This team will never take the next step with Hurley as coach

[The Shot]

Let me start by saying that when factoring in everything that Jim Calhoun is the greatest coach in the last 30 years. That being said I am always puzzled when people lionize him without bringing up that his offensive sets were nothing to write home about. He was all about defense. He recruited and developed dynamic players who could create their own shots. He never really had a system in place like a Jay Wright or JT 3. He kept it pretty basic and had guys who could hit shots and cover for others when they had a bad game. We currently have ONE player that can reliably get his own shot. It is unfair to compare anyone to Calhoun but I see a lot of similarities in Hurley. His guys play hard, they don’t get blown out anymore, and they can stymie a top 10 team defensively. Those to me are hallmarks of the Calhoun era. Hurley is by no means the second coming of Calhoun but look at where we were 4 years ago. We have even one more consistent offensive player this year and James healthy and we have 1 loss on the season and are firmly in the top 10. And guess what? We get those guys next year and the year after. The moping and delusion on this board is mind boggling sometimes.

 

[Greathusky]

When KO was coaching at the end, it was painful to watch because you knew they were going to lose.

Watching Hurley, it is painful to watch because we are so close to reaching that championship level and falling a bit short.

I will take the latter.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

I am not ready to write him off, but Hurley just has to get better on gameday. UConn has 5 or 6 seed talent and it is on the bubble right now.

Because we've had three major injuries and three covid pauses. It's really hard to take you seriously.

 

[UCfor3]

I am not ready to write him off, but Hurley just has to get better on gameday. UConn has 5 or 6 seed talent and it is on the bubble right now.

If Bouk, Akok, AJax were healthy all year and it was a normal college bball season you would have a better case...our least talented players are upperclassmen. Our 2 most talented sophomores have been hurt for most/all year. We also have struggled at times with free throws, point guard play, and shooting/scoring. We have paused 3 times due to Covid. We have moved to a tougher conference. On the positive side of things we have avoided swarms of locusts.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Good Lord. What a horrid take. I have criticized his approach quite a bit, but he's a very good coach. I still believe he came to UConn with some preconceived notions about how to win. I think he is adjusting to the reality of play at this level, and may need to reconsider his offense and defense given the players he can recruit and the opponents we play. You cannot win at UConn playing the way URI played.

 

[7774]

I was OK with firing him just to shake things up. Ollie was a distant second in terms of the biggest reasons for UConn's decline after 2014. The AAC was a disaster for UConn, and some posters (such as me) predicted that the AAC was going to wreck the athletic program. It did. Calhoun in his prime could not have kept UConn competitive in that dumpster fire of a conference.

And yet Cincinnati kept rolling along at the same level they were at in the Big East. Even got their first top 2 seed in the tournament since Kenyon Martin was on campus. Weird.

 

[husky429]

Didn't need to read the thread to know anyone who agrees with this clown should be ignored.

I am as critical of Hurley as most anyone on this board. His record in OT sucks. His offense sucks. Never adjusts substantially on defense. Game day coaching is meh. His substitutions and TOs are dubious at best. I think it's fair to say if he doesn't improve on offense we aren't going to "get where we want to go," but there's also evidence we're continuing to improve on that end albeit slowly.

It's also obvious that he is improving as a coach just as much as the players are improving on the court. He's young, and adjusting to high-major basketball. He is doing a heck of a lot more right than he is doing wrong.

 

[7774]

I am not ready to write him off, but Hurley just has to get better on gameday. UConn has 5 or 6 seed talent and it is on the bubble right now.

I like how magically we "have 5 or 6 seed talent" now. I remember in the preseason when most publications had us ranked in the 30-40 range, and even this board, colossol homers by any definition, thought it was a fair ranking. And that was assuming a healthy Bouknight, Jackson, and probably getting at least a little something from Akok.

 

[gioff2323]

I like how magically we "have 5 or 6 seed talent" now. I remember in the preseason when most publications had us ranked in the 30-40 range, and even this board, colossol homers by any definition, thought it was a fair ranking. And that was assuming a healthy Bouknight, Jackson, and probably getting at least a little something from Akok.

And did what? Lost their coach. Did their annual early exit and are now floundering in no mans land.

 

[7774]

And did what? Lost their coach. Did their annual early exit and are now floundering in no mans land.

OK? You replied to the wrong post btw.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

A few fans on this board are bi-polar.

We beat PC and “Bouks back! We’re back! Final 4!”.

Lose to Nova and “Hurley can’t coach! What’s wrong with Bouk? The team has no players!”

Everything’s heading in the right direction. Two steps forward, one step back, until we get there. Bumps in the road.

Relax. DH is the right coach, at the right time, for this program. We were fortunate to get him.

 

[phillionaire]

A few fans on this board are bi-polar.

We beat PC and “Bouks back! We’re back! Final 4!”.

Lose to Nova and “Hurley can’t coach! What’s wrong with Bouk? The team has no players!”

Everything’s heading in the right direction. Two steps forward, one step back, until we get there. Bumps in the road.

Relax. DH is the right coach, at the right time, for this program. We were fortunate to get him.

Get outta here with your "nuance" and "reasoned takes"!

 

[UConnJim]

UConn has had injuries, COVID issues, and the highest ranked recruits are freshmen and sophomores.

Here are the recruiting rankings of the players (247 composite) and how many games they have played this year.

52. Andre Jackson 9/16 Freshman
66. James Bouknight 8/16 Sophomore
83. Adama Sanogo 16/16 Freshman
92. Akok Akok 6/16 Sophomore
105. Jalen Gaffney 16/16 Sophomore
161. Richie Springs 3/16 RFreshman
168. Tyler Polley 15/16 Senior
178. Josh Carlton 13/16 Senior
178. Brendan Adams 13/16 Junior
220. Tyrese Martin 15/16 Junior
479. RJ Cole 16/16 Junior
N/R Isiah Whaley 16/16 Senior

So, 3 of the 4 top rated recruits have played 9, 8, and 6 games andI think most would say that Akok has really only been effective in 1 game.

Next year, the talent level improves considerably:

46. Rashool Diggins
49. Jordan Hawkins
70. Samson Johnson

Clearly, Hurley could have won quicker at UConn had he pushed out players and more aggressively gone after transfers, but he decided to build the program the right way.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Because we've had three major injuries and three covid pauses. It's really hard to take you seriously.

Is Covid only happening in Storrs? I thought it was a worldwide pandemic.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Get outta here with your "nuance" and "reasoned takes"!

I took my meds today

 

[HuskyBoi]

Is Covid only happening in Storrs? I thought it was a worldwide pandemic.

the only pandemic here are your brain cells

 

[nelsonmuntz]

UConn has had injuries, COVID issues, and the highest ranked recruits are freshmen and sophomores.

Here are the recruiting rankings of the players (247 composite) and how many games they have played this year.

52. Andre Jackson 9/16 Freshman
66. James Bouknight 8/16 Sophomore
83. Adama Sanogo 16/16 Freshman
92. Akok Akok 6/16 Sophomore
105. Jalen Gaffney 16/16 Sophomore
161. Richie Springs 3/16 RFreshman
168. Tyler Polley 15/16 Senior
178. Josh Carlton 13/16 Senior
178. Brendan Adams 13/16 Junior
220. Tyrese Martin 15/16 Junior
479. RJ Cole 16/16 Junior
N/R Isiah Whaley 16/16 Senior

So, 3 of the 4 top rated recruits have played 9, 8, and 6 games andI think most would say that Akok has really only been effective in 1 game.

Next year, the talent level improves considerably:

46. Rashool Diggins
49. Jordan Hawkins
70. Samson Johnson

Clearly, Hurley could have won quicker at UConn had he pushed out players and more aggressively gone after transfers, but he decided to build the program the right way.

I was somewhat with you until the last sentence. It is funny when someone defends Hurley by arguing that he is not a good coach. Your last statement makes two presumptions: 1) Hurley is using the wrong lineups, and 2) that Hurley is such a bad coach that players do not get better under his coaching so he is better off playing those who he has coached less.

Why do you hate Hurley so much?

 

[UofCT]

I love the guy , but unless he becomes a lot better of an offensive coach we aren’t going where we want to go .

LOL we lost to the best program over the last 10 years by 8 points on the road. RELAX

 

[8893]

Suddenly, I miss @Chief00

 

[husky429]

Suddenly, I miss @Chief00

Was literally just typing this... Chief's brand of trolling was hilarious. This is just sad.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

A few fans on this board are bi-polar.

We beat PC and “Bouks back! We’re back! Final 4!”.

Lose to Nova and “Hurley can’t coach! What’s wrong with Bouk? The team has no players!”

Everything’s heading in the right direction. Two steps forward, one step back, until we get there. Bumps in the road.

Relax. DH is the right coach, at the right time, for this program. We were fortunate to get him.

There have been a lot of Dan Hurleys in college basketball over the years. Ex-players that were super competitive, from the right coaching tree, and could recruit. The guys who get to the next level have all that and can coach on gameday too. The jury is still out on that with Hurley.

 

[UConnJim]

Is Covid only happening in Storrs? I thought it was a worldwide pandemic.

UConn has been hit harder than most teams in the Big East as they are tied for 2nd for the least number of games played this year at 16. And, I would argue that COVID impacted practices at UConn more than most schools due to the rules in Connecticut.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

And yet Cincinnati kept rolling along at the same level they were at in the Big East. Even got their first top 2 seed in the tournament since Kenyon Martin was on campus. Weird.

I trolled out the AAC fanboy. That was easy.

 

[NJHusky]

Some guy named Calhoun took 9 years to get his first program into the tourney and then 4 years at UConn to get them there.

Talk about cherry picking facts....

You forgot to mention that Calhoun took Northeastern from Div II to Div I, and during his final three seasons, Northeastern achieved automatic bids to the NCAA tournament and had a 72–19 record. He received six regional Coach of the Year accolades at Northeastern and remains the institution's all-time winningest coach (245–138).

You also neglect to mention he took over a Uconn team that hadn't been to the tourney in 10 years and had NEVER even been to the final four and played in the student field house! In his SECOND season, they won the NIT! Oh, and that 4 years to make the NCAA....you neglect to mention they were 2 points from going to the final 4...so it was more than just making the tourney

Hurley already is 11 years into his NCAA career, and took over a program with 4 NC in the past 20 years and facilities that are probably top 15 in the country.

Comparing what Calhoun started with and what Hurley started with is ridiculous IMO. My concern is that if Hurley hasn't become a good game day coach by now, what makes you think he will have a metamorphosis going forward? I seem to recall Calhoun talking with Blaney all the time on the bench. I see Hurley standing by himself yelling instructions.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

UConn has been hit harder than most teams in the Big East as they are tied for 2nd for the least number of games played this year at 16. And, I would argue that COVID impacted practices at UConn more than most schools due to the rules in Connecticut.

Hurley chose not to schedule extra games during those breaks. We could have gotten 2-3 more games easily.