UConn ranked #64

[auror]

Is there a blurb with it? I don't get ESPN+.

Gasaway does their rankings.

He's very conservative and relies heavily on per possession conference play scoring margin numbers. Of which ours were garbage last year.

So I'm not surprised by the ranking. It's a sizeable bump from where we finished last year so I'm sure he's thinking he's already adjusted for new coach + more experience, but I think we all agree not quite enough if AG is healthy.

 

[LStudfellow]

ESPN released their list this morning. They had UConn at #117.

Ranking every college basketball team from 1-353

At #64 there is a legitimate debate to be had of whether we are deserving of such a lofty number at this point after the last several years... BUT #117???

God, ESPN makes it so easy to hate them and their almost constant disrespect - on the other hand, this should make for wonderful bulletin board material that can last the whole year. One thing we would almost all agree upon is that historically we play better (other than the last two years) when we have a chip on our collective shoulders. This ranking makes for a nice-sized chip for everyone.

So thank you ESPN... it is time for us to "shock the world" (or at least their world) one more time.

Edit: Auror, I agree 100%, it really does have so much to do with AG. If he gets hurt again, we may well play to that #117 ranking. If he is healthy and plays the entire year we will significantly outperform this level.

 

[tcf15]

Is there a blurb with it? I don't get ESPN+.

Gasaway does their rankings.

He's very conservative and relies heavily on per possession conference play scoring margin numbers. Of which ours were garbage last year.

So I'm not surprised by the ranking. It's a sizeable bump from where we finished last year so I'm sure he's thinking he's already adjusted for new coach + more experience, but I think we all agree not quite enough if AG is healthy.

Nope, only does a write-up for the top 25.

 

[superjohn]

There were last year. Don’t get me wrong I like our guards but how do our bigs including forwards merit any better for us at this point? Love to be wrong about this.

They don't, our frontcourt is terrible. I hope we can sneak into the tournament this season but our frontcourt is a lot to overcome. I think it's the season after where we become a player again with new talent being infused and Gilbert as the udeniable leader.

 

[Purple Stein]

Hurley coaching his heart out as we make a deep run in the NIT - I think that’s realistic if a little bit hopeful for this year.

 

[HawkHusky]

I think we have as a good a shot as anyone to win the AAC tourney this year. The conference as a whole is down without a single Top 25 team to start the season. UCF (the favorite) has yet to prove they can win a basketball title and has really struggled vs poorly-coached UConn teams over the last few years.

 

[Towney007]

Bottom line is we're not a very good team. I know people hate saying that - but this team was a disaster last year on the court and a lot of it had to do with talent. What our best hope is that the kids here buy in hard while Hurley brings better talent in.

I think our back court will be good. We've got a good blend of talent, depth, youthful upside.... we're deep.. If Gilbert has a good year, which I think he can - we could have a top-10 back court nationally. I really think that.

We've got some interesting wings, but every one of them come with question marks. Wilson seems really talented but seems a little challenging to coach... Polley and Whalley have given flashes of looking like really good players, but they've also looked lost at other times. Williams looks... like he won't see any playing time. So again, there's talent there, but it's not well developed at all and depending on it is being hopeful I think.

Our front court isn't good at all. And it doesn't seem to be a coaching thing, it's just not talented. Cobb has a good motor and maybe Carlton could amount to something, but I haven't liked what I've been hearing. Diarra is coming off an injury. Yakwe will help defensively, but he's a terrible offensive player.. They're the inverse of the guards - wildly unproven, under developed, lacking talent... They're going to get eaten up.

I think we're a 20-win team, but more than that is just really getting optimistic. Talent's here for it, but I need to see it to believe it.

 

[Son of Robert]

Remember what really matters here, and that is what kind of team are we in January/February, and do we play in March. Gotta give Hurley, his staff, and the players, the time to get better on the court, learning new defensive and offensive strategies, becoming cohesive and building an identity as a team, with leadership and go to guys.

It takes a minute in the proving ground(actual games) to get better. I look for great progress and see us as a contender as the season progresses, sooner rather than later.

This isn't magic, with Hurley waving his wand and suddenly we're better. We have to grind it out, we have to earn it. The talent level is different from player to player, sure, but if Hurley can enforce his will and get the team playing how he wants them to, tough and hardnosed, like you've been in a fight, PLAYING TOGETHER with offensive and defensive strategies, we're gonna win some games.

Hurley's coaching definitely reminds me of 'Calhoun's; this team will be fun to watch and will compete. No quit.