothing but light these days, the UConn program isn't going anywhere ever. Sometimes I have to pinch myself.
Things looked brighter than ever for the 2011-2012 season, we were losing arguably the best player in UConn history but what we were returning and bringing in rivaled some of our greatest collections of talent ever at the University. A surprise commitment from a 5 star wing from LA, a uber athletic little man from Chicago and the hometown kid every Husky fan had been pining for the last 4 years had all pledged their allegiance to UConn. Early on though you could tell it wouldn't be smooth sailing and a black cloud seemed to hover over us, one we thought had disappeared with the amazing run from the season before. The NCAA was coming after us again making life miserable for the Boatright family and then Calhoun got very sick and took a long leave of absence. Our sophomore point guard wanted to lead but didn't know how to do it properly, there was flashes of our brilliant talent but you could tell it was just flashes and nothing more. Too much drama for everything to come together and next thing you know the season was over.
If the lead up to 2010-2011 felt like a low-point, Husky nation was in for the shock of a lifetime. During the past season we found out the NCAA held a meeting and within a day it was decided UConn was being punished again and would not be allowed to play in the NCAA tournament for the upcoming season. If we weren't already knocked down to our knees the next news would cripple the toughest of UConn fans, our fearless leader was calling it a career. He had beaten cancer 3 times but eventually it was his 10 speed that did him in. Our coach the one who saw something special in Storrs all those years ago when nobody else did, the one who built a cow town into a basketball powerhouse, the one who coached circles around coach K in winning a championship and eventually bringing 2 more titles to our sleepy little basketball hamlet. The tough Irish SOB had put enough blood, sweat and tears into it and his health was just no longer agreeing with his profession. But what now, Andre Drummond knew he was a top 10 pick and returning for a season where there is no postseason to play for just didn't make sense, Alex O decided he didn't want to tough it out and left on not the best of terms, and to put the nail in the coffin the kid who played the last month of the season with a black eye was also transferring.
Things in Huskyland looked beyond bleak but most of us knew we had the right guy sitting on our bench in Kevin Ollie and when he was named interim coach we breathed a small sigh of relief, he convinced Shabazz, Boat, Giff and Daniels to stay and assured us there was enough talent in the room for the Huskies to win. The 2012-2013 season turned out to be just what us beaten down Husky fans needed. For a team that was told by outsiders they had nothing to play for they sure played every game like it was the title game. There was a toughness out of that group that I will never forget and they should go down as one of if not the most important teams in Husky history.
With the arrival of the 2013-2014 season things in Storrs had changed, we got through the lowest of the lows and now it was time to have a little fun. It was time for us fans to exhale and have some fun but to the players it was all business, they had everything to play for and they headed into the season with a business like approach. Some of the early games were too close for comfort but they won and then came Shabazz's heroics to take out Florida at Gampel. Husky fans were starting to feel they had another Kemba like season on their hands. Ugh, then the boys packed their bags and headed for Texas and dropped two clunkers to Houston and SMU. Maybe we weren't as good as we thought, instead of hanging their heads and heading back to Hartford, coach Ollie took them on a quick excursion over to Jerry's World to show the team what they would be playing for months down the road. I'm sure some fans rolled their eyes when they heard this news, afterall we just lost to Houston and SMU. The players took Ollie's words to heart though, UConn looked tough for most of the remaining games but there was always Louisville lurking and let's be honest UConn makes Louisville look like the Miami Heat. We were drubbed a couple of times by them and heading into the AAC tournament most Husky fans thought the best we could hope for was a sweet 16 finish and it would be one hell of an accomplishment if that was achieved. In the AAC tournament we wiped the floor with the home team Memphis by reigning threes from everywhere, won a hardnosed battle against a game Cincy team and then ugh here came Louisville again. The game looked like a replica of our last meeting, Louisville was on their was to a huge beatdown but in the second half things started to click for UConn. The deficit was too much to overcome but we outscored them in the second half and kept the score respectable.
On to the NCAA's and the new greatest thing I've seen in my sports life. A Brimah and 1 to send the game into overtime against St. Joe's and more Shabazz heroics for the win. Round of 32 Nova jumped out to an early lead but you could tell we were better than them and we pulled away and won fairly easily. Now back at our home away from home, the bright lights of MSG. It was time for the Huskies to take flight. Everything had officially come together and UConn was now playing at a different level. They pulled away from ISU in a track meet and then after trailing by 9 to MSU, UConn thoroughly exposed the Spartans with dogged defense from Boat, Nolan and everyone else, of course Bazz's timely shot-making helped.
The final 4 started off with a thud but after trailing 16-3 to Florida UConn tied it up in a hurry and never looked back pulling away from the Gators easily. Another final 4 matchup with Squid and Kentucky. For the 6th game in a row just like the 2009-2010 season the "experts" were picking us to lose but any UConn fan with a pulse knew there was no way in hell they were losing this game. It was Kentucky's size at guard against our speedy little guards, we've seen this script play out before. The magical run was now complete with Ollie disposing of Hall of Fame coaches like Jeter does Supermodels. UConn did the unthinkable, they did the exact same thing as they did in 2010 with Kemba but this time it felt even sweeter. I guess it's the countless times we've been screwed by the NCAA, the bashing we take from the media and other fanbases digging our grave. For the second time we proved everyone wrong, we aren't a one coach program, other fans can debate whether we are a blue blood, in my opinion we are better than a blue blood. UConn has accomplished more in 20 years than just about every other program has in 60. The dark clouds have lifted and it's nothing but light these days, the UConn program isn't going anywhere ever. Sometimes I have to pinch myself.
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