The Absolute Worst Part....

[Stainmaster]

What I think people are missing in all of this is that there's a good chance we bring in a guy and they flame out. UConn is still a good job, but due to our league it's no longer a very good job. If we pay a good salary I think we'll be able to bring somebody in that can do a good job, but what's even a good job to the majority of our fans standards?

Gun to my head, I don't think the majority of our fanbase could deal with being a Cincinnati, Xavier, Temple, type program that's consistently in the Tournament, but only on rare occasions makes runs to the 2nd weekend.

Thank you for framing this in a more eloquent and less confrontational way than I am able to.

 

[Mooch82]

The problem is we are dangerously close to people forgetting what "UConn Basketball" was, and recruiting will suffer even more than it already has. We need to get better, and get better quickly. The talent we have is OK...but our coaching is terrible. If the talent gets worse than OK, and coaching stays the same, we're going to become completely irrelevant very quickly. We need to fix this in the window where we still MAY have a chance to get into a better conference (P5 or Big East).

Our bigs are EXTREMELY unskilled, and our ability to improve big men over the course of their career has been putrid recently (with the one exception of Facey's junior to senior year jump). Onuorah may be the worst offensive player we've ever had at UConn. Diarra is a warrior but offers very little offensively. Carlton and Whaley could grow into something, but right now are 0 threat offensively. Cobb is the one guy with some potential here, but even he doesn't even look at the rim unless he's with 4 feet of the hoop.

The Gilbert loss hurts us mainly for depth purposes. If we play a 3 guard lineup, which we do often, we have exactly zero guards to bring off the bench. Adams, Vital, and Anderson are going to get extremely fatigued, and God forbid one of them gets in foul trouble. Polley hasn't shown yet he can play at this level, and Larrier is more effective as a 4.

I don't know the answer here. A lot needs to be fixed, and quickly. We've had some bad luck, but you also make your own luck to an extent. We needed to close on another guard this year after MAL left, and we swung and missed about 5 times. This is really coming back to haunt us now.

Sincerely,

An extremely depressed UConn and Giants fan

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Thank you for framing this in a more eloquent and less confrontational way than I am able to.

I think I've moved on to acceptance. We may find sustained high level success again, but the odds are against it.

I don't even think it's so much a UConn thing as losing a legendary Head Coach makes it damn near impossible to repeat what you had once done.

Indiana, UCLA aren't dominant players year in year out and they are considered "blue bloods". UNC was fortunate they got Roy Williams to come over from Kansas, but even they weren't immune to losing for a couple years after hiring Matt Doherty.

When Coach K retires from Duke, do you think they'll make Final Fours every damn season? How about Izzo and Michigan State and what will become of Louisville post Pitino.

Point being - if you're going to judge UConn based on 4 year cycles of: 1 missed tourney, 2 really good teams, 1 great title/final four team, you may need to adjust your expectations.

I think there's no reason UConn can't be in the NCAA mix every season and be top 25 more often than not - but it's going to take true, genuine coaching.

We aren't going to win simply because we say we're UConn and that's enough. It may been in the past, but not anymore.

*Edit: you used in the collective sense.

 

[Waquoit]

I think I've moved on to acceptance. We may find sustained high level success again, but the odds are against it.

I'm already at acceptance. And I have experience rooting for not-so-good teams. What I want to see is some team ball and a sense that they GAS. This team can't even give us that more than once in a while.

 

[Towney007]

What exactly is it that's making you so confident? Genuine question.

Well, I guess in sum I'd say it's not UConn anymore, but it still is. Big budget, great facilities, history and the chance to recreate a blue blood program in your own image with a nice paycheck to boot. To a lot of coaches - that's pretty darn appealing. And there still is a shot we end up in a P5 conference or something along those lines. So while it's not a guarantee, it's worthwhile consideration.

I'm just saying - if you've got a really good coach from a mid major and i'm looking at a place where i've got the opportunity to take advantage of the facilities, budget, paycheck, etc that UConn can provide - AND have the chance to move into a P5 conference without having to go anywhere... it's worth considering.

NOW, they're not IN a P5. The money isn't boundless or endless. But it's a good deal. We'll get a good coach. All things considered, we're probably the most appealing team in our conference or really any non-P5 situation. So again - I think we've got a good chance to land a good coach that won't be out of here on the first train out of town.

 

[3rdbass]

Stop saying Hurley.. he wouldn’t stay here long term.. no Dukies here!

He isn't a Dukie. That was his brother. He played for Seton Hall.

 

[Athlete94]

Dan Hurley went to Seton Hall.

You're thinking of his brother Bobby.

No I am referring to anyone related to a Dukie

 

[Athlete94]

The worst part is that we have fans that

A) Don’t know what Hurley is being discussed

B) Don’t know where the Hurley being discussed went to school

I’d be real surprised if any here are talking about Bobby Hurley - it’s Danny that people are talking about and he went to Seton Hall, not Duke.

If anyone is talking about Bobby Hurley they need their head examined.

No fool, I am talking about anyone related to anyone involved with someone who went to or played for Duke

 

[Athlete94]

He isn't a Dukie. That was his brother. He played for Seton Hall.

Ok, for the 3rd time now, i mean anyone related to anyone who went to Duke.. I know Bobby played for Duke, fools

 

[Marbles90]

when Geno goes so will the UCONN woman program.

I think what many of the younger folks on this board do not realize is that UConn SERIOUSLY caught lightning in a bottle with both Geno and Calhoun. UConn was a “good” program before them. Definitely not a “blue blood”. They made UConn basketball great.

As for Ollie, I agree, tomorrow’s coach could be worse or the same and we may never catch that lightning again. But as much as I want Ollie to succeed, he has proven he can’t coach or build a program. He did well with recruiting brecause he was a respected NBA player. But that does not automatically translate to being able to develop kids for the NBA which is what he was selling. Everyone is seeing that now. Hence the transfers and decommits. It’s unfortunate but at this point we need to start over and it could get worse before it gets better. But you never know, we could get lucky again with a new coach, we could get a P5 bid. Or we could just go back to being a “good” program. But unfortunately, we need to take the next step.

Oh, and if Ollie turns this thing around and makes the tourney, I am ok with him coming back next year, but from what we have seen in the last season and a half, I am not holding my breath.

 

[Nostical]

Like some others on this board I remember the utter ineptness of the Dom Perno era. We couldn't beat anyone, and more importantly looked like we either didn't belong in the newly formed Big East or were destined for bottom dweller status. At the time I was stubbornly reluctant to blame Perno for the state of our program. But once he was dismissed and Jim Calhoun arrived, Calhoun's steady success exposed the naïveté of my long held thinking that no one individual could turn it all around.

Unfortunately, we're at that crossroads again. To my unscientific but discerning eye, our players look less and less able to compete than at any time post-Perno. It appears the wrong pieces have been assembled to complete the puzzle. It’s bad enough the team doesn't play as a cohesive unit, but we can't shoot— and when we miss we can't rebound. That’s a moribund combination resulting in head scratching overtime squeakers against underdog cupcakes and blowout losses to slight favorites. Some say the problem is our conference affiliation and its impact on recruiting but that sounds too much like me making excuses for Don Perno. Jim Calhoun may not be walking through that door but this program is too valuable and too vital to avoid whatever cost is required to fix it. Bottom line, it’s time for a coaching change.

 

[mauconnfan]

I'm already at acceptance. And I have experience rooting for not-so-good teams. What I want to see is some team ball and a sense that they GAS. This team can't even give us that more than once in a while.

That's very fair and unfortunately the leaders aren't the right UConn players for their job. The "team ball" thing is difficult without great leaders and good players. We're pretty short on both and the coaching obviously doesn't know how to make them be more cohesive, lots of issues. I believe there is effort from most, but the one's that GAS don't have the ball enough and aren't ready to play many minutes.

JC had his way to treat players awfully but gain their trust in there was a reason behind this guys maniacal ways. KO seems erratic in that regard, treatment Polley like his whipping boy but not getting anything from him. I believe there is more in Tyler and this would be a kid KO/staff could make into a good player. I know they aren't Top 100 kids and have a lot to learn but we something early in Polley and now it's back in a shell. KO needs to change his ways, be more flexible maybe give him some rope and pats on the back. Not saying I know anything, but whatever they're trying is not working to get the best from this kid. He's the future, a 4 year player who will be a big part of the programs comeback, unless he's not here?