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[uconnfan68]

Every opposing coach who is average or better has dictated the pace and style of play to us, and has made adjustments designed to expose our weaknesses and limit our strengths. It was stunning to me how forensically Hurley was able to identify exactly what Cooley did to game plan for us and how effective it was, yet he didn't see it coming and he did nothing to adjust to it.

Nailed it.

 

[August_West]

Sort of off topic, but in the chat yesterday a few posters were pointing out how WVU was losing to "lowly" UAB, implying it was a worse loss than originally thought.

UAB came into that game with a NET of 34. PeeCee was 40.

The more you know...

And WVU won.

 

[storrsroars]

And WVU won.

Yes they did. Against a team with a top-40 NET rating. Quad 1 win. Not that myopic posters in the chat had any clue that UAB has a decent program.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Well, preparation and in-game adjustments are part of imposing one's will, no?

Your example of the 1999 game vs. Duke is a perfect one: the question everyone had been asking was how UConn was going to prepare for and handle Duke; Khalid turned the question around and said people should wonder how Duke would prepare for and handle UConn.

That says it all in a nutshell imo.

And forcing transition offense is exactly the type of thing I'm talking about. That is also the strength of this year's team, and Hurley consistently allows the games to be played at a pace and in a style that takes away our transition game. As you note, it's not a groundbreaking discovery; that Hurley can't or won't do it is disconcerting imo.

Nailed it. He not only allows it, he causes it. Polley can’t rebound, and defensive rebounding is the key to transition. In order, Jackson, Martin, Sanogo, Akok, Whaley drive the transition game. Hawkins hasn’t looked comfortable in it, but has speed. Gaff is much better in a fast game, he just dribbles away the clock in half court. Hurley sacrifices it to put what he thinks are outside shooters on the floor. Yet, those guys aren’t hitting the shots, so the offense has nothing left. Sanogo is our bail out. If we can’t run, he at least provides some option beyond chucking a 3. Yet we could absolutely feed Akok, Whaley, Johnson in the paint the same way and we almost never do.

 

[SubbaBub]

Providence is pretty good, as are most of our opponents

Providence and most of our opponents are capable of beating good teams

Providence and most of our opponents want to win too, and most really hate us

We are still playing shorthanded with our best player out

We will lose games, it's not the end of the world until we lose sometime after the Ides of March

ENJOY THE RIDE

Mediocrity = Losing to Providence at home

Proof that two things can be true at the same time.

Told you PC was only an important game if we lost.

 

[SubbaBub]

Well, preparation and in-game adjustments are part of imposing one's will, no?

Your example of the 1999 game vs. Duke is a perfect one: the question everyone had been asking was how UConn was going to prepare for and handle Duke; Khalid turned the question around and said people should wonder how Duke would prepare for and handle UConn.

That says it all in a nutshell imo.

And forcing transition offense is exactly the type of thing I'm talking about. That is also the strength of this year's team, and Hurley consistently allows the games to be played at a pace and in a style that takes away our transition game. As you note, it's not a groundbreaking discovery; that Hurley can't or won't do it is disconcerting imo.

You can add Butler in 2011. Stevens never knew what hit him in the second half.

We also need to get used to the idea that Dan Hurley not being JC is perfectly OK and not a reason to think he isn't a very good coach.

 

[8893]

We also need to get used to the idea that Dan Hurley not being JC is perfectly OK and not a reason to think he isn't a very good coach.

I have accepted this from day one. It's also not a reason to think he doesn't have room to improve, especially in game preparation and in-game coaching.

 

[HeGotGame]

If we can’t beat Providence at home down Sanogo we aren’t a top 5 team in the Big East and we are staring at a 0-3 start to conference play. That’s all there is to it.

The great thing is that these statements are here to stay and mock down the road.