Which season was more magical for you 2011 or Last season?
- Thread starter BleedHuskyBlu
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I just can't decide. I think, for me, it comes down to the " NCAA" factor, but it's close. After winning the BE tourney in 11, I almost expected to win it all. Last year I could only keep telling myself that if Bazz, Boat and Daniels ever all played well at the same time we would have one hell of a team. I had just given up on it ever happening though, until it actually did.
Hans Sprungfeld
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OP asked about "magic":
Maui was,"OMG, Kemba's the best player in college basketball."
The regular season was in-conference refs neutralizing the magic.
Makers Muppet & WINNING beats the guy w/2 cell phones & Senhor
The BET run beats being owned by Louisville in the AAC
But those 6 victories over 6 quality opponents in the larger context were well beyond "special" if not quite "magic."
Like every one of these "Which us best?" threads, we are extraordinarily blessed to have these players, theses teams, this program, this forum, and our individual & collective memories for consideration.
Plus, the pizza...
Maui was,"OMG, Kemba's the best player in college basketball."
The regular season was in-conference refs neutralizing the magic.
Makers Muppet & WINNING beats the guy w/2 cell phones & Senhor
The BET run beats being owned by Louisville in the AAC
But those 6 victories over 6 quality opponents in the larger context were well beyond "special" if not quite "magic."
Like every one of these "Which us best?" threads, we are extraordinarily blessed to have these players, theses teams, this program, this forum, and our individual & collective memories for consideration.
Plus, the pizza...
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What does Syracuse talk about in the offseason? "Which team did less with more? 2014 or 2012?"
Dogbreath2U
RIP, DB2U
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I can't really pick....whatever difference there might be is so minor that it can take away from the magic to try to pick. After watching the 2011 game against UK recently, I was struck by how much better the 2014 teams were (both UConn and the opponents). Our 2014 team was just a more mature, tighter group with more key contributors. 2011 had Kemba the Miracle Man and some talented, but very inexperienced players and it showed at times. I will savor each of them!
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I have no idea which one, but I am certain of one thing and one thing only:
It's magical-in-fairy-tale for us UCONN fans to possess the memories of BOTH2, in the short span of 4 years.
PS. that 2 subscript is for DUAL championships.
It's magical-in-fairy-tale for us UCONN fans to possess the memories of BOTH2, in the short span of 4 years.
PS. that 2 subscript is for DUAL championships.
From an 'inner feel' perspective, the 99 team was crushing opponents. You had that feeling - you 'knew' - they were going to win. The 11 team was a resurrection from mediocrity. However, they came alive at the BE playoff, and when Kemba sank 'the shot' at the end of the Pitt fame (forever memorialized in the pix that resembled Michaelangelo sculpture), you 'knew' they were on the way. Not sure I had that feeling about 14 until the MSG rafters began crumbling from a passionate crowd yelling its butt off. (as a result, no MSG for Puke).
Inyatkin
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This is the thing with both teams, to me. Every year there are a handful of favorites, plus a bunch of teams that have the potential to win it all, but only if everything comes together. It hardly ever happens for those teams. Arizona 97 was one, Florida 06 maybe. It's almost always a No. 1 or 2 seed, a preseason contender, that wins the whole thing.
So now twice we've seen our team have up-and-down regular seasons, all while knowing they had the ingredients to put together an amazing run, provided everything fell into place. And twice now, it actually happened. That is just unbelievable. There are any number of teams every year that are probably capable of putting it all together at the right time, but our team actually did it. Twice.
I can't pick a favorite.
So now twice we've seen our team have up-and-down regular seasons, all while knowing they had the ingredients to put together an amazing run, provided everything fell into place. And twice now, it actually happened. That is just unbelievable. There are any number of teams every year that are probably capable of putting it all together at the right time, but our team actually did it. Twice.
I can't pick a favorite.
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Based on expectations before the season, I had lower expectations for the 2011 team than I did the 2014 team as the 2014 had more upper classmen leadership. As someone else mentioned, that Maui tournament in 2011 really opened my eyes that Kemba was truly among the elite players in college basketball. The fact that UConn was still in the Big East and had that remarkable run through the BET against many of our longtime rivals makes a huge difference. I still giggle like a schoolgirl every time I see Kemba break that Pitt guy's ankles in MSG. The only "negative" on the 2011 season was the sub-par Finals against Butler. The 2014 NCAA Tournament run was more satisfying due to the quality of the teams that UConn had to overcome. Plus, not having won the AAC Tournament, there were zero prognosticators picking UConn to even make the Final Four, let alone win the thing. Both were great seasons that made me proud to be a fan, but the surprise element of the 2011 season might give it a slight edge.
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