Tired of this negative talk

[Uconn92387]

I can't even come to the boneyard anymore with all this negative talk. You can't win every year. I am just as down about this season as anyone else. Sometimes you lose too much talent and upperclassmen and it takes time for the next group to grow and learn to play together. We have always been about having good teams that play together for 2 to 3 years. As the 2011-2012 showed we had maybe the most talent on a team ever at UConn but they were young and it was the first year they played together. We are having growing pains. It's a tough year but stop with the doom and gloom and go support your team. We don't have to make excuses for anyone. If we didn't lose those 2 buzzer beaters it would have been a different season. So let's start talking about the positives.

 

[mauconnfan]

I can't even come to the boneyard anymore with all this negative talk. You can't win every year. I am just as down about this season as anyone else. Sometimes you lose too much talent and upperclassmen and it takes time for the next group to grow and learn to play together. We have always been about having good teams that play together for 2 to 3 years. As the 2011-2012 showed we had maybe the most talent on a team ever at UConn but they were young and it was the first year they played together. We are having growing pains. It's a tough year but stop with the doom and gloom and go support your team. We don't have to make excuses for anyone. If we didn't lose those 2 buzzer beaters it would have been a different season. So let's start talking about the positives.

Begin listing all the positives and we can then begin the discussion you wish to have. How's that?

 

[boog204]

I can't even come to the boneyard anymore with all this negative talk. You can't win every year. I am just as down about this season as anyone else. Sometimes you lose too much talent and upperclassmen and it takes time for the next group to grow and learn to play together. We have always been about having good teams that play together for 2 to 3 years. As the 2011-2012 showed we had maybe the most talent on a team ever at UConn but they were young and it was the first year they played together. We are having growing pains. It's a tough year but stop with the doom and gloom and go support your team. We don't have to make excuses for anyone. If we didn't lose those 2 buzzer beaters it would have been a different season. So let's start talking about the positives.

A real fan understands you cannot win every year and I think a realistic fan knew that this could be a up and down year. I can deal with losing; it's just the way we play that kills me. We are being out tougher, out hustled, and outsmarted seemingly every game. We make the same mistakes every game and there seems to be a little to no learning and/or adjustments being made. I get that we are young, but we are also 20 games into the year and we still look clueless. Worse than anything, though, is the body language. We have looked defeated and listless far too often.

 

[mauconnfan]

^^^^^
BINGO

 

[djct1999]

Most important, I believe that UConn is an elite program and true blue blood. Although we don't have as rich a tradition as some of these other schools, we are a top 6 program all time. In my mind, elite programs reload. They don't rebuild. They lose guys to the NBA and fill them in with younger, equally as good talent. They play hard. They win a lot. They consistently make the tournament. A down year, a reloading year, could mean a loss the first week of the tournament. Not this! What is worse than the results this year has been the effort. This team, their effort, is getting increasingly worse as the season plays out. I haven't seen development. In fact, outside of Boat and possibly Calhoun(the bar was low), I would argue that everyone else is playing far worse now than they were in November. This is not elite caliber. There is nothing this year that I can actually be positive about. Its been that bad. I didn't expect a title run this year. I did expect them to be the top 2 in the AAC. I did expect them to be a tough out. Instead, they have four losses in the AAC, a horrible out of conference record, a brutal rpi. I have never been embarrassed by a UConn team. Until Sunday. It was that bad. This team has played that bad. The season has been that bad. There has been very little to be positive about. This is not UConn basketball. Rant over.

 

[PradaMane]

You are all correct, I like to add on, it seems like the players are not putting in the necessary work to play to their potential. I would love to see what Nolan, Samuels, Cassell, and Purvis did this summer. They virtually didn't get better and in some cases they got worse. The team needs to take a new more serious approach to developing their game, and concentration on impacting the game in a efficient manner. It alarming that this is a problem at this level, But I see this as a main problem with this team now.

 

[jibsey]

This group of players does not have the talent as they are but even the addition of one good perimeter shooter and ball handler can change the equation, make the team successful and turn losses to wins if there is some improvement in the rest for next year. They try to pack Wisconsin in, they have 4-5 guys on their roster that can make them pay. We do not have that. You press their shooters, the inside makes you pay. Next year AB will make them pay inside much better IMO but right now we are very short in the guard dept.

 

[nomar]

A real fan understands you cannot win every year and I think a realistic fan knew that this could be a up and down year. I can deal with losing; it's just the way we play that kills me. We are being out tougher, out hustled, and outsmarted seemingly every game. We make the same mistakes every game and there seems to be a little to no learning and/or adjustments being made. I get that we are young, but we are also 20 games into the year and we still look clueless. Worse than anything, though, is the body language. We have looked defeated and listless far too often.

Yes, OK, on one level I agree, but on another, that's what you look like when you're losing games. You look listless. You look sloppy. You look lazy. You're getting outrebounded and beat to the ball.

Like the OP, I'm tired of the negativity. I get, completely, that the BY is a place to blow off steam when the team looks like crap. I've done it myself. It's just not a fun place to visit right now. Which, again, is a function of the losing. And a few posters who are major league jerks. When the team is down, it's their time to shine.

 

[boog204]

Yes, OK, on one level I agree, but on another, that's what you look like when you're losing games. You look listless. You look sloppy. You look lazy. You're getting outrebounded and beat to the ball.

Like the OP, I'm tired of the negativity. I get, completely, that the BY is a place to blow off steam when the team looks like crap. I've done it myself. It's just not a fun place to visit right now. Which, again, is a function of the losing. And a few posters who are major league jerks. When the team is down, it's their time to shine.

I disagree... I can deal with execution issues if it is a talent thing. We are a terrible offensive team; especially in the half court. Most of that is due to the talent makeup and a deficiency in needed skill-sets (ball-handling, shooting, etc.) I can deal with getting out-rebounded if our bigs are not strong enough to compete. Those are physical. It's the mental side. There's no excuse for giving up on a play or not hustling back on defense. There's no excuse to come out flat seemingly every game with no sense of urgency until there's 5 minutes left. And there's absolutely no excuse to look defeated before we even start.

The BY has always been a negative place. It was a tradition to have the complete overreaction half time thread come back to bite some one in the . But with the way we are playing, what exactly do you expect to be talked about? The OP talked about the positives. Ok, Amida has improved offensively. Omar looks more like freshmen year Omar. Boat is showing ginormous testiculos. DHam has his moments. Phil is attempting to break a non-existent charge record. That's more or less all I got.

 

[lange10]

In KO I trust. That is all.

 

[Candyman]

Theres down NIT seasons, we had them before, plety of times, but we never lost to freakin Yale! We also lost to Tulsa, Houston and Temple all in one year. Losing in the Old Big East is different then the crappy AAC, which most think were too good for yet we keep losing proving we belong in AAC.

So I can see why people are negative and this site is an outlet to air out those negatives.

 

[60'sfan]

Begin listing all the positives and we can then begin the discussion you wish to have. How's that?

Ok, today I am feeling positive so here goes.
We have a great coach in Kevin Ollie who is well-respected by pretty much everyone in the basketball community.
We have Ryan Boatright who has developed into one of the best guards in America and is a pleasure to watch.
We have Daniel Hamilton who will be one of the best Uconn players ever by his junior year.
We have Amida Brimah who is developing and will be solid as a rock next year. He will continue to be a great shot-blocker, will become a great rebounder and will learn how to score. Remember that Okafor did not be come a great offensive player until his junior year.
We have a top 100 recruit in Jalen Adams coming in next year.
We are in the discussion for Diamond Stone. We may not get him but at least he is considering us.
We have a bunch of role players who could develop into Niels Giffeys in Purvis, Samuel, Sam Cassell, and Kevin Facey.
The AAC is starting to become a better conference even though we are not helping much this year.
I'm pretty sure the sun is going to rise tomorrow.

 

[selles]

I disagree... I can deal with execution issues if it is a talent thing. We are a terrible offensive team; especially in the half court. Most of that is due to the talent makeup and a deficiency in needed skill-sets (ball-handling, shooting, etc.) I can deal with getting out-rebounded if our bigs are not strong enough to compete. Those are physical. It's the mental side. There's no excuse for giving up on a play or not hustling back on defense. There's no excuse to come out flat seemingly every game with no sense of urgency until there's 5 minutes left. And there's absolutely no excuse to look defeated before we even start.

Nomar's right. 1996-97 is seared into my brain. That season had the exact same mental symptoms. From guys who two years later would play as hard and as smart as any UConn team ever.

Like anything else, playing good basketball depends a ton on confidence. When the confidence starts to slip, everything slips, including the mental aspects of the game. When you're dealing with a young team that doesn't have enough experience to be particularly strong mentally to start with, it snowballs even more.

I definitely agree with you that it's frustrating and it s*cks to watch, but it happens.

 

[Candyman]

Ok, today I am feeling positive so here goes.
We have a great coach in Kevin Ollie who is well-respected by pretty much everyone in the basketball community.
We have Ryan Boatright who has developed into one of the best guards in America and is a pleasure to watch.
We have Daniel Hamilton who will be one of the best Uconn players ever by his junior year.
We have Amida Brimah who is developing and will be solid as a rock next year. He will continue to be a great shot-blocker, will become a great rebounder and will learn how to score. Remember that Okafor did not be come a great offensive player until his junior year.
We have a top 100 recruit in Jalen Adams coming in next year.
We are in the discussion for Diamond Stone. We may not get him but at least he is considering us.
We have a bunch of role players who could develop into Niels Giffeys in Purvis, Samuel, Sam Cassell, and Kevin Facey.
The AAC is starting to become a better conference even though we are not helping much this year.
I'm pretty sure the sun is going to rise tomorrow.

That breakdown is way more than positive its almost a dream. I'll take a closer look at this list.

I agree on Ollie
Boat is gone after this year and this year is for all intent and purposes over.
DHam will be good but huuuge stretch saying he will one of the best ever.
Brimah has shown no signs that he will become Okafor, and he will never be a great rebounder. He isn't even a great shot blocker right now. Hes good but not great and no one fears going at him.
Agree Adams will be a good one next year
Diamond Stone is not coming and i dont consider it a win because hes considering us, thats the thinking of a mid-major program like BC.. We're UConn he should be wanting to come to us.
I agree with the role payers except I'd add the whole team minus Brimah, Boat and DHam.
AAC is bad conference that got dominated by other conference in non-conf play.
Yes the sun will rise tomorrow.

 

[The Funster]

For a while now there have been way more posts after a loss than there are after a win. It didn't used to be that way. That being said, this team was constructed in a flawed manner and/or it hasn't developed the way the coaching staff envisioned it would. In the end it falls on the HC and I cannot help but think the issue in his personal life is having an effect on how he works with the team. I agree with the thought that the elite programs don't rebuild, they reload. However, our last two championships weren't the result of dominant teams that were wire to wire beasts. They were teams that came together in a stunning fashion and steamrolled through the post season. We haven't had a truly dominant team since the mid-aughts.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Theres down NIT seasons, we had them before, plety of times, but we never lost to freakin Yale! We also lost to Tulsa, Houston and Temple all in one year. Losing in the Old Big East is different then the crappy AAC, which most think were too good for yet we keep losing proving we belong in AAC.

So I can see why people are negative and this site is an outlet to air out those negatives.

Yup, one down year proves that 4x and defending NC 5x FF UConn belongs with Tulane, Houston, Eastern Carolina, and Central Florida.

 

[James]

I dont mind a down year , as long as guys like purvis and hamilton show strong strides of development. If hamilton wants to sniff the nba ( which he will) he needs to be a confident/competent outside threat. catch and freaking shoot. no more bs pumpfaking to death passing up good shots.

you know how they say 'oh that guy has the ball on a string' when describing guards? purvis is like the exact opposite of that, he has the ball tied to a 2x4. dude needs to carry a ball around campus or something, its like a foreign object to him at times. His first step is fantastic but he can't utilize it enough if he's staring at the freaking ground dribbling into traps.

The big question mark before the season and right now is facey. He is an excellent rebounder, but clearly hurts our offense. he is dead weight vs match up zones where he is left unguarded, and really not confident in making moves in the paint or direct drives even though he has a nice touch. wish he could just increase his usage with more jumpers. i like his jumper

All three of those guys i mentioned also need to watch more tape or play more 5s. throw in calhoun, they are all terrible half court passers. entry passing is extinct when brimah works for position, same for skip passes to the weak side.

 

[Matrim55]

Yup, one down year proves that 4x and defending NC 5x FF UConn belongs with Tulane, Houston, Eastern Carolina, and Central Florida.

Right? Insane.

We are having a down year because of poor recruiting classes in 2012, '13 and (to an extent) '14. "Poor" meaning "filled with talented projects or limited role players"; not "poor" as in "these guys don't belong in a UConn uniform!"

Those poor recruiting classes were a product of several things: questions about Calhoun's future; questions about conference realignment; questions about KO's coaching acumen; the postseason ban; recruiting restrictions.

All but one of those questions (CR) has now been answered, and as a result our recruiting has gotten successively stronger. We've still missed out on players and have not done well playing catch-up (Perkins, Chuckwu, Mack, Clarke), but this kind of penance is exactly what the powers that be envisioned when the APR nonsense happened. Most thought it was coming in 2012/13, but that's the difference between a veteran team (which is what that was) and a young team.

The good news? Young players grow up. They improve. They learn the finer points of the game, and they learn to win. Say what you want about the job KO's doing this year - and it hasn't been great - but look at the career arcs of Shabazz, Niels, DD, Boat, Amida and Facey, and tell me he doesn't know how to get guys to improve year-over-year. Look at the threads on this board from January of last year, and compare them to the threads in March, and tell me he doesn't know how to get a team to improve through the course of the season. Look at how much earlier we're on our top targets for '16 and '17 than we were for '13, '14 and '15.

This year sucks. Next year could also be very ugly for the first couple of months. We were bound to go through something like this - just as Indiana did, just as UCLA did. Only Kentucky, Kansas and Duke are immune (UNC is debatable).

If we don't make a run in the AAC tournament, and if we come back next year with Hamilton & Purvis still missing free throws and committing stupid turnovers, and Facey still too reluctant to shoot an 18-footer that he can clearly make, then I'll (sadly) eat these words.

But I'm pretty confident things are going in the right direction.

 

[Candyman]

Yup, one down year proves that 4x and defending NC 5x FF UConn belongs with Tulane, Houston, Eastern Carolina, and Central Florida.

One down year? We finished 4th last year in the AAC and wont finish that high this season. I'm talking regular season. Yes we win titles and thats really all its about. So it shouldnt matter what conference were in. But lets not say were too good for the AAC when we havent finished in the top 3 yet. FYI-- Houston is 2-1 against us in the AAC.

We are UConn, 4X champs and should be in the ACC/Big Ten, etc. To start the year I figured we probably wouldnt win the big dance this year but at least we could prove we dont belong in this conf by dominating it yet we are getting dominated. Thats my point.

Also- we are lucky to have had those two great runs in 2011 and 2014 because I dont remember last time we dominated our conference and won the regular season title. I uderstand that doesnt matter, national titles matter, but we owned the Big East for so long then after the 2009 team we became a medicore middle of the pack conference team.

 

[jibsey]

One down year? We finished 4th last year in the AAC and wont finish that high this season. I'm talking regular season. Yes we win titles and thats really all its about. So it shouldnt matter what conference were in. But lets not say were too good for the AAC when we havent finished in the top 3 yet. FYI-- Houston is 2-1 against us in the AAC.

We are UConn, 4X champs and should be in the ACC/Big Ten, etc. To start the year I figured we probably wouldnt win the big dance this year but at least we could prove we dont belong in this conf by dominating it yet we are getting dominated. Thats my point.

Also- we are lucky to have had those two great runs in 2011 and 2014 because I dont remember last time we dominated our conference and won the regular season title. I uderstand that doesnt matter, national titles matter, but we owned the Big East for so long then after the 2009 team we became a medicore middle of the pack conference team.

That was an incredibly difficult conference where middle of the pack teams were very close quality wise to the top teams, so it doesn't shock me that we were competitive for those runs in the tourney. Did I expect them? No.

 

[Jerry1714]

Theres down NIT seasons, we had them before, plety of times, but we never lost to freakin Yale! We also lost to Tulsa, Houston and Temple all in one year. Losing in the Old Big East is different then the crappy AAC, which most think were too good for yet we keep losing proving we belong in AAC.

So I can see why people are negative and this site is an outlet to air out those negatives.

Can you at least PLEASE try to get some real arguments that are supported with facts?

We "never lost to Yale"....you know how many times we have lost to teams with RPI over 100 spots worse than Yale's? A lot, Houston this year, Houston last year, USF the year before, PC the year before that. I can go on an on and on with teams like this. Yale's RPI is 60.

I know the Board is full bandwagon fans but come on just try a little.

 

[UCweCONN]

Truth be told, we haven't dominated a conference since the '90's. I'm always amazed that we never won a title in the Allen, Marshall(s) era. Those teams were N-A-S-T-Y.

 

[imno1]

Can you at least PLEASE try to get some real arguments that are supported with facts?

We "never lost to Yale"....you know how many times we have lost to teams with RPI over 100 spots worse than Yale's? A lot, Houston this year, Houston last year, USF the year before, PC the year before that. I can go on an on and on with teams like this. Yale's RPI is 60.

I know the Board is full bandwagon fans but come on just try a little.

I don't think the board is full of bandwagon fans. I'd describe us passionate . Most have been fans and on this forum for a quite a long time. And the "we never lost to Yale" I think was not to be taken literally but a reflection of how the team has been playing compared to a typical UConn team. I have not posted much during this stretch but I can understand the frustration of the venters. If they weren't posting this this site would be deader that Hofheinz Pavilion during an AAC game

 

[Horatio]

The only guy that has secured a spot in the starting five next year is Hamilton.
Everyone else could be recruited over and that's sad. Of course a few guys will step up during the off season and battle for playing time but when have we only had one guy that was worthy of starting going into a season. That's the rough part of this season.

 

[Candyman]

Can you at least PLEASE try to get some real arguments that are supported with facts?

We "never lost to Yale"....you know how many times we have lost to teams with RPI over 100 spots worse than Yale's? A lot, Houston this year, Houston last year, USF the year before, PC the year before that. I can go on an on and on with teams like this. Yale's RPI is 60.

I know the Board is full bandwagon fans but come on just try a little.

Love how dudes on this site result to insults like their opinions the only ones that matter.

Your talking RPI's??? Seriously, we're UConn we shouldn't be losing to Yale ever, i dont care what their RPI is, if you tell me well they have a good RPI so its not that bad a loss then well your buggin. Their an in state team we owned for decades. They came into our house and beat us, on our home court, when was last time that happned?? You want facts?? No you want to spit out RPI's and say well they have a decent RPI. We're UConn and were losing to Yale, Houston, and Tulsa, i dont care what their RPI's are we should never lose to these teams. Teams that are borderline mid-major programs.

My whole point is how can we say we belong in the ACC when we cant finish in top 3 of the AAC. Very lucky we aint in ACC or we'd finish below .500.