Expectations?

[Lefty2one]

Far too early to tell regarding the roster. Just want to see the team play hard, with some cohesiveness and get better as the season goes on. As crazy as the last two seasons have been, and if Gilbert can stay healthy, we probably have the most talent in the conference. We really need to patch up the frontcourt though.

 

[tzznandrew]

I was thinking about this last night also. I think we need to be careful on the expectations or else we might be trying to run Hurley off in 2 years. I know people are joking that we want #5 shortly but that's probably not realistic. Gotta walk before you can run. Need to give him some time.

The good thing is that there is talent on the roster and most of the players played with each other this past season and got good experience. Blend in a couple good pieces, get these guys to improve in the offseason, do some coaching and play the right players and we could be pretty decent next year. And then Hurley can build from there.

At the very least we're all excited for a change! The last 2 seasons took a lot of me.

Honestly, if JA is back, next year might be a bit of fools gold. I can see them getting 22 wins or something because of a weaker AAC next year and the brilliance of a senior JA/better coaching of Hurley, and then falling back a bit as new players are integrated.

We can win national titles again. But I think we're one solid recruiting cycle away from being in that mix.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

I was thinking about this last night also. I think we need to be careful on the expectations or else we might be trying to run Hurley off in 2 years. I know people are joking that we want #5 shortly but that's probably not realistic. Gotta walk before you can run. Need to give him some time.

If we haven't done better than the sweet sixteen four years from now, I bet you there will be "Bring Back KO" posts citing his tournament success.

 

[Danzz]

IS Akinjo still a possibility?

Well as of today he hasn't committed to any school so yes Akinjo is a possibility. His attachment was to KO according to his tweets so DH is going to have to do a great sales job to get him here. He had an offer from Virginia before he committed to UConn.
I'd guess he is somewhat of a long shot at this point but recruiting 18 year old kids is crazy so you never know.

 

[tcf15]

Well as of today he hasn't committed to any school so yes Akinjo is a possibility. His attachment was to KO according to his tweets so DH is going to have to do a great sales job to get him here. He had an offer from Virginia before he committed to UConn.
I'd guess he is somewhat of a long shot at this point but recruiting 18 year old kids is crazy so you never know.

Racking up a lot of offers the last couple of days: Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Providence, Tennessee, Georgetown, Wichita State, Arizona, Seton Hall, Utah, Baylor, and Gonzaga

 

[intlzncster]

Some of yall have some really high expectations. This team was one of the worst teams in America last year. Going from that, to making the tournament is one hell of a jump. If a bunch of things break right, they've an outside shot to do so I guess. But to expect it is ludicrous.

My expectations have to do with product on the floor. Play for 40 minutes. Do not get down 10-15 from the tip. Play good, hard, mostly man to man defense; 3pt D % at least average, hopefully more. Run some semblance of offense with good spacing that eliminates bad shots; do not rely solely on JA. Rebounding: fix technique issues, box out and hit the glass with aggression. etc etc

Do not lose by 20+ eight times or whatever it was.

Basically reverse all the bad basketball trends and habits we had the last couple seasons.

 

[tzznandrew]

Some of yall are way have some really high expectations. This team was one of the worst teams in America last year. Going from that, to making the tournament is one hell of a jump. If a bunch of things break right, they've an outside shot to do so I guess. But to expect it is ludicrous.

Yeah. There's a lot that would have to break their way. Adams returns. Gilbert stays healthy. Wilson is legit (and isn't involved in the NCAA issue that we used to just cause fire KO). We get another good guard to handle the ball. Our bigs develop a little. We get a recruit--maybe the URI 4*, maybe someone else--who can bring some firepower.

A lot has to go our way, and tempering expectations is good. But I'd catch a game again downtown next year, whereas last year just felt like the game would be garbage if we caught it.

 

[Lefty2one]

Yeah. There's a lot that would have to break their way. Adams returns. Gilbert stays healthy. Wilson is legit (and isn't involved in the NCAA issue that we used to just cause fire KO). We get another good guard to handle the ball. Our bigs develop a little. We get a recruit--maybe the URI 4*, maybe someone else--who can bring some firepower.

A lot has to go our way, and tempering expectations is good. But I'd catch a game again downtown next year, whereas last year just felt like the game would be garbage if we caught it.

True. As of now, we also can't shoot the ball nor rebound it. Best case scenario of Gilbert being healthy and Sid being a beast, along with development of the other returnees, and maybe we're talking about going dancing but that's a hell of an optimist's view.

 

[80shusky]

It's really difficult to have expectations for at least this coming season when you don't know who will be on the team. Without making any assumptions about the roster, because you really can't, you'd have to say a winning season with an NIT berth would be a step in a more positive direction.

 

[tzznandrew]

I'll reiterate that we have to wait one whole recruiting cycle here for another reason: a lot of kids who like Hurley in theory may not like him in reality. Who knows, but these kids signed up to play for KO, and even if they stay one year, some kids may want to head to the exits after one season with a coach they didn't expect. The next year plus is going to be a time of big shifts, and we need to be patient.

Like we largely were in the first few years of KO (for those who don't remember, even before his miracle run people were frustrated in 2014 but gave him slack).

 

[Tenspro2002]

- Toughness
- Playing with pride always
- Mistakes quickly punished and corrected with coaching
- Improvement throughout the year

In terms of W's and L's, probably 18-20 W's, just shy of the bubble, but with positive momentum heading into 2019-20.

 

[buckley503]

'18-'19 NIT
'19-'20 Last 4 In
'20 and forward - avg. 24 win team and regular in the NCAAs (obviously with a downer here and there)

Hurley with a 2o year career in Storrs. JC 2.0.

Not asking too much .

 

[intlzncster]

A lot has to go our way, and tempering expectations is good. But I'd catch a game again downtown next year, whereas last year just felt like the game would be garbage if we caught it.

Absolutely. It's going to be nice to be at least excited for games. My nerves this year had more to do with how bad we were going to look on national TV. I watched one game at a bar this year and pretended to not being doing so for 3/4 of the game. Resigned myself to watching solo from the basement the rest of the season.

 

[8893]

Racking up a lot of offers the last couple of days: Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Providence, Tennessee, Georgetown, Wichita State, Arizona, Seton Hall, Utah, Baylor, and Gonzaga

So we're still the best program to offer him then. Good.

 

[wheelerdog]

Now that its official, what are you expectations for Hurley in his first year? 20 wins, AAC title, or just being competitive in every game. I imagine people just want to see us run an actual offense. With CV, Gilbert and assuming Jalen doesn't change his mind, I feel like this team will be ok. Should be fun again.

My expectation is to not be hopelessly out of a game 5 minutes after the tip.

 

[Tex-Lager93]

To actually looking forward to game days rather than dreading them.

 

[Jaybo]

18-20 wins maybe.

He's taking over for Ollie. not Calhoun.

 

[Tex-Lager93]

- Toughness
- Playing with pride always
- Mistakes quickly punished and corrected with coaching
- Improvement throughout the year

In terms of W's and L's, probably 18-20 W's, just shy of the bubble, but with positive momentum heading into 2019-20.

Give me those first four for now - and I’ll be happy. Kind of like those 3 football wins - you could see the effort, the journey, the improvement over time.

 

[mauconnfan]

Nothing less than a national championship i mean unless mick and bass sold us a bill of goods for a year

 

[BFieldHusky]

Look its way too early to talk about next year. Let's see who stays. Who goes. Who comes in. I think the spring recruiting cycle is going to be INSANE with a lot of coach movement, and FBI talk which has died down because of the tournament, but will come back full circle after the Final 4.

A couple of things in our favor. We have a real coach now. Doesn't underestimate what that can do.

The conference will be better as a whole, but you won't have the "super teams" you had this year in Cincy and Witcha State. It will be wide open.

Assuming most people stay (which is what I and others are hearing) Gilbert becomes the wild card. He is that good. We can't assume he stays healthy, but look at the difference with him this year. He alone gets you 5 more wins.

 

[KemBaller]

If JA stays I think the team wins 7-8 more games and is around the bubble. Think the upgrade in coaching will be apparent very early on. Beyond that I think it'll take 3+ years for Hurley to get his kids in here and build the program back to being a consistent presence.

 

[PRHusky]

We better not have to wait until 20-21 to make the tournament as many are implying here. If we do, that would be four straight years without making the tournament. Not an option.

If Jalen returns and Hurley is as good as we are hoping he is, we should be good enough to make the tournament next year.

 

[Kemba429]

Expectations? Lol, I just want to get started by going above .500. We can talk about tourney wins and everything when we cross that road.

 

[Huskymagic]

Now that its official, what are you expectations for Hurley in his first year? 20 wins, AAC title, or just being competitive in every game. I imagine people just want to see us run an actual offense. With CV, Gilbert and assuming Jalen doesn't change his mind, I feel like this team will be ok. Should be fun again.

NCAA tournament is the expectation for next year. From our conference and with Adams, CV, Wilson, Polley, Gilbert, we should be competing to make the tournament.

Don't expect a long rebuild especially if Hurley is able to also bring in Jermaine Harris plus keep James Akinjo, we will be the most talented team in the AAC with a good coach finally.

PS: MAKE IT RAIN DAN HURLEY! UCONN NATION BACK IN FULL FORCE

 

[djct1999]

I expect Hurley to kill it both on the court and with recruits. He will bring UConn back to the promise land.