How about Sid?

[CTisballers]

Whaley never plays more minutes then Sid he’s either hurt or did something only UConn staffs know about. But it’s only going to get harder for him next year when Jackson Springs and Javonte comes in. Hope the kid Sid could stick.

 

[RichZ]

There's more to this. The walk ons played and Sid didn't.

Putting him in in the last minute with the walkons would be an insult.

 

[Chief00]

Sid gave us a quick 6-6 shot blocker and now we have a 6-10 Akok who blocks everything.
Gaffney had a 5 assists and 1 turnover yesterday and shot 2 for 3 from three as did Bouk. You can see now why Chief defended him when he was still getting over the injury. I saw a lot of him last season and Chief trusts the eye test.
Danny is correct 10 man rotations don’t work even if you have UK level talent.

 

[Huskybass]

Putting him in in the last minute with the walkons would be an insult.

Putting in the walk ons without putting Sid in first is a bigger insult, unless there is more to the story. Sid had averaged about 12 minutes per game over the past 5 games. To go to a DNP after that tells me there is more to this, but that it is being kept internal while they work through it.

 

[Huskybass]

Hurley's full quote says it all: “Wanted to up James [Bouknight’s] minutes. He got to 22 today,” Hurley said. “Seeing where Gaffney is going, he’s surging, so I wanted to get him more minutes. It’s hard to play 10 guys, and it’s hard for guys to get a rhythm when you’re at 10. We’re going to need Sid, and Sid’s got to keep himself ready here. He’s got to work daily to get better so that he makes me want to put him in.”

And if you believe that, I feel bad for you. You don't go from playing a guy 12 minutes a game over the last 5 games to a DNP yesterday for no specific reason. There has to be more to the story, but Coach Hurley has chosen to keep it internal.

By the way, do you believe in the Easter Bunny, too?

 

[mauconnfan]

Putting in the walk ons without putting Sid in first is a bigger insult, unless there is more to the story. Sid had averaged about 12 minutes per game over the past 5 games. To go to a DNP after that tells me there is more to this.

I watched the bench when I could during the game to see what was happening there. I mean UNH was the perfect match up to give Sid a good 20 minutes for sure. First half he looked ready, no jacket on or sweats so he was looking to get in. Also he was good with reaction to those coming back to the bench but still seemed a bit upset. Then 2nd half he had his jacket on didn't look like he expected to get it but was also in a good mood. When the guys were playing well he looked at the bench and seemingly said something direct to him and he laughed like crazy right at Dan so the mood was good. Not sure what it was but I am sure we will hear something yet it didn't seem too bad. Or at least after a discussion he realized he needs to do something different to earn the time. Curious to find out?

 

[jayteeman]

You don't think we need someone that is in the top 5 nationally in rebounding average? The kid put up 12 and 7 as a freshman in the BE championship game with a black eye.

Roscoe made some bonehead plays but I'll take him right now as a senior so we don't have CV rebounding the ball, running up the court into a corner or taking a pull up 3.

sorry...was hoping you would figure out Roscoe's bonehead decision

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I watched the bench when I could during the game to see what was happening there. I mean UNH was the perfect match up to give Sid a good 20 minutes for sure. First half he looked ready, no jacket on or sweats so he was looking to get in. Also he was good with reaction to those coming back to the bench but still seemed a bit upset. Then 2nd half he had his jacket on didn't look like he expected to get it but was also in a good mood. When the guys were playing well he looked at the bench and seemingly said something direct to him and he laughed like crazy right at Dan so the mood was good. Not sure what it was but I am sure we will hear something yet it didn't seem too bad. Or at least after a discussion he realized he needs to do something different to earn the time. Curious to find out?

Possibly a minor injury that got re-evaluated at the half? But why not say that?

 

[Stinger92860]

Jackson is going to have to show a jumpshot ( a weak point for him )

The same can be said for Sid. Outside shooting has been a huge problem these last several years. Now it appears we have the shooters. The offensive zone play was beautiful, its been a while.

 

[mauconnfan]

Possibly a minor injury that got re-evaluated at the half? But why not say that?

Yeah agree, the more I read the more it seems to be a practice related thing. Not working hard enough or just not improving in areas the expect him to. We will see, I have liked what he did the last couple of games prior to UNH so maybe there's even more to it.

 

[SoFla Steve]

From this morning's UConn Daily:

DISAPPEARING ACT: We did Sid Wilson go? To the bench for a long time, it appears. The sophomore forward is the odd man out in the rotation for now and had the dreaded DNP-CD from Hurley. Hurley said after the game that it is hard to give 10 players minutes and that he needs Wilson to work harder in practice. Wilson is a terrific athlete, but his shooting and ball-handling ability are behind what, say, Bouknight can bring to the table.

 

[polycom]

Sid Wilson isn't better than Whaley right now so he doesn't play... The fact that the walkons logged a minute and he didn't means he is in the dog house. Those two things do not have to be related.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Hurley will find minutes for him as a senior, I'd bet a lot on it.

If you listen to Hurley's presser yesterday he said it was Sid's duty to make sure Hurley can't keep him out of lineup.
Whaley has made sure Hurley has to play him this year and I'd bet Whaley does the same next year.
Hurley (or any good coach) doesn't find minutes for players. Players force coaches to find minutes for them.

 

[Chin Diesel]

And if you believe that, I feel bad for you. You don't go from playing a guy 12 minutes a game over the last 5 games to a DNP yesterday for no specific reason. There has to be more to the story, but Coach Hurley has chosen to keep it internal.

By the way, do you believe in the Easter Bunny, too?

Hurley gave multiple specific reasons such as consistency in practice.

 

[Huskybass]

Hurley gave multiple specific reasons such as consistency in practice.

You can buy that if you like, but playing the walk ons and not playing Sid at all tells me there is a bit more to the story. Objectively, you have to see that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It baffles me how incoming Freshman are already being penciled into the lineup next year when most have only seen a mixtape of them.

Polly is always the first to be speculated to the bench. But two sentences later someone says we need to get a knockdown shooter.. newsflash—- Polly is a extremely good shooter, the best on the team. He will be a senior.

Jackson is going to have to show a jumpshot ( a weak point for him ) and defensive ability before Polly gets parked anywhere. He is not just going to be running around dunking over guys in the Big East like he does in his mix tape. Bouk is playing off the bench and is a great freshman with more tools. Ya think Jackson is just going to pushing players to the bench when Bouk is not.

All good things come with time. Let Dan Hurley worry about who is playing where.

Also Whaley could be a big asset next year.

There's a lot of irony on this point in this thread, because I recall that Sid (who had a year with the team before he could play) was being penciled in as an impact starter as well, before playing a game. Now he apparently got a DNP yesterday.

 

[HuskylnSC]

And if you believe that, I feel bad for you. You don't go from playing a guy 12 minutes a game over the last 5 games to a DNP yesterday for no specific reason. There has to be more to the story, but Coach Hurley has chosen to keep it internal.

By the way, do you believe in the Easter Bunny, too?

I go with Hurley's quote. Sid hasn't devolved, but the kids have developed into players that provide more than Sid. Sid has to put in the effort required to get better than the kids.

 

[HuskylnSC]

You can buy that if you like, but playing the walk ons and not playing Sid at all tells me there is a bit more to the story. Objectively, you have to see that.

Objectively. He is sending a message. He cares about Sid and wants the best for him. A coach will pour in and pour in, but if the player doesn't take the necessary steps this is the best way to get the message through. A great move for Dan Hurley to hopefully kickstart some greater effort from the player

 

[businesslawyer]

You can buy that if you like, but playing the walk ons and not playing Sid at all tells me there is a bit more to the story. Objectively, you have to see that.

I'm struggling to understand what you're struggling with here. Obviously none of us know exactly what happened, but why couldn't it be as simple as Dan Hurley telling Sid he wasn't playing again until he took practice more seriously?

 

[Huskybass]

I'm struggling to understand what you're struggling with here. Obviously none of us know exactly what happened, but why couldn't it be as simple as Dan Hurley telling Sid he wasn't playing again until he took practice more seriously?

Because Sid AVERAGED 13 minutes per game thru 9 games up until yesterday. Playing the walk ons before him tells me it's more than just a practice issue. Just my opinion.

 

[8893]

I agree with @RichZ : putting Sid in with the walk-ons would have served no purpose and would have been unnecessarily embarrassing to Sid. If the point was to send the message that Sid needs to work harder in practice to earn his minutes over guys like Bouknight and Gaffney, who are improving before our eyes, that point was made. IMO putting him in with the walk-ons would have been adding insult to injury.

Whatever the dynamics, I hope he does what he needs to do.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If you listen to Hurley's presser yesterday he said it was Sid's duty to make sure Hurley can't keep him out of lineup.
Whaley has made sure Hurley has to play him this year and I'd bet Whaley does the same next year.
Hurley (or any good coach) doesn't find minutes for players. Players force coaches to find minutes for them.

Sort of. Josh is the main reason Hurley has to play Whaley. Josh was a zombie today.

 

[maineuconnfan]

Honestly, we cannot read too much into the rotations until we play in conference...that’s when the rotation begins to matter...everything going on know is strategic, and gives Danny the best understanding of who he has going into conference. What happens in crunch time...it is still audition season for Danny...in a couple years that method will probably change

 

[Palatine]

We will never know why Sid didn't play. It's clear that he did something (or didn't do something) Hurley didn't like. But there were plenty of opportunities to put him in on Sunday and Dan Hurley never looked his way.

 

[Son of Robert]

I agree with the people on here that see this as a timely message to Sid that he needs to ramp up his effort in practice and games. Hurley is Calhounish in his demanding of maximum effort from his players, and I see this as Hurley tightening up the culture one player at a time. It is definite that Wilson is working hard: Hurley just wants that last 10%, he wants all of it, because that is his culture, every player fully bought in, paying 100% of their dues in practice. It is championship culture; accept nothing less. Sid fits Hurley's defense to a T, and his offense is progressing steadily. He is slashing to the basket, he is rebounding on the offensive glass, and with his elevation and length, if he could add a reliable pullup and a midrange turnaround jumper he would be really effective. No one is shooting that shot on this team and that would certainly add to our offense.

Hurley wants to play Sid. he wants to coach him and develop his talent; he has a very high prospective ceiling, but Hurley is evaluating his effort daily and must be convinced that Sid has more to give.

Sid needs to step up.