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

[lonsharkin51]

2006 may have had a similar overall talent level, but the pieces didn't fit together nearly as well. It was a majorly flawed team with a weak backcourt beyond Williams and Rashad.

I still wonder how good 2006 could have been if A.J. Price hadn’t missed his first two years and had been a sophomore on that team. I think they’d have won a natty

 

[HuskyHawk]

Dunno...

1. UCLA legend teams were either 1 or 2 stars deep (Lew Alcindor or Walton and Wilkes but that's it).

2. Duke with Laettner and Hurley, etc. were great, but they had no shut down lottery pick defender plus an All American plus a dominant Center and then there's Cam who they don't have anyone to stack with.

3. UNC would be Jordan's frosh year ('81-'82) but as a frosh we can say ~Castle. Jimmy Black was no Tristen Newton, and Worthy was really good but was not Cam in leading the NCAA in offensive efficiency. Perkins was not Clingan, and maybe Doherty and Karaban are a wash.

4. UNLV is intriguing but they were more a big 3

5. Michigan's fab 5 was two top ten frosh (Webber, Rose), then 3 guys in the 20s (Jackson, King, Howard). But they didn't even gel as a team until Feb when all started and other than Webber, Rose, and Howard, you don't have comparables to our '23-'24 team.

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

 

[RuffRuff]

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

Got to sit back and laugh when comparing 24 against a team with the GOAT, another NBA HOF and Sam Perkins.

 

[Kitaman]

How many of our loses were with a full roster (no injuries)?

 

[AdamaNation]

Interesting. A dominant run, no doubt. Not too sure what weighing the size of blowouts gets you, but they were definitely dominant.

Yet when I see the 2004 team at 25, I remember how incredibly dominant they were. I have never been so relaxed as a UConn fan as I was watching them dismantle teams.

I guess they were hurt by Emeka's 2 1st qtr fouls that made it into a game. When Emeka was in there, UConn abused Duke badly. Emeka was +14 on the floor that game.

And in the final, they totally demolished Georgia Tech before allowing tech to come back in garbage time.

Yeah I get all this. But 04 is like 10 spots too low.

 

[DonaldDraper]

Having the lowest ranked winners, it its own way, was more gratifying than 24. As fun as it is for the team to get press the whole season (and how it builds the brand), 11 and 14 were way more exciting. Losing by 100 to Louisville in 11 in the last reg season game was a killer. 11 was a reasonable seed, but before the BE tourney they would have been an 8 seed. That run came out of nowhere and the lack of expectations towards the end of 11 and 14 made the victories more fun than 24 for me. The program needed 14 sooo bad after the NCAA scholly reductions and transfers impacting grades. My fav thing about this list is that we won with so many types of teams. Having 6 on there is crazy.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Having the lowest ranked winners, it its own way, was more gratifying than 24. As fun as it is for the team to get press the whole season (and how it builds the brand), 11 and 14 were way more exciting. Losing by 100 to Louisville in 11 in the last reg season game was a killer. 11 was a reasonable seed, but before the BE tourney they would have been an 8 seed. That run came out of nowhere and the lack of expectations towards the end of 11 and 14 made the victories more fun than 24 for me. The program needed 14 sooo bad after the NCAA scholly reductions and transfers impacting grades. My fav thing about this list is that we won with so many types of teams. Having 6 on there is crazy.

We’ve had dominant runs like 23 and 24, teams that beat Duke teams that had Shane Battier, Elton Brand, Corey Magritte and another with JJ Reddick. Then we have impossible runs like 2011 and 2014.

We’ve legit seen it all lol

 

[FearThePups]

They use factors like dominance of NCAA run, difficulty of NCAA Tournament path, overall win percentage, talent, etc.

It's a nice, long, enjoyable read for UConn fans

Here are UConn championship ranks according to them: 2024 (1st rank), 1999 (13), 2004 (25), 2023 (32), 2011 (35), 2014 (38).

Here's the link to the article (may need subscription):

Ranking 40 years of men’s NCAA Tournament champions, from 2024 UConn to 1985 Villanova

The best of the best separated themselves with their season-long dominance and emphatic victories in their six-game NCAA Tournament journey.

www.nytimes.com

Here's an excerpt:
The Huskies check every box you could ask for in a dominant team. They won the Big East regular season title by four games in a conference that featured a No. 2 seed (Marquette) and a No. 3 seed (Creighton). They also won the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. They went 37-3 overall, and against a respectable run of opponents in the Big Dance (i.e., no upstart Cinderellas), they won every game by 14 or more points. The Huskies accumulated the largest total margin of victory (plus-140 points in six NCAA Tournament games) for any of the 39 champions ranked in this exercise. In UConn’s final 13 games, only two opponents even came within single digits. That is dominance on full display.

UConn lost only once all season at full strength. One NBA lottery pick, Stephon Castle, missed the Huskies’ loss at Kansas, and fellow top-10 selection Donovan Clingan managed just 14 minutes before sitting out the remainder of a loss at Seton Hall.

From a talent perspective, UConn is right up there with any champion. Clingan, aka “Kling Cong,” is arguably one of the best college rim protectors ever, and Castle was an easy one-and-done NBA prospect. Point guard Tristen Newton, the Huskies’ third NBA Draft choice on the roster, was a consensus first-team All-American and a returning starter from the 2023 UConn title team. Forward Alex Karaban was also a key starter on that 2023 team, and shooting guard Cam Spencer posted the highest individual offensive rating in the country (per KenPom).

As one mentioned a few times in various threads this season, last year’s team was one for the ages.

 

[Mike Honcho]

And in the final, they totally demolished Georgia Tech before allowing tech to come back in garbage time.

Same thing in the Alabama game. We were up 53-29 at half and I think we pushed the lead to over 30 before taking our foot off the gas and cruising to the win. But that was their A+ game.

 

[Nick2009]

Here to shout out 2014. I understand the ranking system used the entire season, BUT, they do correctly note: "En route to a championship, Ollie defeated Hall of Fame coaches Jay Wright, Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan and John Calipari."

That Florida team lost 3 games all season - 2 of them were to UConn.

 

[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.