Got 5 so we might as well talk about them

[Kitaman]

Which Championship run, do you marvel at the most?

I want to say 2014. We played St. Joseph's, Florida, MSU and uk (even beat Nova). Team wasn't really all that great, but we had Bazz and the others didn't.

Beating uk 'with our squad' and new Coach was so satisfying.

 

[Kembacity]

Agreed, 2011 was magical but we knew in Kemba we had a guy who could put the team on his back and win just about any game. 2014 was more of a team effort, without anyone on the roster who was a sure fire NBA mainstay. As we always track it back to, if Freshman Amida Brimah doesn’t get an and1 at the end of the game we go home first round… wild!

Also, this year was amazing and unprecedented just in how we dominated those teams one after another. I think that deserves mention

 

[NJHusky]

Which Championship run, do you marvel at the most?

The Next one!

 

[husky429]

They're all equal to me.

 

[Chosen]

The last three are all my picks. We upset our way through the ncaa tournament all three years. Thank you Kemba, Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, Andre Jackson Jr, Jordan Hawkins. We will never forget

 

[CL82]

It is a kind of "which of your kids do you love the most" question. The differences are fractional, almost so slight as to be nonexistent, but I think I'd go with:

2011 - This championship gets bolstered by the incredible championship run in the Big East tournament. That was just magical and by the end of it I felt like no one in the country could beat us. Of course Kemba also pumps up this championship. We've had a lot of great players at Connecticut, but I don't think we've ever had a more charismatic or electric player than Kemba Walker. He was a special kid.

2014 - I struggled with this a little bit versus 1999. Watching Bazz and Boatright just utterly dominate opposing guards completely taking other teams out of what they wanted to do was amazing. This team had a certain sense of inevitability about it as well. You knew we were going to make our free throws down the line and I love the fact that Calipari didn't even try and foul us. I will always love Bazz standing up at the end of the game and calling out the NCAA, just classic. 'You banned, this is what you get.' Beating Kentucky doesn't hurt it this championship either.

1999 - You never forget your first. Ricky Moore's unstoppable first half offense and dominating second half defense was incredibly impressive. Of course the fact that we beat a supposedly unbeatable Duke team also helps this championship. Rip Hamilton's relentless energy and KEA's "we're going to shock the world/we shocked the world" help this championships ranking.

2023 - This one benefits from recency bias. It felt so good, though, to be back on top. This program has been written off for dead so many times and so many try to discount or ignore our consistent excellence. This year's championship was just an exclamation point about who we are. Andre Jackson is a special kid who is easy to root for. Sanogo had a great run for us and it was good to see it culminate in the championship. Clingan and Karaban were both surprises. You knew they were going to be good, but to be as effective as they both were in there freshman years was the difference between this being a good team and a great team.

2004 - It feels weird to rank this team last in anything. It had to parade high school all Americans (Anderson and Brown) and six future NBA players (Gordon, Okafor, Villanueva, Armstrong, Williams and Boone). It may well be our most talented team. Watching Calhoun out coach Krzyzewski was just a pleasure. It was a little scary when Okafor had to sit down, but in the end that was likely the difference.

 

[Waquoit]

I still marvel at 2014. After the first game that team kicked ass and still doesn't get credit for doing so. Shabazz Napier is criminally underrated.

 

[Palatine]

In terms of importance, the first two are the most important. The first one because it elevated the program to a level few have ever accomplished. The second because it validated the pedigree. It proved it wasn't a fluke. In many ways the second was really the most important. It made us a program rather than just a place that had a team. But you can't get to the second without 1999.

Some could argue that the 4th was the most important because it meant we were not a one coach school. But that is only another step on the journey. It all comes back to the first two.

 

[FatElvis]

The first. The incredible relief/satisfaction of finally making the Final Four topped off by beating "unstoppable" Duke in the championship remains one of my favorite days ever.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I enjoyed them all equally but if marvel connotes any element of surprise it's gotta be 2014. I certainly wasn't anticipating a national championship when they were getting pumped by 30 by Louisville or when I was sweating out overtime against St. Joes.

1999 they were at worst the second best team in the field, 2004 was a juggernaut if Okafor's back held up, 2011 felt inevitable after the BET run, and 2023 was a massacre. I will say that in terms of sheer happiness nothing's going to top Langdon falling and no foul being called as Nantz yells "And Uconn's done it!"

That's a lot of rings.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

In terms of importance, the first two are the most important. The first one because it elevated the program to a level few have ever accomplished. The second because it validated the pedigree. It proved it wasn't a fluke. In many ways the second was really the most important. It made us a program rather than just a place that had a team. But you can't get to the second without 1999.

Some could argue that the 4th was the most important because it meant we were not a one coach school. But that is only another step on the journey. It all comes back to the first two.

I agree that 99 was most important. I put the most recent in the same tier as 04 for importance. First in the new Big East, third coach to win here, fourth decade with a win. Plus it ties Duke, who nationally is looked at as the premier program. I think 23 and 04 will have a similar effect of "leveling up" the program.

Edit: For the importance of 23, throw in cementing our place as a perennial BB power in the uncertain age of CR

 

[Tenspro2002]

I still marvel at 2014. After the first game that team kicked ass and still doesn't get credit for doing so. Shabazz Napier is criminally underrated.

To be fair we were down like 16-4 against Florida.

If you want ass-kicking, there is no comparison to 2023. By live win probability, we were favored to advance for all but 3 minutes all Tournament, including the entire Sweet 16 onward.

 

[cap10dingus]

1999 because it was the first and the best team we beat and it was Duke. 2011 is a close second because it was truly edge of your seat for three weeks!

 

[temery]

Alpha and Omega.

 

[Waquoit]

To be fair we were down like 16-4 against Florida.

If you want ass-kicking, there is no comparison to 2023. By live win probability, we were favored to advance for all but 3 minutes all Tournament, including the entire Sweet 16 onward.

That team beat the overall #1 seed by 10. That's not an ass-kicking? But it's not about ass-kicking. We've kicked plenty of ass over the years. It's about not getting credit for for the ass-kicking. Instead you hear how the bracket was broken that year even though it was UConn that did the breaking.

 

[boog204]

2014 for sure... We were outplayed by St. Joe's and I remember thinking that that team was such a disappointment. Then Boat became an absolute terror defensively and hit every big shot possible and Bazz became the best and most confident player on the court at all times.

1999 and 2004 we were easily one of the top two-three teams in the country so there was very little "marvel" although 99 is still my fave. 2011 we were on a roll and had Kemba and 23 we just found a gear that I didn't know we possessed.

 

[uconnfan68]

It’s like choosing your favorite of identical quintuplets. You love something unique about each of them.

 

[The Yakk]

1999 was the best of course, but my second favorite game out of all 30 games in our championship runs was the quicklime bath we gave to Gonzaga this year.

That team has been way overrated and overseeded for years, always feasting on an easy annual schedule. The way we undressed, flayed, and salted them was so satisfying.

 

[alexd]

It's crazy to think we are even having this fun conversation. 5 titles. Unreal really.

 

[Rocktheworld]

2011

11 straight elimination games including 5 in 5 nights; which I feel is somehow not acknowledged enough, even here. 5’10 Kemba and a bunch of underclassmen (also not acknowledged enough). One of the most iconic March shots of all time. That was a truly “marvelous” run.

 

[businesslawyer]

I enjoyed them all equally but if marvel connotes any element of surprise it's gotta be 2014. I certainly wasn't anticipating a national championship when they were getting pumped by 30 by Louisville or when I was sweating out overtime against St. Joes.

1999 they were at worst the second best team in the field, 2004 was a juggernaut if Okafor's back held up, 2011 felt inevitable after the BET run, and 2023 was a massacre. I will say that in terms of sheer happiness nothing's going to top Langdon falling and no foul being called as Nantz yells "And Uconn's done it!"

That's a lot of rings.

The moment of sheer happiness for me will always be one possession earlier, with Duke down 1 and plenty of time, when the sainted Coach K decided to let Langdon try to take Ricky Moore one on one. The game was over the moment it was clear that that was Duke’s plan.

 

[gars44]

Which Championship run, do you marvel at the most?

I want to say 2014. We played St. Joseph's, Florida, MSU and uk (even beat Nova). Team wasn't really all that great, but we had Bazz and the others didn't.

Beating uk 'with our squad' and new Coach was so satisfying.

1999

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

The moment of sheer happiness for me will always be one possession earlier, with Duke down 1 and plenty of time, when the sainted Coach K decided to let Langdon try to take Ricky Moore one on one. The game was over the moment it was clear that that was Duke’s plan.

Okay, but if you're going to tell me you were relaxed when Langdon had the ball and started toward the hoop I'm calling bullisht. At minimum I was 100% convinced he was going to be shooting free throws. Honestly, I was amazed there was no foul call on the next possession when he fell as time expired.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

2011

11 straight elimination games including 5 in 5 nights; which I feel is somehow not acknowledged enough, even here. 5’10 Kemba and a bunch of underclassmen (also not acknowledged enough). One of the most iconic March shots of all time. That was a truly “marvelous” run.

Yeah watching Kemba that year was almost like watching Jesus on a basketball court.

He always made a play when we needed it. Never seen anything like it and it was as close to perfection as you can get. Yet people thought Jimmer was better because he was shooting from 40 against the MVC. Ha

2014 was amazing and Shabazz was phenomenal, but there probably is no Shabazz without Kemba showing him the ropes.

 

[businesslawyer]

Okay, but if you're going to tell me you were relaxed when Langdon had the ball and started toward the hoop I'm calling bullisht. At minimum I was 100% convinced he was going to be shooting free throws. Honestly, I was amazed there was no foul call on the next possession when he fell as time expired.

Maybe I was dumb to be relaxed, but I was. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life. Never before or after have I seen a player have the defensive season that Ricky Moore had that year. Maybe I should have foreseen a controversial foul call, but all I saw was Langdon getting up a forced, low percentage shot.