This is season shows what happens

[UConnSwag11]

when you lose your whole team from the year before. A year after winning a NC. You lose the best player and closer in the country, you lose a great defender and the best three point shooter in the country, you lose a matchup nightmare, and you lose a great role player off the bench. I don't want to hear those weren't ollies guys, he helped recruit and was in the gym with them every single day working on their game. This is ollies 2nd full season and people expect him to be Calhoun or Popovich... These are learning lessons for both him and the team, it's not all roses... these close games we would've won last year. Why? bc we had the above mentioned. This team besides boat and brimah didn't or barely played last year...This is experience gained for the players, it takes time, some more than others... The people who come on this board out of nowhere and rip ollie and these kids are really, really, sad and should put down the bottle during the games

 

[UConnSwag11]

https://twitter.com/GottliebShow/status/573700025408167937

 

[Matrim55]

Great OP.

I'm bummed about this game, but we were bound to have a season like this at some point in the wake of the APR & recruiting sanctions. Just not enough shot makers, not enough veterans, not enough guys who could make a play in the moment.

It's disappointing, but it will get better.

 

[jibsey]

I have to be honest, what I really care about at this point is for us to finish off this year's recruiting class to keep our program vital and relevant for the future because we have had a drop off in talent that brought us to where we are now.

 

[MDHusky]

Exactly. so close but yet so far. Building for a NC run in 2 years.

 

[Rocktheworld]

https://twitter.com/GottliebShow/status/573700025408167937

THAT'S MY LITTLE COUSIN LMAOOOOOOOOOO

 

[UConnSwag11]

Exactly. so close but yet so far. Building for a NC run in 2 years.

I think we will be good next year. Now everyone knows what they have to work on including ollie. We have two studs coming in and we're not done with the recruiting for this year yet. We just need a closer and for the team to be able to close out games. If that was the case this year we'd be well over 20 wins

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I think we will be good next year. Now everyone knows what they have to work on including ollie. We have two studs coming in and we're not done with the recruiting for this year yet. We just need a closer and for the team to be able to close out games. If that was the case this year we'd be well over 20 wins

I hate to be negative, but we have had 1 consistently good player all season at our position with the least depth and they are graduating.

Sure Hamilton will be a beast but it's the same team minus an all time great for an unproven recruit.

 

[Aardvark]

I hate to be negative, but we have had 1 consistently good player all season at our position with the least depth and they are graduating.

Sure Hamilton will be a beast but it's the same team minus an all time great for an unproven recruit.

After yesterday do you feel UConn is no longer on the bubble? Auto invite only from AAC tournament win?

 

[Cheeky]

It's tough to be positive at this point.
Next year is unlikely to be a great year, with a frosh PG and equal or worse shooting than this year.
If Daniel Hamilton stays through his Junior year, then that team has the potential to be very good.
Adams/Hamilton/Brimah SOPH/JUN/SEN would be a heck of a power 3.
Problem is, I don't see much support for those 3 at this point.

IDEALLY, we pick up a 2 guard right now who is 6/2 or better, who has a legitimate outside shot, if not deadly, with a solid handle, and who can defend. Don't need a 5 star - just need a kid with a solid skill set as a supporting player.

If DHam bolts after next year, then we could be in rebuilding mode for quite some time.

 

[Cheeky]

I don't want to hear those weren't ollies guys . . .

It's true, whether we want to hear it or not. Bazz, Giffey, Daniels, Boatright were all picked, groomed, and directed by JC.

 

[Brochacho]

We lost 50% of the players from an 8 loss team, we really only added two players to the mix; Purvis and Hamilton. Next year will be a lot better, especially with the additions of Adams, Enoch, Brown, and Carter.

 

[UConnSwag11]

It's true, whether we want to hear it or not. Bazz, Giffey, Daniels, Boatright were all picked, groomed, and directed by JC.

Daniels was directly Ollie's guy. Same with boat. Ollie did everything to help them grow and get to the level they got to. It's not like he was with the team for one year.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

We did lose a lot.

But we also had the promise of the guys coming back getting better.

Plus the newcomers(especially in DHAM and RP) gave me hope.

I just didn't realize the void of ball handling skills and pure shooters this team would have.

I really thought coming in to the season that RP would be a 13-15 ppg scorer AND take a lot of pressure off of Boat.

I also thought TSam could come in handle and distribute the ball and allow Boat to play off the ball.

And I thought being so athletic that our defense would be a nightmare to play against. This year our transition defense hasn't been great and even with AB blocking shots the interior defense was less than I expected. Guys have been getting to the rim way too easy on us.

I love KO but there have been a few WTF moments that leave you shaking your head.

All in all the above leads us directly in to fighting for our tourney lives where going into the season the only thing I was concerned about was where we would be seeded (not if).

 

[ConnHuskBask]

It's true, whether we want to hear it or not. Bazz, Giffey, Daniels, Boatright were all picked, groomed, and directed by JC.

All 4 of those players improved significantly under KO's tenure.

DD, NG barely even played on the 2012 team during Calhoun's last season.

Napier and Boat's improvements speak for themselves.

KO is not without fault but his biggest glaring weakness to me is recruiting.

 

[Palatine]

when you lose your whole team from the year before. A year after winning a NC. You lose the best player and closer in the country, you lose a great defender and the best three point shooter in the country, you lose a matchup nightmare, and you lose a great role player off the bench. I don't want to hear those weren't ollies guys, he helped recruit and was in the gym with them every single day working on their game. This is ollies 2nd full season and people expect him to be Calhoun or Popovich... These are learning lessons for both him and the team, it's not all roses... these close games we would've won last year. Why? bc we had the above mentioned. This team besides boat and brimah didn't or barely played last year...This is experience gained for the players, it takes time, some more than others... The people who come on this board out of nowhere and rip ollie and these kids are really, really, sad and should put down the bottle during the games

We didn't lose our whole team. Many key ingredients returned.

I get the Ollie sophomore slump idea. There is probably something to that although its actually his third year. However, his team has not been ready to play on numerous occasions. It has happened with alarming frequency. On Senior Night they slept walked though half of the first half.

This is UConn. The expectations are high. Most of the criticism of the team has been on their performance which is fair game.

The real questions are these. Has this team played to its potential? IMHO, the answer is definitely no. How did they lose to Yale at home scoring 44 points? Houston? Boat for all his gifts needed to make a couple of critical fouls shots and he couldn't hit them. Those are the plain unvarnished truths of this team.

They get one more ride at the rodeo. I'll be rooting for them. But not blindly.