Expectations Going Forward

[huskeynut]

Realistic goal from the beginning was/ is a winning record. 18 to 20 wins with maybe a couple of AAC tournament wins is reasonable with this team. No NCAA's this year. Not going to say we get an NIT bid either. Because I don't think we will.

 

[intlzncster]

That was the Dream Season. UConn finished 31-6 with both Big East regular season and tournament titles, a #1 NCAA seed, and an Elite Eight finish, stopped short of the Final Four only by Laettner's overtime buzzer beater.

More to the point, it began the Calhoun dynasty that was to being four NC flags to the rafters of Gampel Pavilion.

Way to reset expectations to a realistic level Sphinx.

 

[intlzncster]

Calhoun didn't have to worry about rebuilding an image, though.

It's as if people expect this all to be fixed in less than a year. Amazing really. They're harping on all Hurley's faults (as a young coach, he def has some), instead of being patient and waiting for the results to come in a year or two down the road.

There are so many moving parts to the program that need to be repaired and/or revamped. Can't do it all at once.

The standard reply is, "well KO was judged the same". Yeah, that was after 6 freakin years on the job, and being handed a bunch of guys with championship level guts. Hurley's guys right now are not like that (yet), especially in terms of experience.

The thing Hurley has done better than KO by a mile is restore our rep, both on the recruiting trail and in national perception.

Also, just as importantly, he's injected fun into this whole process (unless you're a miserable bastard).

 

[intlzncster]

Realistic goal from the beginning was/ is a winning record. 18 to 20 wins with maybe a couple of AAC tournament wins is reasonable with this team. No NCAA's this year. Not going to say we get an NIT bid either. Because I don't think we will.

If they get to 20 wins (not saying they will), they'll definitely get an NIT bid, on name alone. NIT is always scratching for viewers, so if they can get a marquee school in, they do it. In fact, normally, being north of .500 is all you need.

 

[intlzncster]

So then you bench him the whole game when its against better competition? We have an egregious front court and you don't play the person that went 13 & 13 in our only decent win of the season? Even in the cupcakes when he's made mistakes you give him more than 10 mins to develop, unless you're solely bent on developing for the future. Its been painfully obvious, and it didn't give us a fighting chance today. There's definitely something really wrong with this situation.

View attachment 37643

If Cobb helps deliver 2pts on offense, then gives up 4pts on defense, he's useless.

I kinda feel that's what's happening here in terms of Hurley's thought process.

 

[gtcam]

Nova didn’t have their starting point guard today & a disgruntled freshman player on Nova outscored Jalen Adams. Disappointing is an understatement.

Their starting guard couldn't hold a candle to his replacement
As far as JA is concerned - he will be OK
Thanks for the concern

 

[JMick]

Is as if people expect this all to be fixed in less than a year. Amazing really. They're harping on all Hurley's faults (as a young coach, he def has some), instead of being patient and waiting for the results to come in a year or two down the road.

There are so many moving parts to the program that need to be repaired and/or revamped. Can't do it all at once.

The standard reply is, "well KO was judged the same". Yeah, that was after 6 freakin years on the job, and being handed a bunch of guys with championship level guts. Hurley's guys right now are not like that (yet), especially in terms of experience.

The thing Hurley has done better than KO by a mile is restore our rep, both on the recruiting trail and in national perception.

Also, just as importantly, he's injected fun into this whole process (unless you're a miserable bastard).

Hurley came in and has so far beaten teams we're better than and lost to teams we're worse than. I'm not sure what more you can ask for in year one. It's like people forgot how bad the last two years were.

 

[kelde1wd]

Going into the season thinking NIT would be a success. I drank the kool-aid like most of us and set sights on NCAA after the 1st several weeks of the season. I don’t think that is out of the realm. The AAC isn’t as good as Villanova, FSU, Iowa, or Arizona. We played strong in spurts against those teams (except Iowa). This team will continue to grow and I don’t think it is fair to say what we saw in the 2nd half will be indicative of the rest of the season. We should be able to rack up some wins in the AAC...but still have to deal with Cincy & Houston.

I still think we have a shot at the NCAA, but post-season period will be a nice stepping stone season coming off 2 sub .500 seasons and building for 2019/20. Yesterday sucked, but isn’t the end of the road.

 

[UofCT]

I don’t remember them tanking in 2010.

He benched Gavin Edwards, Jerome Dyson, and Stanley Robinson when it was clear the team was not playing well. Darius Smith anyone?

 

[superjohn]

It's as if people expect this all to be fixed in less than a year. Amazing really. They're harping on all Hurley's faults (as a young coach, he def has some), instead of being patient and waiting for the results to come in a year or two down the road.

There are so many moving parts to the program that need to be repaired and/or revamped. Can't do it all at once.

The standard reply is, "well KO was judged the same". Yeah, that was after 6 freakin years on the job, and being handed a bunch of guys with championship level guts. Hurley's guys right now are not like that (yet), especially in terms of experience.

The thing Hurley has done better than KO by a mile is restore our rep, both on the recruiting trail and in national perception.

Also, just as importantly, he's injected fun into this whole process (unless you're a miserable bastard).

I thought 20 wins with a ceiling being us possibly sneaking into the tourny. I also had no idea Jalen would look like this. 20 wins should be the goal, next year will be better.

 

[kemba]

He benched Gavin Edwards, Jerome Dyson, and Stanley Robinson when it was clear the team was not playing well. Darius Smith anyone?

IIRC there was a game at the end of the year that we were playing poorly at USF and he benched the starters then stuck with the bench guys as they brought us back into the game. Then the starters were back in for the next game. He never tanked, focused on the future, etc.

 

[FlakeyFoont]

I have been lowering my expectations for this season with every loss. Sober reality is setting in and it's time to drop them down another couple of notches. I have been to all four UConn-Tulsa games in Tulsa since the we joined the AAC. UConn is 0-4 and I'll take a W (or at least a non-cringeworthy loss) on January 16. Based on last night's debacle, setting expectations anywhere above that seems like an exercise in self-torture.

 

[Milo65]

20 wins during the season. 2 wins in the AAC tourney, a bubble team.

 

[Horatio]

Weed out the weak players.
Build the roster.
Crush our enemies,
See them driven before us
And hear the lamentations of their Women.

That’s my expectations going forward.

 

[intlzncster]

I thought 20 wins with a ceiling being us possibly sneaking into the tourny. I also had no idea Jalen would look like this. 20 wins should be the goal, next year will be better.

This was my single biggest miscalculation this year.

I'm still not convinced it will continue for the rest of the season. Not saying he'll be a barn burner, but I'm hoping the listlessness falls away.

 

[intlzncster]

Weed out the weak players.
Build the roster.
Crush our enemies,
See them driven before us
And hear the lamentations of their Women.

That’s my expectations going forward.

+ a million

 

[intlzncster]

What’s everyone’s thoughts on just going into total rebuild mode? Starting Wilson, giving B Adams more minutes, Playing Diarra major minutes when he comes back, off season type workout routines....

IIRC there was a game at the end of the year that we were playing poorly at USF and he benched the starters then stuck with the bench guys as they brought us back into the game. Then the starters were back in for the next game. He never tanked, focused on the future, etc.

That's a firm 'no' for me, dawg.

You don't 'tank' in CBB. There's no friggin draft. In fact, the exact opposite is more true. You could argue that tanking is bad for recruiting on a number of fronts, in that the more wins you have, the more fans you have, the more likely you are to land the big fish.

Besides, after the last few years, I'm tired of putting less than our best product on the floor. I want the best chance to enjoy games, win or lose.

Also, if we're being honest, you can develop guys by mixing them in spurts anyway.

 

[intlzncster]

It appears Hurley has been playing for the future in terms of playing Carlton over Cobb. He hasn't even been giving Cobb the opportunity to improve his D in the cupcake games. Not playing your best frontcourt offensive player and rebounder (of games against good comp) in the biggest game of the season is basically throwing in the towel on this year.

Quite certain it's because Cobb blows on defense. Hurley, like JC before him, prioritizes defense over all else, including offense. We are so limited on O anyway, that I don't think Cobb's contributions matter all that much given what he gives up at the other end of the floor.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

My expectations for this season are no longer going forward.

To someone else, I'd say, "Then back off."

 

[UofCT]

IIRC there was a game at the end of the year that we were playing poorly at USF and he benched the starters then stuck with the bench guys as they brought us back into the game. Then the starters were back in for the next game. He never tanked, focused on the future, etc.

How do you tank in college hoops?