Typically, the beginning of every basketball season is a time for optimism. Players, coaches and fans can all convince themselves that their squad has what it takes to succeed. That optimism is so powerful, that any suggestion to the contrary is often met with distain and derision. Any slight — real or perceived — against the team gets used as motivational fodder, theoretically propelling the players forward in an effort to prove people wrong.
And what fun it is to be able to run around the court screaming “we shocked the world,” or take the championship trophy from a reviled NCAA president and declare “this is what happens when you ban us.”
As UConn readies for their regular season opener on Friday evening, we thought we’d compile a comprehensive list of Husky-centric slights, critiques and omissions to fill the bulletin board and provide a little extra motivation.
- The Coaches Poll: The first USA Today Coaches Poll of the season placed the Huskies at number 24 — tied with Purdue.
- AAC Predictions: In an ESPN coaches survey, UConn was picked to finish third in the conference. CBS had the Huskies second (as did the official AAC coaches vote), but writers Matt Norlander and Jerry Palm predicted UConn to finish fourth (!) behind SMU, Cincinnati and Tulsa (!!).
- Top 100 Rankings: Several outlets have put out rankings of the top 100 players in college basketball. In the ESPN version, Daniel Hamilton appeared at number 80, Sterling Gibbs at 93 and Amida Brimah was unlisted entirely. The NBC, CBS and SB Nation rankings were more favorable for the Huskies.
- Where’s Purvis?: Rodney Purvis was left off all of the above lists. Additionally, AAC coaches did not include him on the first or second all-conference teams. If Purv thought it was funny being ranked #83 last year, he should be really fired up now.
- Bleacher Report Snubs Miller: The glorious journalistic beacon that is Bleacher Report published a list of the top transfers in 2015-16 and left out Shonn Miller, though they did include Gibbs at number seven.
- No Draft Respect: NBADraft.net does not have a single UConn player in their mock draft for this year. Hamilton (24), Brimah (38) and Purvis (51) all appear in their 2017 projections. They once had Hamilton as a lottery pick. Meanwhile, at DraftExpress, they have Brimah deep in the 2016 second round at pick 48, with Hamilton at 41 in 2017.
- Hot air from Gasaway: ESPN’s John Gasaway ranked all 351 teams in the nation and slotted UConn in at No. 37. For perspective, he also ranked Michigan (16-16 last year) No. 19 and Maryland (No. 3 in the AP Poll) at No. 9.
If we missed any, and if there’s still room on the bulletin board, drop a link in the comments.
When Shabazz punked Emmert on National TV? Right up there on my “List of All Things Awesome for UCONN”
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