That KO can’t identify talent is crazy We have been on more kids in the last five years but can’t close.
We just our usually unable to close on first or second choices
Exceptions would be JA ,Gilbert ,and Hamilton .
Another problem is the expectations here make little allowance for rebuilding almost impossible.
Folks here bad mouth 2016 even though that team won 26 games and got to the second round of the NCAA tournament . Only at a very few programs would that be considered a failure.
As thin as we’ve been
2015 if Daniels stays for his senior year I think we’re in the dance.
2016 (see above)
2017 If Hamilton stays it’s a completely different team even with Injuries to Gilbert and Larrier . If he got JA off the ball I think we make the dance.
2018 The conspirtors got their wish and destroyed UConn their brothers included
The margin for error has been paper thin.
As far your erosion theory it has merit. The game attendance has been in decline
for years before the Big East fell apart.
The atmosphere gradual changed
People don’t like playing in Hartford but I remember that place rocking .
It also was easier to get to and from from a Western Ct on a week night.
I rarely went to Storrs but wouldn’t miss a game in Hartford.
But I left Ct in 2008 my Son who went to games with me since 1980 left earlier for economic reasons. How many diehard UConn fans left the state in the last 15 years ? Who replaced us.? Interesting thought
Not closing on our top recruits is a problem. Not recruiting shooters is a problem. Not convincing players to stay is a problem.
You say we've been close, that we just needed a few "if"s to break the right way. Well, KO couldn't convince DD to stay. He couldn't convince Hamilton to stay. You also mention nothing of the 3 freshmen and 1 de-commit last spring. Nobody wants to be here. That's not an unlucky break. That's a systematic failure of the head coach.
Finally, concerning 2016: 26 wins and a 2nd round appearance is a decent year if you ignore the context that:
- it's been the high water mark of this program over 4 years
- the team was irrelevant outside of about a week and a half in March
- a roster of Adams, Gibbs, Purvis, Hamilton, Miller, Facey, and Brimah should never have been close to the bubble
