BC Coach Jeff Hafley post game comments on UConn

[SwingDog]

“I thought UConn had a good plan. I thought they played hard. It’s a game we should win when we play….We kept UConn in the game. I mean it’s as easy as that, and that’s no disrespect. We kept UConn in the game. We made the game way closer than it should have been. Ultimately, we won the game which is what we should do when we play UConn, and I say that with no disrespect, but when we play them that’s the expectation.”

“This wasn’t going to be, because UConn beat us last year, it was just gonna be a roll over walk in the park. You gotta go beat teams, and the ball bounces a funny way sometimes, and you get a penalty here, and a missed opportunity there. And we could have went back, because they took momentum a few times but we kept fighting.”

Reporter: “What was the mood like in the locker room? Did the guys seem gratified to get some revenge, or did they just seem content?”

Hafley: “It looked like we won a game, and they put in a lot of work to do that. I don’t know if revenge is being talked of down there. Like I said earlier, I expected to win this game, they expected to win this game. When we play UConn we expect to win, and that was my message to the team. You guys asked me if I needed motivation. No, I don’t need motivation. We’re a different team this year, they’re a different team this year. Both teams showed up. Did we play great? No, but we found a way to win”.

 

[Rich]

He's not saying that UCONN sucks. He's saying that BC looks at this as at least something of a rivalry game that they 'expect to win'. Frankly, I'd rather my team go into a game with that level of 'give a damn' than looking at it as 'well, we'll try to win against school X this week.'

I think this is.....what at least a few of us around here want out of Thurnder Chickens v. Huskies, no?

 

[Hoophound]

It kind of sounds like he’s insecure.

 

[CashewCrew]

What I must have missed it. Did they expect to win or not?

 

[UConnJim]

UConn was a must win for Hafley as he has been on the hot seat.

 

[SwingDog]

Well he's saying "no disrespect" but I think he could have given UConn a little credit rather than saying "we kept UConn in the game." I know we're 1-7, but over the course of the season as it progresses, there are some things we're doing right. All of these close losses aren't just because other teams kept us in the game or because we got "lucky." UConn fought today and looked like a team trying to win, and I think we have looked that way for the better part of the season. I get the sense that win or lose, ugly as it may be, opponents know they didn't just play a bunch of pansies.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

He's not saying that UCONN sucks. He's saying that BC looks at this as at least something of a rivalry game that they 'expect to win'. Frankly, I'd rather my team go into a game with that level of 'give a damn' than looking at it as 'well, we'll try to win against school X this week.'

I think this is.....what at least a few of us around here want out of Thurnder Chickens v. Huskies, no?

OMG! He totally dis'ing UConn. He is saying that UConn is a patsy on their schedule, that they know they are better.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

“I thought UConn had a good plan. I thought they played hard. It’s a game we should win when we play….We kept UConn in the game. I mean it’s as easy as that, and that’s no disrespect. We kept UConn in the game. We made the game way closer than it should have been. Ultimately, we won the game which is what we should do when we play UConn, and I say that with no disrespect, but when we play them that’s the expectation.”

“This wasn’t going to be, because UConn beat us last year, it was just gonna be a roll over walk in the park. You gotta go beat teams, and the ball bounces a funny way sometimes, and you get a penalty here, and a missed opportunity there. And we could have went back, because they took momentum a few times but we kept fighting.”

Reporter: “What was the mood like in the locker room? Did the guys seem gratified to get some revenge, or did they just seem content?”

Hafley: “It looked like we won a game, and they put in a lot of work to do that. I don’t know if revenge is being talked of down there. Like I said earlier, I expected to win this game, they expected to win this game. When we play UConn we expect to win, and that was my message to the team. You guys asked me if I needed motivation. No, I don’t need motivation. We’re a different team this year, they’re a different team this year. Both teams showed up. Did we play great? No, but we found a way to win”.

Sounds like a confused and confusing dude.

 

[SwingDog]

OMG! He totally dis'ing UConn. He is saying that UConn is a patsy on their schedule, that they know they are better.

I think that's exactly what he's saying, and it's up to the Huskies to prove him wrong.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Sounds like a confused and confusing dude.

He wasn't confused, he was not very happy with how his team played. Although he tried hard not * on UConn, he expected his team to put this opponent away easily.

 

[BlueandOG]

Fork that guy. He’s lucky to have a job.

 

[BigFanCT]

Full stop. The team is 1-7 lol. We have zero right to say anything about what any other coach says about us. Our record is what we are. Horrid.

 

[SwingDog]

He's not saying that UCONN sucks. He's saying that BC looks at this as at least something of a rivalry game that they 'expect to win'. Frankly, I'd rather my team go into a game with that level of 'give a damn' than looking at it as 'well, we'll try to win against school X this week.'

I think this is.....what at least a few of us around here want out of Thurnder Chickens v. Huskies, no?

He's not saying they go into every game expecting to win. If he said that I could respect it. If he had said when they face UConn they know they're in for a battle, I could respect that as well. But he specifically said when they play UConn they expect a win. He said it several times so I know he didn't misspeak.

 

[HCCForever]

Fork that guy. He’s lucky to have a job.

I echo that. And obviously He has no respect for UConn but the team is responsible for much of that.

 

[Huskygamble19]

That is like him saying to someone "You #$#&##@+&%..No offense".

 

[Purple Stein]

I will take great joy when this guy gets canned.

 

[NHRich]

Easy to hate BC.

 

[uconndogs]

He won’t have a job in the next year it two, so who cares what he says. Our program certainly has its issues, but so does BC. They are destined for eternal sub mediocrity in athletics. That’s all they can ever expect.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Missed opportunity of getting an opposing coach fired.

 

[uconnyankee]

OMG! He totally dis'ing UConn. He is saying that UConn is a patsy on their schedule, that they know they are better.

He is. Is he wrong?
BC has the benefit of being in and recruiting under the banner of a P4 conference.
The results over the past two seasons suggest that BC is underperforming given that advantage.
Would anyone have been surprised with a 20-30 point beat down?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

He is. Is he wrong?
BC has the benefit of being in and recruiting under the banner of a P4 conference.
The results over the past two seasons suggest that BC is underperforming given that advantage.
Would anyone have been surprised with a 20-30 point beat down?

A two-touchdown favorite expectation.

 

[crewbear742]

He is saying that he doesn't consider UConn a peer or near-peer competitor of Boston College. He's right, and that's why his comment grates. He looks at UConn the same way UConn looks at UMass. If Jim Mora made similar comments about UMass, this board wouldn't even blink. I fully expected BC to win by 30, and he probably did as well. This was a team that almost upset Florida State, after all. There is a sense of "We played down to our competition" in what he said.

The irony here is that, however bad you think UConn is playing, UConn has only really been blown out once. Jim Mora has the team playing much better than should be reasonably expected. I don't know why people are calling for his head. I don't know who they think would replace him. UConn is for structural reasons exceedingly limited in its ability to recruit good staff. There needs to be a realistic assessment of what is possible. There is no caped crusading coach out there who will arrive and save the day.

Two years ago, I would have said UConn was a peer competitor of UMass. I don't think that's true anymore. I now expect UConn to beat UMass. Convincingly. That's progress however small.

 

[UCan3]

People here can spin it any way they want… When was the last time you heard Hurley, Geno or going back Calhoun saying something like ”we expect to win when we play against XYZ..”

It is personal diss and with the head start they get on recruiting / additional $$ their program has - could have done without his effort to rub Uconn‘s face in it.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

People here can spin it any way they want… When was the last time you heard Hurley, Geno or going back Calhoun saying something like ”we expect to win when we play against XYZ..”

It is personal diss and with the head start they get on recruiting / additional $$ their program has - could have done without his effort to rub Uconn‘s face in it.

Calhoun said exactly that when referring going into playing PC and expecting to win. That was in an SI article from UConn basketball championship commemorative issue.

 

[UCan3]

Calhoun said exactly that when referring going into playing PC and expecting to win. That was in an SI article from UConn basketball championship commemorative issue.

Good catch But think we were a much better team relative to where BC is at. Would you agree?

I still don’t like it.