Is UConn The Next College Basketball Dynasty?
Let’s just start out with this…WOW!!! What a tournament! Both on the men’s and ladies side. Just an all-around entertaining, nail biting, and unexpected tournament. Who would have thought that San Diego State would make the championship game? But with UConn’s dominate performance throughout the tournament are we looking at the next dynasty?
If you take a step back you will notice that we are in a new chapter in men’s basketball history. We have seen historic coaches step down recently that is leaving the door open. We have seen Coach K, Roy Williams, Jay Wright among others retire. Granted, we have seen some of these programs still have success without their Hall Of Fame coaches and even UConn had their long-time coach step down and we have obviously seen them have success. But my point is that I have a feeling that the traditional Blue Bloods might be in danger of being surpassed by some nontraditional teams. Take into account the newest trend in college sports, NIL and the transfer portal, we are seeing more and more athletes not stay at a school as long as they used to…well with basketball we really don’t see players stay at school long at all because they can leave after one season but I have a feeling that because of the NIL money we will see some players stay in school for longer unless they are indeed a first round draft pick. With the NIL money going onto their pockets is going to allow players to stay in school longer and not make the jump to the NBA because of the money. That means better basketball on both levels!
You might be asking yourself, “Well Turbo, if the state of college basketball is like you describe and is kinda like the wild west, how can UConn be a dynasty?” Great question! Here are my thoughts. We just saw UConn have one of the most dominate tournament performance that I have ever seen. In this day and age everyone is looking for the next big and flashy thing. Wouldn’t you consider UConn’s performance big and flashy? I would! Now I do know that this team will lose players to the NBA or even the transfer portal but what is stopping some of the top players in the country also entering the portal to transfer to UConn? Add to that the basketball lineage of their head coach I have a feeling that there is every ingredient needed for the next powerhouse.
Last night they won their 5th national title. They are 5-0 in championship games. Because of that history I really don’t see their coach leaving for a “better job.” I feel that UConn is his end destination and he will be there for quite some time. He is in his 5th year and this has been his best team so far but with all the hype and juice that this tournament gives them we can put the Program stamp on this team. They will get players that fit their system and they will be back. They will be the next powerhouse in college basketball. Had this team not had a lengthy losing streak midseason, they would have been a number 1 seed instead of a 4 seed so they were primed for this run. I for one am happy that they went on this run because I love the style of ball they play and how exciting they are to watch. I was a Jim Calhoun fan and I will officially announce that I am a Dan Hurley fan. I can’t wait to see where he takes this team moving forward!