The ADB Mailbag: The Greatest Play

Hi weirdos. We’re back in your face with some mail. Read it, learn something, thank us and keep the questions coming. You’re cool.

Remember: If your question wasn’t answered, or you’re just hearing about this and want to get in on the fun, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter.

Cara asks: What is the single more important play in UConn [MBB] history?

This question is so good that we had to have multiple people give answers.

• THE SHOT: Aside from the fact that The Shot is basically my first real sports memory and marks the beginning of my life-long love affair with all things UConn basketball, the infamous baseball throw from Scott Burrell to Tate George, who spun and released with a second left on the clock against Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen was UConn basketball’s coming out party. The Dream Season began with UConn unranked, and ended in a fashion I don’t care to recall, but also included the team’s first Big East Regular Season and Tournament titles. While the team (which secured a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament) didn’t make the Final Four, that moment, with Burrell’s other-worldly pass (the dude was the first person to get drafted in the first round of two professional sports) and George’s spinning, off-balance shot was the moment when UConn became a true national player, and was the beginning of the ascension to perennial powerhouse program.
  – Meghan Bard
• BRIMAH’S THREE-POINT PLAY: There have been bigger wins, but I don’t think there has been a more important play in UConn history than Amida Brimah’s three-point play against St. Joseph’s. Without it, the Huskies follow up their ban year with a disappointing Round of 64 loss and the questions about the program’s future continue. Kevin Ollie enters his fourth season never having won an NCAA Tournament game and the Huskies without a tournament win since 2011. Throw the conference situation in there and it’d be perfectly sane to assume UConn could never return to dominance. Next year’s recruiting class probably isn’t as strong and the American has even less respect. A disastrous football program and a basketball program on the decline is of no interest to a P5 league. The Huskies may be doomed to the AAC.Instead, Brimah got UConn past St. Joes and the rest is history. UConn has a fourth championship, Shabazz Napier has his rightful place in UConn history and Tyler Olander has more rings than Jim Boeheim.
  – Russ Steinberg
• OKAFOR’S PUT-BACK: Despite my affinity for the 1999 title run, I’ve often regarded its successor as a crucial moment for UConn. Bringing us to 2004 and Emeka Okafor’s put-back with 26 seconds left that defeated Duke in the semi-finals, setting up an easy rematch with Georgia Tech two days later. The bucket was the defining moment of that title run — and really, the defining moment of Okafor’s brilliant career. That second championship really cemented UConn as one of basketball’s elite universities, and looked great on Jim Calhoun’s resumé when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame a year later.
  – Tyler Wilkinson
  
• The Travel: For me, the answer has to be The Travel. This was the biggest moment in the biggest game UConn had ever played. With a win over a seemingly invincible Duke team, UConn had a chance to etch their name along with the elite programs. Up just one point with 15 seconds to play, Trajan Langdon, Duke’s senior All-American guard, faces off against Ricky Moore, the best perimeter defender in the country. Langdon has had a monster game to that point, with 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Coach K could use a timeout to call one last play, but he decides to let it ride, and let Langdon and Moore figure it out like in backyard ball. Langdon starts to penetrate to his left, but Moore is just too quick. Langdon, desperate to get the shot off before he runs out of time, rolls to his right, but when he’s still running into Moore’s swarming defense, he drags his pivot foot. The whistle blows, travel, and #SlickRickFaceOnDemFolks.
  – Peter Bard
• HONORABLE MENTIONS: Kemba’s step-back; Ray Allen’s Big-East winning floater; Rip Hamilton’s buzzer-beater vs. Washington

Brian asks: While I realize that UConn is not currently selling out PAWS-ARF, let’s just imagine that, some time in the near future, the team has improved and fans have returned to the seats. Many programs are currently playing at least one game per year in an NFL or otherwise landmark stadium (think Illinois-Northwestern at Wrigley Field, or BC-Notre Dame at Fenway this November). I know that UConn has shown reluctance to do neutral-site games in the past (Notre Dame and Michigan wanted to play at Gillette and/or Giants Stadium), but in my dream scenario, we play a major opponent in a new, really cool venue. With Fenway taken out of the equation, and Yankee Stadium hosting a crappy bowl every winter, the best I can come up with is some sort of “classic gridiron” game at the Yale Bowl against one of our old Big East foes. What is your ideal local prestige venue, and who is our opponent?

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It’s funny you mention this, because Peter suggested playing Yale every year at the Yale Bowl. That could be fun, I’m not going to lie. But I think a neutral site game should have an even bigger upside, because you may be sacrificing a true home game for it. For example last year, UConn’s game at Yankee Stadium (in what was actually an Army home game) got the Huskies into NYC. We already know how important that is. Yankee Stadium has shown how much it loves hosting non-baseball events (Pinstripe Bowl, boxing, concerts, random football games) and it’s really not a bad football venue. Give me Yankee Stadium. Give me Syracuse. We’ll see who owns New York.

– Russ

Scott asks: How would you fix First Night?

I don’t particularly think UConn’s First Night ceremony is broken. Though I will admit to being bored by the end of the Huskies’ mixed scrimmage. Clearly I wasn’t alone as half of Gampel had headed to the door long before the final buzzer.

Dan Madigan from the Daily Campus tackled this early in the month and had some interesting takes that are worth a read.

Overall, I think the pace of the event could pick up a bit. Maybe continue with some sort of skills contest, the three-point contest, dunk contest and then a 3-on-3 mixed tournament — with no player allowed to compete in more than one event. Spitballin’ here. I also like Dan’s idea of including more former players.

In the end, the competitions themselves are just window dressing. Fans show up to mark the official beginning of the season and have some fun — unless there’s some underground First Night gambling ring I’m unaware of. It’s also great to remind people of the historic greatness of the two programs and rub it in their faces for a few hours.

– Tyler