Am I just an over the top homer, or did we just have three great kids drafted

[willie99]

Hawk, AJ, Adama are seemingly all high character people that work hard and have a great motor

Am I wrong?

Is this a Hurley thing? I sure hope so

 

[NJHoops]

You’re not wrong. It‘s a Hurley and staff thing, it’s a Jordan and Andre and Adama thing, it’s a Hawkins, Jackson/Altieri, Sanogo family thing. It‘s just a lot of quality people coming together to do right by each other, imo.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Wrong. Only two were drafted.

 

[Umami Zen]

Right fit/Right player-Family/Right Coach/Right Culture.. You nailed it @willie99 .. All three organizations referred to their championship pedigree as part of their attraction to these guys.

What I'm excited for is there is a legitimate need/opportunity for their skills on each of those teams.. Expect to see early contributions by all of them this year..

 

[metsfan2323]

Hurley does seem to have a knack for bringing out the best in people. He is a great teacher and coach.

 

[Waquoit]

Hurley does seem to have a knack for bringing out the best in people. He is a great teacher and coach.

When the players know you have their back and best interests at heart, they will listen. That's why I got so mad when it was suggested back when that Hurley's reluctance to run Whaley off the team "was a sign of weakness". Turns out, it was a sign of strength.

 

[REB1094]

Huskies culture is becoming a real thing. There was a game plan set to maximize each player's abilities, and it worked very well. Then midseason, there were adjustments made to make sure that they knew how to play through opposing strategies and still be effective instead of wilting. That culminated in a beautiful display of basketball and reaching the highest achievement possible in the NCAA.

These were three 4 star recruits who didn't have an ego, were ready to buy in, and are very coachable. They stuck with Hurley, and Hurley stuck with them. He saw this coming a year ago, before any of us did, and worked within that vision all season.

Pair that with incredible skill, and I'm not surprised. These are the types of guys that Hurley will love to recruit and coach moving forward

 

[aburks41]

Hurley definitely puts an emphasis on recruiting high character kids from great families. You can tell from the way the players parents interact with fans on twitter like the Cole, Castle, and Calcaterra families, or the Hawkins family's interview after Jordan got drafted that they all seem like genuinely nice people who all buy in to the "UConn way".

Part of that is also going after 4*/borderline 5* guys who will stay and develop for 2-3 years before going to the NBA. You need to find guys who are coachable to be able to do that.

 

[CL82]

Wrong. Only two were drafted.

 

[gtcam]

Hurley does seem to have a knack for bringing out the best in people. He is a great teacher and coach.

Bouk?
Not so much and hopefully a one off
Let's wait and see in a few years - he's coming off an exceptional season no doubt about it.

 

[DCHuskyFan]

YEAH, don’t be that guy that lets the facts get in the way of a feel-good story!

 

[Chin Diesel]

Part of that is also going after 4*/borderline 5* guys who will stay and develop for 2-3 years before going to the NBA. You need to find guys who are coachable to be able to do that.

JC also made a killing off the kids ranked 30-50.

These are high level players who usually need a year or two to find their groove and dominate in college.

 

[CL82]

YEAH, don’t be that guy that lets the facts get in the way of a feel-good story!

Actually, exactly that.

 

[ucp990411]

Wrong. Only two were drafted.

And they are not kids. They are terrific young men

 

[Tenspro2002]

Wrong. Only two were drafted.

Pedant.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Bouk?
Not so much and hopefully a one off
Let's wait and see in a few years - he's coming off an exceptional season no doubt about it.

Lol you’re incorrigible…

After Bouk’s early transgression, the kid seemed to do just fine while at UConn. Once he left UConn, things started to take a turn for the worse.

You supported the argument without even realizing it!

 

[NEforceUConn]

Love it UConn bleed blue!!!!!!!

 

[Leebo]

Pedant.

Come now, it's possible to be happy for everything that happened and still recognize that willie set that one up on a tee.

 

[XLCenterFan]

My favorite part about the draft is that the draft board is littered with carcasses that we devoured. Alabama, Marquette, Arkansas, Gonzaga, Nova, Xavier, Miami. I want to know how the heck that Arkansas team had 3 draft picks. I saw no one special on that squad. And if they had 3 draft picks, then that shows how deep we were and that we are primed for another run.

 

[Nick2005]

I think Hurley and staff are close to best in the country. Duke, Kansas, uconn. Unc has stuff to prove. Kentucky is a mess. UCLA might have something. Gonzaga and Virginia obviously, but who else would even be close? Marquette and other BE teams because of Uconn. Can you imagine being a garbage big east team like Xavier or Marquette and guaranteed two wins against Uconn? Must be nice. Jay wright or brad Stevens are only two people I would take over Hurley.

 

[Nick2005]

My favorite part about the draft is that the draft board is littered with carcasses that we devoured. Alabama, Marquette, Arkansas, Gonzaga, Nova, Xavier, Miami. I want to know how the heck that Arkansas team had 3 draft picks. I saw no one special on that squad. And if they had 3 draft picks, then that shows how deep we were and that we are primed for another run.

I agree with everything you said. I think Michigan had two guys. Miller 2? Really? I watched miller play, no thanks.

 

[EZPass]

My favorite part about the draft is that the draft board is littered with carcasses that we devoured. Alabama, Marquette, Arkansas, Gonzaga, Nova, Xavier, Miami. I want to know how the heck that Arkansas team had 3 draft picks. I saw no one special on that squad. And if they had 3 draft picks, then that shows how deep we were and that we are primed for another run.

*I was @XL for the Marquette blowout but idk if devour is fair when you consider all 3 games…Xavier def not

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

My favorite part about the draft is that the draft board is littered with carcasses that we devoured. Alabama, Marquette, Arkansas, Gonzaga, Nova, Xavier, Miami. I want to know how the heck that Arkansas team had 3 draft picks. I saw no one special on that squad. And if they had 3 draft picks, then that shows how deep we were and that we are primed for another run.

If only we'd played a strong schedule...

 

[XLCenterFan]

View attachment 89221
*I was @XL for the Marquette blowout but idk if devour is fair when you consider all 3 games…Xavier def not

Good points. I forgot we lost both games to Xavier! My, how time flys when you're making final 4 runs...In my head I have us winning those first 2 BE losses at X and PC....refs burned us bad.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Lol you’re incorrigible…

After Bouk’s early transgression, the kid seemed to do just fine while at UConn. Once he left UConn, things started to take a turn for the worse.

You supported the argument without even realizing it!

Your final sentence is what makes "incorrigible" such a well-chosen word. But beware - I made similar overall observations and he put me on Ignore. He went out of his way to make a bad post.