Last year, UConn had one of the most talented squads in the country. Though they never quite gelled, and bowed out too early in the NCAA tournament, they sent four players to the NBA in round one, and a fifth (Denham) in round two — a draft record.
As a result, this year, their most experienced players averaged 16 minutes a game in 2005-2006. Their returners are all sophomores (!), and only one (Jeff Adrien, improbably) showed some real promise last year. Thabeet, at 8 foot 6 or whatever, is a classic “I’ve grown up embarrassed at my height and need at least a year to develop any aggression and skill” center.
But their preseason ranking was #18 in both polls. Blind faith in Calhoun, or something I don’t know?
Categories: Commentary, Connecticut, Juice
2 Responses to “How did UConn get a preseason #18 ranking?”
UCONN’s quickly becoming one of those teams I dislike — the ones who get tons of attention and a high rating for being a mediocre team, based on past performance rather than present performance. I guess this happens when you win two NCAA championships. There’s no question that they’re going to lose on the road fairly early on and will be heckled by chants of “Overrated!”
Here’s why the preseason poll is a terrible concept. ‘Present performance’ doesn’t exist yet.
Preseason polls rig the football season far worse, however. The basketball season is long enough to more precisely assess everyone, and the things that matter — conference championships and the NCAA selection process — don’t care about the polls.
Care to comment?