5 Reasons To Be Happy For UConn

Yet another college basketball season is in the books and this year's tournament was the most exciting in recent memory. Plenty of close-games, game-winning shots, and upsets to please anyone and everyone that proclaims themselves a fan of the game. After handling Florida in the semi-final, the Connecticut Huskies moved to the National Championship game to take on the young, red-hot Kentucky Wildcats. After a hard-fought game and one that featured a UConn lead the entire 40 minutes, the Huskies cut down the nets and celebrated their third championship in ten years. While UConn fans rejoice, plenty of other fans sided with UConn simply because they did not want to see Kentucky succeed. That's all well and good, but here are five reasons why you should have been sincerely cheering FOR Connecticut, not AGAINST Kentucky:

1. The seniors of UConn: Shabazz Napier, Neils Giffey, and Tyler Olander were all members of the Connecticut program in 2011 when Kemba Walker led the Huskies to an improbable yet magical championship run. At the time, these three individuals were overshadowed by Walker, Jeremy Lamb, and Alex Oriakhi but nonetheless, each freshman contributed to the championship season. The Huskies were atop the college basketball world after taking down the Butler Bulldogs and added another credential to then head coach Jim Calhoun's Hall of Fame resume. And while 2011 was a year for celebration, 2012 was when the program took a hit. Violations of NCAA rules were brought into the open and the UConn program was banned from the postseason for the following 2013 season. This caused plenty of change within the Connecticut locker room as players like Alex Oriakhi chose to transfer for his senior season. So why should the three seniors on this year's team be admired? Quite simply, they stayed. Napier, Giffey, and Olander took the punishment like men and chose to stay loyal to the Connecticut program. At a time when loyalty is hard to come by in sports, the three seniors stayed put and helped bring the program back in to good light. THAT'S what leadership is all about.

Ollie won his first NCAA championship in just his second season

2. Kevin Ollie: The former NBA player was an assistant to Calhoun on the 2011 championship team and later found himself cleaning up the mess that Calhoun left behind when he was hired for the 2012-2013 season. It wasn't Calhoun who had to deal with the repercussions of the violations, it was Kevin Ollie, who had no head coaching experience. Yet here Ollie stands now, just two years later, a national champion. Ollie managed to keep the program intact and can even be held somewhat responsible for managing to keep the three seniors around. Aside from just keeping the personnel as well as recruiting new players, Ollie was a big enough influence that players bought in immediately. Even before the national championship came into play, Ollie had established himself as a rising talent in coaching and now has achieved the highest honor a current head coach can: a national championship. Just like the three seniors, Ollie took the punishment in stride and, obviously, made the most of it.

3. Veteran Victory: Everyone heard about the hype surrounding Kentucky and the fact that they were the first team since Michigan's "Fab Five" to start five freshman in a championship game. John Calipari had finally gotten the Wildcats to play up to their potential and they enjoyed great success in the tournament behind some very exciting performances. Kentucky took down numerous veteran teams on their way to the national championship by defeating Wichita State, Louisville, Michigan, and Wisconsin. UConn was the next target on the list of veteran teams, as they only start one freshman. While the thought of cheering for freshman who figured it out in a single season is understandable, the chance that these UConn kids had was even more exciting. To have dealt with the postseason ban as well as a head coaching change and a conference change, and still find a way to stay together and fight their way back to the national championship is something that presented so much more excitement. Kentucky's run was impressive and fun to watch, but the reward the UConn players got for sticking out all of the change and punishment was absolutely awe-inspiring.

4. Big performances from unheralded players: If you watched UConn at any point throughout the season then you obviously know the name Shabazz Napier. At the beginning of the season, however, Napier was about the only "star" UConn had on it's roster. Yet through this tournament run, multiple Huskies stepped up and drove Connecticut. Without a doubt, Napier was the leader and the dominant force for UConn, but players like DeAndre Daniels and Ryan Boatright turned in impressive and game-changing performances each game as well. Neither Daniels nor Boatright is a star and neither one looks like an NBA player at this point in time, but that's the beauty of it. Kentucky has seven or eight guys on their roster that will get drafted at some point. As of right now, Napier looks to be the only UConn player that could have a meaningful NBA career. UConn wasn't driven by four or five stars, they were driven by one that was greatly complimented by above-average role players which made their unlikely run even sweeter.

Walker and Napier have led UConn to their last two titles

5. UConn basketball dominance: In 2004, Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon led Connecticut to a national title. Diana Taurasi, at the time, was doing the same exact thing for the UConn women. That year, UConn won the national championship in both men's and women's basketball. Now here we are, ten years later, and UConn is threatening, once again, to dominate the college basketball world. It's impossible to not cheer for that. To think that in the past ten years they have the chance to win a national title in both men's and women's basketball in the same year two times is unbelievable. The UConn men did their part last night in taking down Kentucky. Now all that stands between the UConn women and a national title is the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The two teams play tonight at 8:30 ET. Should the Huskies manage to pull out a victory tonight, it's safe to say Storrs, Connecticut will be partying for days, maybe even weeks, to come.

You don't have to be a Connecticut fan to appreciate all that their men's program went through these past few seasons. It's encouraging to see those three seniors be rewarded for their patience and loyalty, and the fact that they have a shot at history (barring a Notre Dame victory tonight) is nothing short of exciting. The Kentucky Wildcats made a magnificent run through the tourney and deserve a lot of credit for pulling together, but the accomplishments UConn achieved this year deserve all the recognition and appreciation in the world.