what happened to UConn?

When I was thinking about what I would write for my first sports post on this blog, I never thought I'd write about the UConn Huskies losing to George Mason. I mean, UConn is the consensus pick for the most talented team in the nation (although that point might be overstated, I'll get to that in a minute). George Mason wasn't even supposed to get invited to the tournament. But, indeed, there is madness in March.

Even if UConn won this game, I couldn't have been very proud. This is unlike any other team I've seen at UConn, and not in a good way. I commented to my roommate not long ago that unlike many of the top programs in the nation (Duke, UNC, etc), UConn had never really been upset in the tournament. I realize they lost last year in the 2nd round to NC State, which was technically an upset. But there are a couple reasons I don't really count last year. First, UConn never deserved a 2 seed. They got that purely off of reputation and the fact they had won the title the year before. I was shocked when they were given their seeding. Second, and this is related, I don't think anyone really watched that UConn team. They were full of talent, but were so raw. I never thought for one minute they were going very far, they just didn't have championship maturity.

In the past, UConn was the team doing the upsetting: Tate George's buzzer beater 3 in '90 against Clemson put them on the college basketball map (it was that game that sealed me as a college basketball fan). They beat Duke in the championship in 1999, which was not an upset to anyone who actually watched those two teams that year. To this day I still can't believe how many people thought Duke was better than UConn, it was ridiculous. Anyway, my point is this: Jim Calhoun always had teams that won when they were supposed to win and could occassionally pull off the upset. Until now.

This team was ripe for the pickin'. There were numerous problems. Their best player (Rudy Gay) honestly doesn't seem to care too much that he's playing for one of the top programs in the country with an opportunity to showcase his talents and become a high draft pick making millions. Actually, that'll happen anyway, despite his awful showing this tournament. I've never seen a team whose best player was only the 4th best option to take a big shot at the end of the game. I'd take Marcus Williams (team MVP this tournament), Denham Brown (I realize he missed the final shot, but also got them to overtime against GMU and beat Gonzaga earlier in the season in the final seconds) and Rashad Anderson (no need to comment here, he made his case for himself) over Rudy Gay in the final seconds of any game. Why? Because he doesn't play with any kind of drive. He's the most talented player on the team, if not the country. But talent doesn't do everything for you.

I think there's something important here. Past UConn teams always had a star who came up big when needed, even going back to guys like Chris Smith (most are saying "who?"). Ray Allen was awesome, and his numbers in the '96 tournament showed that. Rip Hamilton came up huge (buzzer beater against Washington in the Sweet 16 in '98, big game against Duke in the championship in '99). Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor dominated when it mattered. In the Final Four game agaisnt Duke in '04, Okafor let everyone know he was the best player on the court and the nation. In the past, other names stepped up in clutch situations. Look at Ricky Moore's defense against Duke in '99- no one could do anything against him, just ask Trajan Langdon (that, of course, was par for course for Ricky Moore). Tate George hit a huge three against Clemson in '90 (and became a 1st round draft pick off that one shot, too) thanks to a full-court pass from freshman Scott Burrell. The point: when they needed it, someone stepped up.

There's something else about those teams. They tried for a full 40 minutes. How could you not? If a star like Richard Hamilton was going to work his butt off to win a game, everyone was going to. These star players led by example. This year's team- not so much. They relied on talent. A columnist for ESPN wrote the other day that UConn won those first 3 games in the tournament because of their heart. Are you kidding me? Heart? It takes heart to be more talented than everyone else and barely win? Give me a break! That isn't heart, it's being lazy but good. They beat Albany, Kentucky and Washington because they had better players, not because they had more heart. They beat them because they had a deeper bench (see Washington's foul trouble) and more star talent, not heart. If they had heart, they would have dominated those games, like the team in 2004 did. That team had talent and heart.

But, I want to comment on the talent level on this team. As long as we're talking college basketball, this team was by far the most talented team in the nation. But it's not like this team is overflowing with future NBA stars. Rudy Gay will likely be a high lottery pick, although it's mostly because this year's draft (and he will probably leave this year) is extremely weak. Marcus Williams will probably become a back-up point guard somewhere. Denham Brown might not get drafted, although I'm convinced he would have been a superstar if his knees didn't go bad. I don't see Hilton Armstrong making it in the NBA, or Josh Boone. Rashad Anderson could catch on somewhere as the shooter coming off the bench (just like at UConn), but he won't be a star. For a college team, this is a lot of talent. But it's not overflowing with future NBA stars here, not like 2004 (Okafor, Gordon and even Villanueva, who scored 48 tonight for Toronto).

Anyway, my point is that this team was unlike any other Calhoun team I've seen. It lacked leadership and a star who would step up in big games, spurring on others to do the same. There was no Ricky Moore who would hang all over the other team's best guard. There was no Kevin Freeman who would fight for every lose ball in the paint. There was no Okafor who wouldn't let anyone come near the lane (despite the fact that this UConn led the nation in blocks again). Calhoun doesn't normally recruit players like this.

I guess, though, that this is part of becoming a perenniel powerhouse- eventually you'll be taken down. It happens to the best programs, so why would UConn be immune? I just hope that future teams learn a lesson from this. Being talented will only get you so far. Eventually, someone will come along who is unimpressed by the talent. George Mason was the perfect team for this upset. They had no business being in this position, so they had nothing to lose. They are a talented team who was told they shouldn't be here, so they had a chip on their shoulder. And they just watched 3 teams come this close to beating UConn. You can learn a lot from those games. And they did. So, I say congrats to George Mason and her fans. They deserved to beat UConn. They have earned every bit of the joy of going to the Final Four. And now, I hope they win it all.