Aidan Mahaney says he would choose UConn again despite disappointing year

[RuffRuff]

Would love to know what each said to each other at their end of the season meeting. I doubt Hurley told him to outright hit the road but I'm sure they both knew going into the meeting that it wasn't beneficial to either of them to have Mahaney play another year at UConn.

I'd have to think Dan Hurley is pretty transparent in in those end of years convos so kids can go make the right decision for themselves. The portal is already open. I think this is what makes kids love him, they can trust him.

 

[DogMania]

I noticed the article this morning and felt is was a nice read.

I always rooted for him to succeed, but could tell early on that he was not a good fit for what Hurley brought him in for. He struggled executing the multi-action motion offense. Being decisive, knowing where to pass it, where to move and cut, is critical, especially for the both guard positions. He struggled often with his shot, and he was not quick or strong enough to prevent players front driving right by him, which was a problem with all of our guards throughout most of last season.

Note, none of this was his fault. He always worked hard and never seemed to complain, though you could see his confidence took a big hit in Maui and carried over throughout most of the season. Hurley kept on putting him out there, but eventually had to ride Diarra for excessive minutes which wore him down, even playing hurt the latter part of the season.

As for Mahaney being a bad fit, I don't think anyone saw that coming. Everyone was excited he chose UConn, including me. If Hurley was asked if he'd do it again, zeroing in on Aidan to fill the role he envisioned him for, he'd probably say no, or evade that question.

I don't know what lead guards were available when the staff was able to turn their attention to 2024-25 roster after winning the back-to-back NC. If they could have landed a Silas Demary type player, not necessarily as talented one, but one with his type of skill set, we might have three-peated.

Aidan just seems like a nice kid and good teammate. Hurley keeping in touch with him, shows he's a class act. It's simply unfortunate it didn't work out for him or UConn last year. I chalk it up as a learning experience based on the roster building decisions for the 2025-26 and the 2026-27 seasons.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Nice! I think Aidan appreciates the lessons he learned here. He’s not a point guard. He will make money overseas

 

[RuffRuff]

I noticed the article this morning and felt is was a nice read.

I always rooted for him to succeed, but could tell early on that he was not a good fit for what Hurley brought him in for. He struggled executing the multi-action motion offense. Being decisive, knowing where to pass it, where to move and cut, is critical, especially for the both guard positions. He struggled often with his shot, and he was not quick or strong enough to prevent players front driving right by him, which was a problem with all of our guards throughout most of last season.

Note, none of this was his fault. He always worked hard and never seemed to complain, though you could see his confidence took a big hit in Maui and carried over throughout most of the season. Hurley kept on putting him out there, but eventually had to ride Diarra for excessive minutes which wore him down, even playing hurt the latter part of the season.

As for Mahaney being a bad fit, I don't think anyone saw that coming. Everyone was excited he chose UConn, including me. If Hurley was asked if he'd do it again, zeroing in on Aidan to fill the role he envisioned him for, he'd probably say no, or evade that question.

I don't know what lead guards were available when the staff was able to turn their attention to 2024-25 roster after winning the back-to-back NC. If they could have landed a Silas Demary type player, not necessarily as talented one, but one with his type of skill set, we might have three-peated.

Aidan just seems like a nice kid and good teammate. Hurley keeping in touch with him, shows he's a class act. It's simply unfortunate it didn't work out for him or UConn last year. I chalk it up as a learning experience based on the roster building decisions for the 2025-26 and the 2026-27 seasons.

It would have taken more than just 1 player for that roster last year to Threepeat.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Does it matter? Unless it impacts you directly, you could do this with everyone and drive yourself crazy.

Does it matter? No not really but the same statement could be made not only about every post in this thread or even the thread itself. It is history it is over and I would think everyone would want to move on.

 

[HungryHu5ky]

Pretty sure UConn wouldn’t choose him again tho 😮‍💨

 

[NJHoops]

I've always thought Dan Hurley saw himself in AM.

The comparison of added ridiculously unhelpful cheap shots (a lot of Seton Hall fans versus some UConn fans and some program adjacent UConn people) seems similar. I’m not talking about deserved critiques but stuff that crosses a line. I think it’s more Jaylin and Jayden that he sees himself in so far. Danny had a respectable but not spectacular Big East career and always struggled to bring what he did in practice to games in a more consistent manner. If he had some of the mental supports and insights back then that he does now, it probably would have helped, but it was a different time.

Aidan could have said nothing, so I credit him for being able to see the big picture in all this. He appreciates a lot do the relationships he made in Storrs, and I’ll be rooting for him.