Has Coach Hurley revolutionized college coaching ?

[Huskybass]

It seems that Coach Hurley has created a blueprint for sustained excellence by creating a culture where EVERYTHING is done a a very high level. From the quality of the coaching staff to use of the portal (and everything in between) there are no substantive weaknesses that I can see. He gets the right kids who buy in and put in the work to reach their collective goals. From his dad to JC to Geno, he has great mentors and the right former players like Rip, Ray, Emeka, and Boat are all visible around the program.

I'm guessing we see a bunch of copycats in terms of offensive sets. Am I giving Hurley too much credit, or has he created something so good that it has become the Championship blueprint?

 

[AdamaNation]

It’s all cyclical but Wooden had a blue print too, aside from being in LA. The plan and the man drew the most elite players there and they balled. However. Geno has followed this, and as ive said, this is who Hurley is emulating. He’s going after auriema’s rings. This staff will be the same for the most part for years to come.

 

[KembaRunner]

I'm guessing we see a bunch of copycats in terms of offensive sets. Am I giving Hurley too much credit, or has he created something so good that it has become the Championship blueprint?

you may be giving everyone else too much credit.

 

[inWV]

Yes. Also Luke and Kimani.

 

[HuskyFich]

It seems that Coach Hurley has created a blueprint for sustained excellence by creating a culture where EVERYTHING is done a a very high level. From the quality of the coaching staff to use of the portal (and everything in between) there are no substantive weaknesses that I can see. He gets the right kids who buy in and put in the work to reach their collective goals. From his dad to JC to Geno, he has great mentors and the right former players like Rip, Ray, Emeka, and Boat are all visible around the program.

I'm guessing we see a bunch of copycats in terms of offensive sets. Am I giving Hurley too much credit, or has he created something so good that it has become the Championship blueprint?

This is so incredibly difficult to "copy."

You're not giving Hurley enough credit.

 

[inWV]

UCONN bb fan, Nebraska football fan. Tom Osborne and his DC Charlie McBride were faced with a similar problem in the years before they went on the 3 titles in four years run. NU's option-based offense could generate points and they won a whole bunch of games and conference titles, but could not defend the fast teams based in Florida. NU switched defensive alignments and designed a defense that featured fast LBs and DBs that could also hit. Their last two title games against Florida and Tennessee were beat downs on the level UCONN has delivered the past two years. Then TO retired and the thing began to unwind.

 

[shizzle787]

UConn plays a European style of basketball (which in my opinion is a better watch stylistically than the NBA or most college styles). It works, and a lot of other major programs are going to try to replicate it.

 

[WiseWillie]

Hurley's the man for sure but we cannot ignore the influence of Luke and Kimani with the successful results these past two years. Their experience and relationship with the players is an integral part of the

Hurley Winning Formula: Hard Work + Selflessness = Success

 

[selles]

Great program builders like Hurley have always been around and can't really be copied. But where I think Hurley has revolutionized the game is on the offensive end. For far too long the college game had devolved to a simple formula of drive, kickout, extra pass, three. It was becoming incredibly boring. I have to believe that the best coaches (not the mediocre ones, because it's still very hard to coach the level of offensive execution that we saw) will now incorporate a lot more motion into their offensive sets.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

He reintroduced an effective use of the center over the objection of many (including posters on this board) who think that all players should be tweener wings, no matter how mediocre their shooting.

 

[Greg]

It’s all cyclical but Wooden had a blue print too, aside from being in LA. The plan and the man drew the most elite players there and they balled. However. Geno has followed this, and as ive said, this is who Hurley is emulating. He’s going after auriema’s rings. This staff will be the same for the most part for years to come.

Need to get the right kind of players. guys with enough confidence to know they don't have to be a one man show and they can still make a small fortune playing when college is over sprinkled in with guys who might not be NBA players but are hungry winners who will do all the little things that make a team great instead of good. Amazing job replacing so much from last year and getting the right parts to win again this year.

 

[upstater]

It seems that Coach Hurley has created a blueprint for sustained excellence by creating a culture where EVERYTHING is done a a very high level. From the quality of the coaching staff to use of the portal (and everything in between) there are no substantive weaknesses that I can see. He gets the right kids who buy in and put in the work to reach their collective goals. From his dad to JC to Geno, he has great mentors and the right former players like Rip, Ray, Emeka, and Boat are all visible around the program.

I'm guessing we see a bunch of copycats in terms of offensive sets. Am I giving Hurley too much credit, or has he created something so good that it has become the Championship blueprint?

We don't even know if he can reproduce that offense with new players so it's hard to know if that offense can be reproduced elsewhere. He's doing it with highly skilled & athletic players who are also trying to showcase their talents. These aren't Carril's Princeton Tigers. It's hard to say if a new set of players will execute at the same high level.

I remember watching a video of Sanogo practicing last year and the intensity and the exactitude seemed a level above. I'm sure Hurley can have that kind of buy-in. But then he needs players with very high basketball IQ.

I'm sure opposing coaches are also going to negatively recruit against this offense by saying it's not a proper NBA offense (false) or that is doesn't showcase stars because the ball is shared too much (true, to a degree). They'll use Castle's numbers as an example and hope the recruit missed the fact that Castle scored 21 points as a freshman in a F4 game.

 

[Brochacho]

It’s really simple. Elite assistants. Elite big men. Your core players don’t portal every year. Bat 1.000 in the portal. Recruit a lottery level talent every year.

Why don’t other coaches do this?

 

[my2cents]

His dad, Bob Hurley Sr. won 26 NJ state championships. I am sure that Dan learned a thing or too from him.
Winning comes from playing a team game, and not from individuals concerned about scoring points. The so-called experts always called out the guy scoring the most points as the "best" player or having the best game.
Karaban scored 5 points in the title game and they said he had a bad game. They gave him no credit for his blocked shots, defense and rebounds. If your shot is not going in that night, contribute winning plays in other areas.
Thats the Hurley secret that is winning these titles.

 

[Waquoit]

It’s all cyclical but Wooden had a blue print too, aside from being in LA. The plan and the man drew the most elite players there and they balled. However. Geno has followed this, and as ive said, this is who Hurley is emulating.

Huh? Yes, Geno and Wooden had their systems. But they were helped by the fact that they always had the top recruits on their team. Geno never won a title without the best player in the country. Hurley is more impressive.

 

[metsfan2323]

Geno has followed this, and as ive said, this is who Hurley is emulating. He’s going after auriema’s rings. This staff will be the same for the most part for years to come.

I have wondered if Geno's influence is being underestimated. In my very amateur opinion, our offense looks a lot like the women's offense these days and I love it.

I remember when people thought Geno ball would never work in men's basketball.

 

[Stinger92860]

Great program builders like Hurley have always been around and can't really be copied. But where I think Hurley has revolutionized the game is on the offensive end. For far too long the college game had devolved to a simple formula of drive, kickout, extra pass, three. It was becoming incredibly boring. I have to believe that the best coaches (not the mediocre ones, because it's still very hard to coach the level of offensive execution that we saw) will now incorporate a lot more motion into their offensive sets.

I believe Luke deserves a lot of the credit for technical strategy.

 

[80shusky]

I think this question gets partially answered this fall.

 

[DblCrossbar]

Great program builders like Hurley have always been around and can't really be copied. But where I think Hurley has revolutionized the game is on the offensive end. For far too long the college game had devolved to a simple formula of drive, kickout, extra pass, three. It was becoming incredibly boring. I have to believe that the best coaches (not the mediocre ones, because it's still very hard to coach the level of offensive execution that we saw) will now incorporate a lot more motion into their offensive sets.

This advanced Euro style offense could not be achieved by a one and done crew. Those days are over simply because as the sophistication increases, so is the experience needed to execute it to form.

Hurley himself has said NIL has actually helped with the player “buy in” part of the equation because he can now approach the team with a pro mentality. Since players are getting paid now, they need to live up to that higher standard he demands to essentially earn their reward, both financially and through the pursuit of excellence and championships.

 

[Kenny11]

On the culture stuff, every coach preaches culture, playing the right way, being unselfish, sacrificing for the team... blah blah blah. To actually get 100% buy in from everyone in the program is a different story...other head coaches can try to copy that all they want, but very few will be able to.

 

[Edward Sargent]

His dad, Bob Hurley Sr. won 26 NJ state championships. I am sure that Dan learned a thing or too from him.
Winning comes from playing a team game, and not from individuals concerned about scoring points. The so-called experts always called out the guy scoring the most points as the "best" player or having the best game.
Karaban scored 5 points in the title game and they said he had a bad game. They gave him no credit for his blocked shots, defense and rebounds. If your shot is not going in that night, contribute winning plays in other areas.
Thats the Hurley secret that is winning these titles.

Actually 32 state and national titles. 150 Division 1 basketball players. Five first round NBA picks. I used to go to see St Anthony's when Terry Dehere, Bobby and Danny were in school. I was a big Dehere fan and remember thinking why no St Anthony's players never considered UConn. Talked about it all the time in our neighborhood with the consensus being Hurley Sr didn't like Calhoun.

 

[Conndog]

The offense really is beautiful. I watched the 2nd half again and was amazed at how many times UConn got layups or drove into the paint even if 7'4 Edey was there. The weaving in and out of so many players going to the basket or out again to 3 point territory was hard to watch without getting dizzy! How anyone can make a decision about keeping the ball and driving, or throwing a lob to one of the bigs, or dishing it back out to someone popping open because of a screen, is mind boggling- how do they know who is open or where people are going to be with so much movement? It really is so difficult to defend.

 

[DblCrossbar]

The offense really is beautiful. I watched the 2nd half again and was amazed at how many times UConn got layups or drove into the paint even if 7'4 Edey was there. The weaving in and out of so many players going to the basket or out again to 3 point territory was hard to watch without getting dizzy! How anyone can make a decision about keeping the ball and driving, or throwing a lob to one of the bigs, or dishing it back out to someone popping open because of a screen, is mind boggling- how do they know who is open or where people are going to be with so much movement? It really is so difficult to defend.

The coaching staff has mentioned slotting time and space on the court and how it is incorporated into their sets. Again this is only really accomplished with more experienced players and the right fit from the transfer portal unless like in the case of Caste, the attitude and basketball IQ are sufficient enough to make it work along with talent.

Or maybe members of the physics department at UConn are also advising in the background .

 

[Monte]

A top college coach, with a good record, gets into that position because he has top players. Recruiting the best players is the key to being a top coach.
I know of no great coach who had just average or inferior players. I often think about the baseball manager, Casey Stengel. In his reign with the Yankees, he had teams overflowing with great players, and they ruled baseball for a decade.
THEN, Stengel went to manage the NY Mets, a new a team, with an assortment of old and mediocre players. While Casey "managed" that new Mets team, they set a new Major League record for losses in a single season!

 

[QDOG5]

I've always thought the game is more fun to play/watch when there is more passing and assists. I remember when the 5 out offense became the prominent style of play. It still is in some programs in college and the pros. While it may be effective with the right players I find it extremely boring. How many times this year did we have multiple pass possessions that ended with the final pass to a wide open player. We were screening off ball with multiple cutters and opposing teams were consistently late to the final pass. It was a joy to watch.