What was the best UConn Men’s Basketball team that didn’t win a national championship?

[Hoophound]

95-96 is the best team on the list.

2009 with Dyson was playing the best ball of any UConn team ever. When Dyson went down we were good, but not great, so I can’t give it to them since he didn’t play in the tourney.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I think it has to be the 05-06 team. They were at full strength, just could not stay focused, and if I remember correctly George Mason did not miss a shot in OT.

That UConn team had their entire starting 5 drafted to the NBA, given they had varying levels of success throughout their career but still.

 

[nomar]

is it my imagination or is the 95-96 team constantly being overlooked? That team was really good. I'd say definitely better than 97-98 without question.

That team was GREAT. Doron, Travis and Rudy were seniors, Ray and Kirk were juniors, and Ricky and Rash were freshmen.

Brutal loss to Mississippi State.

The '94-95 team was also great. Lost to the eventual champ UCLA in one of the most entertaining losses we've had. Lost 5 games that season and 3 of them were absolute blowouts, including that humiliating loss to KU on national TV.

 

[nomar]

I think it has to be the 05-06 team. They were at full strength, just could not stay focused, and if I remember correctly George Mason did not miss a shot in OT.

That UConn team had their entire starting 5 drafted to the NBA, given they had varying levels of success throughout their career but still.

I always sound like a Johnny One-Note on the '06 team, but in my view we had ball-handling problems that would have cost us had we handled George Mason, as we should have. And we weren't full strength in the sense that AJ was suspended. I honestly think he could have been the difference. I think UF would have beat us pretty easily. Remember we almost lost to Washington.

(@superjohn and @businesslawyer beat me to this point)

The talent on the '05-06 team was incredible but the whole was less than the sum of its parts IMO.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I remember watching that 08-09 team, especially when Louisville was maybe the #1 team in country at the time? And UConn just shredded them with Dyson. I think we could have beat MSU with Dyson, the title game would of been very interesting.

UConn was #1 when we went to their house and gave it to them. I believe L'ville was top 5 or just outside. Me and a couple friends left a party at Carriage House in the wee hours Sunday morning to drive to L'ville and attend the game. Left immediately following the game to get back for Tuesday classes.

 

[bill6319]

I think the 01-02 team (sophomore Taliek and Caron, freshmen Gordon and Okafor should be in this mix. Took loaded eventual champ UMD down to the wire in the Elite 8. Looked like the second best team in that tournament

good catch, totally overlooked them

 

[Mr. French]

That team was GREAT. Doron, Travis and Rudy were seniors, Ray and Kirk were juniors, and Ricky and Rash were freshmen.

Brutal loss to Mississippi State.

The '94-95 team was also great. Lost to the eventual champ UCLA in one of the most entertaining losses we've had. Lost 5 games that season and 3 of them were absolute blowouts, including that humiliating loss to KU on national TV.

1995-96 UConn Huskies Men's Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Check out the detailed 1995-96 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats for College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

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32-3, 17-1 in the loaded Big East. Won Regular Season and Tourney.

94-95 was awesome too but junior year Ray and senior year Doron were insane.

They only had 1 big name, Ray Allen, so it's somewhat clouding people's view. That 95-96 team was awesome.

If you go by name recognition and pure basketball size and talent, 05-06 is the winner with 08-09 right there. But as far as best teams, 95-96 was scoring a hundy on people.

 

[superjohn]

Thinking back on that 05-06 team and I'm annoyed that Marcus Williams didn't really make it in the NBA. He was easily the best passer we ever had and if he had Bazz's work ethic he would've been a stud in the NBA. I remember watching him a couple of times on the Nets where it looked like I was watching the start of a great NBA career but nothing ever materialized. He had Kidd to learn under that rookie year and still the light bulb never turned on.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

UConn was #1 when we went to their house and gave it to them. I believe L'ville was top 5 or just outside. Me and a couple friends left a party at Carriage House in the wee hours Sunday morning to drive to L'ville and attend the game. Left immediately following the game to get back for Tuesday classes.

that's wild, and amazing

 

[bill6319]

that's wild, and amazing

oh what I would've done to be at UConn during those times. I was a freshman in '15, tough years

 

[Fatroony5]

Reading this thread just goes to show how many great teams Calhoun assembled. So ready to see UConn consistently make tournament runs again, nothing better than deep runs in March.

 

[gtcam]

In my heart I felt that if that 89-90 team had gotten past that damn Duke team they would have won out
The team had a real mojo working.
Were they the most talented? No, but it surely was on a mission and an extremely cohesive unit (in my mind, more so than some of the more talented teams)
UNLV was athletic beyond words but was no match for a technically proficient UConn team

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Thinking back on that 05-06 team and I'm annoyed that Marcus Williams didn't really make it in the NBA. He was easily the best passer we ever had and if he had Bazz's work ethic he would've been a stud in the NBA. I remember watching him a couple of times on the Nets where it looked like I was watching the start of a great NBA career but nothing ever materialized. He had Kidd to learn under that rookie year and still the light bulb never turned on.

how did he do overseas playing, if you know?

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

oh what I would've done to be at UConn during those times. I was a freshman in '15, tough years

i was 04'-08' no titles during that time from men/women. 05'-06' was a lot of fun, but disappointing. I remember going nuts after that Washington game when Rashad got the handoff from marcus williams for that 3. The 2 years after were rough. Dyson was basically the guy on the team that had to do everything to get them going on offense.

 

[businesslawyer]

UConn was #1 when we went to their house and gave it to them. I believe L'ville was top 5 or just outside. Me and a couple friends left a party at Carriage House in the wee hours Sunday morning to drive to L'ville and attend the game. Left immediately following the game to get back for Tuesday classes.

We shredded Louisville because they tried to press a team that played at times with 3 points -- AJ, Kemba and Austrie. The press had no chance of working.

 

[businesslawyer]

Thinking back on that 05-06 team and I'm annoyed that Marcus Williams didn't really make it in the NBA. He was easily the best passer we ever had and if he had Bazz's work ethic he would've been a stud in the NBA. I remember watching him a couple of times on the Nets where it looked like I was watching the start of a great NBA career but nothing ever materialized. He had Kidd to learn under that rookie year and still the light bulb never turned on.

He also didn't have NBA foot speed, and the strength he had in college that let him go wherever he wanted the dribble didn't work against bigger and taller defenders in the NBA.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think the 01-02 team (sophomore Taliek and Caron, freshmen Gordon and Okafor should be in this mix. Took loaded eventual champ UMD down to the wire in the Elite 8. Looked like the second best team in that tournament

I drove back home from Syracuse that night not at all depressed. Sure, I hated losing but it was a great game that night and I don't think we could have played better than we did. Just needed one more MD shot to rim out.

The drive home that night was the opposite of the drive home from DC after the friggin George Mason game, which may have been the most miserable I've ever been in a car for 5 hours.

 

[Mr. French]

Thinking back on that 05-06 team and I'm annoyed that Marcus Williams didn't really make it in the NBA. He was easily the best passer we ever had and if he had Bazz's work ethic he would've been a stud in the NBA. I remember watching him a couple of times on the Nets where it looked like I was watching the start of a great NBA career but nothing ever materialized. He had Kidd to learn under that rookie year and still the light bulb never turned on.

Marcus is easily one of my favorite 5 Huskies, and I am with you ... I thought he was destined to become a stud in the pros.

 

[Mr. French]

Reading this thread just goes to show how many great teams Calhoun assembled. So ready to see UConn consistently make tournament runs again, nothing better than deep runs in March.

So true, we'd have 3 GREAT teams, 1 down year of re-loading, then 2 more GREAT teams. It's wild from about 94 on.

 

[August_West]

is it my imagination or is the 95-96 team constantly being overlooked? That team was really good. I'd say definitely better than 97-98 without question.

94 was really good too.

as was 95


any of those couldve won a title.


96 was a bitter pill.

 

[bill6319]

i was 04'-08' no titles during that time from men/women. 05'-06' was a lot of fun, but disappointing. I remember going nuts after that Washington game when Rashad got the handoff from marcus williams for that 3. The 2 years after were rough. Dyson was basically the guy on the team that had to do everything to get them going on offense.

a couple years too early and couple too late lol

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's the way I looked at it. Not just how good was the UConn team for the year, but who else did they have to go through.

Agree '09 with a healthy Dyson is maybe the best chance. But he wasn't healthy.
05-06 was flawed but still had talent to match anyone.
97-98 was screwed playing UNC in Carolina in E8 but I still think the Carolina team that year was slightly better.
89-90 was my favorite but that dook team that broke our hearts in the Meadowlands got curb stomped by UNLV. Would love to see the Dove and Scotty try and contain LJ, but I think the UNLV team that year runs layup drills on the 2-2-1 pressure UConn used so well that season.

Yeah. I do think there is a difference between who was best and who would have gone the farthest.

It's all academic. 89-90 was the most fun UConn team ever. Never enjoyed a team more than that one.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

I remember sitting in Hilltop Apts. watching UConn MSU in ‘09. It was the early of the two FF games and everyone I was with were ready to get after it that Saturday night with a win, which we all thought was a lock. Just a terrible feeling after the loss. Sucked the life completely out of the room. I think everyone retreated back to their places after, didn’t even want to go out after.

That team was so fun to watch. Tons of talent and athleticism (Sticks), an absolute dominating factor in the paint with Thabeet and typically UConn scrappiness with guys like Adrien. Throw in a young Kemba and it had all the makings for a championship team. Shame Dyson got hurt. I think we beat UNC in the title game.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

a couple years too early and couple too late lol

tell me about it

 

[gampelcrazies]

09 bothers me to this day. My dad and I drove all the way to Detroit for the game. So much excitement on the way up. Complete opposite feeling on the drive back to CT.