One team was expected to win and if they did not win, many would have been shocked. The other team had the will and skill to pull it off but many doubted them to win anything. Two very different teams that were bound together by one common theme. They were UConn Huskies.
In 2004, the UConn Men’s basketball team and the UConn Women’s basketball team both won the National Championship. No other program in NCAA history was able to pull this accomplishment off as UConn was the first to do so. 10 years later, UConn has been able to do it again. For UConn to do that twice in 10 years, they are truly the Basketball Capitol of the World.
The Men’s team has had numerous times of perseverance and they came out on top of all of it. After the postseason APR ban and the retiring of Jim Calhoun, many speculated how they would bounce back. They became an after thought. No one gave them a chance. Kevin Ollie thought different. He was given the program after the Hall of Fame Coach retired, and Ollie went to work. He knew what it was like to have UCONN across his chest and representing the university which made him the perfect candidate for the job. Once again many doubted the decision of to put him in charge.
One year after the ban, Kevin Ollie saw his Huskies draw the 7 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Some questioned how UConn received such a seed but Ollie did
not care. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. They did just that. On their way to the title game, they were able to beat Florida who was the overall 1 seed and they were also able to beat Michigan State who also was a favorite among different analysts and President Obama.
Every step of the way, they were doubted. No one picked them and yet they continued to win. No one every figured out that UConn was the real deal. Shabazz Napier was the clear leader of the team but this was bigger than him. They played as a team. They stayed calm and poised. They played hard. This lead them to win a National Championship. In Kevin Ollie’s first go at a NCAA Tournament, he was able to cut down the nets.
It seems as each time the Men’s team wins, it becomes more and more special. Their first championship they were the clear underdogs against a Duke team that arguably had one of the best lineups ever. 2004 they were lead by Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor and faced adversity but cut down the nets in the end. 2011 they won five games in five days in the Big East Tournament and did not look back as they were led by Kemba to the championship. Finally in 2014 they proved to be top dogs once again. 4-0 in title games and they have the most since 1999.
The UConn Women are a different story. They are the proven. They are the ruthless. They are the ones you have to go through if you want to win a championship, every single year. The amount of perfect seasons they have had under Geno’s tenure is insane to think about. I still have yet to figure out how he does it, and I probably will never figure it out. Last night, he was able to cut down his 9th net and post his 5th perfect season. Geno is in such elite company and year after year, his team is in contention to win it all and finish perfect.
The Women took a different path through their season as they constantly pounded teams into the ground blowing them out giving them no hope to win the game. They cruised through the regular season and without the minor bump against Stanford and BYU, they pretty much cruised to winning it all by beating the Fighting Irish by 21. Every year, Geno is able to drill the UConn way into their brains and every year he sees results. He is truly one of the best basketball coaches of all time.
After winning both the Men’s and Women’s championship in the same year for the 2nd time, I think UConn will start receiving a little more attention and gaining a bit more respect. It has been a fun ride watching all year and watching the Huskies win a championship never gets old. Congratulations to both the Men and Women and I will be looking forward to the title defense.
Freshly Pressed Sports 