What is your definition of success for the 25/26 season?

[80shusky]

I might think differently about this late summer. A national championship is always the goal. This team should be good. Should be better defensively than last year but how much better? 50 efficiency points better? I think Sweet 16 is the floor. They've got experience, talent, depth, good guards, a good center and some nice incoming freshmen to offer some spark. My definition of success would be Elite 8 or better with Sweet 16 as an expectation.

 

[EricLA]

I chose the 2nd weekend - ie. sweet 16 as my definition of a successful season. Doesn't mean I don't think we can do better.

Last year, the STAFF bandied about the 3-peat, the players were on board, and fan expectations thru the roof, preseason we were ranked #3. Fast forward - Mahaney was far less than thought/hoped, Karaban had a below average (for him) year, Ross was nowhere near the player the staff raved about in practice, our guards struggled to keep players in front of them, and the disastrous trip losing to Memphis, Dayton, and Colorado (and Seton Hall later) set us on a low path seed and we ended up losing to the national champs in round 2.

So yeah I'm cautiously optimistic. Will Demery be great, very good, good, or average? How about our back up PG Malachi? Will Karaban get back to the Alex we know he can be? I know we expect a lot out of the freshmen, but just how good will they be? Ball has already stepped up as has Reed, but what about Stewart and Ross? Too many questions at this time, and I'm not ready to jump back on the hype bus till we know more about what we have this coming season.

 

[Drame]

National Championship and I guess final four since people count those too.

 

[jibsey]

Win the BE or the BE tourney. Beat St. John’s. Make the Final Four.
To do the last a team needs some luck, and they have to stay healthy.

 

[mauconnfan]

The people voting for the second weekend need to be drawn and quartered. What are we? Providence?

I did because 16 and 8 weren’t offered and FF is spoiled and greedy. No doubt it can change depending on how people improve and adapt for the newbies.

 

[BGesus4]

I just hope everyone has fun

 

[Deepster]

I did because 16 and 8 weren’t offered and FF is spoiled and greedy. No doubt it can change depending on how people improve and adapt for the newbies.

You getting soft in your senior years?

 

[NewBlood]

#7

 

[mauconnfan]

You getting soft in your senior years?

Reverse psych my friend, never ends and it’s been successful quite a few times.

 

[Kitaman]

Not on the list . . . . . . Big East Champions.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Chip #7.

 

[mrl2016]

I maybe the minority but I think this team is better than expectations of a sweet 16 but with so many unknowns (transfer guards don’t always work as well as Tristan newton) I feel like F4 expectation is a touch unfair

Elite 8 would be a successful season in my mind

 

[B1GEast]

Winning a title is hard. Hurley makes it look easy.

A good season is making it to the BE championship and winning a couple of games in the tournament.

Win or lose they're still my team.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I’m going to up the stakes and say a perfect season. The rest of you are not arrogant enough. UConn women have done it six times. Why not the men’s team?

First team-wide 50/40/90 ever. Not naming names, but two Huskies battle it out for National 6th Man of the Year, and finish 1-2 in the voting.

"The creator has a master plan, peace and happiness for every man."

The death penalty is assessed every time I write, "One game at a time," but "like Rasputin, I get back up again."

 

[amishboy]

I’m going to up the stakes and say a perfect season. The rest of you are not arrogant enough. UConn women have done it six times. Why not the men’s team?

This thread is very disappointing and disturbing!

Yes, the UConn women have done it six times; in fact, there have been a total of ten perfect seasons in women’s basketball just since 1985.

But I assume you’re aware that the last perfect season in men’s D1 basketball was almost 50 years ago (Indiana, 1975-6)?! I admire your ambition, but I’d be quite happy with “just” another NC.

 

[Lafayette]

We will enter next season with a top-10 ranking. Our roster now has 12 players so I can only see us adding one more rotation player and two more practice players. I expect us to be really good. What is your definition of success? For me it is national championship or bust. Anything short of that will be highly disappointing.

Gotta think if we get:

Modest improvement from AK and Solo (~16 ppg)
Silas really is as advertised
Mullins really is as advertised
Tarris fouls out of 3 games total
Stewart gets 18mpg and 10ppg

We are final 4 (baby!)

 

[Martin84]

Too much koolaid all. )). I think success after having to rebuild would be Sweet 16. They can get there as a balanced team but to go deep they need a Kemba or a Shabaz or a Rip or at the very least a Tristan. I thought Liam was gonna get there but he didn’t. I thought AK would too but he’s plateaued. So until someone is one those players, I say 16. If someone develops; FF. My versions of success for next season.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I chose the 2nd weekend - ie. sweet 16 as my definition of a successful season. Doesn't mean I don't think we can do better.

Last year, the STAFF bandied about the 3-peat, the players were on board, and fan expectations thru the roof, preseason we were ranked #3. Fast forward - Mahaney was far less than thought/hoped, Karaban had a below average (for him) year, Ross was nowhere near the player the staff raved about in practice, our guards struggled to keep players in front of them, and the disastrous trip losing to Memphis, Dayton, and Colorado (and Seton Hall later) set us on a low path seed and we ended up losing to the national champs in round 2.

So yeah I'm cautiously optimistic. Will Demery be great, very good, good, or average? How about our back up PG Malachi? Will Karaban get back to the Alex we know he can be? I know we expect a lot out of the freshmen, but just how good will they be? Ball has already stepped up as has Reed, but what about Stewart and Ross? Too many questions at this time, and I'm not ready to jump back on the hype bus till we know more about what we have this coming season.

Yea, I feel all of this.

I'm an optimist by nature but I'm still a bit concerned about the defensive side of the ball. There are more questions than answers at this point IMO.

There's got to be massive steps forward taken by guys in the starting lineup. Specifically Solo and JStew. AK is what he is defensively - a good positional defender who can get abused by athletic 4s who put the ball on the floor. Tarris needs to cut down on his foul rate significantly. Not sure what to expect from Mullins.

I also think we considerably undervalue what Hass brought to the table. Obviously he was playing too many minutes and then had a bum knee, but he was one of our higher rated defenders and had spent 3 years in the system. Silas is going to be very good and his size and strength will afford us some positional flexibility, so hopefully that will more than offset Hass's departure. We shall see.

 

[willie99]

Winning the National Championship is tough and elusive. Being in the mix is what really matters, especially in a one and done tournament

So I picked 2nd weekend, since Elite 8 wasn't offered.

Have fun people, there's a long season to enjoy

 

[NowInStorrs]

If you ain't first, you're last.

 

[jibsey]

Clingan made us defensive juggernauts,
he was an eraser really for 2 seasons. We will have the offense but I’m guessing Hurley was not happy about the team defense last year so we will see. Reed has to step up to be a force.

 

[Fan1978]

National championship.
With the addition of the two new guards, the return of Alex, and the outstanding incoming freshman class. I think we have all the pieces.

I loved Liam, but he was at times, dare I say it, a ball hog. I think this team will have more balance and I’m optimistic that Stewie and Jayden will show progress.

And then, of course we have something nobody else has, Danny and his staff.

Liam was certainly not a ball hog, he was the only one that could penetrate and get to the hoop. He did what the team needed and it did not make him shine many nights. Ultimate team player

 

[ucp990411]

Final Four. That's always the goal. Once there you've got a shot, which is all you can ask for. No team has been better in final fours than UConn.

That is an understatement

 

[ucp990411]

We may be a little spoiled to define a successful season as winning the National Championship. But this is who we are and this is why players want to play here. We are UConn and we play in The Basketball Capital of The World! Think about the poor fandoms like BCU (all 3 of their fans), PC, Seton Hall, Syracuse, St John's and so many others who may define a successful season as making the tournament or making the round of 32. Those poor souls have no idea what is like to be on top of the mountain.

 

[DRBackup]

We will enter next season with a top-10 ranking. Our roster now has 12 players so I can only see us adding one more rotation player and two more practice players. I expect us to be really good. What is your definition of success? For me it is national championship or bust. Anything short of that will be highly disappointing.

You really can't say that at this point. We could have said that last year, but then Diarra couldn't get healthy and almost immediately after McNeeley served notice he might be the best player on the team, he was out for a month and probably never fully recovered. Those kind of things short circuit expectations and there is no accounting for that.