Where Does This Title Rank in The 8

[connboy77]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but this championship is the only one that UCONN has not had the best player in the country. Its for that reason that I consider the 2013 championship the best one of all.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but this championship is the only one that UCONN has not had the best player in the country. Its for that reason that I consider the 2013 championship the best one of all.

Good one there. First team without the generally acclaimed top superstar and the first to not win any conference titles and still go on to take the NC. All 8 are special and I refuse to love any of my children more than another.

 

[alexrgct]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but this championship is the only one that UCONN has not had the best player in the country. Its for that reason that I consider the 2013 championship the best one of all.

Arguably didn't in 2000 either. Catchings was. A starting lineup that included Bird, Cash, Shea, and Svet was sick, however.

 

[Wally East]

Arguably didn't in 2000 either. Catchings was. A starting lineup that included Bird, Cash, Shea, and Svet was sick, however.

Just going to say this very thing. I'd forgotten Catchings was the POY in 2000. It looks like Shea and Svet split the vote:

In a vote of AP member newspapers and broadcast outlets nationwide, Catchings edged Connecticut's Svetlana Abrosimova 19-16. UConn's Shea Ralph was third with 12 votes. Auriemma received 22 votes, four more than Oklahoma's Sherri Coale.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Good one there. First team without the generally acclaimed top superstar and the first to not win any conference titles and still go on to take the NC. All 8 are special and I refuse to love any of my children more than another.

True we didn't have a generally acclaimed superstar, but that's only because of the 32C BS. No doubt in my mind that KML is a superstar.

 

[Wally East]

True we didn't have a generally acclaimed superstar, but that's only because of the 32C BS. No doubt in my mind that KML is a superstar.

I spent longer than I should have wondering what bra sizes had to do with general acclaim in this particular instance.

 

[msf22b]

Alex, what if you rate the season by the emotional satisfaction of its outcome.

Simply as an emotional response to the team's journey to the championship this is probably my favorite.

Strangely, searching my feelings and taking into consideration that I have been only a true fan since 2002 or so,
This is my least favorite.

The way the team played in the tourney was beautiful, dominating, UConn BB.

I'm sad that we saw so little of that during the regular season…I know, someone will pull out stats to show our domination but it is widely noted that the team's performance was at a different place once the NCAA started. Geno said so himself on multiple occasions

And we all know that by the Maryland and Kentucky games, the UConn magnificence had emerged.

The final four was merely a confirmation of this transformation of the team into what had been expected (not unreasonably), from the beginning.

As much as I enjoyed the dismantling of ND and Ville, I'm a little bittersweet at having had to go through so much angst to finally arrive at Valhalla.

 

[ThisJustIn]

For me, the most satisfying have to be 2003/2004. It's hard to separate the two - '03 because it was so unexpected, then, somehow, became inevitable, then was thrown in to question with the loss to 'nova, and then the amazing game against Texas - my favorite to re-watch - and then beating TN.

'04 because it was such a struggle -- and there was so much hope and pressure and expectation (and injuries). Whomping Penn State (the tip pass), the "we all lost our minds" moment during the Minny game (Whalen in general!) , again smackin' TN... How the frosh who "didn't know any better" upped their game their second year... The "Boot of the Ball" was such a relief!

 

[ezxccsc]

They are all exceptional NC's but this one will be #1 since as an optimist I believe this will be the start of 4 in a row.

 

[Fiftyish]

Wont attempt to rank this championship with the other 7 but I will say this one was special just because of the way the team pulled together at the right time after a very different regular season. Multiple losses to ND when they could have won each of those 3 games, changing line ups due to injury, poor play, etc didn't give me a lot ot confidence going into the tournament. But wow did they come together! Really beautiful to watch.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Arguably didn't in 2000 either. Catchings was. A starting lineup that included Bird, Cash, Shea, and Svet was sick, however.

Well okay, if we want to start getting technical about voting over the absolutely top player, then Alana Beard in 2004 also was considered by some awards services to be the top player in DT's injury-limited final year. So Catchings who took all of 6 shots in the NC game was selected the top player in 2000 for a team that lost by 19 points. That's hardly a "top player" credential. And even if Sveta and Shea were not selected as the top player, the difference would have been seen as negligible to nonexistent in a stack-up vs. Catchings.

But to be fair, Stewie and KML were playing at a Shea and Sveta level for the last 5 games of this season, so maybe UConn did have the superstars for the real part of the season anyway.

 

[alexrgct]

Well okay, if we want to start getting technical about voting over the absolutely top player, then Alana Beard in 2004 also was considered by some awards services to be the top player in DT's injury-limited final year. So Catchings who took all of 6 shots in the NC game was selected the top player in 2000 for a team that lost by 19 points. That's hardly a "top player" credential. And even if Sveta and Shea were not selected as the top player, the difference would have been seen as negligible to nonexistent in a stack-up vs. Catchings.

But to be fair, Stewie and KML were playing at a Shea and Sveta level for the last 5 games of this season, so maybe UConn did have the superstars for the real part of the season anyway.

Beard over Taurasi was a joke. Catchings has been a credit to WBB at every level she's played and was worthy as NPOY. Uconn just completely out-scouted, out-worked, and out-classed the LVs in the NC game. Between the Kelly Schumacher block party and the tsunami of backdoor cuts, it was a freaking ambush. Tamika Williams and Asjha Jones even got a little scrappy with the LVs. They didn't know what hit them.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Beard over Taurasi was a joke. Catchings has been a credit to WBB at every level she's played and was worthy as NPOY. Uconn just completely out-scouted, out-worked, and out-classed the LVs in the NC game. Between the Kelly Schumacher block party and the tsunami of backdoor cuts, it was a freaking ambush. Tamika Williams and Asjha Jones even got a little scrappy with the LVs. They didn't know what hit them.

Not sure that many of us here in 2004 thought Beard's selection was a joke, but the problem was she did have the numbers over DT, and there were even comments from outside sources that DT won the Naismith and Lieberman awards on reputation over the Wade-winning Beard. DT had way more tools than Beard, but a lot of them were worn down through injuries during the season that saw her team enter the tourney as a #2 seed while Beard's Duke team was a #1 seed. Much like Catchings having great numbers in 2000 as one of the top players, Beard had the overall best stats in 2004.

And I don't care if Geno has three mean-girl defenders sitting on you for the whole of the NC game, an NPOY doesn't take just 6 shots in a game in which her team is being pounded. Hell, McCoughtry in a similar situation in 2009 pushed herself to 24 shots and 23 points to try to keep the Cards in the action.

 

[Icebear]

Dobbs glad to see you posting frequently the last few days.

 

[Harry Mangurian]

Number 3.

#1 = the first NC.
#2 = Diana's virtual solo job. (No, I'm not denigrating Maria, Jessica, etc ...just saying)

 

[Sonny44]

Where will 2014 rank?

 

[dtbtbtb]

I became a UConn fan "only" in 2002 so I can relate emotionally to the 6 Championships from 2002 on and I'll say that the 2002, 2009, 2010 (that what made the first half result against Stanford so shocking) were so much better than anybody else that while highly enjoyable anything less than a NC was not really considered. So that leave us with 2003, 2004 and 2013.
It's very hard for me to choose between 2003, 2004 and 2013 and here is why:
2003: I don't think many people thought that UConn got a real chance at the beginning of that season as it was DT and basically a bunch of Freshmen. If I'm not mistaken, in some pre-season pools UConn was as low as 12 or so. This Championship which was the true epitome of DT as the biggest winner in WBB was amazing.
2004: While UConn was expected to win as it returned the full team from the NC of 2003, the injuries of DT made that year a real struggle so the fact that they could pull it off in the end was again a true tribute to DT and her being able to overcome the pain and take the team to the Championship.
2013: Before the season started I thought that anything less than making ot to the final will be a disappointment as the only team better (on paper) was supposed to be Baylor. But after the 3 loses to ND and seeing that the brackets were such that UConn will have to play ND in the Final 4 if both team made it there, it seemed that the season will be over on the semi-final again for the third year in a row and by the same ND that with Diggins seemed to have UConn's number. So the most satisfying win that I can remember was the beat down of ND in the Semi Final. The win against Louisville (with all due respect to Louisville and their amazing run through the tournament) was expected with the only surprise being the large margin of victory. The other great pleasure of this Final 4 is to have witnessed the emergence of TBS as the next superstar of WBB and the great reliable play of Tuck and Jefferson aside than the brilliance of KML, the all round game of Faris, the overcoming pain and giving her all of Dolson and the return to form of Bria, which makes UConn the favorite for the next few seasons.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Dobbs glad to see you posting frequently the last few days.

Oh, I'll turn into a pumpkin again and go fulltime back to writing about running after the NC high starts to fade in a few weeks. But April is my favorite time of year, especially since it starts with one the most perfect days of the year.

 

[intlzncster]

Not sure that many of us here in 2004 thought Beard's selection was a joke, but the problem was she did have the numbers over DT, and there were even comments from outside sources that DT won the Naismith and Lieberman awards on reputation over the Wade-winning Beard. DT had way more tools than Beard, but a lot of them were worn down through injuries during the season that saw her team enter the tourney as a #2 seed while Beard's Duke team was a #1 seed. Much like Catchings having great numbers in 2000 as one of the top players, Beard had the overall best stats in 2004.

Is the NPOY just who has the best stats? Because that's not really taking into account the ridiculous beatings Taurasi took over her final year (both years really). And the fact that she was able to bull through those injuries and still will that team to a championship, is another feather in her cap.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Not sure that many of us here in 2004 thought Beard's selection was a joke, but the problem was she did have the numbers over DT, and there were even comments from outside sources that DT won the Naismith and Lieberman awards on reputation over the Wade-winning Beard. DT had way more tools than Beard, but a lot of them were worn down through injuries during the season that saw her team enter the tourney as a #2 seed while Beard's Duke team was a #1 seed. Much like Catchings having great numbers in 2000 as one of the top players, Beard had the overall best stats in 2004.

Beard was a tremendous player. She (and her teammates) didn't get it done in the postseason, no doubt about it. But she was a tremendou player. Any award that was supposed to reflect the totality of the season should have gone to DT. Any award that was only supposed to reflect the regular season should have gone to Beard.

On the subject of Beard, I well remember watching Duke play BC in November or early December of her freshman year. I was only vaguely aware of Beard, if at all, before the game. One or two minutes in, she comes flying into a passing lane, makes the steal and lays it in at the other end. I remember thinking to myself, I've seen this girl for all of about sixty seconds and I can tell that she is way better than anyone else on the floor. And she was.

Was DT a better college basketball player? No doubt. It's all about winning a championship, right? But if you just went by what they did on the court in the regular season, Beard was better in 2004. Imho.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Alana Beard: DT::Jimmer Fredette (or Ben Hansbrough):Kemba.

Beard and Jimmer are relegated to trivia questions; Diana and Kemba have the hardware that matters.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

From strictly the emotion/joy of it standpoint, without regard to the journey: 1995, 2000,2002-04, 2013, 2009-10.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Is the NPOY just who has the best stats? Because that's not really taking into account the ridiculous beatings Taurasi took over her final year (both years really). And the fact that she was able to bull through those injuries and still will that team to a championship, is another feather in her cap.

You'd have to ask the voters for the national awards as to their criteria, but it's clear that for many of the players selected for the first-second-etc. teams at the national level that stats have been an often overriding consideration. It is a judgment call, and most voters have not seen all of the players play. It's easier to go off of the easy stats even if the player is a largely immobile hulk who collects a bunch of boards and gets fed for a ton of shots and FTs. You can say Yada-Yada player makes her team better in intangible ways, but voters have a tough time quantifying the intangibles.

Beard was a very effective college player, and the Dukies thought she was better than DT. Husky fans might have thought it was hogwash, but she was a smart player who was very well schooled in working the refs and bulking up the score sheets. It's easy to say now long after the 2004 tourney that DT was the obvious choice for everything, but at the end of regular season there was a lot more uncertainty about the merits of the top players and also how well DT would be able to hold up in the postseason.

 

[alexrgct]

Alana Beard was excellent, but anyone who said, "We have Alana Beard and you don't" with a straight face has far more self-discipline than I can fathom.

 

[pap49cba]

To me, this is a little like trying to rank the Yankees' championship teams. It is what it is. We won the very last game of the season.