I continue to hold the belief that comparing this team as better or worse than last year's team is an exercise in futility. To begin with you simply can't and won't replace Maya Moore. She will go down as either the best or the 2nd best to ever play at UConn. I'm in the best camp. What I contend is that this team relative to this years competition will find a way to get the job done. The question is what is the job. Of course, it is the belief of most UConn fans that it is their birthright to win the national championship. This view is of course extremely unrealistic. What is realistic is we have a bonifide chance to make the final four. Once in the final four anything can happen...ask Texas A & M...who besides Texas A & M fans had them going all the way on their NCAA bracketts? I have made my case why this team relative to this years competition will be an offensive juggernaut. I also believe that UConn will be one of the top 10 defenses in NCAA women's basketball.
The question that UConn will have to answer at some point during the season...is who is going to be that player who emerges who, like Maya, will refuse for UConn to lose? Do we have this kind of player in the mix from this group of players? We will not need this player to emerge every game...but there will be 6-8 games where we will need this player to step up. Could it be done by committee? Sure...but, history shows teams that have the go-to player tend make it very far in March...those that don't...fall short.
As a fan of UConn, I think this year and next year are going to be exciting...why? Because legends will be created around UConn's 2013-2014 team...winning will be expected, and anything less than a national championship will be a big disappointment. These next two years, on the other hand, for UConn fans will be very exciting. We will have the opportunity to watch the building blocks of a legendary team being put in place...we will experience some very difficult game situations and we will see the humaness of a UConn team before it reaches legendary status. These will be times where the UConn players are cutting their teeth, building their resolve, learning how to play through adversity. These will be times where we will experience some achievements that we weren't expecting and hence there will be drama during these next two years which will be relegated to routine during the 2013-2014 season. I know by now those people who are not UConn fans are probably sticking their fingers in their throats in order to upchuck this sappy post...but knowing the quality of the players UConn has coming in this year and next year I believe that I am being very realistic in my expectations. I think Geno, Pat, Walsh, Mulkey, Blair, Muffet McGraw, etc are all great coaches but without the players it is hard to get it done. I know that there are no guarantees and that winning a championship is very difficult...but having the horses is a great start.
