TOP DOGS: A UConn basketball podcast

On today's episode of TOP DOGS, Rob Dauster breaks down all the scuttle coming out of Big East media day while also being joined by Danny Hurley for an interview on UConn's upcoming season. 

Adam Finkelstein of 247 Sports joins today's episode of TOP DOGS to help break down UConn's 2023 recruiting class, dubbed the Fab Five 2.0. We also get into a discussion about Andre Jackson's potential to be UConn's starting point guard this season. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

The season is almost here. We are just five weeks away from the start of the season, and that means it's time for Top Dogs to come back! Rob Dauster is joined by Jared Kotler of the CT Scoreboard Podcast to break down a roller coaster of an offseason and take a deep dive into what we should expect from the Huskies this year.

UConn just beat Villanova!!!! What a win. What a freakin' win. Let's goooooo!!!!

The next seven days will make or break UConn's season. In today's episode of TOP DOGS, Rob Dauster breaks down what the Huskies need to do to win those games, and why a loss at Xavier and a win at St. John's is evidence of that. 

UConn landed a terrific win over Marquette on Tuesday afternoon, what was arguably UConn's best win since beating Auburn in November. What this win meant so much, what it means for UConn moving forward and why Tyrese Martin is now, definitively, UConn's most important player. 

UConn fans are frustrated. I get it, I'm frustrated, too. I'm here to talk through it with you, and to talk you off of the ledge. 

Ryan Boatright joined today's episode of TOP DOGS to talk about winning the 2014 national title, playing alongside Shabazz and what it took for him to get from Chicago to Storrs to Paris. You have to hear his stories from winning the national title.

John Fanta joins today's episode of TOP DOGS to reset the Big East conference after the first two months of the season. Is this the year that the Huskies return to the top of the league? Can they beat out Villanova for a Big East regular season title?

Chris Smith was the first elite recruit to commit to Jim Calhoun. He was the local star that helped laid the foundation of the UConn program. He joined this week's episode of TOP DOGS to discuss how and why he made the decision to join UConn, what it meant to the state and, of course, to talk through this year's team. 

Adama Sanogo, the best big man in the Big East and the star of this year's UConn team, joined TOP DOGS this week to talk among the effort that it takes to get back into shape after an injury, moving from Mali to America as a 15-year old, his development as a big man and supporting a team as despicable as Chelsea Football Club. It's unclear if we can still be fans of Adama now that we know he supports Chelsea.

Andrea Hurley, the wife of UConn head coach Dan Hurley, joined TOP DOGS to talk about her podcast, Ball Is Wife, and offered some insight on what it means to be part of a basketball family. Andrea also talked about her role on the team, her interactions with the players and offered some CLASSIC stories about coach Hurley. Plus, Rob and Tristan break down the team's recent loss to Providence and silver linings to the season thus far.

Today's guest on TOP DOGS is ESPN commentator Jon Crispin, who played at Penn State and called UConn's win over St. Bonaventure on Saturday. That means that he broke down the film of all of UConn's previous relevant games to prep, so I'm not sure there is a national broadcaster that has a better feel for what this team is in the moment. 

With injuries to key players in Adama Sanogo and Tyrese Martin, the Huskies have a tough upcoming schedule including a matchup with West Virginia on the road and a date with the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure. Rob and Tristan discuss these matchups and how UConn can continue to be competitive in spite of such injuries. Then, Tyrese Martin joins TOP DOGS to discuss his injury, the team's impressive depth and the best dunker on the team. Plus, Martin gives his all-time Huskies dream team!

We got our first real taste of what UConn basketball is going to be this season, as the Huskies went down to Atlantis and played three thrillers, beating Auburn and VCU but losing a heartbreaker to VCU in the semifinals of the event. In this week's episode of TOP DOGS, Rob breaks down the week from every conceivable angle. 

UConn is finally going to get their first test of the season, as they square off with Auburn in the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis event in the Bahamas. Can the Huskies actually win that tournament? What needs to go right for that to happen? Also, a breakdown of Stephon Castle, his commitment to the Huskies and what that means for this team moving forward.

Reacting to the first two games of UConn's season, plus a lengthy interview with Josh Boone on this week's episode.

UConn's starting point guard joins TOP DOGS this week! He previews the season with Rob, breaking down the difficultly of replacing James Bouknight while also breaking down Adama Sanogo's improvement this offseason. Plus, RJ has his own merch line, and he went in depth on the process of being able to capitalize on his own name, image and likeness.

Buy COLE BLOODED merch here: https://cole-bloodeddna.com/

UConn legend Taliek Brown, the program's all-time assist leader and a current member of Dan Hurley's coaching staff, was today's guest on the TOP DOGS podcast. Taliek discussed his role in UConn's come from behind win over Duke in the 2004 Final Four, the shot he hit against Pitt in the 2002 Big East tournament and an incredible Jim Calhoun story that you are going to want to hear. 

On the officially official inaugural episode of TOP DOGS, UConn head coach Dan Hurley joins the show to discuss his path to UConn basketball, this year's roster and to tell a few JR Smith stories along the way. 

This episode is NOT the first episode of Top Dogs, but seeing as we are currently rolling out our Top 50 Countdown over on The Field of 68, and seeing as today is the day that No. 25 UConn will be released, we figured that it only made sense to drop that recording into this feed. You can binge the entire Top 50 Countdown, plus previews for each of the Big Six leagues, here:

Rob Dauster is a born and raised nutmegger. From the outskirts of New Haven, he is one of the people that understands the only things that matter in this world are thin crust apizza cooked in brick ovens, and UConn basketball. After more than a decade of working in corporate media and pretending like the team that mattered most didn't matter, Rob launched the Field of 68 Media Network, which means that the act has been thrown out the window. Join us for a ride as we traverse what is only the start of UConn's return to dominance.