| 25 November 2010
Twelve months. What a difference 12 months makes.
Twelve months ago, chance and circumstance brought me to New York City on December 9th, which in turn brought me to Madison Square Garden for the Kentucky-UConn game being played that night. I wasn’t planning on attending. But I’m a UConn fan and a UConn graduate, I was in New York, and figured, “Why the hell not?”
Unexpected to everyone in the arena- myself included- that night turned into a classic, one of those games that you’ll stumble across a replay of three, four, five years from now and get sucked into watching. It was physical. It was emotional. And when UConn lost, it was a kick in the stomach.
At least for me it was. But as I documented in my column the following day, it was anything but for Kentucky fans. That game wasn’t just a win, but the win. The win that welcomed in the John Calipari era. The win that washed away the pain of the Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie years. The win that let the college basketball world know that Kentucky basketball- the team and brand that I’d grown up hearing about, but never seeing- was back after an extended disappearance. As I said in the article, for Kentucky fans, that win shouldn’t have meant so much. But it did.
Well 12 months later, here I am. I’m not the one patting Kentucky fans on the back and congratulating them, but instead, it’s the opposite. My team is back on top of the college basketball world. Maybe only for a day, a week or a month, but it feels good none the less. Last night’s win in the Maui Invitational, in November, in a time when we have real things to be thankful for (our friends, our family, those protecting us overseas), shouldn’t have meant so much. But for this one fan, it did.
You see, that loss to Kentucky last year at Madison Square Garden was the beginning and the end of UConn’s season as we knew it. It was one of those games that- as I mentioned- was emotional and physically draining, not only for the guys on the court, but for us in the stands as well.
But at the same time, it was a sign of hope. It was a sign that said, “You know what, we may have lost to a damn good Kentucky team. John Wall may have ripped our hearts out. But when this team finally figures things out…watch out.”
The problem was, that team never got things figured out. The 2009-2010 UConn Huskies toed the line between “supremely talented,” and “utterly disappointing,” for the better part of five months. There were the highest of highs (beating No. 1 Texas) and the lowest of lows (too many to count). There were times they could do no wrong, but more often than not, when nothing went right.
Most days though, UConn was everything you never want your team to be: Arrogant, entitled and disinterested. Jim Calhoun called last season one of his most frustrating in 40+ years of coaching. It was certainly my most frustrating in 20+ years as a fan. Like Sisyphus in Greek mythology, just as soon as we got the boulder inches from the top of the mountain, it came crashing back down. That Kentucky game was the season in a nutshell. UConn could play with anyone. They just usually didn’t beat them.
Which again, is why Wednesday night was so special. Not necessarily because we beat Kentucky to win the Maui Invitational. But because it made up for everything that happened a season ago. Reflecting on things, this UConn team really is everything last year’s wasn’t. This year’s team is scrappy. They hustle. They play for another. They’re overachieving. They’re a team in every sense of the word.
And really, that’s the biggest thing that’s going to get lost in the shuffle as Kemba Walker and Alex Oriahki return to Connecticut as conquering hero’s in the coming days. That as great as those two guys were all tournament long, the three wins in Maui were a team effort.
Thinking back on the three days, I can’t think of one guy who saw that court that didn’t contribute in some way.
There was Niels Giffey, who scored a couple buckets early to settle things down against Kentucky. Shabazz Napier forced turnovers with his full-court pressure defense. Tyler Olander got key rebounds against bigger, stronger and older guys. Charles Okwandu won the opening tip against Kentucky (Ok, maybe that one’s a bit of a strech). Roscoe Smith hit a handful of big three’s, including one that totally changed the momentum of the Wichita State game. And speaking of Wichita State, UConn wouldn’t have won that game if the young guys didn’t keep things close early. If it weren’t for Napier, Smith and Jeremy Lamb’s play in the first half, we would’ve never seen Kemba Walker take over in the second half. More importantly, UConn might’ve been playing Virginia in the fifth place game Wednesday, rather than Kentucky in the final. Again, these three wins were a team effort.
Of course those wins couldn’t have happened without Walker and Oriahki doing the heavy lifting.
Let’s start with Oriahki, because really, what can you say about the guy? I half joked on Twitter Wednesday night, “Apparently Oriahki wants some big checks of his own next year instead of just mooching off Kemba.” No kidding, huh?
Coming into the year, I expected Oriahki to be good, but other than Mama Oriahki herself, I don’t think anyone thought we’d see what we have so far. His stat lines would make any low-post player proud. In three games in Maui he had 45 points and 35 rebounds, including a 15 point, 17 rebound effort against Michigan State. It’s not often someone out-physicals the Spartans, but that’s exactly what Oriahki did Tuesday night.
Of course numbers only tell part of the story, and here’s something I think that’s getting lost in the shuffle: Oriahki’s basically doing it by himself in UConn’s frontcourt. Remember, Jeff Adrien (who’s game I’ve heard Oriahki compared to) had the luxury of playing alongside Josh Boone, Hilton Armstrong and Hasheem Thabeet in his four years at UConn. Oriahki has a very limited Onuwaku, an inexperienced Olander and Smith doing most of his damage from the perimeter. Oriahki has to be the physical and emotional leader down low, and basically do it by himself. If Walker was the MVP of this tournament, Oriahki was the runner-up.
Finally, you can’t talk anything UConn basketball right now, without talking about Walker. He’s been a star. He’s been a superstar. He’s been the best player in college basketball. Nobody has worked harder, and nobody has earned it like Kemba has.
And after last year, I thought that Kemba had a bit of a bad rap with some UConn fans. At times he did try to do too much, and he took heat because of it. There were bad turnovers, and reckless drives at the basket, often in spite of running a crisp offense or finding the open man.
Still, if you really watched UConn, it was hard to blame Kemba.
He got thrown into a no-win situation last year, with a lot of skilled guys around him, but no leaders. Believe me, I know Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson personally. They’re nice guys. They’d be fun to hang out with. They’d talk hoops if you met them at an airport. But they’re not guys that you want as faces of your team.
And whenever those two did lead last year, it was only by default. Almost like they looked around the huddle, waited for someone to say something, waited some more, before finally throwing out a haphazard, “Let’s go.” Again, they’re great guys if you only need them to play basketball (like in 2009). But ask them to bark at their teammates or get on someone’s case, and it ain’t happening. That’s just not their personality.
Well that’s the situation Kemba was thrust into last season. In 2009 this was A.J. Price and Adrien’s team, and in 2010, the logical progression would’ve been for Robinson and Dyson to take over. It just never happened. Meanwhile, Kemba had to do the following things: Try to run the offense; be a distributor; lead by example; and take big shots when no one else wanted them. Not to mention, he had to do it all without stepping on anyone else’s toes, in a season where, because of illness, UConn basically had two coaches. Talk about multi-tasking.
But after all those struggles, I thought it would make this UConn team, and Walker in particular, better than many expected. I even wrote it last week. With Dyson and Robinson now gone, this would be Kemba’s team. No stepping on anyone’s toes. No faux leadership. It’s Kemba and Co., with all the young pups falling in line behind him.
Of course I’d be lying if I said I thought he’d be this good.
Really, his development is staggering. He still plays at the same speed, but is doing it under more control, and without forcing things. Which is maybe the most incredible part of Kemba’s season so far, that he’s averaging 30 points a game, and doing it all within the flow of the offense. Crazy, but true. Last year he shot just 40 percent from the field. He’s at 52 percent so far this year. Not to mention that his three-point shot is better, he’s figured out a floater in the lane, and still picks off errant passes on defense. As I joked with a friend last night, if the pride I feel in watching Kemba mature is anything like having a kid, than I may have to reconsider my stance on children.
And really, the difference in the tournament, was the difference in Walker. There was no common denominator about his three performances in Maui, other than that the opposition never had an answer for him. Kemba was a cold-blooded assassin against Wichita State, more of a facilitator against Kentucky, and somewhere in the middle when UConn played Michigan State. But he was the best player on the court all three nights. As I said after last year’s UConn-Kentucky game, the difference between the two teams was that “Kentucky had John Wall.” It was no different with UConn and Kemba Walker Wednesday night.
Going forward, I don’t know what the whole Maui experience means. It might be the start of something incredible, a Big East title run, a Final Four run, who knows. Just as likely, the three wins might mean nothing (if only because dopey sportswriters like me are quick to praise the freshmen five games into their careers). More than likely, it’ll all end somewhere in the middle.
But honestly, on this day, and this Thanksgiving morning, it doesn’t matter.
All that matters is after a season of head-scratching, teeth-clenching, remote-control-throwing losses, I’ve got my team back. Maybe not as a title contender, but as one that plays hard, and more importantly seems to enjoy each other. As I said before, I didn’t expect UConn to win Wednesday night, and they might not have if Terrence Jones hadn’t gotten into foul trouble. But ultimately it doesn’t matter. Because had they won or lost, I’d already derived more pleasure out of watching their first two games in Maui than I had all 35 games last year.
What a difference 12 months makes, huh?
A year ago, I was talking to Kentucky fans, about how one win, so early in the year shouldn’t mean so much. And now a year later, I know exactly how they felt that night.
One win shouldn’t mean so much, but it does.
It’s good to have my team back.
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