This is going to be a fun team to watch

[temery]

I know they've only played two games, but it seems like the chemistry is there.

 

[uconNYC]

RJ gets the easiest buckets. Impressed.

 

[dapriest]

This team reminds me of why I started loving to watch UConn games 20 something years ago - non-stop effort, constant defense, and team-first, unselfish play. The Big Three.

Somewhere back in 03ish those three traits became a bit less pronounced and became replaced with pure talent.

The 06 team was the first team that didn't look much like a Huskies team to me - loads of talent, but not playing as a team.

AJ price almost single handedly, with the help of a 7 footer, willed us to a FF.

The Stanley/Dyson senior year team was another that just lacked much of the Big Three, but lacking the talent to make any sort of a run.

Even the KWalker NC team had many, many games that left us all shaking our heads. Again, it was the preternatural will power of Kemba that dragged that team to the NC.

Last year? I guess maybe it was just time. Like I said, I haven't felt that JC was getting the most out of his players for several years.

Ollie, short though his stint may so far be, clearly has guys busting ass. I was thrilled with the effort tonight. Really great, even when we were up 15.

Fun to watch is right.

You get the definite feeling that, unlike many times in the last 7 or 8 years, we're not going to get beat because they out-worked us.

 

[partial]

I was about to post something similar. I love the energy we start games with, and the on ball defense is phenomenal. I was never a proponent of KO but this feels good in many respects.

 

[CAHUSKY]

I guess maybe it was just time. Like I said, I haven't felt that JC was getting the most out of his players for several years.

Im thinking he got the most out of his team in 2011. Not sure you win a title with that roster without doing so. Also did an amazing job getting to the 2009 FF without Dyson. Tough crowd.

 

[Danzz]

" Like I said, I haven't felt that JC was getting the most out of his players for several years"
It is kind of like a manager watching a pitcher getting hit hard for outs. You can't let the outs fool you and you can't let the last NCC fool you either. JC wasn't getting through to many of his players and maybe his act was getting a little old. It is possible that his hard ass methods weren't supplemented by enough positive coaching. I never liked the predictable quick hook. Sometimes you have to let players play through their mistakes or they lose their confidence but hey his methods brought 3 NCCs . The players have changed and coaches have to also adjust their methods and there was no way JC was ever going to change.
In Ollie I see a tough and knowledgeable coach who seems to get more with encouragement. He doesn't lose control of himself. JC would embarrass his players in front of a national TV audience and a full house and I never saw any benefit to that.
I go all the way back to to Wes B. days so I a deep appreciation of everything JC has done for Uconn basketball. It was an incredible transformation and a great ride but it was time for him to go.

 

[UCONNfan1]

There's no reason to diminish JC in order to heap praise on Ollie. It's 2 games into the season. So far, Ollie's done a phenomenal job. Proud of him and proud of the team, but it's still possible to think KO is great without comments like "JC didn't get the most out of his players". Maybe it was the player and not JC.

 

[aceboon]

You'll catch heat for this but I agree.

This team reminds me of why I started loving to watch UConn games 20 something years ago - non-stop effort, constant defense, and team-first, unselfish play. The Big Three.

Somewhere back in 03ish those three traits became a bit less pronounced and became replaced with pure talent.

The 06 team was the first team that didn't look much like a Huskies team to me - loads of talent, but not playing as a team.

AJ price almost single handedly, with the help of a 7 footer, willed us to a FF.

The Stanley/Dyson senior year team was another that just lacked much of the Big Three, but lacking the talent to make any sort of a run.

Even the KWalker NC team had many, many games that left us all shaking our heads. Again, it was the preternatural will power of Kemba that dragged that team to the NC.

Last year? I guess maybe it was just time. Like I said, I haven't felt that JC was getting the most out of his players for several years.

Ollie, short though his stint may so far be, clearly has guys busting ass. I was thrilled with the effort tonight. Really great, even when we were up 15.

Fun to watch is right.

You get the definite feeling that, unlike many times in the last 7 or 8 years, we're not going to get beat because they out-worked us.

 

[johnhuskies95]

They've looked great on defense so far. Fun to watch even with the rebounding struggles.

We're going to need Wolf to play a little bit more. It'll be interesting to see how much he plays against Wake.

 

[UConn990411]

It's very hard to analyze the job Calhoun did from 2005-12.

On the one hand, there was brilliance - UConn won a championship, went to a Final Four and had two #1 seeds. Calhoun lost five guys to the draft after the 2005-06 season, and three years later took an entirely new roster to the FF (and honestly, that team would have been neck-and-neck with UNC if Dyson were healthy). And as good as Kemba was, 2010-11 was as good a coaching job as Calhoun did in his entire career.

But during that same span, there were three teams that were major disappointments - 2009-10, 2011-12 and to a lesser extend 2005-06. All three had different problems (the two most recent had no leadership, 05-06 had too many guys thinking about the NBA), but all three struggled because they didn't put forth a consistent effort. That was never the case with Calhoun-coached teams in the 90s and early 2000s.

I think part of it had to do with Calhoun's off-and-on health issues, but maybe there's something to the idea that wasn't able to get through to his players as effectively in recent years. It's tough to conclude that, though, considering the two ships and three in he won in his last nine years.

 

[superjohn]

JC is the greatest coach ever in College Basketball as far as I'm concerned, taking a little regional program and turning them into a goliath just hasn't been done by anyone else. I agree with your point though, in more recent years he got a little too infatuated with big somewhat unskilled players and he was extremely tough on some players and his quick hook and yelling didn't help some of them. I really felt this was the perfect time for coach to hand over the program to Ollie. Anyone who doesn't think Calhoun was an amazing coach doesn't know a thing about bball but it's fair to also point out any flaws you might have seen with him. One thing I'm positive about is that Ollie is the right guy and we are lucky to have him.

 

[UConn Esq]

There are just so many guys on this team that can legit score. We haven't had this many scoring threats or guys that can knock down 3s in a long time. If the defense can keep up this tenacity they could do some damage.

 

[caw]

I'll admit I haven't seen every team out there but I haven't seen a guard with as tight a handle as Napier, aside from Boatright.

 

[Ts5034]

It's very hard to analyze the job Calhoun did from 2005-12.

On the one hand, there was brilliance - UConn won a championship, went to a Final Four and had two #1 seeds. Calhoun lost five guys to the draft after the 2005-06 season, and three years later took an entirely new roster to the FF (and honestly, that team would have been neck-and-neck with UNC if Dyson were healthy). And as good as Kemba was, 2010-11 was as good a coaching job as Calhoun did in his entire career.

But during that same span, there were three teams that were major disappointments - 2009-10, 2011-12 and to a lesser extend 2005-06. All three had different problems (the two most recent had no leadership, 05-06 had too many guys thinking about the NBA), but all three struggled because they didn't put forth a consistent effort. That was never the case with Calhoun-coached teams in the 90s and early 2000s.

I think part of it had to do with Calhoun's off-and-on health issues, but maybe there's something to the idea that wasn't able to get through to his players as effectively in recent years. It's tough to conclude that, though, considering the two ships and three in he won in his last nine years.

I agree with you. It is hard to analyze 2005-2012. I think you just have to take it year by year. Dont forget the Big East went through a dramatic change in 05-06 with the additions of Louisville, Cincy, Marquette, USF. The competition got a lot harder, Louisville has been a thorn in our side. Also, college basketball itself changed between those years. The rule that kids have to attend college for one year instead of going to the NBA out of high school went into effect in 2007. The game is a lot different now compared to 6-7 years ago

 

[CL82]

" Like I said, I haven't felt that JC was getting the most out of his players for several years"
It is kind of like a manager watching a pitcher getting hit hard for outs. You can't let the outs fool you and you can't let the last NCC fool you either.

Well here's to hoping that Coach Ollie fools me with his own three national championships.

 

[Gurleyman]

Thing is we had some frustrating years all along - the two years after the Dream Season we struggled to qualify for the NCAA's as our offense often regressed into "stand around and watch Smitty try to score". Burrell's senior year - with Donyell's class as sophomores - was a train wreck. The 1994 team (Ray off the bench) was more talented than the 2006 team (only one guy has had more than a cup of coffee in the NBA), and won a lot of games, yet had some of the same problems with playing poorly late in the year that 2006 did.

The year after the first NC without Rip we really underachieved and played without heart some nights. We went to Michigan State and trailed 46-15 at the half in one of the worst games I've ever seen a UConn team play. Same guys who played balls-out all through the '99 title looked like they didn't care. I'd certainly say '97 - and to a lesser extent '01 - get passes for youth, and '05 gets a pass for the health of AJ and Rashad.

But the point is that 1990-2005 wasn't a smooth ride of a singular brand of "UConn" basketball where every team had the same identity. We had ups and downs not all that different from what we had in the later years. 2006 compares to 1994. 2007-2009 was very similar to 1997-1999, starting with a way too young team and building up to a Final Four (knee injuries perhaps stopped 2008 and 2009 from going as far as their counterparts 10 years earlier), 2010 compares to 2001 (senior leadership was heavily-criticized, NIT bound), 2011 compares to 1990 (veteran guard and bunch of frosh go further than we ever imagined), 2012 was like 2000 (group left behind after NC frustrated everyone, but 2000 had KEA's ankle to soften the landing at the end of the year).

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[patrick]

This team reminds me of why I started loving to watch UConn games 20 something years ago - non-stop effort, constant defense, and team-first, unselfish play.

YES YES YES

But there are a lot of factors why this team is playing for each other.
1. These are the survivors from the jc error, so they stick together bc of pride in UCONN!

2. They have a new coach who is endorsed 100% by the great Calhoun.

3. The NCAA has created a monster, a family, and a chip on this teams shoulder that can't be helped by a ranking in the top 25!

 

[dapriest]

Im thinking he got the most out of his team in 2011. Not sure you win a title with that roster without doing so. Also did an amazing job getting to the 2009 FF without Dyson. Tough crowd.

Really? We finished 9th or 10th in the Big East in 2011. I don't call that getting the most out of the team.
The fact that Kemba led the team on a miracle run had much more to do with Kemba Walker, in my opinion, than Jim Calhoun. And the fact is that, if not for Kemba Walker and the miracle run the only thing you'd have to hang your hat on since 2004 would have been a FF run with a loaded team, and that with several years of loaded rosters, including the 06 team, specifically.

Not so much a tough crowd - just some fans will always be delusional. There was open dissension on the team toward the end. Guys calling JC an idiot in public media. Guys slacking constantly on the court.

Believe what you want to believe, but don't let the Kemba miracle fool you. It was time, and that is getting clearer with each passing game.

 

[dapriest]

This team reminds me of why I started loving to watch UConn games 20 something years ago - non-stop effort, constant defense, and team-first, unselfish play.

YES YES YES

But there are a lot of factors why this team is playing for each other.
1. These are the survivors from the jc error,

Ouch. Calling freudslipConn.

 

[selles]

And the fact is that, if not for Kemba Walker and the miracle run the only thing you'd have to hang your hat on since 2004 would have been a FF run with a loaded team, and that with several years of loaded rosters, including the 06 team, specifically.

I don't entirely disagree with your original post, but when you have to say "if not for" too many times, it's a sign that either your argument is fundamentally flawed or that you're taking it too far.

'Geez, JC was really washed up. If not for a National Championship in 2004, a Final Four in 2009, and a National Championship in 2011, JC wouldn't have won two titles and gone to 3 Final Fours over his final 9 seasons.' See, it starts to sound a little ridiculous.

 

[mauconnfan]

I guess when you win 3 NC's from the Yankee Conference days and have multiple 20 win seasons that didn't result in NC's you get hammered for your coaching ability? Spoiled is what I call this crowd.......

He made some mistakes/errors in recruiting or judging some players and he certainly wasn't error free in judging personalities and how they will react as they mature with the program butg he as consistent if not genuinely passionate throughout. Call it shabby coaching or whatever last year, i call it LACK of RESPECT of the UCONN on the jersey by the returning players who have since left the program. They made JC's last year hell, he didn't make it that way himself and he deserved a much better parting gift for what he did for the university and US...........I would hope people wouldn't show the same disrespect AO and RS showed!!!! Geez a spoiled group......this isn't delusion it's real it....he was not without flaws but they were so few compared to what he did....why?????

 

[CL82]

Kemba doesn't become the player he is without Calhoun's coaching. He's the first to admit it. I take nothing away from Kemba he was the key to what is the most amazing run in NCAA BB history but to suggest that it happened inspite of Calhoun is silly.

 

[Gurleyman]

If it wasn't for World War I and World War II, Germany would have had a great century.

To say the NC was all Kemba misses one huge fact: Kemba shot 5-19 in the championship game. We won by holding Butler to 43 points (and our D was big against Kentucky and Arizona too). Our game plan was pretty damn good.

Also, if you missed how much we improved from 2007 to 2009, you weren't paying much attention. We went from totally inept to No. 1. Some of that was getting older and maturing and shaking off rust (in AJ's case), but coaching had a little to do with it too.

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[Tenspro2002]

2007-2009 was a solid period of progression, led by JC-style stalwarts Price and Adrien. But in that period, and since, we also had a ton of transfers.

That, to me, is the most salient characteristic of our program over the past 6-7 years. The transfers. That indicates deficiencies in recruiting (poor appraisal of the skill or character of recruits) and in player development. It indicated JC's increasing difficulty to connect to all of his players. It disrupted our cycles of team development and directly led to the APR fiasco.

If anyone is going to criticize JC for his handling of the program over the last 6-7 years, that's where it starts.

 

[Gurleyman]

We always had those problems too - although it was more pronounced recently. Chad Wise, Doug Wrenn, Marcus Cox, Ajou Deng, and Robert Swain all left between those first two championships. Before our first one we lost some end of bench guys like Mike LeBlanc, Marcus Thomas, Richie Ashmeade, Uri Cohen-Mintz, Shawn Ellison, Cov Cormier, and a couple more I'm probably forgetting (and there was Toraino Walker).

But yeah - it got worse. We rented Garrison for a year in 2006 and then brought in 10 guys in one class and gradually weeded them out in 2007. From then on, the transfer problem was too common.

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