We can not close the deal with recruits

[Tenspro2002]

Not sure where you fall on the spectrum, but for me, it's simple as:

1) You play to win the game. That implies winning it all for me.

2) Calling the Championship 'just one game' is mind boggling. More accurate to call it 'the only game'.

3) If you finish second, you're just the first loser. There's one winner, and 300+ losers.

4) Like it or not, in the modern world, teams are defined by Championships.

I don't disagree with any of this.

But you have to acknowledge that recruits care an awful lot less about past championships than they do about the current buzz/hype around a program and the coach's credibility in being able to get guys to the League. Currently, KO and our program have zero of that.

 

[8893]

A bit. I thought it was over so early that it felt anti-climactic. Butler simply never found a way to score. Don't get me wrong, the defensive performance by UConn, and even by Butler, was incredible. But basketball with those kinds of shooting percentages makes for an ugly game. The Arizona game was the most enjoyable of that tournament.

I was there for the game and it didn't feel anti-climactic to me. And after the semi vs. UK, I didn't mind at all that the final was less dramatic.

Hell, in 2004 (which I also attended) the final vs. Ga. Tech felt inevitable from the opening tip imo, but, again, it was a very, very welcome reprieve from the semi vs. Duke, when I was certain I was having a cardiac event. Seriously.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not sure where you fall on the spectrum, but for me, it's simple as:

1) You play to win the game. That implies winning it all for me.

2) Calling the Championship 'just one game' is mind boggling. More accurate to call it 'the only game'.

3) If you finish second, you're just the first loser. There's one winner, and 300+ losers.

4) Like it or not, in the modern world, teams are defined by Championships.

That's fine. I just view it differently. I'm sure some others do as well.

1. You play to win. That implies not losing. So winning percentage is to they measure of greatness. How infrequently you lose matters a great deal. Great programs don't lose many games.

2. The championship is one game. I value it more than any other game, but not to an absurd degree. All the tournament games you play are almost as important, since it is a win or go home event.

3. If you finish second you had a great year. Your fans saw many wins. They saw at least five wins in the tournament, including one in the final four. A single loss in a championship is much less painful to me than missing the tournament is.

4. Disagree teams are defined by championships. The Yankees of recent years (before this one)? Completely irrelevant lousy teams. It doesn't matter how many WS titles you have unless you are contending for one this year. The teams that contend year in and year out are the ones we admire.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I was there for the game and it didn't feel anti-climactic to me. And after the semi vs. UK, I didn't mind at all that the final was less dramatic.

Hell, in 2004 (which I also attended) the final vs. Ga. Tech felt inevitable from the opening tip imo, but, again, it was a very, very welcome reprieve from the semi vs. Duke, when I was certain I was having a cardiac event. Seriously.

I'm a bit with you on 2004. GT didn't even belong in that game and was overmatched from the tip. In that one we could watch some beautiful basketball though. Loved that team. But again, that semi vs Duke was the more enjoyable and memorable game, was it not? That was the real final. Honestly, aside from the 99 title game against Duke, it was the best tournament game we've been in.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Are you a basketball fan or a UConn fan?

You are speaking as a Basketball fan. Not a UConn fan.

The Arizona game was the 6th circle of hell in which every sin of my life flashed before my eyes as the last possession played out and I was entirely sure Arizona won the game on last second offensive rebound>kickout three to spite me for my sins. Im still amazed that shot didnt drop.

Not enjoyable. At all.

Only enjoyable in retrospect and replay knowing we won.

You probably call the 6 OT cuse game enjoyable too. Youre nuts.

In the end, all we do is make memories. If I only cared about whether we won or lost, I could look that up online or in the paper. I am a fan of memorable UConn basketball experiences. Sometimes even a loss is a memorable experience. Yes, the 6 OT game counts. And the loss to Duke in the elite 8 in 1990. That one nearly killed me.

The greatest element of "the shot" for me isn't that we pulled off the miracle, it's that we did it after blowing the game completely. After turning a sure win into a situation where a miracle was needed. If we just cruised to victory as we should have, as we were at halftime, nobody would remember the game.

 

[Mr. French]

I don't disagree with any of this.

But you have to acknowledge that recruits care an awful lot less about past championships than they do about the current buzz/hype around a program and the coach's credibility in being able to get guys to the League. Currently, KO and our program have zero of that.

That's definitely true. But that's not what's been discussed.

 

[The Funster]

Some of the craziest things ever are being written in this thread.

I'm seeing a lot of people talk past each other. This thread would probably fit right into the cesspool.

 

[intlzncster]

You can't win championships unless you are in the tourney. What lots of us miss is being relevant and having a shot at winning it all. People bring up the loss to #1 seed Kansas as a reason for our early exit in 2016. We underacheived badly during that regular season, leading to a lower seed and 2nd round matchup with Kansas. A better seed may have gotten the team rolling and we would have had a puncher's chance.

Meh, if you're good enough you win. Yeah, in a vacuum a higher seed is better, but it's more about matchups.

We won it as a 7 seed for crying out loud.

 

[intlzncster]

I'm seeing a lot of people talk past each other. This thread would probably fit right into the cesspool.

Well, there's a number of people who prefer 'also rans'. I prefer the Derby winner.

 

[intlzncster]

But you have to acknowledge that recruits care an awful lot less about past championships than they do about the current buzz/hype around a program and the coach's credibility in being able to get guys to the League. Currently, KO and our program have zero of that.

Without question. It's not even about current winning either. It's about having a HOF coach, a coach who's willing to be an NBA way station--and promoting that as most important, and ESPN pumping the crap out of your program.

The current 'most successful' college program, in terms of winning year in year out, is UK. Duke has since jumped on that bandwagon a bit--though it's a different situation. Calipari succeeds by focusing on NOT being a college program, but a conduit to the League. I wouldn't be super psyched to be UK. Yes winning would be nice, but brand new kids every year would hard to get invested in. Plus the coach is scummy.

Honestly, you don't even need a guy who can coach (and I think Calipari can). You need a circus promoter. Lavar Ball might be a great college coach lol

 

[The Funster]

Well, there's a number of people who prefer 'also rans'. I prefer the Derby winner.

ahh so win an NC every year or it's a failure?

 

[intlzncster]

ahh so win an NC every year or it's a failure?

To an extent. If you are truly good enough, like Duke or UK, that's the deal. If the Pats don't win a Superbowl, it's a busted season. If you are not that good, you can be happy with Sweet 16 runs.

Don't get me wrong, with an inferior team, I'm cool with making it to the Elite Eight. But it's still less than somebody else. In sports, you are playing for 1st.

Unless you are a fan of participation trophies.

 

[The Funster]

Well, who's saying nobody wants their team to try to be the best? Saying you want to be the best and accepting that you can't be every year is not mutually exclusive. You can still strive for perfection and still have the understanding that you're never going to achieve it. The goal is to be the very best you can be. I'm not the CEO of the largest company in the world so I suck? I reject that notion.

 

[KembaStepback]

I know people will probably jump down my throat for saying this but I HATE when people here say we've had a bunch of "crappy seasons". Last yr, yes. That was a crap-fest...but we were injured.
The year before that we WON the conference tournament and won an NCAA tournament game. I don't consider that a "crappy season" Did they underperform a bit in the regular season? Sure. Would I like to win 25-30 games a year, of course. I just wouldn't call a conference title a crappy season. It was an acceptable season. How's that?

I just feel like if recruits should be able to see that losing 2 of our best 3 players last season was the reason for the bad year. Winning this coming year should help solve that issue.

It also seems like we've been the favorite of the recruit but, for different reasons, parents want something else. I don't think these are things we can control. I think if UConn were equally as close to Wilsons home as STJ we would have him. I cant speak to the Ms Mathis/SP relationship since I don't know the ins and outs, but seems like that's what won him over. I also don't know that KO and company didn't work hard - just didn't have a relationship with Ms. Mathis. That's the way it goes sometimes.

 

[Huskybass]

Meh, if you're good enough you win. Yeah, in a vacuum a higher seed is better, but it's more about matchups.

We won it as a 7 seed for crying out loud.

We deserved much better than a seven seed that year by any objective measure.

 

[intlzncster]

We deserve much better than a seven seed that year by any objective measure.

Perhaps, but UK was an 8 seed in that tourney as well. Higher have generally easier paths, but again it's about matchups. And don't discount the fact that the Committee quite often does some 'funny' things.

 

[intlzncster]

The goal is to be the very best you can be. I'm not the CEO of the largest company in the world so I suck? I reject that notion.

That's false equivalency. This is sports, where you have a winner or loser in every contest, in every tournament, in every season. You play the game to determine who is the champion.
In life, there is competition of a different sort, but the scoreboard is whatever you see fit to make it. In basketball, it's points, and only points.

I don't look at UCONN not winning Championships as abject failures mind you. But winning Championships is preferable to any other outcome.

 

[Mr. French]

Perhaps, but UK was an 8 seed in that tourney as well. Higher have generally easier paths, but again it's about matchups. And don't discount the fact that the Committee quite often does some 'funny' things.

They hardly deserved that.

 

[upstater]

I'm seeing a lot of people talk past each other. This thread would probably fit right into the cesspool.

I'm referring to the comment about being bored by a NC game.

 

[CL82]

I'm seeing a lot of people talk past each other. This thread would probably fit right into the cesspool.

Not nearly enough name calling.

 

[upstater]

A bit. I thought it was over so early that it felt anti-climactic. Butler simply never found a way to score. Don't get me wrong, the defensive performance by UConn, and even by Butler, was incredible. But basketball with those kinds of shooting percentages makes for an ugly game. The Arizona game was the most enjoyable of that tournament.

I already posted once in this thread that you are remembering it wrong.

First, UConn shot well in the 2nd half. The whole first unit was on the bench in the latter part of the first when UConn shot horribly. All the fouls chopped up the first half. Otherwise UConn played well.

Second, the game was relatively close until the final 5 minutes

Third none of the talking heads other than Coach K seemed to notice the historic defense of UConn. Arizona shot 30%, Kentucky 25%, Butler 20%

Given what happened before the NC you have to credit UConn. This wasn't a fluke because of a Butler off night. It was in keeping with the tournament.

 

[The Funster]

I don't look at UCONN not winning Championships as abject failures mind you. But winning Championships is preferable to any other outcome.

On that I heartily agree.

 

[JeepCSC]

I don't look at UCONN not winning Championships as abject failures mind you. But winning Championships is preferable to any other outcome.

This is right. Winning is better than losing. But that goes beyond the championship game. Winning in November is better than losing in November. Winning in the Sweet 16 is better than losing in the second round even if both seasons end in a loss. It's not an all-or-nothing proposition. It's a sliding scale of sorts, and while titles weigh heavily they are not the only thing weighed.

 

[8893]

This is right. Winning is better than losing. But that goes beyond the championship game. Winning in November is better than losing in November. Winning in the Sweet 16 is better than losing in the second round even if both seasons end in a loss. It's not an all-or-nothing proposition. It's a sliding scale of sorts, and while titles weigh heavily they are not the only thing weighed.

And the corollary:

Losing to Wagner and Northeastern cancels out everything good that ever happened to UConn basketball and in the lives of those who follow it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I already posted once in this thread that you are remembering it wrong.

First, UConn shot well in the 2nd half. The whole first unit was on the bench in the latter part of the first when UConn shot horribly. All the fouls chopped up the first half. Otherwise UConn played well.

Second, the game was relatively close until the final 5 minutes

Third none of the talking heads other than Coach K seemed to notice the historic defense of UConn. Arizona shot 30%, Kentucky 25%, Butler 20%

Given what happened before the NC you have to credit UConn. This wasn't a fluke because of a Butler off night. It was in keeping with the tournament.

I never said otherwise. It was astonishing defense. Yes, in the prior games too.