The Season after a Title | The Boneyard

The Season after a Title

UofCT

UofCT

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I think you all know where I am going with this. It is safe to say UConn has underperformed every season after an NCAA championship. The hangover is real. I hope Hurley uses this as motivation next year.


1999-2000
Preseason Rank: AP #1
End of Season Result: 25-10, 5-seed, L 2nd Round

2004-2005
Preseason Rank: AP #8
End of Season Result: 23-8, 2-seed, L 2nd Round

2011-2012
Preseason Rank: AP #4
End of Season Result: 20-14, 9-seed, L 1st Round

2014-2015
Preseason Rank: AP #17
End of Season Result: 20-15, Missed NCAAs, L 1st Round of NIT
 
When I saw extensive footage of some of the preseason practices, it seemed like they were emphasizing speed of play. I was very impressed and I can only imagine that the players were really grinding in practice all year. Seth Greenberg mentioned that the practices this year were over and above what most other schools were doing.

You can't expect that level of intensity year after year. Calhoun frequently talked about the post championship let-down.

That being said, Hurley is not Calhoun and I would imagine that Hurley doesn't wear as much on the players as Jim did.
 
upstater said:
When I saw extensive footage of some of the preseason practices, it seemed like they were emphasizing speed of play. I was very impressed and I can only imagine that the players were really grinding in practice all year. Seth Greenberg mentioned that the practices this year were over and above what most other schools were doing.

You can't expect that level of intensity year after year. Calhoun frequently talked about the post championship let-down.

That being said, Hurley is not Calhoun and I would imagine that Hurley doesn't wear as much on the players as Jim did.
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I think this entire team and staff came to believe after that midseason slump. Hope Dan Hurley can keep the coaching staff in tact. I just love the unselfishness and dedication starting with the team captains. I know we have a great recruiting class coming in. I think if they can maintain that "culture" they have developed we may be good for a long time. A lot was learned and to me that bodes very well for the future. I am especially proud of Dan Hurley who "got things fixed" and with that attitude I think the sky is the limit.
 
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UCfor3 said:
When you consider the players we lost, and most teams lose after a championship it's not all that surprising. Wasn't the portal back tgen either to help mitigate losses this late in the cycle.
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That 2000 team was a 5 seed that was getting its act in order before a Khalid injury in the first round stopped what might have been a Final Four run (if they beat Tennessee they would have gotten into a broken bracket).

Additionally, that 2005 team was looking pretty amazing until a Rashad near death experience really threw them off. Remember, too, that AJ nearly died in the off-season.

In other words: those two years were mostly just bad luck in addition to your point. 2012 and 2015 were different, though.
 
tzznandrew said:
That 2000 team was a 5 seed that was getting its act in order before a Khalid injury in the first round stopped what might have been a Final Four run (if they beat Tennessee they would have gotten into a broken bracket).

Additionally, that 2005 team was looking pretty amazing until a Rashad near death experience really threw them off. Remember, too, that AJ nearly died in the off-season.

In other words: those two years were mostly just bad luck in addition to your point. 2012 and 2015 were different, though.
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When Khalid( one of my all-time favorites) was out for the first round you just kind of knew it wasn't gonna happen that year.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
The roster construction this season was basically perfect and they did not have a significant injury all year. That's not going to be replicated too often.
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In fact, if you want to wonder about something, remember that Johnson, and not Karaban, started at the 4 on opening day. If Samson didn't hurt his foot and hand Alex the starting role immediately, would we have been as good at the end of the season? Would the team have played differently, in a way that didn't lead to this result? No one knows.

Which is why anyone who says "they had a lot of luck" is an idiot. No team wins the tournament without a lot of luck.
 
Assuming Adama, Jordan and possibly Jackson will move on, that leaves Donovan and Alex stepping into leadership roles. Both are well-suited and have skill sets that will grow too. All the freshman will be hungry, and the portal should be easy pickings for us.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
The roster construction this season was basically perfect and they did not have a significant injury all year. That's not going to be replicated too often.
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It turned out to not be significant, but it is important to remember our opening night starter at PF got hurt game 1 and only played 48 minutes on the season. Round of applause for Karaban.
 
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UCfor3 said:
When Khalid( one of my all-time favorites) was out for the first round you just kind of knew it wasn't gonna happen that year.
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I don't really remember that run at all. I feel like this is the first i'm hearing about that injury. What a bummer!
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
The roster construction this season was basically perfect and they did not have a significant injury all year. That's not going to be replicated too often.
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You make an excellent point about no significant injury.. Its been awhile.. Gotta believe our SnC coach needs some credit for navigating the season along with our training staff.. They're part of the success of this season..
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
The roster construction this season was basically perfect and they did not have a significant injury all year. That's not going to be replicated too often.
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On the injury thing. Don’t you feel we’ve been dealt a rough hand for years? I always go back to boat getting injured in the aac finals vs smu. We win we’re in and probably win a game for a young team. Then it was purvis. Brimah. Facey. Jalen. Jalen. Jalen. Purvis. Bouk in the bet. Hawkins twice. Alterique forever. I think our change in s&c has had done play in the improvement. But we were due a period of full roster play. Look at the women. They have gone years with a full team but the last 3 have been genos worst. Paige 2x. Azzi 2-3x. The entire team this year!!!!!
 
upstater said:
When I saw extensive footage of some of the preseason practices, it seemed like they were emphasizing speed of play. I was very impressed and I can only imagine that the players were really grinding in practice all year. Seth Greenberg mentioned that the practices this year were over and above what most other schools were doing.

You can't expect that level of intensity year after year. Calhoun frequently talked about the post championship let-down.

That being said, Hurley is not Calhoun and I would imagine that Hurley doesn't wear as much on the players as Jim did.
Expand ...
I believe that Seth said on DP that he (Seth) went to many practices and Danny runs the best in college ball. As others have said, UConn had the perfect combination of skill, desire, team-first mentality, lack of injuries and low-egos as well. That will be hard to duplicate.
 
Back then when people suddenly left early and you weren’t sure that year as you were recruiting it was difficult to replace the likes of donyell, Ray, Caron etc.. Add to that the kids interested in coming weren’t sure who was staying and who was leaving. Now not only do you have a better idea, but you have a portal that makes it very impactful immediately. They will have a chance to be very hungry and good no matter next year!
 
Winning is hard, you have to have some chip to differentiate yourself

We had that chip this year

And teams that have repeated recently had their stars players returning, both Florida and Dook

During the UCLA run, when they had a bigger payroll than NBA teams according to Bill Walton, youse couldnt leave
 
UofCT said:
I think you all know where I am going with this. It is safe to say UConn has underperformed every season after an NCAA championship. The hangover is real. I hope Hurley uses this as motivation next year.


1999-2000
Preseason Rank: AP #1
End of Season Result: 25-10, 5-seed, L 2nd Round

2004-2005
Preseason Rank: AP #8
End of Season Result: 23-8, 2-seed, L 2nd Round

2011-2012
Preseason Rank: AP #4
End of Season Result: 20-14, 9-seed, L 1st Round

2014-2015
Preseason Rank: AP #17
End of Season Result: 20-15, Missed NCAAs, L 1st Round of NIT
Expand ...
Doooooomed?
 
Kmba2Rmemba said:
UNC’s performance this year is a scary example of how things can go sideways even if nearly the entire core returns from a title game run.

Just another data point in favor of not assuming success will follow success.
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True but coaching is a big factor. Outside of a three-week run last spring UNC has been very mediocre under Hubert Davis.

Obviously being a UConn fan I'm biased but I'd say Hurley is a significantly better coach than Davis is at this point.
 
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whosurdaddy2720 said:
True but coaching is a big factor. Outside of a three-week run last spring UNC has been very mediocre under Hubert Davis.

Obviously being a UConn fan I'm biased but I'd say Hurley is a significantly better coach than Davis is at this point.
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UNC never should have been preseason #1 so expectations for them were way off to start, but completely agree. Davis not getting this team/level of talent into the tournament is coaching malpractice. Hurley is clear cut above him right now.
 
UCfor3 said:
When you consider the players we lost, and most teams lose after a championship it's not all that surprising. Wasn't the portal back tgen either to help mitigate losses this late in the cycle.
Expand ...
This just gave me a whole new outlook on transfers. I hated it at first: probably because of its newness. But you're right. It's huge for us in this spot.
Successful teams have a bit of a curse in that the players all are more attractive to pro leagues. But now we have a chance to leverage that success immediately by attracting the better transfers out there to plug those vacancies
 
Jaydumo20 said:
This just gave me a whole new outlook on transfers. I hated it at first: probably because of its newness. But you're right. It's huge for us in this spot.
Successful teams have a bit of a curse in that the players all are more attractive to pro leagues. But now we have a chance to leverage that success immediately by attracting the better transfers out there to plug those vacancies
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There will be winners and losers. So far, Hurley has shown he's on the winning end of the portal. For coaches that can keep it up, it will be a huge tool to maintain consistency.
 
Umami Zen said:
You make an excellent point about no significant injury.. Its been awhile.. Gotta believe our SnC coach needs some credit for navigating the season along with our training staff.. They're part of the success of this season..
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Great point. Another behind the scenes story is that until Bob Diaco took over as football coach in 2014, Uconn had the legendary team of Jerry Martin as S&C coach who was fired after 24 years and Dr Kramer as Head of the the Kinesiology Dept. who also then departed with his staff to take over at Ohio State U.

The New Haven Register Blogs: Ramblings from The Runway: Martin's departure from UConn raises some eyebrows

Connecticut daily newspaper covering local, regional, and national news including local sports, video and multimedia coverage, and classified advertising.
runwayramblings.blogspot.com runwayramblings.blogspot.com

That problem seems to have been "fixed" as well a couple of years ago.





 
upstater said:
When I saw extensive footage of some of the preseason practices, it seemed like they were emphasizing speed of play. I was very impressed and I can only imagine that the players were really grinding in practice all year. Seth Greenberg mentioned that the practices this year were over and above what most other schools were doing.

You can't expect that level of intensity year after year. Calhoun frequently talked about the post championship let-down.

That being said, Hurley is not Calhoun and I would imagine that Hurley doesn't wear as much on the players as Jim did.
Expand ...
I think Hurley and coaches will definitely expect that level and recruits will not have this sugar coated. Our recruiting has been phenomenal and I am pretty sure that they have all been told what they can expect. I am starting to understand why we have had transfers out or why some players weren't getting playing time. Some of the evidence is demonstrated by captains Sanogo and Jackson and their commitment to leading by example and attitude translated by their "in gym" time. How can you expect to get time if they don't follow leadership example. Hurley can point to them and say why don't you ask them about commitment? He can point to highly regarded recruit Hawkins going to summer training with Rip Hamilton for intense off screen shooting and God knows what else. Dan Hurley and Co are looking for kids who not only want to win but are willing to suit up and show up for it in practice.

I think this is beginning of a new era. A lot of things got "fixed" and going forward lack of effort will not be accepted in this culture as it was not in this or recent years.
 
Last edited:
UofCT said:
I don't really remember that run at all. I feel like this is the first i'm hearing about that injury. What a bummer!
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Giving you said “I feel like” means you‘re too young to remember..
 
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