Closing Ability

[superjohn]

I'm not even going to try and defend his end of game play-calling. But I'm not overly concerned about Hurley at this point. Even the best coaches need the right chess pieces on the board. I'm convinced that we don't have the right pieces (yet).

What about next year? I heard we'll have Cole back but are we going to depend on Diggins, a guy Hurley refuses to play as a freshman? I like Floyd and he should help us some with getting into the lane but he's not a blue chipper take over type of player from what I've seen.

I guess we just keep our fingers crossed that Hawkins gets a much better handle and gets much stronger so he can be the guy next year. I don't see how the new players coming in will really address our weaknesses.

 

[navery12]

What about next year? I heard we'll have Cole back but are we going to depend on Diggins, a guy Hurley refuses to play as a freshman? I like Floyd and he should help us some with getting into the lane but he's not a blue chipper take over type of player from what I've seen.

I guess we just keep our fingers crossed that Hawkins gets a much better handle and gets much stronger so he can be the guy next year. I don't see how the new players coming in will really address our weaknesses.

We'll still have at least 1 more scholarship open even if Cole comes back, hard to see a bigger need than getting another PG in the transfer portal

 

[VA Blue Dog]

This is getting old. We cannot close out a team when we are comfortably ahead or finish strong in a close game. It seems that Polley is the option but as a ball screen. If he is the option then run a pick for him. With Cole out we don't have a guard who can drive to the hoop and/or pass off. We always seem to get caught in a trap which results in a turnover or a Hail Mary shot. When Cole is out we are in desparation mode. What has happened to Hawkins? He keeps mishandling the ball and making lackadaisacle passes.

 

[MyDorona]

I really want to see Cole being distributor and working perimeter for holes to shoot 3's as Jackson does the driving and playmaking.

This. Jackson is ready for these responsibilities, based on his last 4-5 games. My only question is whether he will be as effective in half court sets as he is in the full court. But at this point, it is 100% worth a try as they are very limited otherwise.

 

[XLCenterFan]

It really is amazing how many times we come out of a timeout and don't get a shot off.

It's mind-blowing. And what was that at the end of regulation? What did he draw up? A shot clock violation?

 

[The Viking]

Maybe this happens to every team every game and I don’t focus on it because it’s not UConn doing it.
But so many unforced turnovers it’s amazing. It’s one thing if a team is stifling you and they get a steal. But stepping out of bounds with the ball. Constantly dropping passes right in your hands, stupid travels before a shot attempt.
And Hawkins looks like someone murdered his dog every time he makes a mistake. So much for people saying he was a two year player here tops.
We are getting NOTHING from this freshman class that was well thought of. Diggins must be horrid in practice. That’s all I can think of.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Lots of people here want to let DH off the hook. He can't be blamed for them all, but he has to take the blame for some. Part of the reason for those "some," that he should take blame for, is not being able to draw up a shot when we need one, especially in crunch time. There have been numerous times this year when I'm watching a close game, and I say to myself, "OK Danny, what did you draw up?" And we proceed to turn the ball over or not get a shot, because it looks like we had no X's and O's drawn. It's a pattern at this point.

 

[August_West]

Losing by 3 in OT on the road to a ranked team isn't the end of the world, but there were certainly opportunities to win this game. It was an uphill battle once Cole fouled out. We don't really have another experienced ball handler/ floor general.

In a vacuum no, it’s not a bad loss at all.

The thing is it’s the way we can’t handle crunch time it’s a movie on repeat and we are snakebit, and I fear that this kind of thing only snowballs mentally, as we will tighten up even more because we’ve already failed in the same spot repeatedly.

 

[8893]

In a vacuum no, it’s not a bad loss at all.

The thing is it’s the way we can’t handle crunch time it’s a movie on repeat and we are snakebit, and I fear that this kind of thing only snowballs mentally, as we will tighten up even more because we’ve already failed in the same spot repeatedly.

I felt like Hurley accepted playing close as a win with around five minutes left in regulation; whereas Willard was playing to win.

 

[MyDorona]

What about next year? I heard we'll have Cole back but are we going to depend on Diggins, a guy Hurley refuses to play as a freshman? I like Floyd and he should help us some with getting into the lane but he's not a blue chipper take over type of player from what I've seen.

I guess we just keep our fingers crossed that Hawkins gets a much better handle and gets much stronger so he can be the guy next year. I don't see how the new players coming in will really address our weaknesses.

I listen to @RobDauster's great podcast and he hit the nail on the head a few episodes ago when discussing fan frustration with A-Jax: UConn is no longer a program that attracts recruits with NBA-ready games, like Villanueva, Gay and Drummond. Those sorts of guys now go to the Ignite or a handful of teams in the P5. This generation of UConn fans need to be a little more patient with recruits.

Our recruiting strategy should be similar to 1992-2002, when Calhoun and his coaches banked on late bloomers and rising four-stars who flew under the radar (Ray, Emeka, Rip), or players with an outstanding individual skill but also one or two flaws (Caron, Khalid)... and then develop them. By its very nature, this strategy will lend itself to more misses than hits, especially when you aren't the the developer of talent that Calhoun was (and who is?).

Bouk was a major hit for Hurley, obviously, and he displayed the upside of this strategy. Like you, I sure hope we hit on another one soon.

 

[August_West]

I felt like Hurley accepted playing close as a win with around five minutes left in regulation; whereas Willard was playing to win.

Willard won the bench battle today. He was jawing at the refs at end of first half beginning of second and then Richmond literally drew about 7 fouls in a 4 minute stretch early in 2nd half. Hurley should’ve got T’d up on polys flop. It was a flop sure, it was also an offensive foul. Hurley lets stuff go for too long too often. Waits too long for calling timeouts during opponents runs ( although in fairness I thought he was good with that today) , and doesn’t know the right times to light up refs when advantages have been taken.

 

[superjohn]

I listen to @RobDauster's great podcast and he hit the nail on the head a few episodes ago when discussing fan frustration with A-Jax: UConn is no longer a program that attracts recruits with NBA-ready games, like Villanueva, Gay and Drummond. Those sorts of guys now go to the Ignite or a handful of teams in the P5. This generation of UConn fans need to be a little more patient with recruits.

Our recruiting strategy should be similar to 1992-2002, when Calhoun and his coaches banked on late bloomers and rising four-stars who flew under the radar (Ray, Emeka, Rip), or players with an outstanding individual skill but also one or two flaws (Caron, Khalid)... and then develop them. By its very nature, this strategy will lend itself to more misses than hits, especially when you aren't the the developer of talent that Calhoun was (and who is?).

Bouk was a major hit for Hurley, obviously, and he displayed the upside of this strategy. Like you, I sure hope we hit on another one soon.

Those Calhoun recruits aren't good examples. Rip and Khalid were McDonald's all-Americans, Ray was top 35 and picked UConn over Pitino at Kentucky, and Caron was a top 10 recruit in 2 of the ranking services and the other 2 never included him because of his pg year. Okafor is the only underrated guy.

Castle is big time but we need his class to be a monster class.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Hawkins shakes every time he touches the ball. I’ve never seen someone play more scared

Well he didn’t play like that at the beginning of the season. It wasn’t until Hurley benched him for every little mistake is when he started becoming scared to make them.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Hawkins' handle is horrendous right now, as is his decision making. Definitely not the game ending answer.

I understand he’s playing bad now but he did not start off that way. Reports out of practice were glowing on all accounts and he was filling it up with his opportunity. But coaching has made him how he is now.

 

[navery12]

Well he didn’t play like that at the beginning of the season. It wasn’t until Hurley benched him for every little mistake is when he started becoming scared to make them.

This is not true, that's how he looked from the first game he stepped onto the court. Just look at the Auburn game and how hard on himself he was after the turnover

 

[DMIL]

We simply don't have a closer. This team needs a closer. That player or players with ice in their veins. It could be Hawkins but not this year. Without a closer you need very good coaching in the clutch and your floor general to facilitate. This was missing at the end. Clearly the league is better this year so UCONN will need to figure this part out. It's a very consistent pattern in their losses.

 

[cohenzone]

No, it's not. It's the same coaches coaching the same players.

I get why people micro examine Hurley whether or not the conclusions drawn make any sense . But take a look at today’s for example scores and see how ranked teams did away from home. How many lost to lower ranked teams and didn’t come down to the wire? The point being, with a pretty flawed team, Hurley has this team playing pretty well. Coming off this lay off I was pretty happy how they performed Do other coaches get every move examined by fan bases the way ours does? I see us with two major problems and are still a tough out. It’s a lack of ball handlers and an inability to keep guards from penetrating. We have 4 losses, 2 in OT and all close. Except for Hawkins, whose value is yet to be determined, we are not seeing our other touted freshmen play. Johnson has a crowded field. Diggins really doesn’t. I still think we are a fun team to watch.

 

[Tiamat7]

We took #24 Seton Hall to OT at their place after a three week pause in which we barely practiced. Was the end of regulation and OT sloppy? Sure, does Hurley warrant all the blame? Absolutely not. We had Gaffney running point, which I think most on this board has criticized at some point this season.

Wasn’t Seton Hall ranked top 10 at some point this season? That’s a really good team. Why all the frustration?

Did I want a win. Yes. Does this mean our season is doomed? Not at all.

If there’s one thing I can say about Hurley is that he seems like the type to figure this out. It might take some time but I don’t think he’s putting this aside and not trying to become a better in game coach.

It's the pattern of late game losses that concerns many of us. Yes, we played valiantly against a quality opponent at their house. But we seem to falter on a regular basis in close games versus tournament-level teams.

Part of this is obviously on the players and a lack of creaters beyond RJ; the other part is on Hurley.

 

[NHRich]

It’s been so long, didn’t JC yank players immediately when they turned the ball over?

 

[cohenzone]

It's the pattern of late game losses that concerns many of us. Yes, we played valiantly against a quality opponent at their house. But we seem to falter on a regular basis in close games versus tournament-level teams.

Part of this is obviously on the players and a lack of creaters beyond RJ; the other part is on Hurley.

But not on him that games against good teams are close and in doubt in the last 30 seconds.

Arguably they got screwed in the MSU game. Even today, it pretty much took a wild possession by SH that they got the bounce they needed resulting in a foul with less than a second of shot clock left. Big play. And our opponents get to try and mess up our designed plays just the way we try to do. Richmond’s last hoop was a very high level of difficulty but went in. I counted at least 2 great passes by Jackson into the post that I think Sanogo in one case and Whaley in another seemed not ready for and fumbled and we’re likely uncontested lay ups. Coach can’t control that. That’s 4 points not scored. I think Hurley does a real good job of preparing the team.

 

[UofCT]

Sally’s or Pepe’s?

 

[Umami Zen]

We have an over-reliance on RJ to close out games.. Need more finishers!! SH has Aiken/Rhodden/Richmond..

 

[Shamon30]

@UCSouth - you liked all the turnovers, muffed passes, silly fouls, missed layups, and lost 50-50 balls?

 

[cohenzone]

@UCSouth - you liked all the turnovers, muffed passes, silly fouls, missed layups, and lost 50-50 balls?

If you want perfection, don't watch basketball and be sure to see how often the other team misses chances.

 

[uconngb]

If you want perfection, don't watch basketball and be sure to see how often the other team misses chances.

Don’t think anyone is looking for perfection. Just one more point than the other team in these 50/50 games. Our record in them under Hurley is abysmal. That’s just a fact.