What team is our best ever?
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I'd go with '04. It was a stacked team and only injury really slowed Okafor down.
You know, before this tournament i wouldnt put this team in our top 5 teams all time regardless of titles but now im second guessing that because of one huge factor. DEFENSE! This team played a level of defense in the tourney that they had not played all season even during their hot stretch in Nov-Dec. They held 4 of their 6 opponenents under 60 points!!! Miami had scored nearly 90 points in 3 games leading to the final 4 against teams that were slouches. Gonzaga was the highest scoring team in the country. They out defensed SDSU who many said was the best defensive team in the tournament. They were wrong.
That being said based only on how well the teams played at their peak id have to put this team top 3 and although i put #1 2004 and #2 1999 ahead of them based on defense 2023 wouldve given both those teams a fight. I think this was the best defensive UConn team since 1990.
Inyatkin
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Was thinking of the comparison between this year and '04. Seemed crazy most of the year, but 04 had six regular season losses and this year had seven (plus one more in the BET). Not that far off. Okafor's back blamed for a lot of that. I know NBA isn't everything, but like two-thirds of that team's rotation spent time in the league.
Still hard to beat '99 with only two really close losses
Still hard to beat '99 with only two really close losses
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I'll go with this year....
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Jerry Palm says in order 1999, 2023, 2004, 2011 and then 2014.
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UConn wins 2023 NCAA championship: Ranking the Huskies' five national title teams
Where this UConn team compares to the other Huskies teams that won the NCAA Tournament
nelsonmuntz
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1) The 2004 team is generally considered UConn's best, but Taliek Brown was not a great PG in an era where the PG had the ball a lot more than that position does now. Good bench too. Still my number 1.
2) The 1999 team didn't have much of a bench and Khalid was an odd college star. He wasn't particularly fast, was not a great shooter, and was average defensively, but he could just play ball. This was about as good a starting 5 as UConn ever had though.
3) 2023 team's depth puts it right up there close to the top, but the lack of a sure-fire NBA star keeps it at #3.
4) The 1995 team was a scoring machine in an era that was very defender friendly, and the starting lineup had 4 future NBA players plus Doron Scheffer. I think a lot of the players kind of blossomed without Donyell taking up so much offensive oxygen.
5) 2011 was young, but Kemba was as dominant as any college guard in the last 20 years, and there was a lot of talent on the team. Oriakhi was a really productive forward.
6) 2006 team had amazing individual talent but not much chemistry.
7) 2009 team is kind of forgotten, but it made the Final Four despite losing a key starter.
8) 2014 team won a Championship against about as hard a road as any UConn team has ever faced in the NCAAs. Only one journeyman NBA player on the roster. Just an amazing run.
9) Dream Season team looked dodgy on paper but was amazing to watch.
10) 1998 team was good, but young and not really ready for prime time. It got a little lucky to make the Final 8.
UConnSwag11
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Swap 2023 and 2004Jerry Palm says in order 1999, 2023, 2004, 2011 and then 2014.
UConn wins 2023 NCAA championship: Ranking the Huskies' five national title teams
Where this UConn team compares to the other Huskies teams that won the NCAA Tournament
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I checked whatif earlier today and for some reason 2022-23 UConn was not on there, but they had plenty of ofher 2022-2023 teams...
It’s on there you have to scroll under UConn, it’s weird how what if does it for instance it will list BYU and then Brigham Young.
It has Connecticut from 99 to last year then UConn for this year.
formerlurker
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If it were me, I'd book Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts and invite everyone who has a Ring(s) to sit on stage. Find the perfect MC with UConn DNA and make it a fun, smack talk, open mike night debate. Could be a traveling show to raise money for charity, NIL. Both hoops teams should consider.
Hit me up AD Dave, I've got ideas.
Hit me up AD Dave, I've got ideas.
formerlurker
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No doubt, T.
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I go with 1999. They had a tendency to let teams hang around a bit too much (see Seton Hall in the BET, the Pitt game with KEA on the scorer's table, a UMass game that was too close for comfort - although Rip had a deep thigh bruise early in the year that slowed him down before he got into good form, which made the Pitt and UMass games a little closer). But that team could put clamps on you down the stretch like no team I've ever seen - and had two guys who could get you a bucket.
The Miami loss I want to say were down 9 and completely shut them down in the last five minutes to tie it. And then the winning basket was Tim James reading an airball and laying it in (ironically they could have lost to Miami the other time on a weird defensive lapse leaving someone - Salmons maybe - wide, wide open for the winning 3 off an inbounds play, but he missed). We might have won that Cuse game without Rip and Jake, if it wasn't such a sudden surprise with no time to prepare on a Big Monday after that big win at St. John's on Saturday. They were flat and didn't know how to attack the zone, but they took that L, had more time to prepare, and went on the road to play top-5 Stanford without Rip and it was something like 25-5 early (they had to hang on, but they were a buzzsaw early). In the last five minutes of games, they just would not let you score (Duke's one bucket was a scramble off an offensive rebound that got kicked out to Langdon when Ricky went to chase it).
The '04 team at peak probably had a higher ceiling than '99 due to the variety of weapons - see Alabama Elite Eight game for Exhibit A when Okafor sat and they dropped 50 in the first half anyway. Crazy thing about '04 is that we had a glaring weakness (not related to Okafor's back). After Marcus Williams was academically ineligible, Taliek and Ben were are only ballhandlers, and if one got in foul trouble (or god forbid, injured), we were very vulnerable. But they never had to be too aggressive guarding the ball with the rim protection behind them and we masked it.
I might argue that the most talented team was 94, but too young and no big game experience cost them (NIT the year before). They played really tight in the tourney. The 95 team went to No. 1, and the 94 team was the same team plus Donyell Marshall, who was a 25 ppg scorer and third in the NPOY race. The 2009 team might have taken that mantle if Dyson and Sticks had any significant time being active simultaneously.
The Miami loss I want to say were down 9 and completely shut them down in the last five minutes to tie it. And then the winning basket was Tim James reading an airball and laying it in (ironically they could have lost to Miami the other time on a weird defensive lapse leaving someone - Salmons maybe - wide, wide open for the winning 3 off an inbounds play, but he missed). We might have won that Cuse game without Rip and Jake, if it wasn't such a sudden surprise with no time to prepare on a Big Monday after that big win at St. John's on Saturday. They were flat and didn't know how to attack the zone, but they took that L, had more time to prepare, and went on the road to play top-5 Stanford without Rip and it was something like 25-5 early (they had to hang on, but they were a buzzsaw early). In the last five minutes of games, they just would not let you score (Duke's one bucket was a scramble off an offensive rebound that got kicked out to Langdon when Ricky went to chase it).
The '04 team at peak probably had a higher ceiling than '99 due to the variety of weapons - see Alabama Elite Eight game for Exhibit A when Okafor sat and they dropped 50 in the first half anyway. Crazy thing about '04 is that we had a glaring weakness (not related to Okafor's back). After Marcus Williams was academically ineligible, Taliek and Ben were are only ballhandlers, and if one got in foul trouble (or god forbid, injured), we were very vulnerable. But they never had to be too aggressive guarding the ball with the rim protection behind them and we masked it.
I might argue that the most talented team was 94, but too young and no big game experience cost them (NIT the year before). They played really tight in the tourney. The 95 team went to No. 1, and the 94 team was the same team plus Donyell Marshall, who was a 25 ppg scorer and third in the NPOY race. The 2009 team might have taken that mantle if Dyson and Sticks had any significant time being active simultaneously.
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94 or 95
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I see this as similar to asking someone "which one of your kids do you love most".
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You have to give Calhoun the edge over Hurley.
The 2004 team
B Gordon 18.5 Pts, 4.7 Reb, 4.5 Ast
E Okafor 17.6 Pts, 11.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast
R Anderson 11.2 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.8 Ast
D Brown 8.9 Pts, 3.9 Reb, 1.2 Ast
C Villanueva 8.9 Pts, 5.3 Reb, 0.7 Ast
T Brown 6.3 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 6.5 Ast
J Boone 5.9 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 0.7 Ast
H Armstrong 2.4 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast
M Williams 2.9 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 4.3 Ast
The 2023 team
A Sanogo 17.2 Pts, 7.7 Reb, 1.3 Ast
J Hawkins 16.2 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 1.3 Ast
T Newton 10.1 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 4.7 Ast
A Karaban 9.3 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 1.7 Ast
D Clingan 6.9 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 0.5 Ast
A Jackson 6.7 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 4.7 Ast
J Calcaterra 5.8 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.2 Ast
N Alleyne 5.2 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.8 Ast
H Diarra 2.1 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 1.8 Ast
Both teams were deep, had size and good outside shooters.
The 04 team assist stats are a lot better than the 23 team.
It would be an amazing match up, but I give the edge to Calhoun any day. It would probably be a close game that would come down to the last shot, in true Big East fashion.
It's nice to be UConn, you're only competing with yourself.
The 2004 team
B Gordon 18.5 Pts, 4.7 Reb, 4.5 Ast
E Okafor 17.6 Pts, 11.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast
R Anderson 11.2 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.8 Ast
D Brown 8.9 Pts, 3.9 Reb, 1.2 Ast
C Villanueva 8.9 Pts, 5.3 Reb, 0.7 Ast
T Brown 6.3 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 6.5 Ast
J Boone 5.9 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 0.7 Ast
H Armstrong 2.4 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast
M Williams 2.9 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 4.3 Ast
The 2023 team
A Sanogo 17.2 Pts, 7.7 Reb, 1.3 Ast
J Hawkins 16.2 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 1.3 Ast
T Newton 10.1 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 4.7 Ast
A Karaban 9.3 Pts, 4.5 Reb, 1.7 Ast
D Clingan 6.9 Pts, 5.6 Reb, 0.5 Ast
A Jackson 6.7 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 4.7 Ast
J Calcaterra 5.8 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.2 Ast
N Alleyne 5.2 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.8 Ast
H Diarra 2.1 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 1.8 Ast
Both teams were deep, had size and good outside shooters.
The 04 team assist stats are a lot better than the 23 team.
It would be an amazing match up, but I give the edge to Calhoun any day. It would probably be a close game that would come down to the last shot, in true Big East fashion.
It's nice to be UConn, you're only competing with yourself.
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