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Message: [QUOTE="History Geek, post: 3481892, member: 4345"] I agree with the caveat not to consider national championship teams because the, um, won the national championship. They all were special and achieved the ultimate prize. Having said that, 1999 still holds a special place because they were the first. I started following UConn hoops in the late 1970s, so I suffered through a lot of mediocrity. The arguments that we did not belong in the Big East when formed and through the early to mid 1980s had validity, although I thought taking a chance was worth the investment. We were always the best of the bad programs, just good enough to have some hope, but in the end not good enough to have winning records. Then Jim Calhoun showed up, won the NIT in Year 2, made the NIT again in Year 3, and then the Dream Season was Year 4. After that we were a national power, but still couldn't crack the nut. Until 1999. Then we made our first Final Four and won the natty. I remember that night, sitting in my living room alone (turned down invitations to watch parties -- I wanted to focus on the game), holding a couch cushion over my mouth every time I wanted to scream with excitement or disappointment so I would not wake up my 6 month old daughter. I cried once we won, reflecting on where the program had come from and the odds it took for a smallish state school, my school, to reach the pinnacle of college basketball. That is my favorite moment as a sports fan of all time. But my tied-for-first favorite team was 1990. I was in grad school on campus that year, and I was lucky to experience first-hand a wild ride that no member of UConn Nation had ever experienced before. Though the NIT success meant we were on the upswing, nobody saw what was coming. In fact, we started Big East play 0-2. But then the pieces gelled, and by the end of January Gampel opened and they never looked back. While they had some great talent (ex. Chris Smith was amazing, all others did their jobs brilliantly, Nadav Henefeld was the missing piece), they did not out-talent the top teams -- they out-worked them. Their defense was phenomenal and they won many games not because of shooting efficiency (often only with a shooting percentage in the 30s), but they forced so many turnovers they would have many more shots than the opposition. That was gratifying to watch. I have two specific memories from that year that I hold dear. First, a friend of mine and I had purchased NCAA tournament tickets for the first two rounds in Hartford months before. Never did we think that UConn would be placed there, and no way could we have predicted as a #1 seed. That weekend we watched seven college basketball games live -- the four first round games on Thursday night (it was spring break), two more on Saturday afternoon, and then one more Saturday night with the women at Gampel. That was a basketball junkie's dream. Fast forward to five days later. I had a seminar on Thursday nights. That meant I would miss the first half of the Sweet 16 game vs. Clemson. I had friends that owned New Haven Brewing, and they were at Ted's that night promoting the first night Elm City Connecticut Ale would pour there. I made it for the second half. As Scott Burrell stood on the far baseline with only a few ticks of the clock left, I thought to myself what a special season it was, and that I was lucky to be on campus for it. Then Burrell hit Tate George with that perfect 30 yard pass, and Tate hit the turn around jumper. All hell broke lose in Ted's. Everyone jumping and screaming. I went behind the little counter (no long bar back then), and yelling and screaming and hugging my friends. Then I looked up and saw that half of the drop ceiling tiles were missing. Not from vandalism, but from people jumping up punching out the tiles by accident. Thank you, UConn athletics, not only for these memories, but for a lifetime of memories. I look forward to many more. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach