Coach Hurley, you have a good team

[LIuconn]

@Fishy nails it

 

[NEforceUConn]

Hey we lost by 1 in a 2 OT game. You can talk about 1st half, second halt, end of regulation, first OT, second OT . but as a UConn fan the team did me well, full stop!!

Lets get a W against a cagey UM team. Nuff said! Go from there.

 

[MTHusky]

I was under the impression that the sub issue was that it wasn’t a timeout, the refs were just checking the clock and you can’t sub during an official review. Was that not the case?

That's what one of the announcers said anyway.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Ray. Ben. Bazz (with rat tail for his homie version). Lamb. But yes. I here you. And that forever ago

I think of all of them as 'after January 1st guys,' even though I was told in advance that they'd be good.

On a small sample that could regress, Bouk has been more notably 'right out of the gate' good, even if it's best explained that the others came into teams that had lots of talent already. .

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Starters:
Bouknight
Adams
Polley
Akok
Carlton

off the bench:
Gaffney
Wilson
Whaley
Gary
Play Richie Springs and forfeit the rest of the season
RJ Cole wearing Gilbert’s uniform

if they all foul out then Vital

 

[UCfor3]

No, you sit them when they play out of control. You tell AG if he keeps driving and throwing up ridiculous shots near the rim instead of finding his teammates, he'll ride pine. You tell Vital if he takes contested hero low percentage threes he sits (it's called coaching.) We have other guys who can ball now.

I said this a week a go. Actions needs consequences. You need to leverage playing time. Our guards act stupid at times. They need to sit when they do. Period.

 

[MattMang23]

Great post. It's 100% why we lost, we had that game in check and then bam, hero ball. You notice we are pretty damn good when they don't go into hero YMCA mode. We were beating the brakes out of Xavier before it happened.

We are a better team without Gilbert on the floor. There, I said it.

 

[Bonehead]

What kind of moronic statement is this? He needs to sit them on the bench when they take a bonehead shot. It's that simple. Go over film and point out every single bonehead drive. Missed passed. Selfish play on offense.

Rique and Vital do so many things right, but continue to make low BBQ errors. They need consequences if we are going to make a splash in-conference.

HEY!!

 

[Huskybass]

There is a reason that Gilbert and Vital have a terrible winning % in their college careers. It was on full display at crunch time last night. Sorry, but these two and winning basketball just don't go together.

 

[RF79]

Dan Hurley loves Gilbert. He certainly hit his free throws tonight. The insistence on driving to the basket mystifies me.
Bouknight would have taken the last shot had he not fouled out. Hurley ran the play for him down the stretch. The change is coming.
On the bright side... The toughness I'm seeing out of them this year is real. Last year's team loses this game by 16 to 20 points after being down 10 at the half.

Totally agree with everything. Our PG isn’t playing like a PG. This is a totally different defensive team that is still making some very poor offensive plays, but yes last year we get smoked by Buffalo and never even play a tight contested double OT game against Xavier.

 

[auggie22]

My wife watches very little basketball. She came in early in the first half, within seconds she says that “he” is really good. Totally unprompted. She was referring to Bouknight. Even people who know nothing about basketball can see it.

I saw Ray for the first time at the Blue / White scrimmage his freshmen year. The way he just seemed to float around the floor in that scrimmage was extremely memorable, I had never seen a player move like that. Bouknight moves like that.

 

[Blaneylover]

I don’t know what the hell is wrong with Alterique. Alterique likely doesn’t know what the hell is wrong with Alterique because he‘s playing like it’s a mystery to him, too.

Vital is what he is. He believes he’s a lot better than he is and he’s determined to prove it even if it kills us. He can’t do what a senior guard should be able to do, but he does some other things that a six-foot guard should never be able to do.

He’s in a class of one in a lot of ways.

Agreed. The shot selection is beyond frustrating, yet he had 12 rebounds and key steals. His inability to close out 3 point shooters is killing us, as well.

 

[djct1999]

Hold Alterique accountable for the out of control hero ball, same with Vital it's what lost us this game. We completely outplayed them the second half and then Vital and Gilbert went into hero ball mode. We have the talent where they need to sit when they pull this cr@p. We outplayed the #18 team full of hardened juniors and seniors but this is why we lost. The season will ride on how Hurley handles them, they simply can't be allowed to keep making losing plays over and over. Hero ball has to be beaten out of them.

James Bouknight is special, best freshman we've had since I can't remember. The future is bright.

Then this bodes well for the season. In fact, the one thing I trust most is how Hurley will handle this team, both our seniors and freshmen. Its one of his strengths.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wrong. UConn lost the game in the first half, was lucky to even be in the game late due to Xavier's inability to close it out and shouldn't have even been able to keep it that close. Only some heroics by a few individual players kept it close. We were better than this team and blew it. They played their game against UConn and the coach let them do it, the entire game.

This is a bad take. We erased the lead and had a solid lead. It was only ten points. They hit a very deep 3 to force OT. We then went at the basket instead of taking a jump shot, over and over and those two white big guys erased almost every one of those shots. And if people think some of that was hero ball from AG and Vital, it was what Hurley was calling for.

As for the first half, the officials changed their approach. Xavier pushed off on offense over and over, especially #3 with no calls. Jones hammered people with no calls. In the second half it changed and our comeback came at line.

 

[freescooter]

I don’t get the “Hurley is still learning” crowd. He has been a head coach for 7-8 years at progressively higher levels. He needs to deliver.

There are some guys who can recruit like crazy. Some guys who can coach and a Rare few who can do both.We have seen a troubling patten with Hurley teams so far of falling behind early, playing like mad to get close then making dumb plays down the stretch to lose. I kind of wonder if he isn’t in the first group.

 

[don356]

What would Calhoun do with Gilbert and Vital?

 

[Sphinx]

I remember right after the St. Joe's game thinking, "This is a team that can beat #15 at home, beat the best mid-major in the country on a neutral floor, and take #18 to double overtime on a neutral floor." In two weeks, this team has delivered wildly beyond expectations. And it is exactly the same team it would be if Marshall had missed the 3-point heave and we were playing Sunday for the championship.

 

[Kitaman]

James Bouknight is shooting 70% from the field on the season he needs to start next game and take every meaningful shot for us moving forward.

You want to create a one and done??? Be careful what you ask for. I want slow/steady growth and exposure (i.e. national recognition). But I'm greedy.

 

[browndog319]

The problem is DH is kind of like AG here; he can’t get out of his own way with AG. He’s committed to AG being the soul and leader of the team and can’t move beyond it. AG can’t move beyond the fact that he isn’t the most talented guy on the team. It’s not because he isn’t a good guy and it’s not because he didn’t get a raw deal because of all of the injuries. It sucks that his college career was derailed; he likely will never reach his full potential due to that. Or maybe he peaked in HS. Who knows?

What we do know is that we have a 3-2 record. We have those wins in spite of AG and he was a significant contributor to the losses. Him walking down the court and not passing at the end of regulation was infuriating. There was zero urgency. There was zero awareness. Kemba wouldn’t have done that; Kemba who was king of the buzzer beater. He would know he would have a great chance of hitting the shot but he would attack it as if he needed every second of that clock. You always play so you have a chance at the rebound if you need it. You always try to pass it.
We had plenty of time. He acted as if we had 2 minutes on the clock and he had a 50% FG.
And DH seems to think he’s the right guy in this situation and feeds it. He sees nothing wrong with any of this. This is the guy you want in this situation.
ummm, really? No, how bout the guy who was scoring????
DH is as delusional as AG.

Mike Anthony: UConn needs to examine what is being asked of struggling Alterique Gilbert

With the final seconds ticking off the clock in regulation and the score tied, UConn guard Alterique Gilbert got the ball, kept the ball and took the ball to a place where nothing positive had been…

www.courant.com

 

[browndog319]

I'm only upset because we have a chance to be very good, it's not gonna happen this year if he doesn't get Gilbert and Vital fixed. The future is really bright. Two games in and you can already see Bouknight has "it" and when I say "it" I'm throwing him in with Caron, Rip, Ray, etc. He is supremely talented and really knows the game.

At least CV is a good rebounder with some decent 3 point shooting on occasion.

 

[browndog319]

You want to create a one and done??? Be careful what you ask for. I want slow growth and exposure (i.e. national recognition). But I'm greedy.

But you want to create frustration where he doesn’t feel developed because the program has a guy who hogs the ball? Like a moron? He should have passed at the end of regulation. He had all the time in the world and he walked around like he was thinking about what donuts to order (think the Brian Regan donut bit).

 

[Dove]

I wrote this days ago...the farther in Gilbert drives to the basket the smaller he gets. It's mindnumbing. He doesn't see it and no one tells him. Hurley has to stop this now.

Last night I told Huskybass that AG probably is my fave Husky on this team. It must be because I see him as a puppy recued from a shelter.

 

[imno1]

At the very least AG and CV should barely be on the court at the same time. They are shooting a combined 28% and averaging 6 turnovers. They dominate the ball leaving others to stand around. AG started the game by attacking the paint and dishing. He’s effective when doing that but I have never seem a starting point guard as inept as Al when going to the basket and trying to score.

 

[Pudge]

Hold Alterique accountable for the out of control hero ball, same with Vital it's what lost us this game. We completely outplayed them the second half and then Vital and Gilbert went into hero ball mode. We have the talent where they need to sit when they pull this cr@p. We outplayed the #18 team full of hardened juniors and seniors but this is why we lost. The season will ride on how Hurley handles them, they simply can't be allowed to keep making losing plays over and over. Hero ball has to be beaten out of them.

James Bouknight is special, best freshman we've had since I can't remember. The future is bright.

i simply don’t agree with this. It’s like you haven’t watched CBB & never played the sport. A Gilbert getting regularly by his man by the dribble is an extraordinarily useful component on offense. Yes. He too often isn’t finishing. But there are passes that should be made as he exposes the defenders.

Gilbert kept UConn in that game with clutch FT after FT when needed

As for ... you don’t remember Caron? Then you surely don’t remember Ray or Rip. And many of us do. Bouknight is special & you do see that kind of talent instantly

we are going to leave Charleston with a different mindset. Both Brendan Adams & Bouknight are now Integral to all things going forward. Gilbert, Vital: roles & minutes change.

 

[CL82]

How does this work. Do we just kick Vital and Gilbert off the team?

Is there a ceremony? Maybe a Survivor-esque vote? A 'Rose Ceremony'?

Do we just leave them behind in Charleston?

Maybe, but I’m thinking going over the tape and showing them the plays that cost us this game, and letting them know if you do this stuff again you will sit.

But that’s just me.