Top 25 next season

[Mokum]

You're all young pups. I actually attended games at Hawley armoury in the '50's, before even the field house! I was a little kid, but still remember beating Holy Cross when they were a national power. If I remember correctly, we occasionally were in the others recieving votes in the yankee conference days. Mad dog revival, remember when Calhoun reall got things going, and we would full court press from the opening tap? After a made basket, we were so fast down the court the other team was still congradulating themselves for making a basket? Those were exciting games and I feel like it is coming back, AAC or not.

 

[Robertelamin]

You must be thousands of years old.

 

[mauconnfan]

You must be thousands of years old.

Coming from someone typing with a binky in their mouth and still wearing diapers?

 

[tzznandrew]

I remember Cincinnati beating then #1 Duke and jumping up and down so much that I cut my arm with my own fingernail knowing that I was going to see 1 next to UConn in the next rankings. Was 99 the first time we held that rank in the weekly poll?

1995: and then we got slaughtered by Kansas.

Wasn't it St. John's that beat Duke to elevate us to #1?

No, it was Cincy in the Great Alaska Shootout, and then UConn was #1 for a long time, though for reasons I don't remember we weren't #1 when we lost our only game of the year vs. Miami.

Duke beat St. John's that year, but it was an incredible game.

 

[Madmannsucks]

For all of you young pups, let me take you back to circa 1986. I was fresh on campus, Calhoun arrived as well, and UConn basketball didn't have much buzz to it. I remember a friend asking if I wanted to go watch the girls team play in the field house. I asked, "which team?" Gample was in the planning stages, or soon to be.
Cliff Robinson was our stud. Guy was legitimate. Phil Gamble was banging long balls, had some gritty players in those first few years.
Then something weird happened. UConn make it into "others receiving votes." Might not seem like a big deal, but it was huge to us back then. I checked the paper (I'm so old!) every time the new rankings came out - I think on Monday. We got one vote, then a handful, then back down, then a few more.
Then boom. We were in the top 25.
Couple years later, the Dream Season, and we were off to the races.
It's hard to describe what an exciting time it was. Calhoun's early teams were high pressure, pressing teams that were flat out fun to watch. You got the feeling at tipoff that we could win every game. It was very exciting to watch the ascension of the team.
We were overdue by 99, and a couple of tournament losses hurt really bad (Donyell!!!! grrrrr). But I really wouldn't change how it went down if i could. Beating what was arguably the best Duke team that K ever put on the floor was indescribable.

I'm hoping for a similar trajectory this time, minus the long wait. I expect to see us threaten the top 25 this year or next, and then work and claw our way up the ladder.

You young pups may get to experience some of the thrills of the rocket launch that you haven't gotten in real time.

I was in a restaurant watching UConn beat Cuse at the dome during the NIT year. I remember Cliff hitting a FT to win. That game put the Huskies back on the map.
I also remember when they beat Georgetown and Nova back to back to start the season at 11-0 and I thought the team had arrived. Hobbs made a back door layup to beat Nova.

 

[Waquoit]

No, it was Cincy in the Great Alaska Shootout, and then UConn was #1 for a long time, though for reasons I don't remember we weren't #1 when we lost our only game of the year vs. Miami.

If this is 1999 we're talking about, we also lost earlier to Cuse and that's when Duke went back to 1.

 

[tzznandrew]

If this is 1999 we're talking about, we also lost earlier to Cuse and that's when Duke went back to 1.

No. I'm pretty sure Miami was the only loss of that season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

No. I'm pretty sure Miami was the only loss of that season.

We lost to Syracuse on February 1
1998–99 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team - Wikipedia

 

[Robertelamin]

Without Rip and Jake I think.

 

[tzznandrew]

Without Rip and Jake I think.

Well, jokes over. Not enough people left to keep that one going, I guess. Yes, without Rip and Jake after they beat Stanford on the road without Rip.

 

[intlzncster]

You must be thousands of years old.

There's Big D contests, and then there's what we have here. A shriveled balls contest.

 

[Waquoit]

That 99 team was undefeated on the road and at neutral sites. They lost twice at home and had the decency to do so at both Gampel and the HCC.

 

[nycscooby]

Just looked up that we were #1 in the AP men's poll the week of Feb 13th 1995 and only for that week during the entire season.
Not remembering the fact of that significant moment was bugging me.

Kansas in KC, I was there. Never really in the game as I remember. The girls played KU in a unique men/women doubleheader.

 

[Milo65]

For all of you young pups, let me take you back to circa 1986. I was fresh on campus, Calhoun arrived as well, and UConn basketball didn't have much buzz to it. I remember a friend asking if I wanted to go watch the girls team play in the field house. I asked, "which team?" Gample was in the planning stages, or soon to be.
Cliff Robinson was our stud. Guy was legitimate. Phil Gamble was banging long balls, had some gritty players in those first few years.
Then something weird happened. UConn make it into "others receiving votes." Might not seem like a big deal, but it was huge to us back then. I checked the paper (I'm so old!) every time the new rankings came out - I think on Monday. We got one vote, then a handful, then back down, then a few more.
Then boom. We were in the top 25.
Couple years later, the Dream Season, and we were off to the races.
It's hard to describe what an exciting time it was. Calhoun's early teams were high pressure, pressing teams that were flat out fun to watch. You got the feeling at tipoff that we could win every game. It was very exciting to watch the ascension of the team.
We were overdue by 99, and a couple of tournament losses hurt really bad (Donyell!!!! grrrrr). But I really wouldn't change how it went down if i could. Beating what was arguably the best Duke team that K ever put on the floor was indescribable.

I'm hoping for a similar trajectory this time, minus the long wait. I expect to see us threaten the top 25 this year or next, and then work and claw our way up the ladder.

You young pups may get to experience some of the thrills of the rocket launch that you haven't gotten in real time.

I remember it well. It was also my freshmen year. Cliff playing video games in the Student Union. Gampel under construction and bricks falling from the library.

 

[TyroneShoo]

Kansas in KC, I was there. Never really in the game as I remember. The girls played KU in a unique men/women doubleheader.

Check the date. That sounds like the week Nova won at Gampel. Kittles went off.

 

[Mokum]

You must be thousands of years old.

I assume that was directed at me. I am 69. Let's see if you are still healthy, working full time and married at my age. That is, if you make it this far.

 

[Mokum]

Agree that we sucked but URI isn't a good example of anything as far as the tournament is concerned. They have been a fairly weak program over the years even under Hurley. We expect to make the tournament every year because that has been our history.
Top 25 next year is probably overly optimistic but if our toughness comes back and we see player improvement the tournament is a possibility.

I'm not sure about this. I think Hurley over achieved at URI. To say they were a weak program is relative. For a second tier prigram like URI I think they did pretty good.

 

[Robertelamin]

I assume that was directed at me. I am 69. Let's see if you are still healthy, working full time and married at my age. That is, if you make it this far.

Ha, I was just bustin balls. Wasn’t trying to be mean or anything.

 

[Ricker]

Looked it up again and everybody is in the ballpark.
The Kansas double header men's and women's was 1/28/1995 and we were 15-0 before the game and lost 88-59. I think we were #2 and dropped to #4. On 2/18/95 we were 20-1 (13-0 BE) ranked #1 and had just beaten #9 Syracuse and #22 Georgetown when we played #15 Villanova and lost 96-73 in the Kerry Kittles game. That also dropped us to #4. We lost to Providence a couple games later, lost to Villanova again in the Big East Championship, and then UCLA with Tyus Edney, to finish 28-5. Thus the mystery of our first #1 ranking is solved.

Sorry for the diversion. Now who has the accurate take on next year's top 25.

 

[Mokum]

Ha, I was just bustin balls. Wasn’t trying to be mean or anything.

No problem. It's hard to know when you read something. No body language, no tone or inflection , just print. I was a little tot at that hawley armoury. I doubt the place held even 500 people. I just remember going with my dad, was to young to comprehend basketball.

 

[Mokum]

Looked it up again and everybody is in the ballpark.
The Kansas double header men's and women's was 1/28/1995 and we were 15-0 before the game and lost 88-59. I think we were #2 and dropped to #4. On 2/18/95 we were 20-1 (13-0 BE) ranked #1 and had just beaten #9 Syracuse and #22 Georgetown when we played #15 Villanova and lost 96-73 in the Kerry Kittles game. That also dropped us to #4. We lost to Providence a couple games later, lost to Villanova again in the Big East Championship, and then UCLA with Tyus Edney, to finish 28-5. Thus the mystery of our first #1 ranking is solved.

Sorry for the diversion. Now who has the accurate take on next year's top 25.

I'm just impressed at how Nevada has come out of no where. They are #2 in one poll.

 

[Rico444]

I assume that was directed at me. I am 69. Let's see if you are still healthy, working full time and married at my age. That is, if you make it this far.

Sounds like a nice life.

 

[Mokum]

Sounds like a nice life.

It is. Just celebrated 44 years with my wife on June 1. I don't have much in terms of wealth, but I have the life I chose. It's not all about seeing how much money and how much stuff you can accumulate before you croak. My work is something I love and I get to travel. Just been in the past month to Athens and to Germany to work. Off to Finland next week. Italy in July. I live in a nice pad in a nice city, Amsterdam. I have never experienced divorce and family breakup like so many people.And I am healthy, knock on wood.