[PrometheusParticipant]

On paper, this Uconn looks like a top 5 team, they have plenty of NBA calliber players.  They should be winning…They’re not…

Its hard to find any real statistical discrepencies in any of Uconn’s player’s production to account for their losing ways.  Just watching them play is enough.  There’s no competitive fire, and there’s no vocal leader.  However, these problems are mental.  This team came into the season with sky high expectations brought about by winning the national title and returning Lamb, Napier, and Oriakhi while bringing in highly touted freshmen Drummond and Boatwright.  Thats a lot of weight to put on a young team that just lost their leader, Kemba Walker.  Despite this, YES, they have been embarassing….buttt, this all looks vaguely familiar…

Because Uconn won it all last year, its easy to forget that last season Uconn finished (9-9) in the Big East going (1-4) in their last 5 games and (4-7) in their last 11.  They looked like a team that history would forget. They looked like an early out in both the Big East and the NCAA tourneys. Then something happened.  They caught fire, played defense, played with heart, refused to lose, and thusly didnt lose a game for the rest of the year.  Last season, Uconn finished 21-9 (9-9) big east…If Uconn wins out this year (4 games; @Nova, Syracuse, @Providence, Pitt) they finish 20-10 (10-8) big east and have enough of a resume to make it into the tournament.  

I know that the Big East isnt quite considered the powerhouse it was last year AND I know that Uconn does not have Kemba Walker AND I know that they dont have wins of the same caliber as last year.  So comparing this year’s team to last year’s is a bit of a stretch.  But, what they do have is talent…Both the AP and the coaches pole had Uconn ranked #4 in the preseason even after losing Kemba, which just goes to show that the aforementioned talent is universally recognized.  NBAdraft.net projects both Lamb and Drummond as top 5 picks.  If anything, Uconn has more talent this year than they did last year.  

This team absolutely has the potential to catch fire again and certainly has a number of players that could break out come tournament season (Lamb, Drummond, Napier, Boatwright).  I would not be suprised to see this Uconn team flip the same switch they did last year and suprise everyone with inspired play.  Right now, they look pretty terrible and complacent, but we’ve seen Uconn do this before only to put it all together when it really mattered.

What Uconn needs is a collective team-wide psychological makeover and a leader that will sacrifice anything to win.  This seems like a lot to ask in a small window of time, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.  They dont have either of these things right now, but they do have the means to obtain them.  Don’t give up on them yet…I am excited to see wether Uconn can catch lightning in a bottle twice.

 

 

[PrometheusParticipant]

By the way, this isn’t a fanboy post.  I am not a Uconn fan searching for a way to redeem their crap season. In fact I’d rather see them continue losing because my roomate is a die-hard Uconn fan and I find it hilarious watching him suffer through this season.

[Mr. 19134Participant]

 I do agree that UConn can still make noise because they have ridiculous amount of talent on that team.  But last year they didn’t catch fire, Kemba caught fire and the rest followed suit.  But I wouldn’t be surprised if they won the Big East Tourny and made noise in the Tourny.  Boatwright I think is the X-Factor he has the potential to explode and inject some energy into that team.  And if Drummond finds his way and Lamb starts hittin more 3 then they become as a tough a team to beat as their is in the nation.  
 

I’d just really like them to start forcing the ball into Drummond more.  He only had 8 shots again tonight he needs more then that.

[Author]

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