The all Connecticut backfield

[huskypantz]

I don't think people care if the players are from Connecticut, I think they care if their play leads to wins. I couldn't care less where the players are from.

They do care. Listen to the fans during the pregame intros, in addition to the top players getting the cheers, so do the local kids. Casual football fans from Berlin, Monroe etc may be more inclined to take in a game because the local kid is playing at UConn.
Winning is number one, don't get me wrong. But there is no doubt that CT residents are going to have a special place in their heart for the Donald Thomas/Zach Hurd/Scott Lutrus/DJ Hernandez's of the world.

 

[Palatine]

If Chris Smith were from PA, I don't think it would've had any bearing at all on the future of the program.

Are you saying that if Smith weren't from CT that we would've have won multiple national championships?

Yes, absolutely, without Chris Smith being home grown, who knows what the future would have been.

Home grown is EXTREMELY important. In every state.

 

[Dann]

ever seen this before?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Yes, absolutely, without Chris Smith being home grown, who knows what the future would have been.

Home grown is EXTREMELY important. In every state.

Look, I don't disagree with your premise that having in state talent lead us to the promised land doesn't have its benefits.......but then you go off the deep end with comments like this......

 

[Palatine]

We'd all love a championship squad made up entirely of local kids. Nobody would argue or debate that... would make for a great story. But at the end of the day performance, not location, gets you on the field. So I'll root for the local kids to perform, but if someone else is outplaying them... they had better get the start.

That said it seems that P is making positive steps in local recruiting, which is a good thing.

Straw man.

So you think an all Connecticut backfield would have no effect?

 

[Palatine]

Palatine said: ↑

Yes, absolutely, without Chris Smith being home grown, who knows what the future would have been.

Home grown is EXTREMELY important. In every state.​

Look, I don't disagree with your premise that having in state talent lead us to the promised land doesn't have its benefits.......but then you go off the deep end with comments like this...... ​

Both statements are true.​

 

[businesslawyer]

Look, I don't disagree with your premise that having in state talent lead us to the promised land doesn't have its benefits.......but then you go off the deep end with comments like this......

How can Palatine go off the deep end? Doesn't that require him to have at some point in time been somewhere else?

And by the way -- UConn might not have gotten Chris Smith if he wasn't from Connecticut, but once he was there the added good it did our program because he was from Bridgeport was never and is not now material.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

"Yes, absolutely, without Chris Smith being home grown, who knows what the future would have been."

Not for nothing, but how in the world can you say that your first statement is true, when you didn't even make a statement?

 

[Nostical]

No doubt it would be great if every CT player looked to UConn first during the recruiting dance, but I'm not sure it would be as important to our national image. In business, the definition of an expert is "the guy from out of town". You can have similar talent in-house but it just isn't given as much credibility and status. Same with football. The local kid may appeal to the local media and be great for the Huskyfandan issues, such as parents and friends attendance, etc--and it's no doubt important------ but when it comes to national media cred, its much better if the 5 star from Florida and the 4 star from Ohio reach under the podium and put on a UConn cap on signing day.

 

[huskypantz]

but when it comes to national media cred, its much better if the 5 star from Florida and the 4 star from Ohio reach under the podium and put on a UConn cap on signing day.

When it comes to national media cred, it's much better if the 2-star from NH who went to UConn gets drafted in the first round along with several other UConn guys, while the 4-star kids don't get the call on draft day.

 

[freescooter]

Yes, absolutely, without Chris Smith being home grown, who knows what the future would have been.

Home grown is EXTREMELY important. In every state.

I thought you were a Jim Calhoun fan, but guess I was wrong...It was really Bridgeport that caused UCONN's rise to the top of the basketball world...hmm...Home grown is nice, but not EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. the women's basketball team was led by Rebecca Lobo from Massachusetts...and the first womens team to get to the Final Four was led by Kerry Bascom from New Hampshire. I defy you to find a UCONN fan who didn't love Rebecca Lobo, despite her zip code. Michigan has 20 players from OHIO. Oklahoma is made up of Texans and Califonians(13 Okies on the Spring roster vs 50 +Texans...). What matters is getting good players and winning football (or any sport) games. It is nice if you have a local kid. But it isn't necessary. But going a step further, we have had local kids in staring roles. Dan O, Lutrus, Hurd just to name a couple. What makes it even less critical frankly is that Connecticut simply doesn't produce lots of D1 A players. Maybe 7-10 on average. Then eliminate the MAC level guys and its more like 4-8. You need to be both lucky and a good evaluator to get more than one or two regular players from such a small group. We've consistently had good players from the state.

 

[CTMike]

Straw man.

So you think an all Connecticut backfield would have no effect?

Er... well, I never said that. I think it would garner a huge interest and be a huge boost for the program. I'm just saying that the primary interest is in finding the right mix that's gonna go out and win a BE championship. Performance > Location. If you could have both... then yeah, who wouldn't want that? If you can have only one, then I want the best performers.

 

[CTMike]

Pal, if it came down to it - would you rather have a squad with folks from all over the place go out and win the BE this year, or would you rather have a CT based squad that has a nice season but misses the BE championship by a game or two?

(Obviously people would be happy with championships with local kids... but nobody is debating that)

 

[freescooter]

The way I put it is that it would be nice, but of minor importance compared ot lots of other things.

 

[Palatine]

It's silly to argue that state players don't have extra value

I thought you were a Jim Calhoun fan, but guess I was wrong...It was really Bridgeport that caused UCONN's rise to the top of the basketball world...hmm...Home grown is nice, but not EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. the women's basketball team was led by Rebecca Lobo from Massachusetts...and the first womens team to get to the Final Four was led by Kerry Bascom from New Hampshire. I defy you to find a UCONN fan who didn't love Rebecca Lobo, despite her zip code. Michigan has 20 players from OHIO. Oklahoma is made up of Texans and Califonians(13 Okies on the Spring roster vs 50 +Texans...). What matters is getting good players and winning football (or any sport) games. It is nice if you have a local kid. But it isn't necessary. But going a step further, we have had local kids in staring roles. Dan O, Lutrus, Hurd just to name a couple. What makes it even less critical frankly is that Connecticut simply doesn't produce lots of D1 A players. Maybe 7-10 on average. Then eliminate the MAC level guys and its more like 4-8. You need to be both lucky and a good evaluator to get more than one or two regular players from such a small group. We've consistently had good players from the state.

Chris Smith was the most important recruit in UConn history. He gave the program credibility inside and out side the state. His commitment showed the doubters that Calhoun could get it done. It also fired up the home state fans. If Smith had gone elsewhere, it would have changed the entire trajectory of the program. There is no way to know what a future without Chris would have been. We do know that UConn was in a different place after Chris's four years.

It is more than nice to have local kids, it is critical. They spike local interest. Especially the elite local players, we rarely have seen an elite Connecticut kid pick UConn. If they did, it would be a heck of a lot easy to attract out of state top flight talent. As Pasqualoni says, great players want to play with other great players. How do you sell that if the great players from Connecticut don't pick UConn?

Having lived in Georgia, and seen how much emphasis UGA put on getting Georgia players, and having seen how when great Georgia players left the state it was cause for alarm, I find this attitude that state players are unimportant to be mystifying.

Women's basketball, really?

 

[pj]

Connecticut is a small state. UConn football has to extend beyond state borders to be competitive. Georgia can be competitive if it gets the top Georgia players and leftovers from other states. UConn is going to need to be able to pull top players from NYC and New England, and be competitive in New Jersey. ... I'd rather get a top NYC player than a top Connecticut player, it opens a fertile recruiting territory. UConn will be attractive to Connecticut players always, but has to build support in NYC.

 

[ZooCougar]

With an all Connecticut backfield, we may be able to avenge that loss to Torrington HS in in 1914.

 

[businesslawyer]

It's silly to argue that state players don't have extra value


Chris Smith was the most important recruit in UConn history. He gave the program credibility inside and out side the state. His commitment showed the doubters that Calhoun could get it done. It also fired up the home state fans. If Smith had gone elsewhere, it would have changed the entire trajectory of the program. There is no way to know what a future without Chris would have been. We do know that UConn was in a different place after Chris's four years.

It is more than nice to have local kids, it is critical. They spike local interest. Especially the elite local players, we rarely have seen an elite Connecticut kid pick UConn. If they did, it would be a heck of a lot easy to attract out of state top flight talent. As Pasqualoni says, great players want to play with other great players. How do you sell that if the great players from Connecticut don't pick UConn?

Having lived in Georgia, and seen how much emphasis UGA put on getting Georgia players, and having seen how when great Georgia players left the state it was cause for alarm, I find this attitude that state players are unimportant to be mystifying.

Women's basketball, really?

No one is doubting that Chris Smith was a critical recruit for us. But you have offered up nothing but your repeated statement for evidence that Smith was particularly important because he was from CT. In fact, Smith was particularly important because he was the first sought after recruit Calhoun had brought in.

Why you think it would have been less important if he were from Mount Vernon instead of Bridgeport I don't get. It's not like the greater Hartford fanbase that is the bulk of UConn fans gives a rats a## about anything that happens down in Fairfield County anyway.

And, FWIW, Corny Thompson and Chuck Aleksinas, not that many years before Chris Smith, were name Connecticut kids that we got (Thompson out of high school and Aleksinas after a brief stint out of state), but they didn't take the team where the fan base wanted during their career here and thus they are of lesser importance. Not just than Smith, but to Rip and Ray and Mek.

 

[gioff23]

I have to admit as I read this thread I got the very strong impression that folks are arguing for the sake of arguing - not that we don't specialize in that here! I don't recall anyone saying that if we get more CT HS kids to play we will win the BCS and perhaps a NC, and the SEC will come calling in the am w/an invite.

I think everyone here would agree that we have several areas of development undergoing simultaneously, one of which is building and energizing a fanbase. The fans here are not getting on the bus because of wins - we have won 2 BE championships, and been to a BCS bowl, and we still can't sell out a 40K stadium.

We here go to the games and are passionate about the program. Yet we also know that depsite the magic of the early years, despite the wild ride we experienced after Jazz' death, despite the bowl wins, and despite the BCS appearance, we still could not fill one of the smallest stadiums in D1.

Building a fanbase and winning are not mutually exclusive - winning with more of a local flair might help energize this fanbase. No one is sugesting a local kid should get a leg up on another kid. You can't win trophies with a CT-laden roster, but you can help build the brand for generations to come (which is exactly what C Smith did) by getting more and more top local product to come to UConn and thrive here.

 

[Dann]

With an all Connecticut backfield, we may be able to avenge that loss to Torrington HS in in 1914.

thats a epic post right there.

 

[CL82]

If the backfield combination of Cochrane, Osiecki and DeLorenzo ... led us to a BE title, it would be the biggest thing in the state since, I dunno, ....that guy hid the state charter in a big oak tree.

Funny.

I do think think that it is a good story and it would be picked up by the media and the public. I also think that that reaction would give CT kids another reason to stay home. If the big boys come calling, they'll still leave, as they should, but I think that it helps our case. I wouldn't gerrymander the line up to make it happen, but if it does, it's a good story.

 

[Excalibur]

If Chris Smith were from PA, I don't think it would've had any bearing at all on the future of the program.

Are you saying that if Smith weren't from CT that we would've have won multiple national championships?

There's no way we would have gotten him if he was from PA.

 

[CTMike]

I have to admit as I read this thread I got the very strong impression that folks are arguing for the sake of arguing - not that we don't specialize in that here!

100% correct!

 

[Dann]

i know this will never happen but last fall i did have visions of a casey-dobbs-newsome combo. but anyway back to fun banter.

 

[huskypantz]

I have to admit as I read this thread I got the very strong impression that folks are arguing for the sake of arguing - not that we don't specialize in that here! I don't recall anyone saying that if we get more CT HS kids to play we will win the BCS and perhaps a NC, and the SEC will come calling in the am w/an invite.

I think everyone here would agree that we have several areas of development undergoing simultaneously, one of which is building and energizing a fanbase. The fans here are not getting on the bus because of wins - we have won 2 BE championships, and been to a BCS bowl, and we still can't sell out a 40K stadium.

We here go to the games and are passionate about the program. Yet we also know that depsite the magic of the early years, despite the wild ride we experienced after Jazz' death, despite the bowl wins, and despite the BCS appearance, we still could not fill one of the smallest stadiums in D1.

Building a fanbase and winning are not mutually exclusive - winning with more of a local flair might help energize this fanbase. No one is sugesting a local kid should get a leg up on another kid. You can't win trophies with a CT-laden roster, but you can help build the brand for generations to come (which is exactly what C Smith did) by getting more and more top local product to come to UConn and thrive here.

Well said.