UConn Outside AP Top 25

[August_West]

Hurley blowing smoke about Hawkins being a first round draft pick at the end of the season? He just said it again a few days ago.

His shooting is looking real good. His handle still too loose unfortunately .

 

[August_West]

I should add one more thing.

We ARE tough this year and getting after it real hard. That counts for a lot.

 

[REB1094]

I don't have a problem with it but that same logic should apply to Nova and other teams who lost their core. Nova lost their on court all everything leader in Gillespie and they don't have their other two best players in Moore and Samuels. Not to mention they lost one of the best coaches ever in college basketball.

You’re not wrong, but Villanova is going to get the benefit of the doubt more than UConn.

Whether that’s fair or not, it’s how it is

 

[aburks41]

I don't have a problem with it but that same logic should apply to Nova and other teams who lost their core. Nova lost their on court all everything leader in Gillespie and they don't have their other two best players in Moore and Samuels. Not to mention they lost one of the best coaches ever in college basketball.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with the nonsense I'm seeing on here. Why is UConn the only team that gets dinged for having to replace players when 99% of other teams around the country are doing the exact same thing? If we had one of those new "sexy" Big 12 or SEC names on the front of our jersey, we would be a top 20 team right now.

 

[NowInStorrs]

Wow the AP website is horrible. Keep your ads and popups to yourself. Also, they really couldn't just give a list of the 25 teams? Nobody cares about the article surrounding this.

 

[raf46]

I'm getting really sick of these voters constantly disrespecting us. They seriously think that a team with the preseason BE POY and multiple projected draft picks isn't worthy of being a top 25 team..?

need to win our way in.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Okay, somebody has to say it.

"It's not where you start, it's where you finish"
and
"Just win, baby"

 

[QDOG5]

Preseason polls are irrelevant and respect is earned and UConn hasn't earned it yet.

 

[NJHoops]

I’ll add to the cliches, but I think it is one that is true in this case- being ranked in the preseason would not have been the best thing for this group.

 

[husky429]

Good news is karaban looks special

Staff needs to start paying @rickeas a consultant at least.

 

[Umami Zen]

Take care of business at PKI and get some BE Ws in Dec--Rankings that matter will follow. Preseason rankings are too often influenced by what happened in March --No matter what the roster looks like the following year.

Secret scrimmages coming up should help in figuring out what we've got this year.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Comes in at 27

Just like in 2010. Things are proceeding as I have foreseen.

 

[UCSouth]

Lousy Game Coach.....

Lousy poster.....

 

[BGesus4]

Seems fair based on offensive question marks. Hopefully we’ve added and improved the right pieces to answer those questions but very unclear until we start playing.

That’s true for a lot of other teams outside the top 15, but I get why ppl would rank us where they do.

 

[freescooter]

If it was 2010 in this situation we get ranked No worse than 20. But UConn has not shown anything worthy of serious consideration really since 2014. 2016 a trip to the Tournament followed with a win then a blowout by Kansas. Then 3 years of awful basketball and 2 1 and done trips losing to worse seeds both times. Unless we brought in 5 5-star guys, which we didn’t, or Jim Calhoun came out of retirement, which he didn’t, we are definitely a team that people will want to see before ranking. As I said on another board nobody is afraid to play UConn any more. That can change with a good season and a solid run in the tournament, but right now we aren’t highly respected because we haven’t done anything to earn respect for a long time. The last time UConn was a factor on the national stage, the incoming freshmen were in 4-5th grade.

 

[Kitaman]

Considering what we lost including outgoing transfers, who the hell knows what our season will look like?

I've never seen so many pre season practice videos where I don't know/recognize half the players, who will be prominent for us this season. On paper we look like a top 20 team, but this squad will have to get to know each other very quickly for us to have good success. This season we could have a slow start or dominanting one, who the hell knows?

 

[freescooter]

I don't have a problem with it but that same logic should apply to Nova and other teams who lost their core. Nova lost their on court all everything leader in Gillespie and they don't have their other two best players in Moore and Samuels. Not to mention they lost one of the best coaches ever in college basketball.

When nobody has played a game, these rankings are mostly based on 3 things.
1. Name recognition
2. Last year’s tournament performance
3. Recruiting rankings

Villanova went to the final 4.
They have 2 recent championships
They had a top 20 recruiting class

Good thing is that preseason rankings are pretty meaningless.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I'm getting really sick of these voters constantly disrespecting us. They seriously think that a team with the preseason BE POY and multiple projected draft picks isn't worthy of being a top 25 team..?

Until we start winning big games in March expect to be disrespected
Top 25 teams aren’t supposed to lose first round games to mediocre teams or not even make it passed the 2 nd round of their conference tournament. If you don’t make it to the round of 32 complaining about not being top 25 has a hallow ring.

 

[kobe]

looks like typical big conference bias to me.

mid major conferences (like the Big East) have to work so much harder to get respect.

Big East- 2
Atlantic 10- 1
AAC- 1
MWC- 1

what a sham! we need to see more of these little guys represented in the top 25!

 

[alphasigko]

This article should be posted on the Locker Room Bulletin Board and used as motivation to prove the AP voters wrong.

 

[ctkaiser]

I mean I think we're gunna be good but there's entirely way too many question marks for us to be preseason ranked.
I think 25-40 is proper ranking for a team replacing as much as we're replacing and relying on relatively lesser known transfers and recruits to replace known veteran commodities like RJ Cole and Tyrese Martin.

We have no chance to move up unless we get some wins at the Knight tourney. Before that the first 4 or 5 games are vs mediocre opponents.

 

[jdb50]

Without a proven top level point guard returning we are being ranked on how we finished last year while having Sanogo as our best returning player. Hope we can make a leap this year but it will not be seamless with all the new players. At the end of the season I hope everyone outside the program is not yelling "they are who we thought they were". Everyone here is excited but there are lots of question marks.

 

[Huskyforlife]

We hate to admit it, but polls are a perception thing this early on. Losing to a mid major in round one of the tournament hurt our perception badly. Then we lost our two best players. Big year for Hurley to prove UConn is back, so he better have a point guard.

 

[Fishy]

1) Who cares?

2) We’re replacing a bunch of players and voters are likely not very familiar with the transfers.

3) But seriously who cares? It’s a preseason poll - win a few games in a row and we will be ranked.

 

[HeGotGame]

looks like typical big conference bias to me.

mid major conferences (like the Big East) have to work so much harder to get respect.

Big East- 2
Atlantic 10- 1
AAC- 1
MWC- 1

what a sham! we need to see more of these little guys represented in the top 25!

It is a shame only one mid-major program from Ohio could be ranked, keep plugging along over there in Cincy and you'll catch up to them soon!