WASHINGTON, DC – As is customary for all champions of the American sports leagues, the UConn men’s basketball team was finally able to travel to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The program hopes to make it an annual pilgrimage, and President Joe Biden believes there’s a good chance it will be, “I won’t be here next year, but you might be.”
The president and the White House had a busy morning. Before the Huskies arrived, Biden praised the South Carolina women’s basketball team for their similarly dominant March Madness run, though the president couldn’t help but express how historic UConn’s comeback was.
“Man, you proved everybody wrong. You’re a force,” Biden said in his speech last Tuesday. “Winning the Big East regular season title, winning the Big East Tournament, averaging 23 points a game in the NCAA Tournament.”
As hard as it is to believe, Connecticut came into this season viewed as an underdog. Three of their starters, Andre Jackson Jr., Adama Sanogu and Jordan Hawkins, all left for the NBA and as a result, UConn wasn’t even picked to win the Big East. Yet, from day one, head coach Dan Hurley never lost faith in the team he and the Connecticut coaching staff built. He always believed that this is a team that can overcome any obstacle. Last Tuesday, Hurley revealed how historic the team’s 2023-2024 tour was.
“A team that will go down as one of the most dominant teams in college basketball history, the way we just blew everybody away,” Hurley said.
Despite all the good that this team accomplished last year, it was not without its challenges. There were times when this team was shortchanged. Four of the five starters — Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer, Stephon Kessel and Alex Karaban — have all been injured throughout the season. Despite sometimes missing these key pieces, the team took the “next man” mentality to the next level. They never apologized. The program takes one game at a time and never loses sight of the end goal: meeting POTS for the second year in a row.
Another challenge for UConn Nation arose this season. Other programs, including an NBA team, tried to poach Hurley from Connecticut. Although no official numbers are known, Kentucky has made a “big offer” to try and sign Hurley. The Los Angeles Lakers also got in on the sweepstakes, offering the former Seton Hall guard a six-year, $70 million deal. However, after much deliberation, Hurley decided to stay. Biden believes this decision will bring great success to Connecticut basketball for years to come.
“Coach, you said UConn has been running college basketball for 30 years; with you at the helm, I think they’ll be ready for another 30,” Biden said.
Last Tuesday was probably the last time that this championship team will be together in one place for a long time. Newton, Spencer, Clingan and Kessel are all at the next level and starting their NBA journeys. However, Tuesday also represented a fitting end for this historic team. They will go down as arguably the greatest team in college basketball history, and what better way to honor them than in the East Room of the White House? However, not just anyone steps into this historic room.
“Only the champions come here. There’s no attendance or high scores,” Hurley noted in his speech last Tuesday. “A triple double doesn’t get you in the White House. You have to be a hero to get in here, and here we are.
With that visit, many now consider UConn to be one of the greatest programs in basketball history. Most people rank them in the same class as Duke, UNC and Kentucky schools. However, President Biden placed them in his classroom last Tuesday.
“So now there’s no doubt about who the ‘blue bloods’ are.” [college] Basketball,” Biden said.
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