Why UConn Will Repeat As National Champions

Last season, UConn was the best team in the nation. This year, they'll do it again.

Two years ago, UConn's Era of Prosperity looked like it was wrapping up.

Just a year before, greatness had touched the program in the form of a six-overtime loss at the hands of Syracuse in the Big East Tournament and a run to the Final Four sparked by their undisciplined young rookie, Kemba Walker.

The Huskies were hit hard by the departure of seniors Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie, A.J. Price and Hasheem Thabeet's decision to enter the NBA after his junior year. The 2009-2010 team struggled mightily with consistency. Led by the enigmatic Stanley Robinson and Jerome Dyson, who could play like Patrick Ewing one night and Patrick Ewing, Jr. another, the Huskies fell off the map. Jim Calhoun was forced to take a month-long medical leave for a "serious" undisclosed issue in January, only to return to a brutally ineffective team.

My buddy Ryan and I bought tickets to the Big East Tournament that year. Two hour drive, 50 bucks for parking, 40 for the seats in the student section...all to watch the worst loss of the year against the heavy underdog St. John's team.

UConn finished the year at 18-16, losing in the second round of the NIT. With Calhoun's health an issue and a less-than-positive outlook for the future of UConn basketball, it looked like Calhoun was going to call it quits. UConn's recruitment power would take a hit, and the program's supremacy would be in jeopardy.

My dad has had season tickets for nearly 40 years. Loyalty and infrequent donations have moved us from row YY to row T in the last two decades. Going into last season, other season ticket holders took flight, and we shot up to row D. And man, wouldn't you know it, we were treated to a great season.

From Maui to Manhattan to Houston, led by Walker's unreal late game heroics, the Huskies brought home their third national championship since 1999.

Now, in 2011-2012, in the midst of a conference hemorrhaging teams at the same rate that characters are killed off in The Walking Dead, the University of Connecticut will win the National Championship, and yes, it will be a big "fuck you" to the forces of conference realignment.

Reason 1: Experience

UConn is returning most of its young core that logged heavy minutes in the run to the championship last year, including Walker's under-the-rader number two man, Jeremy Lamb. While Walker's massive presence absorbed the limelight, Lamb, a freshman last year and ranked as the 76th best national recruit by Rivals.com, well-outperformed expectations. Lamb was the rock that the Huskies needed in their improbable run.

His performance for the U-19 USA team this summer confirmed that he's no fluke. According to USA Today:

"Lamb, a 6-5 swingman from Norcross, Ga., averaged 16.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 58% from the field in six NCAA games. Every floater, every three-pointer (he made 12-for-19), every rebound and every block seemed crucial for UConn, a No. 3 seed.

His numbers this summer for the under-19 team were almost identical. He led the USA to a 7-2 record, averaging 16.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. He shot 42% and had 18 assists, 18 steals and three blocks."

Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier should also make big strides this season. Oriakhi, now a junior, has developed into an offensive force. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he will make a significant impact. Napier, who took the helm at point for extended periods in the playoffs, now has the thick skin to stay calm and perform in pressure situations.

Reason 2: Jim Calhoun

I haven't decided whether Jim Calhoun is a warrior or he's the victim of bad luck and brittle bones.

Seriously though, the fact that this guy's still on the sidelines is a small miracle in itself. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February 2003. Three days later, he had surgery to remove his prostate. Sixteen days after that, he returned to the sidelines. He has successfully overcome two more bouts with skin cancer since then. In June 2009, he hit a pothole 12 miles into a 50 mile charity bike race and broke five ribs. He got back up and continued the race, only to faint from dehydration and trauma as he crossed the finish line.

There's no two ways about it; Calhoun is a bulldog. If you cross him, he'll make you pay (i.e, the "not a dime back" speech). And as long as he's in the driver's seat, UConn will have their signature gritty, block-heavy defense to give them a shot to win every game. 

Reason 3: Recruiting

First of all, let's get one thing out of the way. As we've learned over many decades of NCAA competition, here are the priorities of college athletics programs: (1) Money, (2) Success, (3) Abiding by the rules, and (4) Education.

UConn's recruitment of future top-three NBA lottery pick Andre Drummond went about as smoothly as tossing a fish in your buddy's sleeping bag on a camping trip. I wrote about this in a previous blog post, but I won't reiterate how shady this whole situation feels. While the player that gave up his scholarship, sophomore Michael Bradley, insists that he wants no pity, we can safely assume that the UConn brass is twisting his arm a bit.

Freshman Andre Drummond, mid-air.

Here's the other side, though.

UConn was able to get the recruit they wanted, despite being down three scholarships. That failure is on the NCAA and their inability to properly punish a program for violations. If they wanted to prevent Drummond from coming, they should have imposed a greater penalty. They didn't, UConn got their man, and no lesson was learned.

Also, Bradley will likely get his scholarship back next season when Drummond bolts for the NBA, and the two have known each other for several years, so maybe there really is no bad blood after all.

Most importantly, Andre Drummond is really freakin' good. I mean, future NBA all-star good. So, while this whole situation may make us squeamish, let's remember that innocence never really existed in college basketball in the first place, and the reason we watch games is to root for our favorite teams and players, not hyper-analyze how they got there. 

Reason 4: JackO Is A Jabroni

From Urban Dictionary:

4. Jabroni

-One who is not good at his chosen profession or current task.
-A jabroni talks smack but has no way of backing up his mouth.
-A jabroni lets his mouth say stupid things when it shouldn't.

To quote The Rock, "Who... in the Blue Hell are you... jabroni?"
As if to say, "Who are YOU to interrupt me?"

I figured, since he didn't provide much, if any evidence in his declaration of war on UConn basketball, I don't need to provide much, if any evidence to prove he's a jabroni. While his appearances on Bill Simmons' podcasts are amusing, something about seeing his unadulterated hatred in print makes his words that much more sinister. Maybe he has some karma coming his way...

Moving on.

Reason 5: The Big East Isn't Dead...

...in basketball, at least. Just last year, it was the strongest conference in the land. It hasn't lost any teams yet. Even when Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia (maybe) leave next year (or the year after that), these are still big names: Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Villanova, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, St. John's, and Connecticut.

As a conference faithful, I'm truly saddened by the fact that decisions motivated by football are tearing apart basketball's finest conference. Historic rivalries and basketball's most exciting conference tournament weren't enough to stop the money train. UConn should stay in the Big East. That would make a repeat performance that much sweeter. Screw the ACC, screw Syracuse, Pitt, and West Virginia, and screw college football screwing over basketball.

Go Huskies!


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Dean Karoliszyn is the Editor-in-Chief and cofounder of Jabroni Free Sports.