One reason I dont trip over myself like most UVA FANS when it come tu Ralph. I think Ralph wasnt a dawg and he should have achieved a whole lot more IN MY OPINION. How you lose tu a div 3 team in Chaminade? I also think Holland was concerned with the public tu much instead of letting Ralph use his incredible perimeter skills more. He fell intu the, 7ft players should be in the paint 100 percent of the time concept. There isnt any reason why Ralph didnt avg 20 rebounds and 6 blocks. They accused him of goaltending alot but I just think he came up short tu much. I think Holland didnt help by not surrounding him with better players. College ball was hell back than. So I get the competition part but we didnt make it tu one chip game. I think we made a final four but im not sure. Im not even sure how many ACC tournanent chips we won. A big waste of a truly great.
Actually, I wasn’t shocked. To be honest, I am rarely shocked by game outcomes. In fact, the times I have been really shocked are very few. Chaminade, of course. The Jets vs. the Colts in the '69 Super Bowl. South Carolina beating UNC in '69 with all their sophomores (Roche, Riker, Owens, Ribock, etc.). Perhaps, even Wyoming and Fennis Denbo in '87. On the other hand, I felt without DeAndre Hunter, Virginia wasn’t nearly the same team. Furthermore, IIRC, the team learned he wouldn’t be available on Tuesday before having to play on Thursday. The timing was the worst possible. If they had had a week, or so, to adjust mentally, I might have expected more of them. If he had gone down in the first few minutes of the UMBC game, I don’t think the team would have had a chance to think about his loss. As I said, I didn’t expect Virginia to get out of the first weekend, but I did expect them to defeat UMBC, however I didn’t feel the loss to them was shocking. Disappointing, yes. Shocking, no.
Huff also was hurt and couldn’t play. They had zero offense left… and Hall was the worst NCAA tournament player in the history of all UVA starters. I knew Hall wasn’t likely to step up… go look at his career madness stats. I was on a trip with a bunch of people and predicted the loss…
Still the biggest disappointment for me is the disastrous 6 minutes against Syracuse… up 14 to down 5 in such a short span… Brogdon was so bad in all of his NCAA tournament losses. Goes back to what separates top 25 talent from the rest … usually. 2 top 25 draft picks - dawgs - and the highest rated recruit under Bennett - dawg. That’s what wins.
Had people from everywhere texting me to buy plane ticket to Houston during that game. I was like, dude, look at the coach on Cuse’s side. Boheim had already seen everything and made his move
Watched it in a bar in DC with 8 or so Hoos. The only other people in the bar was a table of 6 Syracuse fans.
The Cuse fans were super obnoxious to start the game so we let them have it when we were up. Needless to say they were beyond obnoxious after the final whistle + two more hours of drinks…never eaten more crow (and embarrassed to say did not eat it gracefully).
For UMBC, I actually fell asleep before tip off on the couch. Woke up with three minutes left so confused.
Cuse hurt worse.
I went to bed with us up so much at halftime since it was so late over here… I was shocked when I woke up
I respect everyone lack of shock and disappointment. Again I respect that but I still believe its more about blocking out that we have the worst loss in COLLEGE BALL HISTORY!!! However, if you say it wasnt. Than I will respect that. But the other 99.9 percent of sports fans were shocked. I had people who didnt know anything about college basketball teasing me. People who didnt know college ball talking about it. It was talked about on non sports radio and tv shows. I was shocked and pissed and embarrassed and depressed and didnt watch the rest of the tournament because I didnt want tu think or hear about it. Its probably the most humiliating loss in sports history. Im trying tu think of one as bad.
I don’t think another loss in any sport will ever hurt me as much as 2016 Syracuse. I watched the game with my dad, who was in poor health at the time. I really wanted him to see the 'Hoos in the Final Four again after 32 years and didn’t think he would be around for many more seasons past 2016. Unfortunately, I was right as my dad passed away in August of that year. I would have been really upset after watching the team come so close and not be able to close the deal under any circumstances. But my dad’s situation made it that much harder for me to swallow. Even the ecstasy of the 2019 championship has a small bittersweet feel to it since I wasn’t able to share it with my dad. But I definitely felt him there with me as I watched the championship game and celebrated in its aftermath.
Nobody’s blocking it out. That’s part of the 2019 championship story. If you think it’s not, you don’t know the program as well as you think you do.
Chaminade = Shocked
Syracuse = Mad as hell
UMBC= Hurt and depressed but exonerated
think UMBC game was more embarassing in the bigger picture of 64 bs 1 etc but UMBC absolutely deserved to win. Chaminade I recently learned on podcasts was after the Ewing Sampson game when the team flew to Japan and played Houston then caught Chaminade on way back when Ralph was really sick. Total shocker as we should have won that game no matter who played for us.
Cuse was on us in my opinion but Boheim made his moves
We actually beat Houston (with Olajuwon) in Tokyo, without Ralph. He missed the Houston game because of the flu. Then we lost to Chaminade on the way back home. Ralph played in the Chaminade game but he was still weak and recovering from the flu.
Obviously, we should have beaten UMBC and have no excuse for getting beaten to a pulp, but I’ve always wondered if the absence of Hunter hurt us psychologically as much as personnel-wise. After the ACCT, I think our guys really thought they were going to win the Natty, but once they knew Hunter was out, they had to know the Natty was a pipedream. That’s a big punch in the gut. Again, not an excuse for losing.
Is why I was fine with losing to Florida State the next year in the ACCT. and I cant believe I am saying this
Syracuse hurt more. Don’t think any sporting event will ever hurt as much as that loss. UMBC was more embarrassing. As others have said I had people I hadn’t talked to in years reaching out to talk crap after that upset.
For me, going out like that in 2016 with Malc, AG, Tobey, and Noelte hurt the most cuz it felt like that was the game, the season, and the team we’d been building towards. After that loss I was, and its crazy to say this looking back, but I was legitimately uncertain if our program would get back there anytime soon, even despite the fact that we had a great class coming in. Felt like that was our chance and we blew it.
UMBC sucked but we had one of if not the most talented roster CTB has had coming back so there was more to be optimistic about. Besides, we weren’t supposed to be good that year so the fact that we went 30-3 or whatever it was and won the ACCT was enough relative to preseason expectations.
I do think the Cuse loss hurt more but I was talking about shock. I felt we were winning but playing poorly against Cuse. I knew London hitting bombs from NBA three point territory wasnt going tu last. And once again Brogdon didnt come thru in the NCAA. I love Malcolm but… Than TB had one of his worst coaching stint that second half. He froze in my opinion and wouldnt call TO or make changes. Than how do Devon take the last shot that game tu tie. So much bad in that game. So I was hurt but angry. It didn’t hit me until the game was over that we were that close tu making the final four. It hurt because im surrounded by Cuse fans and Im always repping UVA. So I had people I didnt hear from in ten years attacking me. But you know what. I wore my UVA gear the next month straight. No it was three weeks but I didnt hide. Eff your, Im down with UVA. WHATS UP!!
What the hell you talking about. Be miserable elsewhere.
Lol, miserable? I just like calling you out.
What did you call out and who are you? I was explaining how most fans were shock with the UMBC loss. The same way I be shock if anyone up here paid any attention tu your post. Dont try tu make a name for yourself off of me. BYE HATER!!! YOU ARE BLOCKED. LMAO