Blaming the coach

[Jaydumo20]

A common theme here during losses is that Hurley is the problem. Blaming the coach has roots that go way back, in every sport. But there is a psychology behind it. The brain likes simple, digestible solutions: It's easier to live with changing 1 piece then it is to change 5, or more, per se.

I'm not saying we don't have great players but blaming one to fix all is a tactic meant to soothe the psyche of the distressed fan.

Also, whenever Hurley and Calhoun get mentioned in same breath, remember: our HOF coach had several 10 loss or more seasons during his prime, and we all know he can coach. Sometimes coach is the problem, but not here

Maybe stop trying to diagnosis so much and just be a fan.

 

[jibsey]

A common theme here during losses is that Hurley is the problem. Blaming the coach has roots that go way back, in every sport. But there is a psychology behind it. The brain likes simple, digestible solutions: It's easier to live with changing 1 piece then it is to change 5, or more, per se.

I'm not saying we don't have great players but blaming one to fix all is a tactic meant to soothe the psyche of the distressed fan.

Also, whenever Hurley and Calhoun get mentioned in same breath, remember: our HOF coach had several 10 loss or more seasons during his prime, and we all know he can coach. Sometimes coach is the problem, but not here

Maybe stop trying to diagnosis so much and just be a fan.

I agree and I mentioned last night also that Hurley didn’t shoot poorly or stand there while players blew by to make layups. We got outplayed and that’s on our players mostly but credit to Shaka’s.

 

[Jaydumo20]

@jibsey 100%. If this is on Hurley then that would mean that every single one of our players is near perfect at executing and they are just waiting to be told the right thing to do.

 

[RichCTBB]

What concerns me most is that we don’t seem to have learned from the losses. Yes, they were to the top 3 teams, but we have looked pretty pedestrian in each of those losses, most notably in the 2nd half. I mean, we look terribly slow. The adjustment of bringing AJ down to the baseline when Adama gets the ball down low didn’t work yesterday. So we struggled yet again and couldn’t find the lineup that would work. Hurley mentioned in the post game that we’ve been looking scripted and lacking in creativity, but didn’t seem to want to take on any responsibility for that. I would’ve liked to hear him take at least SOME responsibility for that.

 

[RJScootin]

Not starting Clingan in the second half was a mistake by Hurley. The team was clearly playing better when he was on court mainly by his defense presence and easy scoring opportunities. Every time Marquette went on a run it was when Sangoe was in. As seen in start of 2nd half. Hurley needs to play to win not worry about an upperclassmen playing time. Going forward if Clingan isn't seeing more playing time than its coaching malpractice.

I agree and I mentioned last night also that Hurley didn’t shoot poorly or stand there while players blew by to make layups. We got outplayed and that’s on our players mostly but credit to Shaka’s.

Agree but..... How does Hurley not find away to get Hawkins involved in the game. That was mind blowing to me.

 

[Jaydumo20]

@RichCTBB I understand your point. What I took from his statement was the original play broke down but the creativity to regroup on the fly was lacking. I still feel some of this is on the player. It's easier to see in football: HOF coaches call the wrong play 50% of the time, but when you have a jackson, Favre, manning or Mahomes they can make something out of the broken down play. We had that in kemba and Shabazz but those kind have not shown up all that often on this squad. I think it'll improve.

 

[Deleted at users request]

What concerns me most is that we don’t seem to have learned from the losses. Yes, they were to the top 3 teams, but we have looked pretty pedestrian in each of those losses, most notably in the 2nd half. I mean, we look terribly slow. The adjustment of bringing AJ down to the baseline when Adama gets the ball down low didn’t work yesterday. So we struggled yet again and couldn’t find the lineup that would work. Hurley mentioned in the post game that we’ve been looking scripted and lacking in creativity, but didn’t seem to want to take on any responsibility for that. I would’ve liked to hear him take at least SOME responsibility for that.

I could be wrong and just don’t read every presser, but I hardly hear him take responsibility for things. It’s usually on the players and them not being tough or playing hard enough.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Team win. Coach the carpenter. Team loses, he can’t win close games.

That’s what happens when you are paid $4M a year. This is the business.

As far as the team, glaring issues with backcourt offensively. He just isn’t impactful enough, which doesn’t make sense considering the talent he has. He should be able to with his size, skill and athleticism attack the basket and create for other players.

I don’t like they are only using Hawkins as a spot up shooter off screens. He needs to attack the rim and be more aggressive.

Sanogo, offensively, is a beast 1-on-1, but the book is out in how to defend him. Double him, make him make a play. He has to process faster

I just want to team to oaky with pace and power. They are robots out there just running the offense, but not making basketball plays .

 

[UConnSwag11]

A common theme here during losses is that Hurley is the problem. Blaming the coach has roots that go way back, in every sport. But there is a psychology behind it. The brain likes simple, digestible solutions: It's easier to live with changing 1 piece then it is to change 5, or more, per se.

I'm not saying we don't have great players but blaming one to fix all is a tactic meant to soothe the psyche of the distressed fan.

Also, whenever Hurley and Calhoun get mentioned in same breath, remember: our HOF coach had several 10 loss or more seasons during his prime, and we all know he can coach. Sometimes coach is the problem, but not here

Maybe stop trying to diagnosis so much and just be a fan.

it’s absolutely on Hurley. When you fail to game plan, knowing exactly what the opposing team is going to do and you get your butt handed to you, it’s on the coach. If Hurley gets paid what he does, and gets praise when he wins, he absolutely deserves to get ridiculed. We rip on other coaches for the exact same stuff. And of course, posters will take this comment and other peoples as “not true fan” or “haters”, which isn’t true. Some fans (and national pundits) disappeared for 8 years and have come back after the PK Invitational.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

@jibsey 100%. If this is on Hurley then that would mean that every single one of our players is near perfect at executing and they are just waiting to be told the right thing to do.

It most certainly would be on Hurley, if he has the wrong mix of players out there, regardless if they’re playing perfectly or not.

 

[August_West]

A common theme here during losses is that Hurley is the problem. Blaming the coach has roots that go way back, in every sport. But there is a psychology behind it. The brain likes simple, digestible solutions: It's easier to live with changing 1 piece then it is to change 5, or more, per se.

I'm not saying we don't have great players but blaming one to fix all is a tactic meant to soothe the psyche of the distressed fan.

Also, whenever Hurley and Calhoun get mentioned in same breath, remember: our HOF coach had several 10 loss or more seasons during his prime, and we all know he can coach. Sometimes coach is the problem, but not here

Maybe stop trying to diagnosis so much and just be a fan.

Marquette had an excellent game plan to defend our starters. It was to blanket Hawkins and double Adama. They executed it to perfection. They also had an excellent offensive plan against our starters to put Sanogo in areas where he is not defending post one on one (which he is good at) and instead trying to be a help defender or defending quicker guys 12 feet from hoop, which he is not so great at. We did have answers with our bench. Marquette had no answers for Clingan on either end, and our mixed lineups confused them a bit. So what did Hurley do to adjust? Kept going back to the starting 5 who were neutralized on both ends in every occasion. That is why we lost this game. We didn't exploit a in-game apparent weakness. Who do we blame for that besides coach?

 

[Palatine]

The coach always bears at least some responsibility in each win or loss.

While none of us can analyze the game at (or even close to) Dan Hurey's level, some things do jump out. 1. Opposing offenses seem to be able to get downhill, head to the basket and score or get fouled while the Huskies seem unable to do the same. 2. It seemed obvious that Clingan needed to play more minutes. Hurley himself mentioned this. Yet he seems unable to figure out how to get him more minutes. 3. When Hawkins plays well we win. Other teams focus on him. However, we seem unable to find a way to get him open shots.

These would all seem to fall into Hurley purview.

Finally, let's not compare the ZBE with the Big East that Calhoun coached in. That was a special time and place, the coaches in that league were a legendary group. Hell, one year three BE teams were in the final four. It's not the same.

I think, Hurley is a very good coach. His record proves it. But this is his best team at this level. It is new for him. He needs to make adjustments faster. I have said before and still think he would benefit from an old hand on his staff. A George Blaney, a smart older mentor type that has seen it all before. Such a calming influence would also help him emotionally on the sideline.

 

[MTBingNinja]

I tend to an agree. The players aren’t, coach isn’t perfect. Obviously we’re not smarter than the coaching staff, but why haven’t he tried to use AS at the 4 and DC at the 5 yet more regularly? Dan Hurley gets hung up on his initial game plans. When the opposing coach halts him, it’s like he gets stuck and doesn’t counter well. He’s in love with his 4 out out a 1 in game plan.

….but we win by two last night and every is happy. Winning cures everything.

Feel like we’re not learning from these losses.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Marquette had an excellent game plan to defend our starters. It was to blanket Hawkins and double Adama. They executed it to perfection. They also had an excellent offensive plan against our starters to put Sanogo in areas where he is not defending post one on one (which he is good at) and instead trying to be a help defender or defending quicker guys 12 feet from hoop, which he is not so great at. We did have answers with our bench. Marquette had no answers for Clingan on either end, and our mixed lineups confused them a bit. So what did Hurley do to adjust? Kept going back to the starting 5 who were neutralized on both ends in every occasion. That is why we lost this game. We didn't exploit a in-game apparent weakness. Who do we blame for that besides coach?

You realize DC played more minutes than Adama right?

 

[MDHuskFan]

I tend to an agree. The players aren’t, coach isn’t perfect. Obviously we’re not smarter than the coaching staff, but why haven’t he tried to use AS at the 4 and DC at the 5 yet more regularly? Dan Hurley gets hung up on his initial game plans. When the opposing coach halts him, it’s like he gets stuck and doesn’t counter well. He’s in love with his 4 out out a 1 in game plan.

….but we win by two last night and every is happy. Winning cures everything.

Feel like we’re not learning from these losses.

This is a great & 100% original idea that we’ve not seen on the BY before

 

[RJScootin]

You realize DC played more minutes than Adama right?

But still not enough. Why does Hurley come out of TV timeout in 2nd half and DC should have been sent in. Instead he has him check in to scores table a second after they start play, then he sits there waiting 2 mins to get in. What sense does that make?

 

[Hunt for 7]

If you read Dan Hurley quotes after the game he acknowledges we do not have creative offensive players. Intimates the roster does not have the right players to be elite in big conference games or ncaa tourney games. Maybe we sneak in as a 7 seed.

 

[willie99]

I blame really talented teams playing at home.

Believe it or not, they're are other teams with really good players that are well coached and they want to beat us too. The difference can be the home court and the home crowd

That's my story

 

[Kitaman]

I think many same game day posters would post differently 2-3 days later, especially after a loss. Just saying.

 

[PAHusky]

A few things can all be true at once.

It's true that Dan Hurley has done a good job of restoring the program's rep nationally and is bringing in good recruits at a high clip. The players seem to love him and I like his brand of basketball. I think he'll probably work out for us long term.

On the other hand, he's been here 5 something seasons. Every player on the team he chose. He constructed the roster, and should get both credit for his good recruiting and blame for some big problems in that area (guard this year, for one). His in game coaching is suspect sometimes. We haven't won a BE title, BET, or a single NCAA game. We haven't beaten a ranked team on the road.

The people who call for Dan Hurley's head after every loss are equally annoying as the people who freak out on them for being chicken littles and delusionally cite 2011 and 2014 as potential outcomes.

He's a good but not great coach. He's got a long leash still but it's obvious from our early season performances that somewhere in this team is the talent to make a FF. It's on him to actually get them to produce now. We don't need a FF this year, but after we saw this team's ceiling, not winning the Big East regular season title, the BET, or an NCAA game or two would be a disaster.

 

[REB1094]

Hurley can’t make the open shots that we are missing, but people are upset because our playstyle feels very scripted and rigid. It’s a fair complaint, exaggerated by a board that loves to complain

 

[uconngb]

Marquette had an excellent game plan to defend our starters. It was to blanket Hawkins and double Adama. They executed it to perfection. They also had an excellent offensive plan against our starters to put Sanogo in areas where he is not defending post one on one (which he is good at) and instead trying to be a help defender or defending quicker guys 12 feet from hoop, which he is not so great at. We did have answers with our bench. Marquette had no answers for Clingan on either end, and our mixed lineups confused them a bit. So what did Hurley do to adjust? Kept going back to the starting 5 who were neutralized on both ends in every occasion. That is why we lost this game. We didn't exploit a in-game apparent weakness. Who do we blame for that besides coach?

Hint: That’s not a difficult blue print to shut us down. Over 1/2 the people on this board have figured it out and we are a bunch of idiots. College coaches actually get paid to do this for a living. A good coach needs to adapt.

As Parcells once said a good coach is a guy that can take my guys and beat yours or take your guys and beat mine. Hurley has not proven he can adjust yet. He gets way too locked into guys and patterns and becomes very predictable.

 

[BugsyCT]

Pfft. A lot of you guys had no problems taking endless shots at Ollie for every thing we did wrong on & off the court after 2014 until he was pushed out the door. Now Hurley is untouchable to criticism and it's all on the players? Please. People have a right to question coaching strategies for anyone if something isn't working.

 

[August_West]

You realize DC played more minutes than Adama right?

Wasn’t just about those two’s minutes. I was clear I believe in mentioning the whole starting lineup being neutralized, and we should’ve been mixing and matching more instead of going back to them like a hockey line 2 more times too many.

 

[Get a Job]

A common theme here during losses is that Hurley is the problem. Blaming the coach has roots that go way back, in every sport. But there is a psychology behind it. The brain likes simple, digestible solutions: It's easier to live with changing 1 piece then it is to change 5, or more, per se.

I'm not saying we don't have great players but blaming one to fix all is a tactic meant to soothe the psyche of the distressed fan.

Also, whenever Hurley and Calhoun get mentioned in same breath, remember: our HOF coach had several 10 loss or more seasons during his prime, and we all know he can coach. Sometimes coach is the problem, but not here

Maybe stop trying to diagnosis so much and just be a fan.

What are you saying? Are you saying that Hurley deserves less than 100% of the blame? If so, this post is useless, because no opinion I have read on here comes close to disagreeing with that.

Are you saying Hurley deserves 0% of the blame? If so.... never mind. I'm sure you're not saying that.

If you're saying something in between those 2 extremes, this post is misguided, because people are free to express their praise and criticisms of anyone, especially the coach.

In other words, this thread is useless and/or misguided.

 

[karstenkibbe]

The coach always bears at least some responsibility in each win or loss.

While none of us can analyze the game at (or even close to) Dan Hurey's level, some things do jump out. 1. Opposing offenses seem to be able to get downhill, head to the basket and score or get fouled while the Huskies seem unable to do the same. 2. It seemed obvious that Clingan needed to play more minutes. Hurley himself mentioned this. Yet he seems unable to figure out how to get him more minutes. 3. When Hawkins plays well we win. Other teams focus on him. However, we seem unable to find a way to get him open shots.

These would all seem to fall into Hurley purview.

Finally, let's not compare the ZBE with the Big East that Calhoun coached in. That was a special time and place, the coaches in that league were a legendary group. Hell, one year three BE teams were in the final four. It's not the same.

I think, Hurley is a very good coach. His record proves it. But this is his best team at this level. It is new for him. He needs to make adjustments faster. I have said before and still think he would benefit from an old hand on his staff. A George Blaney, a smart older mentor type that has seen it all before. Such a calming influence would also help him emotionally on the sideline.

You make an interesting final point about the importance of a Blaney type on the bench. I believe we have that guy already (at a younger age) in Tom Moore. I’ll just note his absence last night due to illness. Hurley could have used him.

 

[Jaydumo20]

@Get a Job I'm not attempting to be useful or produce a positive result. Just expressing an opinion on how the knee jerk reaction is that Hurley let us down.


What I do think is useless is general fans giving coaching opinions to each other which will never be heeded by anyone on the staff. that's p*ssing in the wind and hence, useless

 

[freshler40]

You make an interesting final point about the importance of a Blaney type on the bench. I believe we have that guy already (at a younger age) in Tom Moore. I’ll just note his absence last night due to illness. Hurley could have used him.

But what about the other road losses, was Tom present? did Hurley listen? Is Calhoon still on a retainer???

 

[jake14mw]

Everyone always wants the perfect coach. Have fun finding him.

 

[Get a Job]

What I do think is useless is general fans giving coaching opinions to each other which will never be heeded by anyone on the staff. that's p*ssing in the wind and hence, useless

I agree with that, but only to the extent that everything on this forum is useless in that way. However, in the universe that is The Boneyard, criticism of the coach is just about the most appropriate/on-topic thing one could write about. Advising people on a basketball fan forum to stop criticizing the coach is just silly. Then again, my participation in this exchange is silly, so who am I to judge?