Bench coaches to guide Hurley's in-game coaching?

[MTBingNinja]

I know many of us have questioned Hurley's in-game coaching. With all the bench coaches and assistants, I would think that they would chime in during the game or timeouts to help guide Hurley's decision making process. I'm sure they're all not yes men.

 

[Huskybass]

In the first few years of the KO coaching era, he had Blaney, Hobbs and Miller with him, all of whom had considerable head coaching experience. Over time they were replaced with guys who had a fraction of the experience and knowledge. The poor results during the last couple years speak for themselves.

Hurley has a great staff. I'm sure they offer suggestions and insight. Hurley's passion for the game might make him a bit stubborn though. That said, a fully healthy roster with Bouk, Jackson and Akok would probably make his in game coaching look much better. The team is 8-3 despite not getting anything from that trio recently. While I agree that Hurley's in game coaching could use a little improvement, I fully believe that having all of our impact players healthy would have an even greater effect.

 

[RichZ]

Seems like an odd moment to bring that up, following a game in which his substitution patterns and coaching moves were both timely and effective.

 

[OkaForPrez]

 

[Dutch Boyd]

The man is missing 3 players and every other week the team gets paused because of covid. Thankfully you and everyone else on this board is not on the coaching staff.

 

[Greathusky]

I won't jump all over the newbie's case (BTW welcome!) but I believe that Dan did a helluva job last game with substitutions and game strategy, Remember that he is dealing with a moving target in terms of schedules and player availability. Coaching by committee is not going to help us.

 

[Huskybass]

The man is missing 3 players and every other week the team gets paused because of covid. Thankfully you and everyone else on this board is not on the coaching staff.

It's not just 3 players. It's a bona-fide NBA talent in Bouk, a major impact player on the defensive end in Akok, and a kid with elite athleticism and court vision in Jackson. Those would be huge pieces to work with.

Btw, while the St. John's loss really hurts because of the choppy and limited schedule, they are proving to be a pretty good team. I think they have won 4 of 5 and Posh Alexander is proving himself to be a great leader.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There is only one answer. A large monitor near the bench with our Game Chat displayed.

 

[Huskybass]

There is only one answer. A large monitor near the bench with our Game Chat displayed.

Perhaps the best post in the history of the Boneyard. The collective braintrust.

 

[ucp990411]

There is only one answer. A large monitor near the bench with our Game Chat displayed.

Perfect

 

[Dutch Boyd]

It's not just 3 players. It's a bona-fide NBA talent in Bouk, a major impact player on the defensive end in Akok, and a kid with elite athleticism and court vision in Jackson. Those would be huge pieces to work with.

Btw, while the St. John's loss really hurts because of the choppy and limited schedule, they are proving to be a pretty good team. I think they have won 4 of 5 and Posh Alexander is proving himself to be a great leader.

Completely agree.

 

[Dove]

I know many of us have questioned Hurley's in-game coaching. With all the bench coaches and assistants, I would think that they would chime in during the game or timeouts to help guide Hurley's decision making process. I'm sure they're all not yes men.

. I thought this post was going to lead to a newspaper article. It didn't.

Yeah, Danny only has to listen to his dad.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The man is missing 3 players and every other week the team gets paused because of covid. Thankfully you and everyone else on this board is not on the coaching staff.

I remember a lot of posts like this on the football board early in the Diaco era.

Hurley can't continue to make the mistakes he makes or the recruiting will dry up. There are plenty of good recruiters that are also good game coaches.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

. I thought this post was going to lead to a newspaper article. It didn't.

Yeah, Danny only has to listen to his dad.

Yep, because a high school coach knows how to beat Jay Wright and Doug McDermott.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

In the first few years of the KO coaching era, he had Blaney, Hobbs and Miller with him, all of whom had considerable head coaching experience. Over time they were replaced with guys who had a fraction of the experience and knowledge. The poor results during the last couple years speak for themselves.

Hurley has a great staff. I'm sure they offer suggestions and insight. Hurley's passion for the game might make him a bit stubborn though. That said, a fully healthy roster with Bouk, Jackson and Akok would probably make his in game coaching look much better. The team is 8-3 despite not getting anything from that trio recently. While I agree that Hurley's in game coaching could use a little improvement, I fully believe that having all of our impact players healthy would have an even greater effect.

Yep. And the biggest name on Hurley's staff is Tom Moore, who has a great reputation as a recruiter but not as great as a Head Coach. Hurley basically went right to his strength rather than try to fill a weakness.

 

[tennmike]

There is only one answer. A large monitor near the bench with our Game Chat displayed.

It is said, "We are not as good as we think we are AND we are not as bad as we think we are."

 

[ucp990411]

You guys are too much. Dan Hurley has coached many years, the son of a great coach, played major college basketball, been around the game his whole life, has assistants with a ton of experience but you know better.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You guys are too much. Dan Hurley has coached many years, the son of a great coach, played major college basketball, been around the game his whole life, has assistants with a ton of experience but you know better.

I checked, and it turns out all the coaches of the other Big East teams also have impressive resumes. Coaching is graded on a curve, and unfortunately for Hurley, he is coaching in a league that may have the best coaches in college basketball overall. Most games at this level are decided by a handful of plays, so a coach that is making mistakes will eventually stand out.

Hurley's issues are fixable, if he wants to fix them. His call.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

I remember a lot of posts like this on the football board early in the Diaco era.

Hurley can't continue to make the mistakes he makes or the recruiting will dry up. There are plenty of good recruiters that are also good game coaches.

You're talking about two completely different coaches, but why am i not surprised by your take on this.

 

[Watchdog]

It's not just 3 players. It's a bona-fide NBA talent in Bouk, a major impact player on the defensive end in Akok, and a kid with elite athleticism and court vision in Jackson. Those would be huge pieces to work with.

Btw, while the St. John's loss really hurts because of the choppy and limited schedule, they are proving to be a pretty good team. I think they have won 4 of 5 and Posh Alexander is proving himself to be a great leader.

For those who obsess about ratings, consider this 24/7 profile:
Posh Alexander........3 Star
5'11", 170 pound point guard (must have worked out a lot last summer)
Only a freshman but he seems to to be the leader SJU needed.
Only #258 player nationally
Only the #28 point guard nationally
Only the #6 player in NY State
Apparent saving grace? He's not a point guard from New Jersy.

 

[AuRevoirAAC]

We’re a few free throws away from being 10-1.

We played competitively with Creighton while missing our three most talented players.

Chill...

 

[husky429]

In-game coaching is Hurley's weakness. I don't think last game was bad though. Seemed fine.

He does need some help coaching an offense from the bench, but you can't really do that in the middle of a broken season.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Man, imagine what this place would look like if this team was actually bad.

 

[HuskyHawk]

In-game coaching is Hurley's weakness. I don't think last game was bad though. Seemed fine.

He does need some help coaching an offense from the bench, but you can't really do that in the middle of a broken season.

I am not sure that’s it really. I think he has been slow to adjust to his roster. He didn’t see much of a role for Whaley. He continued to think he had to play small to win. I get it. He has only ever had teams with talent at guard and weaknesses among the bigs. I think he’s figuring out how to adjust his offense and defense to the reality that his best lineups are not going to have more than 3 guards/wings. He has over valued 3 pt defense and undervalued rim protection.

It has really only cost us in the SJU game. I have seen some clear adjustments.

 

[husky429]

I am not sure that’s it really. I think he has been slow to adjust to his roster. He didn’t see much of a role for Whaley. He continued to think he had to play small to win. I get it. He has only ever had teams with talent at guard and weaknesses among the bigs. I think he’s figuring out how to adjust his offense and defense to the reality that his best lineups are not going to have more than 3 guards/wings. He has over valued 3 pt defense and undervalued rim protection.

It has really only cost us in the SJU game. I have seen some clear adjustments.

Seems like he's learned from his mistake from Sanogo.

Not sure we aren't valuing shot-blockers though. At least at the 4 spot. We played Akok a ton of minutes despite him being a 0 on offense for most of the season because of his shot-blocking. Johnson was recruited in large part because of his shot-blocking as well. We've also played Whaley A LOT of minutes, despite his pretty lame offense recently because he's averaging something like 2.8 blocks per game.

We clearly aren't recruiting 5s with shot-blocking or elite athleticism as a primary concern though. Or at least the top 100 Cs we have some connections with don't fit that mold. Seems to me that offensive rebounding and size are our priorities (Sanogo/Clingan fall into that pattern).

 

[HuskyHawk]

Seems like he's learned from his mistake from Sanogo.

Not sure we aren't valuing shot-blockers though. At least at the 4 spot. We played Akok a ton of minutes despite him being a 0 on offense for most of the season because of his shot-blocking. Johnson was recruited in large part because of his shot-blocking as well. We've also played Whaley A LOT of minutes, despite his pretty lame offense recently because he's averaging something like 2.8 blocks per game.

We clearly aren't recruiting 5s with shot-blocking or elite athleticism as a primary concern though. Or at least the top 100 Cs we have some connections with don't fit that mold. Seems to me that offensive rebounding and size are our priorities (Sanogo/Clingan fall into that pattern).

We did play Akok a lot, and he did a lot of good things while not doing much on offense. But when we go to Cole, Gaff, Adams/Polley, Martin, we are essentially conceding the rim. Especially when we continue to ask Whaley to hard hedge. Everybody knows we do it, and the result is they attack the rim.

What I've seen Dan Hurley do lately, is use two bigs, with one covering the rim when the other hedges. It has been effective and it helped cause those blocks the other day. It can't be Polley, Adams or Martin covering the rim, they can't do it. If he needs to play small, then he should stop the hedging and leave the 5 in the paint. It's not that complicated. Clingan will become a huge rim protector, just based on length.

On the offensive side, we are doing a much better job of feeding the inside players via the pass. Not just Sanogo, although he's most noteworthy. I don't think Dan has really had anybody besides Carlton two years ago who could be that kind of focal point inside. Akok should have been used in the post more often, and I hope he and Johnson will be going forward.

 

[CL82]

There is only one answer. A large monitor near the bench with our Game Chat displayed.

AKA "Bench Technical Bot".

 

[husky429]

We did play Akok a lot, and he did a lot of good things while not doing much on offense. But when we go to Cole, Gaff, Adams/Polley, Martin, we are essentially conceding the rim. Especially when we continue to ask Whaley to hard hedge. Everybody knows we do it, and the result is they attack the rim.

What I've seen Dan Hurley do lately, is use two bigs, with one covering the rim when the other hedges. It has been effective and it helped cause those blocks the other day. It can't be Polley, Adams or Martin covering the rim, they can't do it. If he needs to play small, then he should stop the hedging and leave the 5 in the paint. It's not that complicated. Clingan will become a huge rim protector, just based on length.

On the offensive side, we are doing a much better job of feeding the inside players via the pass. Not just Sanogo, although he's most noteworthy. I don't think Dan has really had anybody besides Carlton two years ago who could be that kind of focal point inside. Akok should have been used in the post more often, and I hope he and Johnson will be going forward.

Yeah, since we're focusing so much on hard hedges, the shot-blocking 4 makes a lot of sense. Kind of the best of both worlds when you get someone who can block shots like a big on defense, but spread the floor like a guard on the other end.

I wish we had a defense other than hard hedge and pressure the ball. We basically do the same thing on defense all the time, and just switch matchups. Some kind of zone or another wrinkle in our man to man defense could make use better. There isn't a lot to complain about... we're kenpom 22 in the country in defense. But I think we could be better with a couple of different looks in our back pocket for a few minutes a game to change the tempo.

Our best look right now is Whaley at the 4 and Sanogo at the 5 for sure. I'd imagine a healthy Akok/Johnson next year if they are ready to contribute could be very effective at taking our defense to the next level.

 

[husky429]

There is only one answer. A large monitor near the bench with our Game Chat displayed.

Hurley and Kimani would kill @Huskymagic by the under-16.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I checked, and it turns out all the coaches of the other Big East teams also have impressive resumes. Coaching is graded on a curve, and unfortunately for Hurley, he is coaching in a league that may have the best coaches in college basketball overall. Most games at this level are decided by a handful of plays, so a coach that is making mistakes will eventually stand out.

Hurley's issues are fixable, if he wants to fix them. His call.

I'm not going to be afraid to say this like everybody else, and stay silent. Pick up the phone and make the call already. You know he wants you, but he's too stubborn to call you. Okay?