What's your favorite non-NC winning UConn season?

[alexrgct]

Just thought it'd be a fun discussion. What is your favorite UConn season in which the Huskies DIDN"T win a national championship?

There are, of course, six Final Four years without a championship: 1991 (the first F4 trip, Bascom's senior campaign), 1996 (NPOY season for Jen, great years for Sales and Kara, heartbreaking OT loss to Tennessee), 2001 (loaded team, Bird at the Buzzer game, injuries to Shea and Svet, bad loss of the rubber match to ND in the national semis), 2008 (Maya's fabulous freshman season, #1 ranking much of the way, thrilling win over Rutgers to make the F4, disappointing conclusion against Stanford), 2011 (Extended the winning streak to 90 games, many great Maya moments, one devastating, unbearable loss in the national semis that I still haven't gotten over), and 2012 (KML as a frosh, a lot of good moments despite the St john's loss and the graduation of Maya, another really tough loss to ND in a series where UConn seemed intent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against them). So those six seasons were all memorable at minimum. Of course, there was a lot to like about 1994, a 30-3 season with UConn's first #1 seeding and a sign of things to come. Or 1997, which ended badly after Shea's injury but was a tremendous run before the Tennessee loss.

So which one is it for you? There were so many successful seasons without the NC, so it'd be tough to pick one. That being said, there's an opportunity for some nice trips down memory lane just the same.

 

[rford53]

Just thought it'd be a fun discussion. What is your favorite UConn season in which the Huskies DIDN"T win a national championship?

There are, of course, six Final Four years without a championship: 1991 (the first F4 trip, Basom's senior campaign), 1996 (NPOY season for Jen, great years for Sales and Kara, heartbreaking OT loss to Tennessee), 2001 (loaded team, Bird at the Buzzer game, injuries to Shea and Svet, bad loss of the rubber match to ND in the national semis), 2008 (Maya's fabulous freshman season, #1 ranking much of the way, thrilling win over Rutgers to make the F4, disappointing conclusion against Stanford), 2011 (Extended the winning streak to 90 games, many great Maya moments, one devastating, unbearable loss in the national semis that I still haven't gotten over), and 2012 (KML as a frosh, a lot of good moments despite the St john's loss and the graduation of Maya, another really tough loss to ND in a series where UConn seemed intent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against them). So those six seasons were all memorable at minimum. Of course, there was a lot to like about 1994, a 30-3 season with UConn's first #1 seeding and a sign of things to come. Or 1997, which ended badly after Shea's injury but was a tremendous run before the Tennessee loss.

So which one is it for you? There were so many successful seasons without the NC, so it'd be tough to pick one. That being said, there's an opportunity for some nice trips down memory lane just the same.

Interesting to look back yet I would much rather look at the undefeated NC years and the one, two or three loss years that ended in the final win! This year IMO is another in the great history of great UConn teams; this one as good as 2001, 2002 or 2009 or 2010.

 

[pap49cba]

2011, for me, was heart-breaking in the way it ended but was a great season.

 

[intlzncster]

I look at all the lost Final Fours with disgust (in general -- not at the players or anything). I can't help it. That's the monster Geno created.

 

[Phil]

2001, although my reasons won't match others.

Up until that year, I thought of Final Fours as things that "other people" did. We decided to go to our First Final Four, and had so much fun, despite the disappointment, that we've gone every year since. That alone made it a special season.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

This made me think!!

2011 is a good one because I really wanted Maya to win a NC and it was the year of the streak but I gotta go with 2001.

I loved that team and I wanted Shea and Sveltlana to win a NC. To me that team was dynamite and "could" have equaled the 2002 team as the best ever.

 

[alexrgct]

There is definitely a lot to be said for 2011. The Baylor win was magical. Win #89 against Florida State was an incredible game environment. Of course, Maya has her third straight Wade campaign. And she won just about every other award too. Meanwhile, Bria and Stef blossomed. Of course, just prior to the national semi finals, we had that NC won. No way uconn doesn't beat Texas A&M. Just no way. If uconn had taken a team of six basically to the NC, either Maya is the no-debate GOAT or Geno is even better than he's considered to be today, if that's possible.

 

[60'sfan]

For me it is like asking the question, "which was your least favorite meal?". I don't even want to go there.

 

[alexrgct]

For me it is like asking the question, "which was your least favorite meal?". I don't even want to go there.

Don't see the analogy at all. This is not about least-favorite seasons, but rather about seasons that weren't one of the eight NC winners that still had a lot of good memories. A least-favorite meal wouldn't have any components that tasted good.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Failing to win the NC is tough, but I liked the 2008 season. After failing to make the Final Four for 3 years in a row, we had lost some momentum. But Renee, Tina, and Kalana were improving, so we were headed in the right direction. But the key was Maya. Her athleticism, skills, and determination made her a cut above. She was like a woman among girls. She remains a cut above, now at the highest level. Watching Maya was like watching Michael Jordan. She did things that no one had done before or has done since. Her jump shot form is still the best, and her scoop shot is inimitable. She takes over games like no one else. I knew the future was bright with this freshman who was as good as anyone in the land, including Candace Parker.

 

[rocky rococo]

I loved the 2001 team. The NC result had no impact on my because Shea and Svet were gone. It would have been a miracle to win the NC under those conditions. Just watching that totally loaded roster through the reular season was a special experience and memory.

 

[Scotter]

2011 would probably be my favorite eve though a lot of it wasn't pretty. Primarily because Kelly Faris is my favorite player and Maya is probably second, and any time they were on the floor together was great. The first part of the season was incredibly fun. The game in South Bend will always be memorable to me because of the giant snowstorm I drove through to get there. And the sitting courtside through an incredible back and forth game that ended in the final seconds with Kelly Faris making a shot.

 

[Wally East]

I look at all the lost Final Fours with disgust (in general -- not at the players or anything). I can't help it. That's the monster Geno created.

Kerry Bascom would like a word with you.

Coincidentally, 1991 is my favorite non-championship season. I was in the women's pep band that year. They brought us on an incredible and unexpected ride to New Orleans.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

2001 hands down. 2011 would be second. Maya was such a treat every time she stepped on the court, but she was carrying the team too much. 2001 was a team that gave a clinic when it played. The injuries sort of took the sting out of not winning - what might have been.

 

[huskybill]

1993 was mine. It was the first time I went to all the women's home games and I made several away games as well. And we were able to mingle with all the players much more than these days as the Huskies were anxious to increase attendance. Of course, the way things are going attendance-wise, those events might be coming back.

 

[EricLA]

Given the standard at UCONN is to make the finals and win a NC (even Geno has said anything less is considered a disappointment), I can't say I have a "favorite non NC season. It would probably have to be in the early 90's before UCONN's first NC where they were finally starting to make some noise...

 

[ocoandasoc]

1990-1991, hands down. UConn came out of nowhere on to the National scene. More than any other UConn team, this one over-achieved. Bascom was highly rated, but there were no 5-star recruits. Geno and CD coached their brains out. The girls played their hearts out. 14 and 2 in the Conference and the Conference championship. The barely survived their first NCAA Tourney game winning by a single point over a red-hot Toledo team at Gampel. Then they took out the higher rated NC State team in a big upset and beat Clemson to go to the Final Four. Suddenly, the Connecticut media "discovered" them, and the days of the "horde" began. They were the lowest seeded team at the Final Four, but they proved they belonged. They gave Virginia all they could handle -- and might have made up the six-point margin if they hadn't had some foul trouble. Virginia went on to lose in the Finals to Tennessee in overtime.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Failing to win the NC is tough, but I liked the 2008 season. After failing to make the Final Four for 3 years in a row, we had lost some momentum. But Renee, Tina, and Kalana were improving, so we were headed in the right direction. But the key was Maya. Her athleticism, skills, and determination made her a cut above. She was like a woman among girls. She remains a cut above, now at the highest level. Watching Maya was like watching Michael Jordan. She did things that no one had done before or has done since. Her jump shot form is still the best, and her scoop shot is inimitable. She takes over games like no one else. I knew the future was bright with this freshman who was as good as anyone in the land, including Candace Parker.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[NoelAustin]

2008, because there were several teams capable of winning the NC - UConn, Tennessee, LSU, Stanford, Maryland, Rutgers, North Carolina. It all came down to the team that could execute when it mattered the most. Even though UConn lost in the national semifinal, it was good to see them back in the Final Four, and Maya had an amazing freshman season.

 

[Nuzzi]

The Amy Duran years, because of, well, Amy Duran.

NUZZI

 

[DaddyChoc]

the year Char Char missed the bunny... that was painful!

 

[jdubct]

I loved the 2001 team. The NC result had no impact on my because Shea and Svet were gone. It would have been a miracle to win the NC under those conditions. Just watching that totally loaded roster through the reular season was a special experience and memory.

I totally agree. And disappointment over the loss to Notre Dame in the tournament, set the stage for the three national championships in the succeeding years.

 

[Paul1969]

1997

 

[hoopingcrane]

1996. Nykesha in the overtime game was awesome.