Coach Hurley compared to "the greats"

[jibsey]

Hurley looks to me at this point like a very good recruiter, average coach. He could improve over time. But if I were betting, my bet would be that he is much closer to Mark Gottfried than Roy Williams Mike Krzysewski or Jim Calhoun. Hope I’m wrong but those guys can, as the saying goes, take yourn and beat theirn and take theirn and beat yourn. Hurley couldn’t beat Creighton.

Hurley’s father is a helluva coach, I’d put him on the bench.

 

[8893]

Jay Wright has a better than 50/50 chance

I think he’s probably got the best chance of those who already have have one or two, but 50/50 still seems awfully high imo. I’d think more like 25%.

As I said, I was talking about coaches who haven’t won any yet, like Hurley, and the chance that we will see another one in that position win three or more at the same school again.

I think people are underestimating how hard that was when players stayed in school longer, and how much harder it is now. Only six guys have done it so far.

 

[NJHusky]

I think he’s probably got the best chance of those who already have have one or two, but 50/50 still seems awfully high imo. I’d think more like 25%.

As I said, I was talking about coaches who haven’t won any yet, like Hurley, and the chance that we will see another one in that position win three or more at the same school again.

I think people are underestimating how hard that was when players stayed in school longer, and how much harder it is now. Only six guys have done it so far.

Why discount someone like Wright? 5 years ago he had zero

 

[Improviser]

I think he’s probably got the best chance of those who already have have one or two, but 50/50 still seems awfully high imo. I’d think more like 25%.

As I said, I was talking about coaches who haven’t won any yet, like Hurley, and the chance that we will see another one in that position win three or more at the same school again.

I think people are underestimating how hard that was when players stayed in school longer, and how much harder it is now. Only six guys have done it so far.

Agreed.

With kids leaving early , the situation gets complicated unless you have the Duke and Kansas and Kentucky and UNC, that keep getting top 25 players every year to restock.

Maybe the key for schools other than the above is "smart recruiting" where you try to project players who will likely stay a few years or who are not all one and done players.

I think either on the BY or in ESPN, it mentioned Baylor as a school that has had success with lesser heralded players.

Hurley seems to have identified some gems or late developing players.

Recruiting players with prior injuries has upside and downside. Bouk had an injury which may have caused him to be overlooked or not as focused on when in high school by other schools. Gilbert had prior shoulder injuries that hindered his progress while at UConn.

That's why coaches and assistants get paid what they get paid. To screen potential and have the personality traits to close the deal.

 

[8893]

Why discount someone like Wright? 5 years ago he had zero

I am not discounting him. I said he has the best chance. I think 25% is a very good chance. It is a very hard thing to do. That is my point.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I agree that coaching at the above schools always gives a coach a chance with all the factors you mentioned.

Maybe Chris Beard, can or will, at Texas Tech. He is young at 47, came close in 2019, gets paid $4.575M a year. Took a program that was second tier in his conference and has them up there. Though, if K retires at Duke, he might wind up there.

What about Bennett at UVA? Young guy, won one already, gets good recruits albeit some are deterred by the deliberate style of play.

None yet for Few, but not impossible.

As far as Bennet is concerned.. Maybe. What do i know. Nice start. Solid conference. He's put a few good teams together for sure. Epic fail one time. The exact opposite the following year.

I don't think he moves schools at this point. So maybe NBA pulls him away, but at this point I suspect he puts in the time at UVA.

 

[The Viking]

What's funny is if Cole just makes ONE of those two free throws there is about a 70-80% chance this whole forum looks completely different than it has over the last few days.

 

[McLovin]

Valvano?

I was just looking at coaches who won in the modern era (64 team tourney) but he won his first title 11 years into his HC career.

One of the coolest stories from UConn basketball past is that he was an assistant here for a few years early in his career.

 

[Get a Job]

What's funny is if Cole just makes ONE of those two free throws there is about a 70-80% chance this whole forum looks completely different than it has over the last few days.

It's fascinating to contemplate this counterfactual. As you imply, the past performance and current state of the program are nearly 100% the same whether he makes one or both of those free throws or not, and yet the mood of the fan base is drastically different than it would be had we won.

This doesn't necessarily mean the panic around here is unwarranted. It could theoretically be the case that, even if we won that game, we should be panicking for whatever reasons. The thing is, I doubt many, if any, Boneyarders would be panicking if Cole made a free throw and we won the game by one. In fact, I'd venture to say we'd have a lot of people jumping on @Scrappy3's bandwagon.

 

[tower1]

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.

This is UCONN we can't spot a coach 10 years.

 

[NJHusky]

It's interesting...Hurley's OT record here isn't good, yet at URI he was undefeated in OT

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This doesn't necessarily mean the panic around here is unwarranted.

I think the panic is unwarranted.

It's funny that we have posters pining for the days of Calhoun's half-court offense. Back then people griped about Calhoun's half-court offense.

There are probably fewer than ten rosters in college basketball with as much talent as this program currently has, there are a couple more very talented players landing on campus next year, and we have a coach whose best coaching is ahead of him who happens to be a full decade younger than Calhoun was when he won his first one.

I think things are alright.

 

[Get a Job]

I think the panic is unwarranted.

It's funny that we have posters pining for the days of Calhoun's half-court offense. Back then people griped about Calhoun's half-court offense.

There are probably fewer than ten rosters in college basketball with as much talent as this program currently has, there are a couple more very talented players landing on campus next year, and we have a coach whose best coaching is ahead of him who happens to be a full decade younger than Calhoun was when he won his first one.

I think things are alright.

I agree. It is not my personal opinion that panic is warranted. I am simply postulating that, if a single foul shot is the difference between winning and losing a game, the degree to which panic is justified is essentially the same regardless of whether or not said foul shot goes in.

 

[Zissou]

It’s hard to win one national championship.

Hurley has a lot going for him, including the UConn name in the Big East and his past success.

UConn fans expect titles. That’s a very difficult expectation. Hurley can be a successful coach and still not capture a title.

Think of the very good coaches that never won a title.

 

[Zissou]

I’ll start my list in-conference with Louie and PJ!

 

[HuskyHawk]

It’s hard to win one national championship.

Hurley has a lot going for him, including the UConn name in the Big East and his past success.

UConn fans expect titles. That’s a very difficult expectation. Hurley can be a successful coach and still not capture a title.

Think of the very good coaches that never won a title.

I am one of the exceptions here but I define greatness in college basketball with consistent excellence. Titles are almost arbitrary, see 2014 for an example. But making the tournament every year and getting a shot at a title with a decent run, that’s what I hope for from a coach. It’s what I expect at UConn.

Mark Few has zero titles. I think he has been great.

 

[Zissou]

I am one of the exceptions here but I define greatness in college basketball with consistent excellence. Titles are almost arbitrary, see 2014 for an example. But making the tournament every year and getting a shot at a title with a decent run, that’s what I hope for from a coach. It’s what I expect at UConn.

Mark Few has zero titles. I think he has been great.

Jamie Dixon had very competitive teams and didn’t make a Final Four.

JC was lightning in a bottle. Wright has that right now. Few also has it, as you said, with no titles (yet).

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Correct, i.e., he ain't one of the coaching greats.

He is 7-1 in NCAA tournament games
Hard to match that %
He also won more AAC tourney games than anyone else.
His first 4 seasons were pretty incredible. He was the hottest prospect around.
Maybe even the real haters will come to understand that the 2014 championship was among the most important as it stamped the program as more then a one coach phenomena.
He Burned out because of personal problems made worse by an inability to deal with the spotlight. The spotlight is not the best for everyone.
His tragic saga is worthy of Shakespeare .
If you can get over your hate watch the Pre 2014 FF press conference . Bazz and RB especially truelly loved their coach who in turn believed in them . It’s heartbreaking in retrospect.
Hopefully he can turn his life around as in America we love the man achieves success , loses everything, and manages to regain self worth often in some obscure way saga. That would be stuff of Hollywood.
Happy New Year to the true believers.

 

[BlueDogs]

What's funny is if Cole just makes ONE of those two free throws there is about a 70-80% chance this whole forum looks completely different than it has over the last few days.

Basketball is harsh. No credit is given for close losses. There is a fine line between good and great.

 

[Blue Idiaco]

Hurley has three wins against ranked opponents in his career, I believe? Houston last year is the only one against a team that finished the season ranked (20th before COVID hit). The other two were against a mediocre Syracuse team in MSG and with URI in November against Seton Hall in pre-season tournament. Cute lost that year in the first round of the NCAAs as an 8 seed. The Hall did not make the tourney thet year.

Hurley has never coached an NBA player. Bouknight will be his first

Hurley has accomplished almost nothing nationally to date as a coach. Let's wait and see before we anoint him a savior.

 

[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.