Hurley on the roster (in the order he named them):
Jalen- off the charts skill level, if he gets in the best shape of his life, gets body right, lives in gym this summer, works on his perimeter shot, they feel he can be AAC Player of the Year and be drafted. But he needs to be razor sharp and make a big commitment. Getting fresh start has a way of reenergizing people, has a chance to change the narrative of his career.
Gilbert- we have been lacking a leader the last couple years, has every intangible quality, toughness, leadership, has a huge heart, starts shooting next week, can start doing stuff on court during the summer, keep him out until September, wrap bubble wrap around him, difference maker.
Vital- great work ethic, competitive, emotional, staff can connect with him, get him guided in right direction. Good defender and shooter.
Polley- has length and size, shoots good, body is underdeveloped, strength program will be intense, will help him, if he can put 10-12 pounds he could be a big factor and stretch the floor. Can play big wing or stretch 4.
Carlton- great frame and potential. Skill level is high. Can do some things that we probably can't think he can do but we need to develop his motor, intensity, and physicality. Strength program big for him. Big future with us.
Mamadou- We need him to be a butt kicker. Needs to become a beast out there. Hasn't seen that on film. Been giving him a hard time about that. Needs to be an enforcer type. Like KFree. Better shooter than we think. Can step out as an undersized 4 and hit shots.
Whaley- athletic guy, a lot of upside, hard tryer. Has a lot of work do on his skill work and fundementals.
Cobb- can help us if he gets his weight down to about 240. Played at around 270 last year. Very skilled. Needs to restart senior year and be all in.
Someone from audience or assistant coach mentions Sid to Hurley....
Wilson- El Sid he called him. He's a freshman. He's an exciting guy to work with because of his skill set, multi positional, very athletic, needs a quality intense strength program. He's developing and has talent, needs to live in gym, a lot of work to do.
Hurley than asks is that everyone? Told no and someone mentions Kwintin.
Kwintin- calls him JUMP. Athletic guy, trying to figure out where he might play, intense guy, wants to be good.
Than mentions the newcomers.
Yawkwe- we didnt have a lot of rim protection last year or athleticism up front, we will pressure the dribbler so we needed to find some size than can block shots, brings value there. Big time athlete and we play an athletic game. We will get beat off the dribble because we pressure the ball.
Tarin- A10 6 man of year, had great year, he really upgrades our perimeter, tenacious D, tremendous passer, very athletic, he's a winner.
Both transfers will help our culture, they are smart, hard workers, good students, about winning, both will help us in changing culture and helping our Win Loss record.
Brendan- 6'4 combo guard, can shoot, good offensive player, good size, comes from great pedigree. Short term and long term solution. Beat Georgia and Georgia Tech for him at URI.
Style of play- We want to dictate the terms of the game, be the aggressor on both ends of court, how we compete, first thing you will see that will exciteus is the how hard we will compete, no team in the country will play as hard as we do, defend at a high level, see pressure man defense, not alot of gimmicks, full court pressure, we thrive on deflections, try to block shots, intimidate opponent. Fast way to turn around a program is play really good defense and play really hard, offensively get ball down court as quickly as possible, score in transition. Team at URI was primary guard oriented because they can't get quality bigs in the A10. You won't see a hint of selfishness. You will see a true team that represents UConn across its chest. That's what we will see Year 1.
