Top 3 Things You Will Always Remember About This Team

[BBallF]

I know I said that my championship game Top 3 Things You Want To See would be my last of the year but really, who wants to let this go? Here are my Top 3 that I will always remember:

1) The injuries, the rehabs, the tears, the worries, the expressions on the sidelines, the feeling that this dark cloud would never be lifted and then the storybook finish.

2) The Tennessee loss, the Geno The Magician February Metamorphosis, and then the first South Carolina win.

3) Paige, the most precise, efficient and best all-around women's basketball player ever, in absolute tears when she came out of the NC game and Aubrey, a great favorite of mine, injured again just when she was so close to being that player we all knew she would be, but finally coming back and helping her team get to the Promised Land.

One more time, what are yours?

 

[Roundball fan]

Watching the true beauty of UConn basketball again.
Paige and the team finally getting the National Championship.
Azzi and Sharah dominating.

 

[64Zcode]

1) Caroline back on the court and mixing it up. Looking forward to her return next year.

2) Azzi finding her groove/shot and lighting up the tournament games.

3) Kaitlyn Chen finding her place with the team and making a big contribution.

 

[Centerstream]

1. Paige, being the greatest freshman in WBB history, ending her career with the 12th UConn NC.
2. The returns of Jana, Ice, Azzi, Aubrey and Caroline from injury to help UConn win #12.
3. Beating, no annihilating, South Carolina twice, once to end another threat to a UConn record and the other to prevent a NC repeat and avenging our 2022 NC loss.

South Carolina may get revenge in the future but it won't matter because this year WE HAD PAIGE.

 

[huskeynut]

The run thru the BE Tournament and then the devastating run the NCAA's. Beat 3 #1 seeds and claim the National Championship.

Paige's final game and her hug & tears with Geno.

Two beat downs of South Carolina.

The Beast of the East is alive and well.

 

[maple]

1. The resilience of this team, especially those who previously suffered season-ending injuries.

2. That they won #12 on the 30th anniversary of the first title (and that UConn's run on SNY both started and ended with a NC win).

3. Total dominance from start to finish in the tournament, particularly on defense, reminiscent of UConn's greatest teams from the past.

 

[Zonepress]

1- caroline returning
2- te joy for Azzi conquering both the physical
and emotional obstacles
3- the pass from Paige to Kc

 

[freekimchee]

1. The fairytale ending to Paige Madison Bueckers' collegiate basketball career.

2. That suffocating, stifling team defense.

3. A Big Three like no other in the tourney.

**Only 3 players all-time have put up the following numbers in a single NCAA Tournament (men's or women's):

100+ points
20+ stocks (steals + blocks)
15+ assists
10+ threes made
10 or fewer turnovers

All three did it for the same team in the same year (Bueckers, Fudd, Strong).
~statsperform

 

[Puppy Love]

1. Me in tears when Caroline went into the game.
2. The first South Carolina game.
3. A million moments between the frustration of Ayana’s injury to the joy of Tampa. I sometimes wonder if the team has any idea at all of the impact that they have on the fans and how much we love them.

 

[ec33]

1. Paige Bueckers getting her title.
2. The arc of this season. Not wanting to watch the first South Carolina game because the resounding defeat was inevitable, then not being able to wait for the second South Carolina for the team to have their coronation.
3. The interesting combination of having "the big 3" with how everyone else who played filled their roles so well. Somehow it seemed both a star-led effort and a team effort depending on how you wanted to see it, but the best way was seeing both simultaneously. Very impressive team in the end.

 

[BBallF]

1. Me in tears when Caroline went into the game.
2. The first South Carolina game.
3. A million moments between the frustration of Ayana’s injury to the joy of Tampa. I sometimes wonder if the team has any idea at all of the impact that they have on the fans and how much we love them.

I don’t know but maybe now some of them might go on the Boneyard and find out.

 

[Bone Dog]

Watching the true beauty of UConn basketball again.
Paige and the team finally getting the National Championship.
Azzi and Sharah dominating.

Oh my God, yes!!!

It makes all the trials and tribulations almost worth it: to see a sport played beautifully.

 

[BBallF]

Oh my God, yes!!!

It makes all the trials and tribulations almost worth it: to see a sport played beautifully.

It's rare that you can watch a sport and see the beauty in it but this team captured that. They had a certain gracefulness to their movements and a certain lovely grit to their defense. Above all else, a speed that was mesmerizing at times.

 

[Next 12]

( ! ) Watching Uconn's greatest defense ever completely create havoc on the other teams and completely negate their scoring ability. ( 2 ) Completely enjoying the Uconn destruction of the other teams ability to put together a consistant scoring threat, Zippo! Nada !! ( 3 ) Seeing the complete joy and spontaneous reaction on the bench on every score and every defensive stop. It was SO beautiful!!!!!

 

[hoopsdiva]

1) Jumping out of my chair with delight at Caroline's surprise return during the Butler game
2) The chants of "Aub-rey" from the student section when Aubrey returned
3) Paige's totally unconscious 3rd quarter against Oklahoma on her way to 40 points in the Sweet Sixteen

 

[Next 12]

ONE MORE. The relief and joy on Geno's and the fans faces after the final buzzer and the whole team's eruption of complete joy that the wait was finally over. Complete rapture. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!

 

[todbo]

1. Paige and Azzi's triumphant joint comeback from season-ending injuries

2. Geno's demonstration that he knows how to coach

3. The Twin Tornadoes' devastating embrace of their roles as bench players.

I only get three? I can't rave about Sarah's unequaled performance or Jana and Ice's massive development and Chris' maintenance of proper Husky decorum and...and...and...

 

[Glenn]

For me, the dramatic improvement of the defense over the course of the regular season. When we suffered that beat down by ND we were not that good. But our D kept getting better resulting in that dominant final four series.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Resilient, resilient, and resilient.

 

[Vancat]

This was indeed a very memorable year!

 

[Stagnant]

1. The lopsided South Carolina wins. One win was at South Carolina and it snapped a 71 game home winning streak that they held. The second win was a national championship win. South Carolina’s first loss in the national championship. These results will have carryover and we will hear about them the next couple of years.
2. Paige Bueckers climbs the mountain. Paige Bueckers is now a national champion. And her legacy at the program is set. Most probably consider her a top 5 husky.
3. The emergence of Sarah Strong. The Sarah strong era begins now. She joins the wall after only one season. And is one of the best freshmen to ever play at UConn.