Attention AG Bashers | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Attention AG Bashers

Care to expand? It's fair to criticize a players game, especially if that player is playing hero ball while shooting 20% on the season. On the other hand, you are a if you @ the kid, emphasis on kid, and tell him he's a bum and so on.
Take a look at posts on here about AG and CV - people on here are brutal
'AG & CV 4-25 from the field'
'Time to bench AG'
'Gilbert and Vital'

Things said in the chat room
The way people have dumped on these kids is uncalled for, and I admire Hurley for calling them out and protecting his players. I just learned more about the type of person he is then I knew before and have much more respect for him. He chose to keep them and he has enough faith in them to continue to start them. For all the admiration on this board for Hurley I would think you would trust his judgement more.
I am sorry that this team has not lived up to your expectations over the last few years but in my view being a fan is being supportive through ups and downs and being patient throughout the rebuilding process. I've been there before and believe me it was worth the wait - hopefully it will be this time also.
 
Take a look at posts on here about AG and CV - people on here are brutal
'AG & CV 4-25 from the field'
'Time to bench AG'
'Gilbert and Vital'

Things said in the chat room
The way people have dumped on these kids is uncalled for, and I admire Hurley for calling them out and protecting his players. I just learned more about the type of person he is then I knew before and have much more respect for him. He chose to keep them and he has enough faith in them to continue to start them. For all the admiration on this board for Hurley I would think you would trust his judgement more.
I am sorry that this team has not lived up to your expectations over the last few years but in my view being a fan is being supportive through ups and downs and being patient throughout the rebuilding process. I've been there before and believe me it was worth the wait - hopefully it will be this time also.
Personally, the last week and a half is as much fun as I have had watching UConn in a long time. That's just me. I know I am not good enough to coach a men's D1 team....or a boys under 7 team.
 
AG is the man. Screw the haters. Yeah he’s had a tough time shooting it this year, he’s still our best pure point guard by a wide margin. The fact that a McDonald’s All American didn’t transfer during the shitshow we’ve been the past 4 years deserves praise no matter his play on the court. He’s loyal to UConn. He’s also had 2 shoulder surgeries, give the dude a break. Also worth noting he adjusted his game today by taking only 5 shots and dishing out 7 assists - that shows maturity. It’s also still November. Chill out.
 
Dan, I'm happy you're here and I'm in your corner my man. But let me correct something about what you said. Many of us "know what makes a championship program". We've been observing that stuff for 20 or more years.
We've observed 15 titles in total, so we know what it takes. Maybe that's our problem. :D

Anyhow, I think you're the right man to get us back into the mix, and I believe our short term success relies heavily on AG's play. Most of us do, ignore the noise. You can't have the passionate fan bash without the passion
giphy.gif
 
I'd honestly be a little bit upset and confused if we didn't criticize AG's play after the X game... he made some terrible in-game decisions. We're all diehard fans and want to see our program succeed. Obviously there's a line we can't cross and we have to realize he is a kid and has been damn loyal to our program, but as long as we're talking hoops and not making personal attacks we can show our passion by criticizing a player's performance.
 
.-.
Just pause for one moment and just think - imagine if Ag starts playing like we know he’s capable of? We cud be scary good by February. 10 deep with bouknight on draft boards(not that I want that part but....) Thinking about this in back of my mind
 
It’s not that complicated. If your hating on a guy that has continually worked his tail off to get back on the court for us, for UConn, then don’t pretend that you somehow support the player. Too many people are ready to give up on a high character kid just because he didn’t get the results they want. They almost beat a top 20 team Friday, they played with heart and determination. AL’s character is a big part of the rebuild. You can’t replace real character, conversely you can easily replace fake fans cause when your finally winning there will be plenty of people filling those empty seats. If you don’t have AL’s back you ain’t part of the family.
 
Nobody here is rooting against AG, we all want him to succeed. And I'm sure Hurley's conversation with him wasn't just that all the people on social media are idiots. Hint: Look how he played the first 5 games, and look how he played tonight
 
Take a look at posts on here about AG and CV - people on here are brutal
'AG & CV 4-25 from the field'
'Time to bench AG'
'Gilbert and Vital'

Things said in the chat room
The way people have dumped on these kids is uncalled for, and I admire Hurley for calling them out and protecting his players. I just learned more about the type of person he is then I knew before and have much more respect for him. He chose to keep them and he has enough faith in them to continue to start them. For all the admiration on this board for Hurley I would think you would trust his judgement more.
I am sorry that this team has not lived up to your expectations over the last few years but in my view being a fan is being supportive through ups and downs and being patient throughout the rebuilding process. I've been there before and believe me it was worth the wait - hopefully it will be this time also.
Those threads are filled with reasonable critiques of Alterique's form so far this season. Has Alterique had to overcome some of the worst injury luck we've seen? Yes. Does Alterique deserve credit for the team's improvement thusfar as the alpha dog in the squad? Yes. All that being said, if our point guard continually makes dumb decisions and insists on playing hero ball when he can't buy a bucket our fans are allowed to discuss it on this forum. You can root for Rique while at the same time acknowledging when he stinks out loud.

Also, I have to say, I don't think for a second Hurley meant the boneyard when he was talking about fan abuse. I assume Al was getting abuse over dm on Twitter and other forms of social media. Unfortunately that is the life of an athlete, or really anyone with any clout in 2019. Penn State was just in the news for abuse their QB got after they lost to Minnesota. It's even feasible that you could have trolls posing as UConn fans harassing him. Social media is a cesspool
 
.-.
Nobody here is rooting against AG, we all want him to succeed. And I'm sure Hurley's conversation with him wasn't just that all the people on social media are idiots. Hint: Look how he played the first 5 games, and look how he played tonight
It’s obvious we should all be motivational speakers.
 
Take a look at posts on here about AG and CV - people on here are brutal
'AG & CV 4-25 from the field'
'Time to bench AG'
'Gilbert and Vital'

[/
It was “brutal” to give the shooting stats of AG and CV in the Chat room during the Xavier game? I made that comment.
Anyone who believes that AG should not have been critiqued in how he played the first 5 games need only look at how effectively AG played today. It was a 180 change on what he had been doing.
No more empty drives into the lane getting your shot swatted. Finding open teammates with nice passes instead of always looking to score yourself. Playing team ball instead of hero ball. And guess what Kathy? The team won going away.

This is what all of us fans on the board have been saying. Play to your strengths instead of your weaknesses.

I mean, what if instead it was Josh Carlton hoisting up 13 three pointers a game and making 1 or 2? Are you supporting Josh? How about after Josh misses ten 30 footers in a row against Xavier because he’s a “warrior” and wants so badly to win the game? You still cheering for Josh to keep shooting those 30 footers? The team is battling Xavier, trying to stay in the game, trying to win, and Josh has decided he doesn’t need his teammates to win the game. He’ll do it himself. Jacking up 30 footer after 30 footer, missing badly every time. Killing the valiant effort that the rest of the team put into winning the game.

Today AG played within his abilities. This is what us “brutal” fans have been asking for. Hopefully AG continues this, especially if a game is close, late. Will he revert to doing things he can’t do in a vain attempt to win the game by himself? Or will he be a team player and get his teammates involved? I’m hopeful we will never see AG again playing as if he’s the only UConn player on the court. He can be so much better than “that” AG.
 
Those threads are filled with reasonable critiques of Alterique's form so far this season. Has Alterique had to overcome some of the worst injury luck we've seen? Yes. Does Alterique deserve credit for the team's improvement thusfar as the alpha dog in the squad? Yes. All that being said, if our point guard continually makes dumb decisions and insists on playing hero ball when he can't buy a bucket our fans are allowed to discuss it on this forum. You can root for Rique while at the same time acknowledging when he stinks out loud.

Also, I have to say, I don't think for a second Hurley meant the boneyard when he was talking about fan abuse. I assume Al was getting abuse over dm on Twitter and other forms of social media. Unfortunately that is the life of an athlete, or really anyone with any clout in 2019. Penn State was just in the news for abuse their QB got after they lost to Minnesota. It's even feasible that you could have trolls posing as UConn fans harassing him. Social media is a cesspool
Even if Hurley was calling out The Boneyard (he wasn’t except in the minds of those who have an inflated opinion about themselves) so what.

For a group of fans that believes it’s alright to criticize 20 year olds we are much too sensitive about criticism directed towards us.

It’s a perfect case of we hate to receive what we give. I say give it to us Danny Boy and maybe someday we can improve the way we critique games and players. After all if it wasn’t for us calling out Al he would never have improved his play in the Miami game. Maybe the reverse can happen.
 
Even if Hurley was calling out The Boneyard (he wasn’t except in the minds of those who have an inflated opinion about themselves) so what.

For a group of fans that believes it’s alright to criticize 20 year olds we are much too sensitive about criticism directed towards us.

It’s a perfect case of we hate to receive what we give. I say give it to us Danny Boy and maybe someday we can improve the way we critique games and players. After all if it wasn’t for us calling out Al he would never have improved his play in the Miami game. Maybe the reverse can happen.
This is fair and it was all I was asking for from both AG and vital. Play within the flow of the game and take good shots. Play roles that help the team not their stats or what they think the team needs (hero ball). AG changed it up and we looked a lot better.
 
Dan, I'm happy you're here and I'm in your corner my man. But let me correct something about what you said. Many of us "know what makes a championship program". We've been observing that stuff for 20 or more years.
We've observed 15 titles in total, so we know what it takes. Maybe that's our problem. :D

Anyhow, I think you're the right man to get us back into the mix, and I believe our short term success relies heavily on AG's play. Most of us do, ignore the noise. You can't have the passionate fan bash without the passion
So Willie, tell us what it takes.
 
.-.
Even if Hurley was calling out The Boneyard (he wasn’t except in the minds of those who have an inflated opinion about themselves) so what.

For a group of fans that believes it’s alright to criticize 20 year olds we are much too sensitive about criticism directed towards us.

It’s a perfect case of we hate to receive what we give. I say give it to us Danny Boy and maybe someday we can improve the way we critique games and players. After all if it wasn’t for us calling out Al he would never have improved his play in the Miami game. Maybe the reverse can happen.

Who was he calling out? Knowing that would help us to understand what he was talking about.

Fans at the game? I've seen some really ugly behavior directed at our kids under Ollie, especially one game at MSG. I was embarrassed to be a UConn fan.

People with direct communications with Gilbert? Telling him he sucks or worse would be very inappropriate

Social media? That might include the BY

Some or none of the above?
 
Last edited:
So Willie, tell us what it takes.

Do you really think I said something wrong? Seriously?

It's easy to answer your question and talk about what we all saw, but I'd be going down a path I choose to avoid
 
This is not about the Boneyard. This is not even really about the fans (Hurley does know the crazies are not going to stop because he said to). This is about the message he is sending to AG... and by extension, the entire team (and by extension, any potential recruits out there). The message is clear and the message is simple: "Players, I got your back."
 
DHs reply to social media people bashing AG
“You’re not a fan of this program,” Hurley said. “You don’t even know what you’re watching. You haven’t spent enough time studying this game, studying what we do, knowing what makes a championship program. You just don’t get it. The things that were said across the board spoke to how little people know about team, how little they know about the game, and to treat a college kid — some fans or some others — in that manner, it’s shameful and despicable. That guy is all heart. He hasn’t played a full college season yet. If we’re going to have any success this season and change the narrative of our program, who is leading the way Josh?”
Josh Carlton, sitting next to Hurley, answered, “Alterique Gilbert.”

I don't like this look by Hurley.

Hurley gave Gilbert and Vital the green light to take some of those terrible shots, and I think any player's shot selection is fair game. I think it is also fair to be critical of the team not showing up ready to play St. Joe's. This is the big time. If the players or coach don't like the spotlight, there are about 150-200 D1 programs where they can play or coach that draw friends and family to games and don't have fan message boards.

I do not like a coach taking shots like this at a fan base, especially early in what is looking like a promising year. Hurley can defend his players without going after the fans.
 
This is not about the Boneyard. This is not even really about the fans (Hurley does know the crazies are not going to stop because he said to). This is about the message he is sending to AG... and by extension, the entire team (and by extension, any potential recruits out there). The message is clear and the message is simple: "Players, I got your back."

OK, certainly plausible. The more I think about it, AG might of had a discussion with coach about toxic comments from fans and Dan thought he needed to address it this way.

Otherwise his emotions are swinging as widely as ours do. Loving us one day and bashing us the next
 
DHs reply to social media people bashing AG
“You’re not a fan of this program,” Hurley said. “You don’t even know what you’re watching. You haven’t spent enough time studying this game, studying what we do, knowing what makes a championship program. You just don’t get it. The things that were said across the board spoke to how little people know about team, how little they know about the game, and to treat a college kid — some fans or some others — in that manner, it’s shameful and despicable. That guy is all heart. He hasn’t played a full college season yet. If we’re going to have any success this season and change the narrative of our program, who is leading the way Josh?”
Josh Carlton, sitting next to Hurley, answered, “Alterique Gilbert.”
Right on point with what I said on Saturday to a couple of you, we ain’t doing anything special this year unless Gilbert is a big part of it. Still don’t understand the bashing of the kid after a handful of games....
 
.-.
It required discipline to stay in-pocket after a tough loss.. Not let emotions pull you to a keyboard where you spout off something generated out of anger/frustration. I'm sure Hurley realizes that most of the criticism is from ppl who last year loved AG before he got hurt again, but all in all i'm so glad to have a HC so forcefully back his player like that. I'm sure it is hard for AG going from last year, where his role w Jalen and CV was so different than what it is this year with so much more talent. I'm also sure that he will get better as the season goes on and lead this team to theNCAA's
 
I (we?) still don’t know if Hurley was talking about this board or twitter, instagram, etc. The latter is inexcusable. Poor shot selections, reviewed over time, should be in play for a discussion board. Nelson has a good post in another thread about the data behind shot selection. We have what appears to be a solid group of guards/wings. It doesn’t matter who starts, but who finishes and you would hope that whomever is playing well that day gets the majority of minutes.
 
My first thought when I saw Hurley's tweet was that it was partially fueled from scars that may have opened up from his own point guard playing career ("You're-Not-Bobby!"). Probably not but that was my first thought.

And my second thought was how many of us remember the abuse Taliek took during his time at UConn? There was no social media but I can remember him getting boo'd off the court back then.

I don't see any issue with criticizing AG's play, but also can only imagine how difficult it is playing point guard at this high level. You can't just throw anyone in there. Just like JC needed Tailiek leading up to 2004, Hurley needs AG.
 
Who was he calling out? Knowing that would help us to understand what he was talking about.

Fans at the game? I've seen some really ugly behavior directed at our kids under Ollie, especially one game at MSG. I was embarrassed to be a UConn fan.

People with direct communications with Gilbert? Telling him he sucks or worse would be very inappropriate

Social media? That might include the BY

Some or none of the above?
His postgame interview indicated people went to his personal social media and attacked him.
 
This is fair and it was all I was asking for from both AG and vital. Play within the flow of the game and take good shots. Play roles that help the team not their stats or what they think the team needs (hero ball). AG changed it up and we looked a lot better.

I had a new perspective on some of AG's and Vital's play down in Charleston. The main thing is, forget the metrics. AG makes a lot of quality passes that are dropped or not converted by his teammates. I'm sure that has had an impact on his game. He needs to keep trusting the guys. Second, AG has real leadership skills out there, and I think he felt like he had to carry the scoring load for this team. That same mind-set applies to Vital.
Third, these guys pause and get input from Hurley in every single half court set. He's calling for the penetration, it isn't AG or Vital doing it on their own.

That last point is critical to Hurley's message. AG is doing as instructed. It may be that Carlton, Akok, Wilson, Polley, and others are supposed to do something else to give AG a passing opportunity or to occupy defenders, and they are not doing their jobs. It's similar to messages I've seen Belichick give when the fans criticized the guy who did his job correctly, not knowing who made the actual mistake.

So when I step back, I see AG has tremendous ball handling skills and can get into the lane at will. He's short and gets swallowed up by help defenders. Now think about when a guard does that to us. Do you see 3-4 defenders close him down? If so, what happens (pass for wide open 3, cutter for a backdoor dunk etc.). If they don't double or triple him he scores or gets fouled. I also see Carlton and Whaley setting high ball screens and pulling off too soon and not rolling to the basket. I saw Carlton roll correctly and call for the ball one time all weekend. Once. And he got the ball.

I think Bouknight has helped AG by doing more of what he's supposed to do off the ball. I expect to see more of Wilson as well, as (strange as this sounds) I think he's another guy who is starting to make the right play away from the ball. Carlton doesn't help at all. Watch every other team, a big center like Josh can effectively screen one side of the lane for AG or Vital, and he doesn't. If they go around him, he should be available for a bounce pass dunk on the weak side.
 
I’ve been protective of AG and understanding of the situation. I’ve also stated that to be good as a team, AG needs to play and play well. I don’t expect Danny to give me a shout out because I agree with him.

I also don’t expect him to call fans clueless because they were critical of a situation that clearly warranted criticism. The fans wanted AG to play like he did against Miami. He did, it worked. Yes, saying things like “AG is trash“ is ridiculous, but that was just a few people and I think it was mostly on the game chat.
 
.-.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,284
Messages
4,561,242
Members
10,454
Latest member
Uconn84


Top Bottom