When and why did Husky basketball change?

[UCweCONN]

Read this quote in the context of this season and recent seasons.

Quote from February 3, 1992 Sports Illustrated article:

"The season of flow gave an idea of how a good Calhoun team would play: Speed would be an asset. Defense would be a gruesome constant. Size would not be so important. A good Calhoun team would press you, trap you, make you run. A good Calhoun team would be smart, patient on offense but also very quick. A good Calhoun team would also tell you, if you were a high school senior looking for a place to play basketball, that Connecticut might be the place."


Excluding the last sentence, I don't think any of this applies to us anymore. We have become a half-court team, shot block focused team, and have abandoned the hard nosed max-effort, tough as nails, pressing, in your grill defensive style we used to play. My question is, why did Calhoun get away from bringing in the hard nosed type of players and playing the all out aggressive style of ball that many of us who are old enough to remember greatly miss?

Clearly, if the above is the definition of a good Calhoun team, the current team would be the definition of an awful Calhoun team. We need to get back to the style of play and type of players that built UCONN basketball.

 

[BFieldHusky]

We don't defend the 3, and we don't hit the 3. The fact that in addition to this we haven't been a consistent rebounding team is why we are what we are at this point.

 

[TRest]

In 1992 we were not yet a feeding program for the NBA. We recruit different players for a different style. And JC was under 50, a seething cauldron of boiling rage.

 

[HuskyFan32]

This team has made a mockery of our program. We embody the complete opposite of everything Calhoun has stood for and used to build our program. The lack of heart and effort is trully astounding.

 

[Inyatkin]

I think "a seething cauldron of boiling rage" would describe Calhoun at any age from 6 to 96. He's kind of intense.

 

[Prezidint]

Yeah. I look back to 2004 as the year that I saw teams playing un-Calhoun like. Seemed to be a bit lax at times. Seemed to have extended down spurts. We won, of course, so all was forgiven.

Since then, I don't feel that we've ever gotten back the moxy that previous Calhoun teams had. The never-say-die attitude that made his teams so great with marginal talent at times.

2006 was tough.
07 and 08 were difficult.
09 we go FF, so there is some redemption.
10 is god awful, brutal, worst ever.
11 we pull a miracle, thanks to Kemba.
12 is god awful, brutal, second worst ever.

Point is, things haven't been the same, in my mind, for at least 6 or so seasons. Too many guys taking plays off and not fully committed.

If I had to attempt to put my finger on it, I'd say that we're drawing more blue chips who aren't as amenable to the Old Coach's in-your-face style. That simple. Can't get everybody to bang on all cylinders anymore, and put the team first at all times.

 

[Henry]

Calhoun's earlier teams reflected his personality. Do they still? If not, who's to blame?

 

[huskymagic]

Read this quote in the context of this season and recent seasons.

Quote from February 3, 1992 Sports Illustrated article:

"The season of flow gave an idea of how a good Calhoun team would play: Speed would be an asset. Defense would be a gruesome constant. Size would not be so important. A good Calhoun team would press you, trap you, make you run. A good Calhoun team would be smart, patient on offense but also very quick. A good Calhoun team would also tell you, if you were a high school senior looking for a place to play basketball, that Connecticut might be the place."


Excluding the last sentence, I don't think any of this applies to us anymore. We have become a half-court team, shot block focused team, and have abandoned the hard nosed max-effort, tough as nails, pressing, in your grill defensive style we used to play. My question is, why did Calhoun get away from bringing in the hard nosed type of players and playing the all out aggressive style of ball that many of us who are old enough to remember greatly miss?

Clearly, if the above is the definition of a good Calhoun team, the current team would be the definition of an awful Calhoun team. We need to get back to the style of play and type of players that built UCONN basketball.

you just said it Calhoun has gone away from recruiting tough players with something to prove like Adrien, Hilton, Emeka, to a bunch of finesse players. This is the biggest problem. You cant defend well or have the heart to win with finesse players.

 

[dsturdy5]

The "size would not be so important" went flying out the window after the loss to Texas in the 2003 NCAA's. JC vowed to "never be out muscled on the boards again" or something to that effect. The next year started the litany of big guys from Boone to Charlie, to Thabeet, to Adrien, to Majok, to Oriahki, to Drummond...

 

[businesslawyer]

Calhoun changed the way he coached around the time of the 2d national championship. Whether or not it made sense to change the way we played with rosters full of NBA players is almost moot at this point. But we had more size inside, more athleticism inside, went for more blocked shots, and played differently.

But that has little to do with players not caring enough to do whatever it takes to win within whatever systems we are running.

 

[Inyatkin]

I think Calhoun has proven he can win with many different styles of team -- think about people who still think of UConn and the full-court press, even though we haven't done that in 20 years. But that doesn't mean every team is going to come together

 

[metsfan2323]

How quickly we forget, a change in philosophy last season (stopped the frenetic fast break attempts) won a national championship. A strength of Calhoun's is that he was able to change with the times.

 

[Prezidint]

How quickly we forget, a change in philosophy last season (stopped the frenetic fast break attempts) won a national championship. A strength of Calhoun's is that he was able to change with the times.

Good thing. Because a substantial amount of change is needed right now.

 

[husky711]

Yeah. I look back to 2004 as the year that I saw teams playing un-Calhoun like. Seemed to be a bit lax at times. Seemed to have extended down spurts. We won, of course, so all was forgiven.

Since then, I don't feel that we've ever gotten back the moxy that previous Calhoun teams had. The never-say-die attitude that made his teams so great with marginal talent at times.

2006 was tough.
07 and 08 were difficult.
09 we go FF, so there is some redemption.
10 is god awful, brutal, worst ever.
11 we pull a miracle, thanks to Kemba.
12 is god awful, brutal, second worst ever.

Point is, things haven't been the same, in my mind, for at least 6 or so seasons. Too many guys taking plays off and not fully committed.

If I had to attempt to put my finger on it, I'd say that we're drawing more blue chips who aren't as amenable to the Old Coach's in-your-face style. That simple. Can't get everybody to bang on all cylinders anymore, and put the team first at all times.

I'm sorry... but I definitely think 06 was 110% the worst season ever. All that talent (STACKED roster) getting beaten by George Mason was a swift kick in the balls, much worse than 2010. I think 2010 was almost certainly probably the 2nd worst ever but for some reason it was not as shocking to me as the 06 season. I wasn't as shocked by it because I had seen Dyson and Robinson (the two that were supposed to lead that year) fade in and out consistently in the 09 season... AJ was just able to will us to the F4 fortunately that year.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I just watched Providence score 35 points in the last 12 minutes of the game. Butler scored 41 in the entire National Championship game. I miss the kind of lock down defense that would have turned the 59-63 deficit with 3 minutes left into a 65-63 victory. This team does not does this. I'm delusional to think that it would or that it will. Sad, too.

 

[Inyatkin]

I'm sorry... but I definitely think 06 was 110% the worst season ever. All that talent (STACKED roster) getting beaten by George Mason was a swift kick in the balls, much worse than 2010. I think 2010 was almost certainly probably the 2nd worst ever but for some reason it was not as shocking to me as the 06 season. I wasn't as shocked by it because I had seen Dyson and Robinson (the two that were supposed to lead that year) fade in and out consistently in the 09 season... AJ was just able to will us to the F4 fortunately that year.

A year with 30 wins is the worst season ever. And they say UConn fans are spoiled

 

[tentoes4rings]

I'm sorry... but I definitely think 06 was 110% the worst season ever. All that talent (STACKED roster) getting beaten by George Mason was a swift kick in the balls, much worse than 2010. I think 2010 was almost certainly probably the 2nd worst ever but for some reason it was not as shocking to me as the 06 season. I wasn't as shocked by it because I had seen Dyson and Robinson (the two that were supposed to lead that year) fade in and out consistently in the 09 season... AJ was just able to will us to the F4 fortunately that year.

I totally disagree. Despite their overall 1 seed and favorite status, a look years later proves that team wasn't as talented as we thought. We had 1 very legit NBA guy on that team, Rudy. 09-10 in hindsight had no NBA talent other than Kemba. This to me, with 3 to 4 potentially legit NBA players is the biggest disappointment we've had yet. This team should be finishing the year trying to solidify a 1 or 2 seed, not needing 3 or 4 wins just to make the tournament.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm sorry... but I definitely think 06 was 110% the worst season ever. All that talent (STACKED roster) getting beaten by George Mason was a swift kick in the balls, much worse than 2010. I think 2010 was almost certainly probably the 2nd worst ever but for some reason it was not as shocking to me as the 06 season. I wasn't as shocked by it because I had seen Dyson and Robinson (the two that were supposed to lead that year) fade in and out consistently in the 09 season... AJ was just able to will us to the F4 fortunately that year.

You ought to be able to tell the difference between a bad team and a disappointing game.

 

[UCweCONN]

I tend to think that the 2011 championship was an aberration and a temporary distraction from the direction the program has been going since 2004. So much of winning national championships is luck or the proper allignment of the stars or whatever. We have been extremely fortunate that while our Final Four trips have been less than a routine occurence, we have optimized our chances. I personally think that the 90's were the best years of UCONN basketball but marked by missed opportunities. The top programs are those that achieve consistent results year after year and they are just as affected by the NBA defections as UCONN. Consistency and putting your team in the mix year after year is much more likely to lead to post season success than catching lightning in a bottle like we did last year.

I also think that UCONN has gotten enamored with having a big man anchoring the team which is not compatible with the running, pressing, trapping, great perimeter defense teams that were always the forte of UCONN teams. Maybe having a shot blocking big man leads to more reaching on defense and overall complacency because the rest of the team thinks the big man will bail them out. I prefer the undersized player who has a chip on his shoulder because he's had to bust it for everything he's gotten rather than those players that live off their reputations and accolades.

 

[tzznandrew]

2005: 2 seed
2006: 1 seed (Elite 8)
2007: No NCAA
2008: 4 Seed
2009: 1 seed (Final Four)
2010: NIT
2011: 3 seed (Title)

That's not a bad trajectory.

 

[dsturdy5]

I totally disagree. Despite their overall 1 seed and favorite status, a look years later proves that team wasn't as talented as we thought. We had 1 very legit NBA guy on that team, Rudy. 09-10 in hindsight had no NBA talent other than Kemba. This to me, with 3 to 4 potentially legit NBA players is the biggest disappointment we've had yet. This team should be finishing the year trying to solidify a 1 or 2 seed, not needing 3 or 4 wins just to make the tournament.

Oh shoot, what is AJ Price doing on NBA.com?

And hasn't Jeff Adrien been in and out of the league over the last year?


Edit: I'm dumb and it's late.

 

[Inyatkin]

Oh shoot, what is AJ Price doing on NBA.com?

And hasn't Jeff Adrien been in and out of the league over the last year?

You might want to check to 2010 roster, because those guys weren't there.

 

[husky711]

To call me a spoiled fan because I feel that one season (6 years ago mind you) was more disappointing than another is pretty outrageous. It wasn't about the number of wins, but rather more about the expectations and how surprised I was at the poor outcome of each season. That 2006 team could've competed with some NBA teams with the number of NBA players they ultimately had and it just never felt like they completely clicked the way they should have. While I was optimistic about the 2010 season, hoping they'd be successful.... Dyson and Robinson just hadn't showed any of the leadership abilities needed in the seasons prior. Not knocking either one of them by any means... I just didn't expect as much out of that group as I did out of the 2006 group which never felt like it really "clicked".

Just my opinion... if you feel that makes me a spoiled fan then good for you and your "holier than thou" attitude. I've stuck with this team through thick and thin since I was literally able to spell the word UConn as a little kid and have never jumped ship or said the words "we suck" (or "see you in April" like a lot of people on this board like to say) once in my life... so don't call me spoiled if ya don't even know me. Thanks.

 

[dsturdy5]

You might want to check to 2010 roster, because those guys weren't there.

....and thats what I get for bouncing between threads without paying attention.

 

[RuffRuff]

Yeah. I look back to 2004 as the year that I saw teams playing un-Calhoun like. Seemed to be a bit lax at times. Seemed to have extended down spurts. We won, of course, so all was forgiven.

Since then, I don't feel that we've ever gotten back the moxy that previous Calhoun teams had. The never-say-die attitude that made his teams so great with marginal talent at times.

2006 was tough.
07 and 08 were difficult.
09 we go FF, so there is some redemption.
10 is god awful, brutal, worst ever.
11 we pull a miracle, thanks to Kemba.
12 is god awful, brutal, second worst ever.

Point is, things haven't been the same, in my mind, for at least 6 or so seasons. Too many guys taking plays off and not fully committed.

If I had to attempt to put my finger on it, I'd say that we're drawing more blue chips who aren't as amenable to the Old Coach's in-your-face style. That simple. Can't get everybody to bang on all cylinders anymore, and put the team first at all times.

I call this about the time that JC started getting greedy with his recruitment philosophies and sold his soul to the recruiting devil - bigger than the system. Coincidentally the same period/era with much of the riff raff with the NCAA's and poor press. It seems that there have been more flare ups and incidents in the last 5-6 years than he had in his the 15-2o prior. He had the ammo with two NC's and just started targeting the uber athlete(next lottery pick) and redemption cases(trying to find the next Caron Butler) and sacrificing character & skill. If there is one thing you can see that gets JC's chest puffed out, it's his personal register of NBA players. Not sure I see a coach name drop his NBA alumni on a more regular basis. Last year was a freakish outlier that has made up for a lot.