Coach Hurley compared to "the greats"

[TheChamps990411]

There has been a lot of doom and gloom on here after the Creighton loss. A lot of criticism of our head man, Dan Hurley. While he obviously has room to improve himself as a coach, especially in game adjustments, we need to realize we have something special here and may need to give him time (lots of it) if we want to see him be great at UConn. He has only 10 years as a D1 head coach and this is his first season coaching at the "high major" level.

Here is how long it took some of the NCAA modern-era greats at high major programs to win their first titles.

Jim Calhoun: 27 years as a head coach (13 years at UConn)
Coach K: 16 years as head coach (11 years at Duke)
Roy Williams: 13 years as head coach (13 years at Kansas/UNC)
Jay Wright: 22 years as head coach (15 years at Nova)
Billy Donovan: 12 years as head coach (10 years at Florida)
Jim Boeheim: 27 years as head coach (his one and only title, probably ever)
Bill Self: 15 years as head coach (8 years at Illinois/Kansas)

Dan Hurley: 10 years as head coach (3rd year at UConn, 1st in the Big East)

He is no doubt the right guy to return this program to glory. The culture he is focused on building and his winning attitude are coaching intangibles second to none. Just like the student-athletes he is coaching, his skills on the sideline will improve over time as he continues to face better competition on a regular basis. I'm hoping it is sooner than a decade until we get our next title, but if history is any indicator we may need to be patient. But we will no doubt have a great ride back to the top regardless of how long it takes.

People may not want to hear this but he and the team gets a pass this year. With all the interruptions and schedule subject to sudden changes this is a tough year for anyone nevermind someone putting a program back together. Im just going to enjoy this season for just being able to watch this team play.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think he is probably our best man for the job as well, but it's pretty ridiculous to think there aren't any doubts about his potential. In my mind, right now he's a high floor, medium-ceiling kind of coach unless he figures out how to coach both sides of the ball well.

We can make fun of it all we want in the bad-takes thread, but his offensive philosophy for the last 10 years has left something significant to be desired. Our team is going to look better when we can put 3 or more shooters on the floor in the coming years, but the lack of movement and inability to adjust at halftime is concerning. The 1-6 record in overtime is more concerning. We don't have an offensive identity other than generating turnovers and relying on transcendent offensive talent.

I'm okay with the reliance on experienced players over freshman, and I think his substitution patterns are making more sense as time goes on. I'll even give a pass on the bad sense of when to call timeouts because he might just be purposefully getting them to play through things.

I think what he brings defensively as a coach--selling out to defend the 3 and attacking ball screens is great. Defensively, our team is trending in the right direction, and with Samson/Hawkins coming in and Akok/Jackson on the roster, we're even starting to recruit for our system specifically. I'd assume our defense on KenPom or wherever is probably meh right now because of the rocky early games and a few players who are less than stellar on D by nature, but systematically it makes sense and works.

Our recruiting has been great. Personality/team management is great. I think he has put together a solid staff. Practices from what I saw are really well-organized. He's doing a good job connecting with the media and fans. We're really talking about one or two weaknesses that can be fixed if he's willing to be flexible.

I pretty much agree with this.

My one issue with Hurley is his love affair with small lineups, when he doesn't really play a small-ball style and I think we have a lot of better options on the bench. I can not explain why he is doing this, and it seems incongruous with what he is trying to accomplish on the court. Hurley's style, particularly on defense, would seem to call for more long defenders like Martin, Polley and Whaley, and less 3 and 4 guard.

Hurley's insistence on small lineups seems stubborn, and that is a kiss of death for a coach. I hope there is more to this than we are seeing that will explain these strange lineups.

 

[Greathusky]

I am a big fan of Hurley and will be giving him a pass this year with all the cap going on.

His recruitment of athletes vs. skilled players (3 point sharp shooters, true point guards, etc.) can be questioned when we have our frequent offensive draughts but I trust in him to move this program back to the final four.

 

[mauconnfan]

He’s the right guy but we need some good game situation minds on the bench to collaborate in crunch time, but no coach can overcome missed free throws.

That's true but how can you lose when your main guy gets 40?

He has a lot to prove still in game situations I believe and it's a fair question. Many here wanted to blame Gilbert for many losses mid season last year and some rightfully so. But why did he even have the ball in his hands or why was he in the game? Coaches decision right? CV made some mistakes late too during that run, why was he the go-to guy late in a couple of those? Coaches decision, wrong plays being set and the secondary options were nil.

This last loss confirms he needs to get better let's see what happens. He can recruit and motivate that we know, and does that very well. But winning in the Big East will be a ton more than that. I believe in him but the education hopefully has begun.

 

[pj]

I think he is probably our best man for the job as well, but it's pretty ridiculous to think there aren't any doubts about his potential. In my mind, right now he's a high floor, medium-ceiling kind of coach unless he figures out how to coach both sides of the ball well.

We can make fun of it all we want in the bad-takes thread, but his offensive philosophy for the last 10 years has left something significant to be desired. Our team is going to look better when we can put 3 or more shooters on the floor in the coming years, but the lack of movement and inability to adjust at halftime is concerning. The 1-6 record in overtime is more concerning. We don't have an offensive identity other than generating turnovers and relying on transcendent offensive talent.

I'm okay with the reliance on experienced players over freshman, and I think his substitution patterns are making more sense as time goes on. I'll even give a pass on the bad sense of when to call timeouts because he might just be purposefully getting them to play through things.

I think what he brings defensively as a coach--selling out to defend the 3 and attacking ball screens is great. Defensively, our team is trending in the right direction, and with Samson/Hawkins coming in and Akok/Jackson on the roster, we're even starting to recruit for our system specifically. I'd assume our defense on KenPom or wherever is probably meh right now because of the rocky early games and a few players who are less than stellar on D by nature, but systematically it makes sense and works.

Our recruiting has been great. Personality/team management is great. I think he has put together a solid staff. Practices from what I saw are really well-organized. He's doing a good job connecting with the media and fans. We're really talking about one or two weaknesses that can be fixed if he's willing to be flexible.

If you compare him to the great coaches in McLovin's list (original post), ten years in Hurley probably has more strengths and fewer weaknesses, and the weaknesses look more fixable. Offensive coaching may need only one good Blaney-like assistant and a little experience for Hurley.