Since we last mailbagged, UConn beat Syracuse. UConn played Syracuse at Madison Square Garden and UConn won. UConn won because Syracuse lost. UConn scored more points and was therefore awarded the victory.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s mailbag.
Remember: If your question wasn’t answered or you’ve been living under a rock and are just hearing about this, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter (@ADimeBack).
Mike asks: Favorite MSG moments?
Mike knows he’s asked a question with too many answers to list. He knows this and he asked it anyway because there’s just so much greatness here that the world deserves to hear about for the 1,000th time. Thank you for the great question, Mike.
Note that Mike asked for our (my) favorite moments, not necessarily the greatest. Here are my favorites, that I saw in person, in order:
- Ben Gordon’s game-winner over Pitt, 2004
I was 14 and went to that entire tournament with my dad. This was the third straight year that these two teams met in the final, so by this point I HATED Pitt. Like, Syracuse-level hate. UConn’s comeback was just so, so satisfying. The moment Gordon hit that shot…somehow even sweeter. - Elite Eight win over Michigan State, 2014
The only reason this isn’t No. 1 is because I was credentialed and couldn’t outwardly celebrate. I unleashed a healthy scream in the privacy of the elevator on my way down to the court though. - Six Overtime Game, 2009
Sorry, but it has to be on here. It’s one of the most memorable games ever played and I can say I was there. The sting of the loss is still offset by Syracuse flaming out of the tournament (again) and UConn going to the Final Four. - Last Monday, watching the team celebrate at mid-court, 2016
I had the option of taking the ADB credential and decided not to. Great choice. I met so many of you lovely people at and around MSG and got to scream my face off with some Daily Campus legends (and Timmy), making it a memorable night, win or lose. The win made it 1,000x sweeter. - Watching UConn cut down the nets after beating Louisville, 2011
As a poor college student in New York, there wasn’t much I could afford to do. But there was no way I was missing this game. None. I went up to MSG that Saturday morning and scalped a ticket, negotiating the price for a 300-level seat down to about $60. I threw away some more money on champ gear after the game and ate nothing but Girl Scout Cookies (thanks, sister) for the next month. Worth it.
Don asks: Which former MBB player lost the most $ by leaving early for NBA? (who would have benefited most from 1 more year)?
It feels like a cop out to pick the most immediate example, but it’s Daniel Hamilton. We knew he was leaving money on the table when he announced his departure, and we know it now. Hamilton is currently competing for a stating spot for the D-League’s Oklahoma City Blue, instead of starting as UConn’s power forward. Especially given the currently thin roster, Hamilton would have had every opportunity to shine on this year’s team and play himself into the first round of next summer’s NBA Draft. The only other quasi-egregious example is probably Khalid El-Amin in 2000 (though I’d argue he actually stayed one year too long). Khalid left after his junior year but fell into the second round of the draft — one pick behind Jake Voskuhl. Could one more year at UConn, playing with a freshman you might know named Caron Butler, given him a better shot at a prolonged NBA career? Maybe. Probably not, but maybe.
Dave asks: Say we had the same sort of analytics for WBB that we do for MBB – what’s the first story you want to write?
There’s a still-outstanding stat question that we tried to answer last season, but were unable to due to lack of advanced stats. When Breanna Stewart broke Rebecca Lobo’s program record for total blocked shots, Stewie basically said that the record was still Lobo’s because she did it in fewer games. We posited that Stewie played fewer minutes per game, because they were always blowing people out and she would end up sitting for the last quarter of the game, while Lobo played in more competitive games, so played more minutes. So we wanted to compare their blocks-per-40 minutes stat to determine the true winner. Alas, we haven’t been able to answer that one.
That doesn’t actually answer your questions though, because the first story we would write is the one that would answer the ultimate question: Who is the all-time best UConn WBB player, Diana Taurasi or Breanna Stewart? If we had a WAR/40 we could probably answer that question, but we don’t so we can’t.
Gab asks: What is Gabby Williams’ vertical jump, approx?
WE ACTUALLY HAVE AN ANSWER TO THIS! Kind of.
I don’t know her exact vertical, but here is a video of her from when she was 15(!) in 2012 at the U.S. Olympic Trials clearing 6’2.25″ in the high jump. So, her vertical is pretty damn high.
– Meghan
