WFAN Monologue on UConn

[freescooter]

It amazes me that free still posts about Ollie on this board. He ripped him for 2 years when he did an amazing job, and then disappeared and didn't give him any credit after the championship. Ridiculous.

Ah uppy,
Tell the truth and shame the devil, will you boy. I was never a Kevin Ollie fan. He is doing now exactly what I expected. But when he won the title I gave him his due quite publicly. Even said I might have been wrong about him. Alas it turns out I wasn’t. He was utterly unprepared to be a head coach. Though he did s fine job with Calhoun’s recruits and a team that got hot at the right time and in hind sight got the perfect matchups and the regional finals as a virtual home game. And another team that made a surprise run in the finals in 8 seed Kentucky. In hindsight again that was one of those magical runs that happens in sports and in the NCAA tourney from time to time. Danny Manning Kansas(6 seed mediocre regular season) Valvano NC State (6 seed in a 53? Team tourney)are other similar cases. Butler James Madison and Va Commenwealth gettingvto the Final 4 are similar though not as successful examples.

 

[freescooter]

Wow. You're really stupid.

I've been arguing for months that a change either should happen or is inevitable. Are you even literate? Do you know how to lace up your shoes without assistance?

Every single east coast P5/BE school with an opening will be pushing hard for Hurley. Some have already been hitting his agent up. UConn doesn't exist in a vacuum.

For months? Please. Weeks maybe but always with the proviso that we won’t get anyone as good.

 

[upstater]

Ah uppy,
Tell the truth and shame the devil, will you boy. I was never a Kevin Ollie fan. He is doing now exactly what I expected. But when he won the title I gave him his due quite publicly. Even said I might have been wrong about him. Alas it turns out I wasn’t. He was utterly unprepared to be a head coach. Though he did s fine job with Calhoun’s recruits and a team that got hot at the right time and in hind sight got the perfect matchups and the regional finals as a virtual home game. And another team that made a surprise run in the finals in 8 seed Kentucky. In hindsight again that was one of those magical runs that happens in sports and in the NCAA tourney from time to time. Danny Manning Kansas(6 seed mediocre regular season) Valvano NC State (6 seed in a 53? Team tourney)are other similar cases. Butler James Madison and Va Commenwealth gettingvto the Final 4 are similar though not as successful examples.

Might have been wrong? You disappeared.

Perfect matchups: when you face Martelli, J Wright, Hoiberg, Izzo, Donovan and Calipari, that is I guess the easiest road to a championship anyone would want to have!

 

[pepband99]

Am I the only one that remembers that St John's has done this before?

2011 beat #3 Duke 93-78
2003 beat #6 Duke
2001 beat #2 Duke

Where has that gotten them? Nowhere. I'd argue they are equally irrelevant.

There are only articles out there about UConn because UConn has had a big downfall. But you have to be high to fall.

Both programs are in nowheresville.

St John's is irrelevant from the day they stopped being able to pay players through a technicality. They'll never return. We at least have something non-shady to hang our hats on.

 

[freescooter]

Might have been wrong? You disappeared.

Perfect matchups: when you face Martelli, J Wright, Hoiberg, Izzo, Donovan and Calipari, that is I guess the easiest road to a championship anyone would want to have!

We got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in a virtual home games and in the semi finals got a team we’d already beaten in Florida and then another Cinderella in 8 seed Kentucky. It was a great run but it was the perfect storm. We had the best guard tandem in the country and they played perfectly. Not the best individual guards but the best guard combo.

 

[upstater]

We got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in a virtual home games and in the semi finals got a team we’d already beaten in Florida and then another Cinderella in 8 seed Kentucky. It was a great run but it was the perfect storm. We had the best guard tandem in the country and they played perfectly. Not the best individual guards but the best guard combo.

and? Florida, a team that only had trouble with UConn. Did they have trouble with anyone else?

Anyone who thinks that was an easy stretch is out of their minds.

Home games? Try being Duke or Kentucky or any of the bluebloods, and then tell me about home games.

 

[the Q]

We got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in a virtual home games and in the semi finals got a team we’d already beaten in Florida and then another Cinderella in 8 seed Kentucky. It was a great run but it was the perfect storm. We had the best guard tandem in the country and they played perfectly. Not the best individual guards but the best guard combo.

No question on the last part.

But we beat Florida, at home on a fluke play.

Florida tore through the rest of the NCAA. I believe their only other loss was to Wisky (also a FF team).

That Kentucky team, was loaded with freshmen, including 2 first rounders (Young and Randle). They grew up as the year went on. They lost to Florida 3 times, but the last time in the SECCG they probably win if Young doesn't slip on his drive. They also beat a Lousville team that beat us 3 times in complete beatdowns...TWICE.

They also knocked off an undefeated Witchita St that year in the 3rd round.

I will never apologize for beating MSU in that E8 after they got a virtual home game in 2009.

But beating that #2 seed Nova....you can't knock that either.

And the Iowa St game was just an unreal game and a fantastic atmosphere. Yes it did favor UConn. But how much was that really worth? I don't know the answer to that.

 

[Storrs South]

We got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in a virtual home games and in the semi finals got a team we’d already beaten in Florida and then another Cinderella in 8 seed Kentucky. It was a great run but it was the perfect storm. We had the best guard tandem in the country and they played perfectly. Not the best individual guards but the best guard combo.

From a seeding perspective, UConn in 2014 won with the most difficult path ever for National Champion. There is nothing to apologize for -- it makes what that team did even more remarkable.



Source: North Carolina can win a national title thanks to a historically easy path through the bracket

 

[the Q]

From a seeding perspective, UConn in 2014 won with the most difficult path ever for National Champion. There is nothing to apologize for -- it makes what that team did even more remarkable.



Source: North Carolina can win a national title thanks to a historically easy path through the bracket

the most amazing stat on that sheet is 97 Arizona, who didn't have a low score despite beating 3 #1 seeds.

 

[Waquoit]

Perfect matchups: when you face Martelli, J Wright, Hoiberg, Izzo, Donovan and Calipari, that is I guess the easiest road to a championship anyone would want to have!

So what happened since? Where did that coach go?

 

[MadDogRevival]

the most amazing stat on that sheet is 97 Arizona, who didn't have a low score despite beating 3 #1 seeds.

Which, to be fair, was probably a more difficult feat than us in 2014.
Ironically, the only team that really threatened us in 14 was the 10 seed in the first game.

 

[the Q]

Which, to be fair, was probably a more difficult feat than us in 2014.
Ironically, the only team that really threatened us in 14 was the 10 seed in the first game.

Idk, didn't MSU come roaring back after halftime to go up like 8 in the 2nd half?

And it looked like Florida was going to run us out of the building early on in that one.

 

[jibsey]

St John's is irrelevant from the day they stopped being able to pay players through a technicality. They'll never return. We at least have something non-shady to hang our hats on.

Didn't they just beat Duke, Nova and Marquette? Listen carefully. They are better than us this year, regardless of their conference record. Do you dispute that?

 

[upstater]

So what happened since? Where did that coach go?

Disneyland

 

[upstater]

Didn't they just beat Duke, Nova and Marquette? Listen carefully. They are better than us this year, regardless of their conference record. Do you dispute that?

Is that the discussion? Is this not a discussion about relevance?

 

[PAHusky]

St John's is irrelevant from the day they stopped being able to pay players through a technicality. They'll never return. We at least have something non-shady to hang our hats on.

Let's wait until the other shoe drops on the NCAA investigation before we start hanging said hats on the non-shady pegs. Not good for the mojo

 

[Waquoit]

Disneyland

Wrong. The correct answer is the Miami Heat.

 

[Northbound]

Am I the only one that remembers that St John's has done this before?

2011 beat #3 Duke 93-78
2003 beat #6 Duke
2001 beat #2 Duke

Where has that gotten them? Nowhere. I'd argue they are equally irrelevant.

There are only articles out there about UConn because UConn has had a big downfall. But you have to be high to fall.

Both programs are in nowheresville.

Everyone knows they've done it before. The tenor that used when discussing both programs today and I mean literally today is significantly different. Neither are relevant programs at this point.

 

[intlzncster]

Let's wait until the other shoe drops on the NCAA investigation before we start hanging said hats on the non-shady pegs. Not good for the mojo

hopefully it's just a shoe and not a big black boot is the arse.

 

[Robertelamin]

We got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in a virtual home games and in the semi finals got a team we’d already beaten in Florida and then another Cinderella in 8 seed Kentucky. It was a great run but it was the perfect storm. We had the best guard tandem in the country and they played perfectly. Not the best individual guards but the best guard combo.

You are stupid.

 

[upstater]

Everyone knows they've done it before. The tenor that used when discussing both programs today and I mean literally today is significantly different. Neither are relevant programs at this point.

You think people weren't saying "Wow, that stinky SJU team just beat Duke!" back then? Duke was 3rd ranked. They lost to a team that was 0-9 in conference this year. Hard to wipe that away.

 

[superjohn]

We got to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in a virtual home games and in the semi finals got a team we’d already beaten in Florida and then another Cinderella in 8 seed Kentucky. It was a great run but it was the perfect storm. We had the best guard tandem in the country and they played perfectly. Not the best individual guards but the best guard combo.

You sound silly on this. We caught a break playing at MSG after years of being screwed having to play a bunch of teams in their home states but we went through a gauntlet of some of the best coaches college basketball has to offer. Martelli, Wright, Hoiberg, Izzo, Donovan, and Calipari. Florida had one of the best seasons you'll ever see, only losing one game outside of UConn. Also, Kentucky had as much talent as anyone.

Ollie has been a disaster running the program with his own players but you can't take away his first 2 seasons and that incredible run.

 

[MadDogRevival]

Idk, didn't MSU come roaring back after halftime to go up like 8 in the 2nd half?

And it looked like Florida was going to run us out of the building early on in that one.

Not saying it was 5 blowouts. Just saying that Brimah's miracle 3 was required - we were beat in that game at that point.
MSU we pounded early, they came back, but we took the lead back with 12 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. We handled Florida, notwithstanding their quick start, and we dominated the second half.
MSU and Florida were games that we controlled late. St. Joe's not at all. G-d I adored that team and that run.

 

[uconnfan68]

From a seeding perspective, UConn in 2014 won with the most difficult path ever for National Champion. There is nothing to apologize for -- it makes what that team did even more remarkable.



Source: North Carolina can win a national title thanks to a historically easy path through the bracket

Who wrote UConn for 1992?

 

[willie99]

Just listening to WFAN and the afternoon host randomly - not prompted by a caller - went on a 5 minute monologue about the state of the Uconn basketball program.

Some quotes below. Nothing earth-shattering but more evidence that we’ve reached a tipping point in national perception - the casual cbb fan is no longer going to assume that we’ll be back and that the last few years are just an injury fueled anomaly. Amazing that brand equity built up over 25 years can be depleted so quickly.

“Abyss”...”forgotten program”...”doesn’t offer anything special”...”no light at the end of the tunnel”...”near obscurity”...”anonymous”

probably another beaten down St John's fan, since all those objective experts from Syracuse seemingly work at ESPN

anyone have an update on what Gary Parish is saying about us now? Or maybe Doug Gott-Nothing? Their opinions have been so insightful over the years, it's important to me to know what they think