The Athletic ranks 2024 UConn championship the best over last 40 years

[Mike Honcho]

If we had Jerome Dyson in 2009, we'd have 7 NCs.

Maybe. That UNC team was dominant. But I agree that it would have made a big difference and elevated us above MSU (in Detroit).

 

[Teddie1056]

2024 was the most dominant team I've ever watched. The team just didn't really have any holes. It was a team of absolute giants, with 6'4" Cam Spencer being the shortest starter.

The team was incredibly deep as well.

Teams just couldn't keep up with our height and our depth. Add in the fact that we were incredibly well coached, had 4 players leave for the NBA, and had a great recruiting class, and the team gelled extremely well, and you have a behemoth that dunks nuts all over the competition.

I think that the team in 2023 is underrated because they struggled early in the season, but the talent of 2024 was starting to shine through by the end.

In the same way, I think that 2011 deserves its low ranking, but the finished product was a great team. If you put the 2011 team in a time machine after they won, and had them re-do the season, they are a 1 seed.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Maybe. That UNC team was dominant. But I agree that it would have made a big difference and elevated us above MSU (in Detroit).

Wanted to see Adrien and Thabeet against Hansborough so bad. Good luck getting to the rim against those guys with Stanley lurking.

No question in my head we could’ve taken them.

It’s also crazy they had four top 15 players stay until their jr/sr seasons. Roy Williams was absolutely awful at preparing guys for the NBA. Almost so bad that it helped stack his teams like this one to win.

 

[Get a Job]

I’ve beaten this one to death over the years - but the 2006 team is a myth. We limped into the postseason and never stopped limping. We were tied with a sub .500 Louisville team with a minute to go at home in the finale. Then lost to Syracuse in a 1-8 game in the big east quarters. Then were down 12 to Albany in a 1-16 game. Then barely beat a pedestrian Kentucky team. Then needed a miracle to beat Washington. Then lost to George Mason. They just weren’t that good.

Rudy was the only guy who stuck in the NBA … and he wasn’t all that great a college player really. Some of it is that he really didn’t have a true alpha role with the veterans around him - but 15 ppg on 32 percent 3 point shooting with a negative assist to turnover ratio is kinda meh. He wasn’t ever going to carry us.

A healthy and unsuspended AJ Price as a sophomore may have changed things.

Tarris Reed Appreciation Thread

As a player-esp. as a returning NC player-you appreciate Dan's loyalty to you. As a bench or rotation guy trying to get PT-It can sometimes be frustrating/confusing esp. if you're outplaying the guy in front of you. Game script/matchups/foul trouble/injuries can change these dynamics. All you...

the-boneyard.com

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Saying hall of famer James Worthy was no Cam Spencer is certainly a take.

But we're talking college, not what they went on to do in the NBA, right? Worthy on the Lakers is not a comparable to our NCAA 2023-2024 team as much as Worthy @ UNC. Same for Perkins. College comps should be apples to apples.

Worthy played 3 years @ UNC avg 14.5 pts and 7.4 rebounds. That is the body of work being compared not his Laker's numbers.

 

[Gurleyman]

Tarris Reed Appreciation Thread

As a player-esp. as a returning NC player-you appreciate Dan's loyalty to you. As a bench or rotation guy trying to get PT-It can sometimes be frustrating/confusing esp. if you're outplaying the guy in front of you. Game script/matchups/foul trouble/injuries can change these dynamics. All you...

the-boneyard.com

Averaging 15 ppg is a positive. Having an assist to turnover ratio under 1 is a negative.

So there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

But we're talking college, not what they went on to do in the NBA, right? Worthy on the Lakers is not a comparable to our NCAA 2023-2024 team as much as Worthy @ UNC. Same for Perkins. College comps should be apples to apples.

Worthy played 3 years @ UNC avg 14.5 pts and 7.4 rebounds. That is the body of work being compared not his Laker's numbers.

No, the question was most talented teams. The OP article is best teams (but even it doesn't go back to the older teams) Someone said there weren't more talented teams than ours last year. I think there are many teams that were more talented.

Some of this is the era, especially with the portal. Talent is much more spread out. Go back to the early 64 team era and the talent is pretty concentrated. More like Women's ball is now. 84-85 St. Johns didn't even win a NC, but was loaded. Walter Berry, Chris Mullin, Bill Wennington, Mark Jackson. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...alented-rosters-in-college-basketball-history

 

[Get a Job]

Averaging 15 ppg is a positive. Having an assist to turnover ratio under 1 is a negative.

So there.

Touché

 

[6Nattys4Us]

No, the question was most talented teams. The OP article is best teams (but even it doesn't go back to the older teams) Someone said there weren't more talented teams than ours last year. I think there are many teams that were more talented.

Some of this is the era, especially with the portal. Talent is much more spread out. Go back to the early 64 team era and the talent is pretty concentrated. More like Women's ball is now. 84-85 St. Johns didn't even win a NC, but was loaded. Walter Berry, Chris Mullin, Bill Wennington, Mark Jackson. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...alented-rosters-in-college-basketball-history

If talent is being considered with the perspective of pro careers, then our 2023-2024 team would not be #1. We cannot compare a team with 0-1 pro years in the NBA to retired NBA HOF players and I don't think the Athletic did either.

We got the #1 Championship team because the talent on that team is likely the best assembled starting 5 there ever was top to bottom...in college.

 

[Scoe]

The way I see it is that 2011 and 2014 is the basketball gods rewarded us after 2006 and 2009.

2024 team is the best in the modern era, also have to factor in being defending champions, and dominating a Purdue team that was due to win a championship. Cam Spencer joining last years team was kind of like KD joining the Warriors in a way.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

But we're talking college, not what they went on to do in the NBA, right? Worthy on the Lakers is not a comparable to our NCAA 2023-2024 team as much as Worthy @ UNC. Same for Perkins. College comps should be apples to apples.

Worthy played 3 years @ UNC avg 14.5 pts and 7.4 rebounds. That is the body of work being compared not his Laker's numbers.

I'm not sure I'm grasping your point:

Are you claiming that if someone who was putting together a team for an NCAA tournament game was given a choice between 1981-1982 James Worthy and 2023-2024 Cam Spencer they would choose Spencer?

 

[Scoe]

If talent is being considered with the perspective of pro careers, then our 2023-2024 team would not be #1. We cannot compare a team with 0-1 pro years in the NBA to retired NBA HOF players and I don't think the Athletic did either.

We got the #1 Championship team because the talent on that team is likely the best assembled starting 5 there ever was top to bottom...in college.

I just ran a simulation of 82 UNC vs 24 UConn, and UConn wins 88-68, UNC never even attempted a 3. WhatIfSports.com: Fantasy Sports Simulation -- NCAA Boxscore

 

[Gurleyman]

I'm not sure I'm grasping your point:

Are you claiming that if someone who was putting together a team for an NCAA tournament game was given a choice between 1981-1982 James Worthy and 2023-2024 Cam Spencer they would choose Spencer?

I would. Worthy didn’t even make a single three-pointer all year.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm not sure I'm grasping your point:

Are you claiming that if someone who was putting together a team for an NCAA tournament game was given a choice between 1981-1982 James Worthy and 2023-2024 Cam Spencer they would choose Spencer?

That's not even factoring in what playing for Dean Smith did for your stats. The old joke about Dean Smith being the only man that hold Michael Jordan under 30 ppg remains accurate.

 

[B1GEast]

The 04 and 24 teams were incredible and I know we're talking about dominance, but what the 14 team did with a young coach and in that conference was nothing more than miraculous.

One might say that team had the toughest most grueling road to the championship by any underdog ever.

 

[NewBlood]

The Bama game was the toughest of the run. It's weird to think back that we were up 33-29 against SDST with three or four minutes left in the first half and won that game by 30. Last year's team was just relentless, and at some point, they would just bury you. It almost made the championship game anti-climatic for me because even though it was only a two-point game with a few minutes left in the first, you just knew our run was coming. And then, out of nowhere, we're up 17.

Bama game was a heavyweight fight. I loved that game because we showed toughness, fought back, then dominated

2024 team was truly truly special

 

[NewBlood]

The 2023 team was heads and shoulders better off the bench, not just Clingan. Diarra and Samson were great off the bench but between Clingan, Joey, Nahiem and Diarra all getting 10+ minutes a game that team truly wore other teams out and kept everyone fresh.

2023 just hit you in waves of scoring
2024 was just haymaker after haymaker and very few teams could even return a punch

 

[NewBlood]

'99 was a tough, tough team and '04 was scary when they were hitting on all cylinders but last year's squad was the best in the history of the program and an absolute freak show. When you think about the individual components, how they fit together, the chemistry and collective competitive mindset it was really a close to perfect college basketball team. In my mind they're in a class by themselves among UConn teams.

They way 04 played against Alabama was the way the 24 team was against everyone

 

[NewBlood]

I guess I'm just looking at it across the board. Last year's team was our most dominant performance-wise. Just destroyed people. But I think the quality of opponents was not nearly as good as, say, what the 99 team had to face. For example, I think the 99 Duke team was a monster and would crush Purdue 10 times out of 10.

24 Huskies would have dominated the 99 Duke team. Clinton and Steph would have shut down Brand and Langdon. Not even close