Alex, Alex, Alex.....

[CL82]

your anger is not healthy. ive only been watching the team since 97 so i cant speak for greats like tate and donyell but alex played incredibly for us in 2011, went to class, and was loved by our players, coaches, and fans so i honor him as a great husky. badmouthing him for going somewhere to compete in the last tournament of his life is hateful and immature

Husky, if that was all Alex did I would join you in his nomination for sainthood. Unfortunately that isn't case. His exit from UConn was unseemly to say least, mostly due to his father's comments, that were not rebuked. I think most in the post are pretty reasonable. They appreciate what he did for us in the 2011 run, but do not appreciate how he left. That's reasonable and fair, in my view.

 

[Gurleyman]

Tate was far from great. There are at least 10 guards who were/are better over the past 30 years... Tate hit one huge shot and was drafted in part due to that shot.

You could argue he hit two huge shots. Maybe we get to the level we got eventually anyway, but I wonder if Burrell comes without seeing the state get caught up in hoops fever over the NIT (I think Smitty had already signed by then). Maybe he doesn't - maybe the Dream Season never happens, maybe JC is let go. Who knows. But a first round loss to West Virginia would have put us on a different arc.

Great is probably too strong a word, other than in a Hartford Courant headline which was made into t-shirts, but he does have his place in UConn lore. Not only for that moment, but for his senior leadership in a transformative season.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Oriakhi was a key part to the 2011 NC. He played some great games his sophomore year. He was fairly bad the other two years.

He would have been well regarded by everyone if his father and he had just kept their complaints private. That's all he ever needed to do.

There is a reason many regard Roscoe with less venom than Oriakhi. Both were mediocre last year and Roscoe really could have come back to UConn and played in another NCAAT here. If anything his transfer made less sense than Alex's. As far as I know Roscoe has not said a bad word about UConn, Calhoun or anyone on the team in public. He has simply kept his thoughts private.

Everyone would have understood if Alex has simply said he wanted a shot at winning another NCAAT Championship, but he didn't, he has gone out of his way in every interview to express his opinion on UConn, Calhoun and the players that are on the team. He hasn't said one positive thing about UConn since he left.

If he had kept his mouth shut, almost everyone here would be rooting for him to make the NBA and Missouri might have been adopted as UConn's team for this year's NCAAT. Now most people hope he fails and has to learn Russian.

^This +1,000. And because of this, AO has earned the criticism (and some of the venom) he has gotten on this board. Therefore, I have no problem with these threads. It's not bitterness. It's not jealousy. It's the way he (and his father in particular), have badmouthed the coaches and the program I love.

He could have done the right thing and taken the higher road. He didn't. Therefore, he might as well be Chrissy Laettner.

 

[Husky]

his father is an idiot

 

[Husky]

Tate was far from great. There are at least 10 guards who were/are better over the past 30 years... Tate hit one huge shot and was drafted in part due to that shot.

ok sorry bro....?