Was thinking of who our team compares to last night and this is the best I could come up with. Looked at the numbers and it checks out pretty damn well.
Look at this roster compared to the 2023 UConn title team.
Sanogo vs. Hunter--leading scorers and rebounders on their team, vets, athletically limited
Clingan vs. Bidunga--athletic backup bigs, defensive stalwarts, both got more and more minutes as the season went on, middling scorers with huge blocked shot and rebound numbers per minute
Hawkins vs. Mayo--elite shooters who can do a little of everything, second leading scorers, key cogs in the offense
Newton vs. Griffin--one of the few areas that we have a minor downgrade by comparison, but with the way Rylan has been coming on, it is not substantial--again, extremely good shooters and defenders
Jackson vs. Harris--elite distributors who don't score a ton, Jackson rebounded a little more, Harris defends a little more
Karaban vs. Adams--role players who have a well-defined skill set--Karaban a tall shooter, Adams a hustle and jumping fanatic
Even going further down the roster (Diarra vs. Coit/Moore, Calcaterra vs. Storr, etc.) the comparison holds some water. That UConn team was 25-8 entering the tourney--I think that is around where we will likely end up. They had a number of 10-15 point losses in the middle of the season to average teams, too.
Just throwing it out there for discussion--if there is any validity, maybe this season isn't quite over after one bad loss.
Look at this roster compared to the 2023 UConn title team.
Sanogo vs. Hunter--leading scorers and rebounders on their team, vets, athletically limited
Clingan vs. Bidunga--athletic backup bigs, defensive stalwarts, both got more and more minutes as the season went on, middling scorers with huge blocked shot and rebound numbers per minute
Hawkins vs. Mayo--elite shooters who can do a little of everything, second leading scorers, key cogs in the offense
Newton vs. Griffin--one of the few areas that we have a minor downgrade by comparison, but with the way Rylan has been coming on, it is not substantial--again, extremely good shooters and defenders
Jackson vs. Harris--elite distributors who don't score a ton, Jackson rebounded a little more, Harris defends a little more
Karaban vs. Adams--role players who have a well-defined skill set--Karaban a tall shooter, Adams a hustle and jumping fanatic
Even going further down the roster (Diarra vs. Coit/Moore, Calcaterra vs. Storr, etc.) the comparison holds some water. That UConn team was 25-8 entering the tourney--I think that is around where we will likely end up. They had a number of 10-15 point losses in the middle of the season to average teams, too.
Just throwing it out there for discussion--if there is any validity, maybe this season isn't quite over after one bad loss.
