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I've been thinking a lot about the makeup of this new team, and how things are slowly but surely shaping up before the season kicks off. I consider myself a millennial Uconn fan, 27 years old, became a fan after the 99' ship, became a die-hard fan after the 04' ship. With that said I can't remember being more excited for a season to kick off.
I think the majority of the excitement comes from the notion that this team, (collectively & individually), has something to prove and redeem from last season's results/adversity. Naturally this is going to create some seriously hungry players, players with a "boulder on their shoulders," not a chip (Ollie's words).
So I pose this question: Who's going to be the hungriest husky?
Obviously the players all have the collective goal of proving the naysayers wrong and winning the whole thing; which is/should be the Uconn state-of-mind regardless. But within this foundation each individual player has their own story, made up of different types of adversity that give them that extra drive to succeed. I'd like to focus on Jalen, Alterique, Terry, KW, Cobb, Sid, & Mamadou. Feel free to throw out another name but personally these seem to be on another level...
JA: Has come a long way already but everyone knows he wants to cement his name into Uconn lore. Although individually he had a great last season statistically, the quality/quantity of his supporting cast had to have been extremely frustrating for him. Anyone who's personally been an elite player on a team of average joe's that can't seem to string wins together knows the feeling. Not to mention he'll need to show something a little extra this year as the NBA is on the immediate horizon.
AG: The forgotten ***** All-American. Must be difficult to have everyone sing your praises growing up as an elite talent, and then when it matters the most you have nagging shoulder injuries that are essentially out of your hands. Has yet to be given the full opportunity to showcase his skill & athleticism on a national level.
TL: The king of patience. Terry might get my vote on this, as he's had to sit out not 1, but essentially 2 full seasons. It's one thing if you're a scrub, but this guy's obviously a very gifted player & just like Jalen the NBA is on the immediate horizon.
KW: Aside from wanting to show off his super-human athleticism, he's had academic issues that left a speed bump in his basketball career where he didn't know what his immediate future would bring. Rather than deciding to play overseas, he's been given a second chance to play college ball.
EC: The more I learn about him the more I absolutely love this kid. Might be my runner-up for this, as he seems like a great kid who's taken complete ownership over his issues with the law. Had to endure watching what he could have been apart of with South Carolina's Cinderella story in the tournament this past season. Sounds like he has a lot to prove and play for this season.
Sid the Kid: Assuming he gets to play this season, I feel that alone will humble him and spark so much gratefulness it will transition onto the court. Obviously he recently lost his mother so that gives him something personal/emotional to play for. There's a slight logjam at the SF position so the competition during practices will create some extra hunger for minutes.
MD: Of course just like TL and AG had to sit out all of last season due to nagging knee complications. Was a top 100 player coming out of HS so I'm sure he badly wants to showcase his motor & rebounding abilities, and prove what he could've brought the team last year.
Aside from who actually is the hungriest, if that's even a thing, just the thought of how many players on this team have that extra incentive to prove/redeem themselves is scary. If they put it all together and feed off of each other's hunger the sky's the limit.
I think the majority of the excitement comes from the notion that this team, (collectively & individually), has something to prove and redeem from last season's results/adversity. Naturally this is going to create some seriously hungry players, players with a "boulder on their shoulders," not a chip (Ollie's words).
So I pose this question: Who's going to be the hungriest husky?
Obviously the players all have the collective goal of proving the naysayers wrong and winning the whole thing; which is/should be the Uconn state-of-mind regardless. But within this foundation each individual player has their own story, made up of different types of adversity that give them that extra drive to succeed. I'd like to focus on Jalen, Alterique, Terry, KW, Cobb, Sid, & Mamadou. Feel free to throw out another name but personally these seem to be on another level...
JA: Has come a long way already but everyone knows he wants to cement his name into Uconn lore. Although individually he had a great last season statistically, the quality/quantity of his supporting cast had to have been extremely frustrating for him. Anyone who's personally been an elite player on a team of average joe's that can't seem to string wins together knows the feeling. Not to mention he'll need to show something a little extra this year as the NBA is on the immediate horizon.
AG: The forgotten ***** All-American. Must be difficult to have everyone sing your praises growing up as an elite talent, and then when it matters the most you have nagging shoulder injuries that are essentially out of your hands. Has yet to be given the full opportunity to showcase his skill & athleticism on a national level.
TL: The king of patience. Terry might get my vote on this, as he's had to sit out not 1, but essentially 2 full seasons. It's one thing if you're a scrub, but this guy's obviously a very gifted player & just like Jalen the NBA is on the immediate horizon.
KW: Aside from wanting to show off his super-human athleticism, he's had academic issues that left a speed bump in his basketball career where he didn't know what his immediate future would bring. Rather than deciding to play overseas, he's been given a second chance to play college ball.
EC: The more I learn about him the more I absolutely love this kid. Might be my runner-up for this, as he seems like a great kid who's taken complete ownership over his issues with the law. Had to endure watching what he could have been apart of with South Carolina's Cinderella story in the tournament this past season. Sounds like he has a lot to prove and play for this season.
Sid the Kid: Assuming he gets to play this season, I feel that alone will humble him and spark so much gratefulness it will transition onto the court. Obviously he recently lost his mother so that gives him something personal/emotional to play for. There's a slight logjam at the SF position so the competition during practices will create some extra hunger for minutes.
MD: Of course just like TL and AG had to sit out all of last season due to nagging knee complications. Was a top 100 player coming out of HS so I'm sure he badly wants to showcase his motor & rebounding abilities, and prove what he could've brought the team last year.
Aside from who actually is the hungriest, if that's even a thing, just the thought of how many players on this team have that extra incentive to prove/redeem themselves is scary. If they put it all together and feed off of each other's hunger the sky's the limit.
