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Message: [QUOTE="Mik, post: 5287279, member: 14087"] Of the Gampel games I've been to, I would agree with: * Texas in 2010 (Texas was ranked #1; UConn trailed by 10 early in the 2nd half before outscoring them 54-30! The half-court alley-oop to Stanley Robinson was indeed remarkable, and Jerome Dyson was at his peak.) Jeff Jacobs in the Courant the next day: “The fun returned to UConn basketball [yesterday]. And it returned with the kind of ear-splitting, second-half, national television rush that made everyone . . . remember why our state had made such an emotional investment in the first place.” Said Jacobs, “Never has there been a louder, more exuberant” win. Students rushed the court. * Villanova in 2011 when Kemba hit the game-winner; that moment was deafening, and a chapter in Kemba's legendary season. I also agree with the 1995 and 1996 games vs. Villanova, and 2014 vs. Louisville. (I wasn't at the 1990 opening game vs. St. John's or the Dec. 2013 game-winner by Shabazz vs. Florida.) An underrated game was March 2013 vs. Providence, an overtime win to close out the season when the Huskies were banned from post-season play--paving the way for the next year's "hungry Huskies," in Shabazz's words: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/330680041[/URL] If we were to include Hartford games, I would unequivocally say the January 1990 game vs. Georgetown, which came in with Mourning and Mutombo. UConn's 14-0 run to start the game was the most impassioned, joyful sequence in school history, given the expectations then versus now. Until the 30-0 run vs. Illinois in the 2024 elite eight, it was arguably the greatest several minutes of Husky hoops ever. ... I'm new here, so if the following should be a separate thread, maybe it will be moved accordingly. How about a separate category for the most memorable Midnight Madness (now First Night) occasions at Gampel? My list: * Oct. 2003, when a team that returned Emeka and Ben Gordon et al. brought in Charlie Villanueva and went on to win the title. * Oct. 2014, when both the men and women were defending champs, the trophies were arrayed, and Ray Allen was a special guest. * Oct. 2011, when the defending champs added Andre Drummond, DeAndre Daniels, and Ryan Boatright (while losing Kemba, of course). Ryan defeated Andre in a dunk contest that included alley-oops from Shabazz. Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi, and Roscoe Smith also competed. It's on YouTube: [MEDIA=youtube]tyjUe-GWW1A[/MEDIA] Regrettably, that highly talented team never approached the heights of the previous season. (Honorable mention to what must have been Oct. 2009, when Maya Moore defeated Tina Charles in a dunk contest that surpassed what I recall of the men that evening...) [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach