UConn #7 in The Athletic's Top-25

[jibsey]

I don’t want to be #1. I’ll just wait for the end of the season for that and like the last 2 years tell them, see I told ya.

 

[Austin316]

I want to be ranked as high as possible so Hurley can send a message to the players early. Number 7 would be a good spot to say:

“See?! No one thinks you’re good enough and they’re right! Show me you are. Show me championship mentality. Adama Sanogo! Jordan Hawkins! Tristan Newton! Donovan Clingan! Cam Spencer! They were champions. Isaiah Whaley The WRENCH! … Prove to me you’re better than them, because no one thinks you are!”

 

[jojipoji]

The athletic guy also picked against UConn against either Illinois or bama.

 

[jibsey]

The athletic guy also picked against UConn against either Illinois or bama.

Precisely. There’s a long history of this with UConn. Yet here we sit ahead of most of them who won some of their titles in the nearly peach basket era.

 

[auror]

The athletic guy also picked against UConn against either Illinois or bama.

I doubt that. Cj Moore is sharp.

 

[UCann]

Some pretty bad analysis in the breakdown, as others have pointed out. I have come to believe that when I see this level of disrespect in the CBB media, it is either because of one of three factors:

1. Stupidity/lack of research
2. Jealousy/hate
3. UConn fans who want to provide bulletin board material to fuel another run

No other explanations exist. One of the above three is the reason they rank us #7. No way, with AK back as defending champs and the talent of this roster and coaching staff, can we be outside the top 5. Even losing DC (which we all know is huge), how can you forget how much we beat teams by last year. The margin for error is large. Hurley even said the same himself - we don't need to be as good as last year's team to win again.

 

[LIuconn]

ESPN has Liam McNeely starting at the 4 and Stew isn't even in the blurb. Not surprised, but damn c'mon. 2x defending champs, do better ESPN

 

[nomar]

Hurley said Solo's shooting is real. So take it up with Danny.

Try reading the thread

 

[auror]

I doubt that. Cj Moore is sharp.

He picked us to win the title in his bracket.

NCAA Tournament bracket picks: CJ Moore picks UConn over Purdue for the title

Chaos in the West Region, a Marquette-Wisconsin Elite Eight and more expert picks from CJ Moore.

www.nytimes.com

And then in an article before the final four repeated he wasnt picking against us.

Final Four roundtable: Can anybody beat UConn? Which underdog has the best shot?

By Brian Hamilton, Brendan Marks, CJ Moore and Kyle TuckerFinal Four week is here. Alabama, UConn, Purdue and NC State will convene in Glendale, Ariz., this weekend to decide the national title. To…

pressnewsagency.org

 

[runner11]

The athletic guy also picked against UConn against either Illinois or bama.

He also wrote an awesome profile on Cam in February.

I disagree with ISU, Duke and UNC (CBS) being ranked above but the others are very close.

 

[jojipoji]

I doubt that. Cj Moore is sharp.

Not CJ moore, the other guy from the athletic. They picked Illinois over UConn and said UConn couldn’t stop Shannon

 

[mbt0512]

7. Connecticut​

We’re at the point now where you just assume Dan Hurley’s plan will work. He has nailed roster construction the last few years and built offensive and defensive schemes ideal for his talent. Adding shooting this spring with Mahaney and McNeeley was huge, and Karaban decided to return for a run at a three-peat. Hurley’s offense hums when the Huskies can hunt early 3s and they have optimal floor spacing. That’s not the specialty of sophomores Ball, Stewart and Ross. For UConn to hit its ceiling, Mahaney needs to play to his potential. Diarra is more of a complementary guard, and Mahaney basically replicated his freshman season this past year when it was expected he’d make a star’s leap. He replaces the off-the-dribble playmaking from Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, and that’s why his success is so important. Hurley has again set it up so his centers can split time and give opponents two different looks. This roster doesn’t appear as talented as the last two, but underrating UConn early has also become a yearly tradition.

Men's college basketball Top 25: Alabama, Gonzaga, Houston lead updated rankings

With the NBA early-entry withdrawal deadline passed and the transfer portal mostly settled, we finally have some clarity on rosters.

www.nytimes.com

#7 sounds good to me..

 

[Kitaman]

Hurley is the reason we're at 7, any other team would be double digits with such a roster change.

 

[Storrs South]

Yeah, also, 72 of Solo's 115 shots last season were from 3. Of course he only hit 32%, but tell him he's not a 3-point shooter.

Karaban was highly complimentary of Solo's shooting in an interview yesterday and given the trajectory of his minutes during course of season I'm not sure how much one can take away from the stats. He came out red hot then cooled down as Steph was coming back and then it was all garbage time so most of the reps came early in his frosh season. Hurley has also said he can shoot. I think he will surprise on that front next season.

 

[nomar]

Karaban was highly complimentary of Solo's shooting in an interview yesterday and given the trajectory of his minutes during course of season I'm not sure how much one can take away from the stats. He came out red hot then cooled down as Steph was coming back and then it was all garbage time so most of the reps came early in his frosh season. Hurley has also said he can shoot. I think he will surprise on that front next season.

Not sure why anybody read anything into that particularly given my next post about 6 inches down the screen, where I said Danny was obviously confident in his 3-point shot. And the fact I was pushing back on the notion that Solo isn’t a 3-point shooter.

For the avoidance of doubt, I agree he’s a 3-point shooter.

 

[UCann]

He picked us to win the title in his bracket.

NCAA Tournament bracket picks: CJ Moore picks UConn over Purdue for the title

Chaos in the West Region, a Marquette-Wisconsin Elite Eight and more expert picks from CJ Moore.

www.nytimes.com

And then in an article before the final four repeated he wasnt picking against us.

Final Four roundtable: Can anybody beat UConn? Which underdog has the best shot?

By Brian Hamilton, Brendan Marks, CJ Moore and Kyle TuckerFinal Four week is here. Alabama, UConn, Purdue and NC State will convene in Glendale, Ariz., this weekend to decide the national title. To…

pressnewsagency.org

Well seems like he falls into #3 on my aforementioned CBB media rubric.

 

[HeGotGame]

This roster doesn’t appear as talented as the last two, but underrating UConn early has also become a yearly tradition.

I disagree. DC's loss is obviously huge. The biggest loss of them all. You cannot replace him, all you can do is try to plug minutes and production by committee. But I believe that Mahaney and Solo will negate the loss of TN and Cam come January. Remember that we didn't know how we would replace Hawk last year? I feel that Ian McNeeley will have a similar impact in providing huge guard production. The kid is gifted offensively. And most of you seem to think that Stewart will be a star. Well, Stewart will be in our bench!!! I dont know how this team can be viewed as "not as talented". We shall see.

I feel like I am ready a HuskyHawks Pats post. I can't tell if it's satire or lunacy.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Seven is a nice number to be associated with our upcoming season.

 

[Bonamassa]

I love how so many fans have already definitively decided how good the UConn freshmen will be next year without allowing them to play a single game. Happens every year.

 

[NJHusky]

#7 sounds good to me..

Exactly

 

[DRBackup]

Hunting early 3s he means like Hawkins flaring to the wing or Karaban trailing for a 3 in semi transition.

I don't know. Transition threes have been a thing for a long time. That seems like offense 101, not something special or unique about UConn

 

[DRBackup]

I hope not too many threes . Hes streaky shooter and not really great at that

He was a freshman for crying out loud.

 

[fatlucy]

I love how so many fans have already definitively decided how good the UConn freshmen will be next year without allowing them to play a single game. Happens every year.

Doomed

 

[tzznandrew]

I don't think this is unreasonable. I think we're one of the better teams out there.

I think Kansas as a consensus #1 is wild. Self obviously can coach, but the team doesn't feel like it is going to cohere.... I guess we'll see...

 

[HooperScooper]

I don't think this is unreasonable. I think we're one of the better teams out there.

I think Kansas as a consensus #1 is wild. Self obviously can coach, but the team doesn't feel like it is going to cohere.... I guess we'll see...

They were the consensus #1 team last preseason also and look how that turned out.