UConn 2024 vs UConn 2004 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn 2024 vs UConn 2004

I loved Ben Gordon as much as anyone and you don't average 18+ in back to back years in the Big East without being really gifted, but Castle locked up NBA talents all year long.

Devin Carter, Trey Alexander, Scheiermann (matched up mostly vs Karaban iirc), Olivari, Kam Jones were all 17+ ppg scorers in the best league in college basketball, and I guarantee you they'd pick just about any other defender in the nation before they'd want to matchup against Castle again.
and you didn't mention Shannon, Jr., who was scorching hot before meeting Castle.
 
Recency biasis has me leaning towards 24', really good depth that you could take any 1 payer away and they'd still be fine, but if the 04' team lost Emeka or Gordon they wouldn't have been as good.....that said, I don't know if this current team would have an answer for Gordon, I'll say 6-4 in favor of 04'
 
Taliek started for four years, you don't really think he would not start do you?
says who? jim calhoun magically transported 20 years into the future? boone also started but i wouldnt have him starting either. isnt this a made up game?
 
.-.
Here’s a question, how would our 2004 team do against Purdue and Edey.
We would absolutely destroy them. Okafor limits Edey and we are bigger stronger faster at every other position, plus more depth.
 
We would absolutely destroy them. Okafor limits Edey and we are bigger stronger faster at every other position, plus more depth.
I doubt Okafor would limit Edey. You let Edey get his like UConn did and lock up everyone else on the perimeter. Taliek is bigger than Braden Smith but Smith is the better player.
 
Okafor was incredible defensively and physically strong but he wasn't exactly the smoothest offensive player. His damage was done with dunks, put backs, little hook shots. He would have trouble getting any of that stuff off on Clingan. Clingan wouldn't score much against Okafor either but he wouldn't have to. Okafor was a beast but Donovan makes him look like a little boy.

View attachment 102438
The pic definitely makes a good point but a bit unfair bc Emeka is probably 20-30lbs of muscle down from his playing weight at this point. I believe Emeka averaged twice as many blocks per game as Clingan at Uconn. His feel for when to leave his feet was impeccable- I remember a video of lebron asking carmelo how he got his shot off against Emeka around that era
 
I doubt Okafor would limit Edey. You let Edey get his like UConn did and lock up everyone else on the perimeter. Taliek is bigger than Braden Smith but Smith is the better player.
Remember, Edey partly just burned out in that game bc he was relied upon so heavily. I think it would look similar. And yes Smith would be their only other positional advantage but he was a mess that night. We would overwhelm them everywhere else
 
.-.
Brown-Spencer
Gordon-Castle/Diarra
Anderson/Brown-Newton
Villanueva/Boone-Karaban/Stewart
Okafor/Boone-Clingan/Johnson

There's some real good match ups here.

Castle takes Gordon on D, but Taliek takes on Newton. Spencer probably covers Brown but Rashad and Denham have either Newton or Spencer covering them.

Villanueva and Karaban is a great match up. Charlie can shoot over Karaban both on perimeter and in the post. Karaban runs Charlie around the perimeter all day.

Clingan and Okafor is a great match up and if they can cancel each other's offense out, it's advantage '24. UConn 2024 won a bunch with Clingan scoring 8-12 points. UConn 2004 needed Okafor scoring 15+.

'04 struggled with Okafor out with back problems during regular season; 2024 did better with Clingan and Castle injured.

I can listen to 5-5 or 6-4 either way, but anyone thinking one side is winning 7 or 8 against the other is wearing tainted glasses.

'04 at its best was as lethal as 2024. The '04 E8 match up against Bama was a seal clubbing of the highest order. Of course, 2024 clubbed Bama in the FF.
 
The pic definitely makes a good point but a bit unfair bc Emeka is probably 20-30lbs of muscle down from his playing weight at this point. I believe Emeka averaged twice as many blocks per game as Clingan at Uconn. His feel for when to leave his feet was impeccable- I remember a video of lebron asking carmelo how he got his shot off against Emeka around that era
I never thought I would see another defensive player like Okafor at UConn but I think Clingan was even more impactful than Mek on defense. The block totals are low because nobody would even attempt to score on Clingan. If they got down there they would see the wall and then back it out.

I'm not taking anything away from Okafor, he was brilliant and clearly the better all around player than Clingan because of his offense and rebounding but Clingan has multiple NBA defensive player of the year potential IMO.
 
Can we agree the '04 team would have dominated purdue, which was easily the second best team in the country?

to keep up with this year's offense the '04 team would have to maximize shooting by starting gordon / anderson / denham / charlie / okafor. with taliek and boone off the bench. i think gordon and anderson matchup well w/ newton and spencer, denham matches up reallly well w/ castle. charlie would be a tough cover for karaban. and obviously okafor against clingan would be epic. i'd use taliek in a diarra role off the bench. boone would have abused samson.

i think it would be really close if okafor could get clingan into foul trouble. in a 7 game series '24 wins 4-3. '24s elite passing ability would be the difference.
This is a great take. Calhoun would have to adjust the lineup to have enough spacing and shooting. He would definitely need some prep time to make up for the passage of 20yrs! What a dream matchup that would be
 
This is a great take. Calhoun would have to adjust the lineup to have enough spacing and shooting. He would definitely need some prep time to make up for the passage of 20yrs! What a dream matchup that would be
There best chance would be to have a track meet for 04. They have to beat Clingan down the floor and/or get him in foul trouble.
 
I doubt Okafor would limit Edey. You let Edey get his like UConn did and lock up everyone else on the perimeter. Taliek is bigger than Braden Smith but Smith is the better player.
The real concern is Edey getting Okafor in foul trouble.
 
says who? jim calhoun magically transported 20 years into the future? boone also started but i wouldnt have him starting either. isnt this a made up

Like what? He was the PG.
Run, run, run. Motion offense would cause Taliek to be guarded. Drive draw and dish. I only coached HS but coached against a team with a quick point guard who couldn’t shoot. I decided to lay off him and he totally torched us with his speed in the open court. It was two pretty good teams.
 
.-.
I think the 2024 is our best team ever. Been watching college hoops since the 60’s and the 2024 has few rivals. UCLA teams, MJ’ Carolina team, 90 UNLV, 96 Kentucky
 
I think it's funny that people actually think 04 couldn't compete with 24

I love both teams, and I respect most opinions, except any that think there is no debate
 
You can tell the age of the poster based on how they answer this question.

Be a game to watch for sure!
I’m on the older side but the more I rewatch games from last season the more I’m leaning towards 2024 as our best team ever. 2004 could certainly beat them but if I had to bet on which would win one game I’m going with 24
 
Can we agree the '04 team would have dominated purdue, which was easily the second best team in the country?

to keep up with this year's offense the '04 team would have to maximize shooting by starting gordon / anderson / denham / charlie / okafor. with taliek and boone off the bench. i think gordon and anderson matchup well w/ newton and spencer, denham matches up reallly well w/ castle. charlie would be a tough cover for karaban. and obviously okafor against clingan would be epic. i'd use taliek in a diarra role off the bench. boone would have abused samson.

i think it would be really close if okafor could get clingan into foul trouble. in a 7 game series '24 wins 4-3. '24s elite passing ability would be the difference.
Everyone keeps talking about Clingan's foul trouble, but Emeka had a bit of foul trouble himself.
 
.-.
You can tell the age of the poster based on how they answer this question.

Be a game to watch for sure!
They always talk about recency bias, but I don't people acknowledge nostalgia bias enough. Both eye test and analytics say 2024 is BY FAR the superior team.
 
2004 was a fun team to watch and was exceptional when Oak was healthy. Him and Gordon formed one of the best UConn duos to grace Storrs. The frontline was HUGE plus Rashad was a big-time sniper. Plus 111 Denham doing his thing. But I would take 2024 against any past champion. The unselfishness and ball-movement, the balance, the defense. This team was so fun to watch and they only lost when they beat themselves. Even poor shooting in the tournament didn’t stop the barrage of double digit wins. 8-2 to 2024, losing when they shoot the three ball single digits percentage wise.
 
You can tell the age of the poster based on how they answer this question.

Be a game to watch for sure!

I'm 47 and don't think that '04 would stand a chance. They wouldn't be able to keep up offensively.
 
In a close game I might take 2004. Those dudes were cold blooded. Especially Ben, Rashad, and Denham.

I’d say its a 5-5 split.
 
.-.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,204
Messages
4,556,819
Members
10,442
Latest member
Virginiafan


Top Bottom