Article on what's wrong with UConn recruiting

[FriarJ]

In a decline, and dead are two very different things. I have not seen one person say dead, although you seem to be denying decline, which is a curious position honestly considering the facts.

[MullinMayhem]

2013-2014: National Championship (influenced by Calhoun even if it was just Napier, he was the MVP and was the engine that made the team win it all)
2014-2015: Tied 5th in the AAC, Advanced to AAC tourney championship losing to SMU, went on to NIT and lost immediately to Arizona State
2015-2016: 6th place in the AAC, won AAC tourney, advanced to NCAA's and won 1 game against Colorado
2016-2017: Tied 5th in the AAC, advanced to AAC tourney semifinals, no tournament
2017-2018: Wichita State added, awful recruiting, and they don't project to make the tourney

So the last 4 seasons, they won the national championship....and nothing notable beyond that unless you consider UConn winning 1 game against Colorado to be some great upset. They finished no better than 5th 3/4 past seasons and their recruiting has fallen flat, suggesting that things likely will not get any better or easier especially with Wichita St. now. To act like UConn still has its swag and they can't even finish better than 5th in the regular season in a bad conference 3/4 years is odd to say the least. Yeah, but UConn advanced to the AAC title game in 14-15 right? To quote Chris Rock, "that's what you're supposed to do". You don't get credit for things you are expected to do automatically. It would be like giving the Warriors credit for making it to the Western Conference Finals but not winning it. They were clearly supposed to make it there and win. Since their championship season in 13-14, they have 1 NCAA win against Colorado. In other words, the more time goes on, the more that 13-14 season looks like an outlier. No one is saying UConn is DePaul. People are simply noticing that a one time blue blood is losing that label pretty rapidly. Their fanbase knows it too if you read their forum. How many people outside of UConn are still talking about that 13-14 championship? Feels like 10 years ago. Of course give them credit, that's an amazing feat and I could only dream of my guys winning one, but just because you had a golden era doesn't mean it doesn't come to an abrupt end at some point. UConn has not done anything notable on the national stage since Napier (of Calhoun's era) left. Just do the eye test...they are a completely different program in the AAC era vs. the Big East era. Buzz is down, no more SI covers, ESPN droolfests, recruiting taking a hit, and they haven't finished better than 5th 3/4 most recent years.

By the way, they recently landed grad transfer David Onuorah a 2 star big (yawn), because they missed on everyone else. Yes, I know G'Town was in on him too, but it's tough for them with a new coach. Next season may make or break UConn. If they fail to make the tourney, you can be sure alarm bells will be sounding in Storrs even louder than they are now.

[EMT]

2013-2014: National Championship (influenced by Calhoun even if it was just Napier, he was the MVP and was the engine that made the team win it all)
2014-2015: Tied 5th in the AAC, Advanced to AAC tourney championship losing to SMU, went on to NIT and lost immediately to Arizona State
2015-2016: 6th place in the AAC, won AAC tourney, advanced to NCAA's and won 1 game against Colorado
2016-2017: Tied 5th in the AAC, advanced to AAC tourney semifinals, no tournament
2017-2018: Wichita State added, awful recruiting, and they don't project to make the tourney

So the last 4 seasons, they won the national championship....and nothing notable beyond that unless you consider UConn winning 1 game against Colorado to be some great upset. They finished no better than 5th 3/4 past seasons and their recruiting has fallen flat, suggesting that things likely will not get any better or easier especially with Wichita St. now. To act like UConn still has its swag and they can't even finish better than 5th in the regular season in a bad conference 3/4 years is odd to say the least. Yeah, but UConn advanced to the AAC title game in 14-15 right? To quote Chris Rock, "that's what you're supposed to do". You don't get credit for things you are expected to do automatically. It would be like giving the Warriors credit for making it to the Western Conference Finals but not winning it. They were clearly supposed to make it there and win. Since their championship season in 13-14, they have 1 NCAA win against Colorado. In other words, the more time goes on, the more that 13-14 season looks like an outlier. No one is saying UConn is DePaul. People are simply noticing that a one time blue blood is losing that label pretty rapidly. Their fanbase knows it too if you read their forum. How many people outside of UConn are still talking about that 13-14 championship? Feels like 10 years ago. Of course give them credit, that's an amazing feat and I could only dream of my guys winning one, but just because you had a golden era doesn't mean it doesn't come to an abrupt end at some point. UConn has not done anything notable on the national stage since Napier (of Calhoun's era) left. Just do the eye test...they are a completely different program in the AAC era vs. the Big East era. Buzz is down, no more SI covers, ESPN droolfests, recruiting taking a hit, and they haven't finished better than 5th 3/4 most recent years.

By the way, they recently landed grad transfer David Onuorah a 2 star big (yawn), because they missed on everyone else. Yes, I know G'Town was in on him too, but it's tough for them with a new coach. Next season may make or break UConn. If they fail to make the tourney, you can be sure alarm bells will be sounding in Storrs even louder than they are now.

Not to mention a 1/2 court game-winning shot in the AAC tourney otherwise no bid....

[EMT]

In a decline, and dead are two very different things. I have not seen one person say dead, although you seem to be denying decline, which is a curious position honestly considering the facts.

I'm not sure you'd find a better defense of UConn on The-Boneyard

[Bill Marsh]

Where I come from, one season doesn't make a trend. In 2007, UConn's recruiting class was ranked #280 by 247 Sports. What were we to make of that?

According to 247, UConn's recruiting classes in their last 5 years in the Big East were ranked as follows:

2013 - 40
2012 - 27
2011 - 33
2010 - 23
2009 - 12

I see only one recruiting class in the last 4 years that's out of line with that range. I wouldn't make any more of that one year than I would of their 2007 recruiting class.

Jesus, I'm not saying that UConn is recruiting at Central Connecticut levels right now. I was just pointing out that for a program that is considered a top 16 all-time program (http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men ... based-poll), they aren't recruiting up to their standard. And that they haven't been recruiting as well in the first 5 years in the AAC as they did in the last 5 years in the Big East. I never said they are recruiting terribly, just that they aren't recruiting as well.

First 5 AAC - 40, 44, 39, 8, 76
Last 5 BE - 7, 12, 23, 33, 27

UConn has only been in the AAC for 4 years, not 5. The #40 class you list as AAC was accaomplisned when they were in the Big East.

Except for the #76 this year, I don't see a big difference. You're choosing to ignore the fact that anomalous years like #76 happen even to top programs, even to top Big East programs. As I pointed out, #280 in 2007.

[Bill Marsh]

In a decline, and dead are two very different things. I have not seen one person say dead,

Dead in relation to what they had been.

although you seem to be denying decline, which is a curious position honestly considering the facts.

I posted the facts with 10 years of RPI. I looked at the ups and downs during the Calhoun era going back 10 years. I see the same kind of ups and downs. I looked at the ups and downs of Syracuse as an example of another great program who did not change coaches or move to an inferior conference. Same kinds of ups and downs.

Decline wouldn't mean just that they've dropped from a NC level, but that they've dropped to a level below what they've done before and have sustained that lower level. Show me where they've done that.

I don't know what you think UConn was before, but they weren't Elite 8/Final 4 every year. They always had their down years.

[Bill Marsh]

The problem with UConn recruiting - and UConn basketball boils down to one thing:

A quixotic quest to be a BCS football school. It's diverted the focus of the athletic department, it's stuck them with a crummy league. They would have been welcome in the New BE, except for that dumpster fire on the gridiron. They'll never get into the Big 10 or Big 12 or ACC, so Husky ball will sooner be Memphis or even Tulane before they're Villanova or Butler. Or even dear old PC.

Like it or not, they are a football school, so they believe they need a conference that sponsors football. What do you propose that they do with their football?

[Bill Marsh]

UConn can be broken into 2 major eras: the Big East era and the AAC era. Their Big East era ended right after they won their most recent championship on the last breaths of Calhoun's players.

So you're saying that UConn won that national championship in 2014 not because of Ollie's coaching but because Calhoun left them a more talented roster than the teams they beat in their run to the title - Kentucky, Florida, Michigan State, Iowa State, and Villanova?

[Bill Marsh]

2013-2014: National Championship (influenced by Calhoun even if it was just Napier, he was the MVP and was the engine that made the team win it all)

Of course give them credit, that's an amazing feat and I could only dream of my guys winning one, but just because you had a golden era doesn't mean it doesn't come to an abrupt end at some point. UConn has not done anything notable on the national stage since Napier (of Calhoun's era) left.

So you're giving them credit but with the caveat that it was only possible with Calhoun's influence. You're saying that Napier was such a dominant player that he single handedly made the difference in beating the talents at Kentucky, Florida, Michigan State, Iowa State, and Villanova, and that his dominant talent was more important than Ollie's coaching in that tournament? You're saying that Calhoun's recruiting him to UConn in the first place (with a lot of help from Ollie as an assistant) was more important than Ollie re-recruiting him and convincing him to stay when he wanted to transfer after Calhoun landed the team on probation? You're saying that it was Calhoun coaching him in his first 2 years that made him the player he was in 2014 and not Ollie coaching him in his last 2 years?

[ConnersvilleBulldog]

You're right. UConn is crushing it on the recruiting trail. They've never done better. Far be it from me to point out a slight decrease (which is all I did).