Do the UConn men have a basketball rivalry with St. John's?
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tom in salem
Well-known member
Having lived up here forever, I'd say Providence.
Two things that I think make it a rivalry moving forward -
1) I don't think Pitino likes Hurley very much, and wants to beat him badly.
2) The "Storrs South" shit the UConn fans yap about when talking about MSG. It is annoying as hell, we need to beat them at home
1) I don't think Pitino likes Hurley very much, and wants to beat him badly.
2) The "Storrs South" shit the UConn fans yap about when talking about MSG. It is annoying as hell, we need to beat them at home
tom in salem
Well-known member
Keep in mind yukon isn't long for this conference. The president had informed the Faculty Senate that the university was facing a projected $70-million deficit in 2025, as the state sharply reduced its funding allocation. UConn would need to drastically cut its budget.
Didn't read the cited NHregister article.
Historically, pre-Big East (ECAC) etc., I do not think St. John's and Uconn had much of a rivalry due to several factors: 1. geography, being northeast of Hartford, it is too far away from Bklyn/Queens 2. Schools are drastically different, one is a large state school, the other a private Catholic school 3. Most years pre-Calhoun (thank God for Dom Perno) Uconn was not mentioned in the same breath as St. John's BB wise.
Geographically, a more natural rivalry for Uconn pre-Big East would have been Boston College, Holy Cross (very close to Storrs) and Providence (not far either), but all of those schools back then had much better men's BB than Uconn.
After the Big East and Calhoun got there, they had a rivalry first with BC (remember the lawsuit), then PC, their geographic natural rivals.
When St. John's and Uconn were both good in the BE (because their fans invaded the Garden) a rivalry developed and on and off until we hit the skids. Calhoun would always poke fun at St. John's and not speak reverently about our history so there's that. Calhoun and Looie went tit for tat and I don't think ever really got along (Boston inferiority complex toward NYC).
With a high % of obnoxious drunk fans, and them taking over "our" House and the Storrs South stuff, St. John's fans hated Uconn and let's be fair envied their enormous success.
Calhoun although a great coach was prickly. Hurley another great coach is more than prickly.
We have a hate-hate relationship with Uconn more than a rivalry.
Historically, pre-Big East (ECAC) etc., I do not think St. John's and Uconn had much of a rivalry due to several factors: 1. geography, being northeast of Hartford, it is too far away from Bklyn/Queens 2. Schools are drastically different, one is a large state school, the other a private Catholic school 3. Most years pre-Calhoun (thank God for Dom Perno) Uconn was not mentioned in the same breath as St. John's BB wise.
Geographically, a more natural rivalry for Uconn pre-Big East would have been Boston College, Holy Cross (very close to Storrs) and Providence (not far either), but all of those schools back then had much better men's BB than Uconn.
After the Big East and Calhoun got there, they had a rivalry first with BC (remember the lawsuit), then PC, their geographic natural rivals.
When St. John's and Uconn were both good in the BE (because their fans invaded the Garden) a rivalry developed and on and off until we hit the skids. Calhoun would always poke fun at St. John's and not speak reverently about our history so there's that. Calhoun and Looie went tit for tat and I don't think ever really got along (Boston inferiority complex toward NYC).
With a high % of obnoxious drunk fans, and them taking over "our" House and the Storrs South stuff, St. John's fans hated Uconn and let's be fair envied their enormous success.
Calhoun although a great coach was prickly. Hurley another great coach is more than prickly.
We have a hate-hate relationship with Uconn more than a rivalry.
Mullins Revenge
Well-known member
No, there is no rivalry. You need to be competitive to be part of a rivalry. We have not been.
If we can get back to being a perennial top 15 team year in and year out and Uconn stays at the top of their game, yes this will become a big rivalry.
But a team that is as bad as St Johns has been isnt a rival to anyone.
If we can get back to being a perennial top 15 team year in and year out and Uconn stays at the top of their game, yes this will become a big rivalry.
But a team that is as bad as St Johns has been isnt a rival to anyone.
tom in salem
Well-known member
That's an excellent post.
Rocket
Well-known member
Maybe Uconn should bite the bullet and drop their money losing football program.
That program will not attract any football school suitors.
classof2010
Well-known member
I hate UConn. If they played the Al-Qaeda all stars might be a coin flip for me. I have a huge amount vitriol and jealousy of them. There’s no rivalry until we start winning. Hopefully next year send their fans back to GC crying 
Budget cuts would make them more likely to stay, though. No?
tom in salem
Well-known member
Only problem there is the corporate doors are football fans, They don't get shitfaced on the bus going down. Heard there was contact again last week from the big 12. The 2 best basketball programs around garners interest anf their football team doesn't suck, they just need a conference. They would bring in a boat load more money than BC would, the only other team up here, and Clemson and Florida st. are gone as soon as the offer is good enough. ND will be interesting, Haven't won a national championship since before Jarvis was here.
I mean for what it’s worth, we were more competitive against UConn this past season than most, and beat them @uconn the year before.
Funny, I was at an sju event last night and asked Rick that question about UCONN and Hurley.
His first words were, "I cant stand him", then laughed and said what a terrific coach and good guy Hurley is. Said the Lakers should have offered $15 million if they really wanted him, and the situation was not a good one for Hurley. He did say Hurley will likely coach in the NBA but in the NBA you can't complain to the refs on every play the way Hurley does in college.
I spoke to Brady for a long time. He said he gained 25 lbs, lost 6 once practice started and is getting used to playing with more weight. He loves that he is a lot stronger and now when he hits someone they move. I love this kid and he agreed that he thought he had broken through when he had that burst of 3 or 4 very good games. He said a sprained ankle at the end of that spell bothered him the rest of the year. He is also a huge baseball fan and loves the Dodgers.
Pitino loves this roster, and while they lack a great shooter, are loaded with good shooters and lots of depth. It's clear he intends to compete at top of league, and will be nationally relevant.
He did tell the audience not to repeat how far he thinks the team can go, so I won't.
Said right now Zuby is the team leader and has said Zuby has improved leaps and bounds and is a good 3 point shooter and will play a lot at the 4 and some 5.
Wilch also much improved. And with two other extremely good point guards Kadary and Smith those two have to improve moving without the ball. Said Smith is the fastest player he ever coached.
CA getting more seatbacks. Upper bleachers still a big prob. Rick is pushing for a big CA expansion and said he loves playing there. We are done w ubs and Barclay for games.
All in all very good night.
Awesome post beast thanks for sharingFunny, I was at an sju event last night and asked Rick that question about UCONN and Hurley.
His first words were, "I cant stand him", then laughed and said what a terrific coach and good guy Hurley is. Said the Lakers should have offered $15 million if they really wanted him, and the situation was not a good one for Hurley. He did say Hurley will likely coach in the NBA but in the NBA you can't complain to the refs on every play the way Hurley does in college.
I spoke to Brady for a long time. He said he gained 25 lbs, lost 6 once practice started and is getting used to playing with more weight. He loves that he is a lot stronger and now when he hits someone they move. I love this kid and he agreed that he thought he had broken through when he had that burst of 3 or 4 very good games. He said a sprained ankle at the end of that spell bothered him the rest of the year. He is also a huge baseball fan and loves the Dodgers.
Pitino loves this roster, and while they lack a great shooter, are loaded with good shooters and lots of depth. It's clear he intends to compete at top of league, and will be nationally relevant.
He did tell the audience not to repeat how far he thinks the team can go, so I won't.
Said right now Zuby is the team leader and has said Zuby has improved leaps and bounds and is a good 3 point shooter and will play a lot at the 4 and some 5.
Wilch also much improved. And with two other extremely good point guards Kadary and Smith those two have to improve moving without the ball. Said Smith is the fastest player he ever coached.
CA getting more seatbacks. Upper bleachers still a big prob. Rick is pushing for a big CA expansion and said he loves playing there. We are done w ubs and Barclay for games.
All in all very good night.
I think Rick respects the hell out of Danny, but also notices that his sideline antics work on the refs, which bothers him
I do recall the game in Storrs this past season, Hurley had a meltdown mid game and pulled the refs aside, and UConn started getting some absurd calls directly after that. I don’t blame the refs for the loss but I definitely see what Rick sees too
I’m thankful for Hurley and UConn because I think it’s a new carrot being dangled in front of Rick this late in his career, he is still being inspired to take a team down. I love having a real competitive coach
Garden City?
Very true, we played them closer than any team during their run to the title in the Big Dance.
Winning at Uconn was CMA's present to Johnny fans.
Warms my heart, thanks Sal.
Barclays is a dump IMO, and USB (intentional dig) is too far for me. Play at least one-half of our games at the Garden!
I guess after a National Championship you can get away with that.
BUT, let's face it, Hurley, even with the Two Natys, isn't Dean Smith, Coach K or John Wooden in gravitas, jeez!
first win of the season ... 1-0