Huskies the New Standard in College Hoops
The Story: The UConn men, fresh off their second straight dominant NCAA title run, returned to the Basketball Capital of the World in Storrs with a discussion of where their place rests in the history of the sport.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn’s two-year NCAA championship run is going to stand the test of time as one of the best runs ever. Since the UCLA dynasty came to an end in 1975 with John Wooden‘s retirement, ushering in the competitive era of men’s basketball, there have only been three teams that have gone back-to-back.
• Duke in 1991 and 1992;
• Florida in 2006 and 2007;
• UConn in 2023 and 2024.
• All three runs must be considered great, but the Huskies’ is much different. Duke and Florida essentially had the same players year over year. Duke had Christian Laettner, one of the great winners and college players in the history of the sport, and Bobby Hurley, who was an All-American point guard. Duke went 34-2 in 1992 and blew out the Fab Five and Michigan in the title game.
• The Gators, the last team before Monday to go back to back, had three lottery picks in Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer.
• UConn is different. The Huskies lost three players to the NBA and 75 percent of their scoring in Jordan Hawkins, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson. Incredibly, they were even better with Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle stepping in to replace what was lost. Add Tristen Newton becoming the best point guard in the country and Alex Karaban‘s improvement and the Huskies were even better this season.
• Dan Hurley said Monday that he believes this run, due to the changing nature of the team, is more impressive than what Duke and Florida did. He gets no argument from us and little from the media, including Jay Bilas.
THE MICHAEL JORDAN OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL: We are, unapologetically, Stephen A. Smith fans (sue us), and he came up with a whopper on “First Take” yesterday. Since the Huskies are 6-for-6 in national championship games, and because everything always comes back to Michael Jordan, the Huskies are the Jordan of college basketball. We don’t really get it, but it sounds profound and the highest compliment that can be given, so we’ll take it.
WHERE DO THE HUSKIES RANK? ESPN updated its ranking of the best national title seasons in NCAA history. We have a lot of quibbles with the list, mainly that the top 20 is way too heavy on teams from before 1980. Come on. We disagree, completely, with a lot of these rankings, and ESPN has the Huskies’ season ranked No. 24. That’s too low. We think this was the best season by any team since Kentucky in 1995-96. And no one can say we’re wrong because the Huskies are in the argument.
NEWTON GOES ON THE WALL: Newton came to UConn from East Carolina two years ago out of desperation because Newton wanted to play at a bigger program and Hurley and UConn had a mass exodus of players and needed guards. It was a match made in heaven and ended with Newton joining the Huskies of Honor at a homecoming rally last night.
• UConn put Newton, the two-time Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, on the wall after he was named a first-team All-American this season. And he totally belongs there.
— John Silver
Expectations Remain High — If Not Higher
The Story: The UConn women should again be one of the best teams in the country next season with Paige Bueckers back for a fifth year, several key contributors back from injury and an excellent recruiting class that includes the top high school prospect.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies reached the Final Four this season despite being down to seven healthy players. Another year of experience, and just a little bit of health, should get them back to that stage with ease.
• ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 has UConn ranked No. 4 entering next season, behind South Carolina (hard to argue), Texas (we can respect it) and Notre Dame (that’s a bit high).
• The Huskies are only expected to lose four players heading into next season. Aaliyah Edwards will be a first-round WNBA Draft pick, Nika Muhl is set to begin a pro career as well, and Amari DeBerry and Ines Bettencourt are planning to transfer. Any other departure would be a surprise.
WHAT WILL THE LINEUP LOOK LIKE? Oh, it’s going to be amazing. The Huskies will likely go with a three-guard starting lineup, and there’s going to be a competition for minutes.
• Bueckers, obviously, will start. KK Arnold, who’s more of a true point guard, figures to replace Muhl. If Azzi Fudd‘s healthy, she’ll start as well. The intrigue comes inside: As the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit, Sarah Strong is likely to seize a starting role at some point, if not out of the gate, and if Geno Auriemma‘s prognostications regarding Jana El Alfy are true, she’ll be the anchor the middle.
• Aubrey Griffin, who will be in a race to recover from a torn ACL before classes resume, should resume her role as the first player off the bench. Ashlynn Shade would move to the bench, and if Caroline Ducharme can put her concussion issues behind her, she’ll also rotate in. Ice Brady and Ayanna Patterson, who missed the season, should spell Strong and El Alfy, though again, one of the two may start for Strong early on.
• The biggest questions surround Qadence Samuels and the other freshmen, Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli. The Huskies already have to make room for six guards, and though Ziebell is a true point guard, it’s more likely Bueckers would run the offense when Arnold needs a breath.
• All things considered, it’s a good problem to have — especially given what the Huskies have experienced the last three seasons.
IS HELP STILL NEEDED? When you start to fill out the lineup, you realize that there’s not a lot of depth in the frontcourt, which means Geno may look to the transfer portal to balance the roster and find experience.
• The situation seems eerily similar to spring 2021, when the Huskies needed experience inside and added former Ohio State center Dorka Juhasz. That was a resounding success.
• Could UConn make an impact by adding someone like Oregon State’s Timea Gardiner, a 6-foot-3 junior-to-be who was the Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year? Gardiner had 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.
• Or could UConn woo an All-Big East First-Team forward, such as Marquette’s Liza Karlen, who’s 6-foot-2 and averaged 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, or Creighton’s Emma Ronsiek, who’s 6-foot-1 and had 16.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season?
• Whatever the case, if the Huskies go this route, they’re going to need to find someone who’s fine not playing 30-plus minutes a game. It may be tricky to find someone who fits the bill, but the appeal of a Final Four appearance and potential national championship can mitigate that.
OUR TAKE: It was fun to watch the Huskies this season, even if the injury crisis dampened the mood quite a bit. But if you think they were on an upward trajectory, it’s time to break out the most hopeful phrase in sports: Wait ’til next year.
— Zac Boyer
Morning Reads
• Luke Broadhurst went 3-for-5 with two home runs as the baseball team beat Bryant 12-1 in eight innings because of the run rule yesterday afternoon. The Huskies (13-16) will host Maine this afternoon at Elliot Ballpark.
Top photo: Tristen Newton passes the ball in the Huskies’ Final Four win over Alabama. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
