Hurley’s decision to not play Whaley his entire sophomore year.

[UconnU]

In retrospect, at face value, this decision looks terrible right? Is there something we don’t know? He was said to be healthy for the second half of the year. We needed toughness and rebounding desperately last year, he looked great during moments of his freshman year, we didn’t have a ton of kids available. Decision is mind boggling to me.

 

[Vuce]

We aren’t there everyday in practice. That’s one thing. I do know that we saw a major difference in IW’s physique from sophomore to junior seasons. He worked his butt off during the off-season and came back a different player. Very happy to see it and easy to root for the kid

 

[AntG168]

In retrospect, at face value, this decision looks terrible right? Is there something we don’t know? He was said to be healthy for the second half of the year. We needed toughness and rebounding desperately last year, he looked great during moments of his freshman year, we didn’t have a ton of kids available. Decision is mind boggling to me.

Maybe he got significantly better? Whaley playing the way he played this season actually proves Hurley made the right call. It clearly worked

 

[navery12]

It's been reported Hurley told Whaley he needed to improve tremendously or move down a level before last season. Don't think the conversation should be why Hurley didn't play him sophomore year but about how it's a great example of a kid accepting the challenge and working instead of taking the easy road

 

[Candyman]

He admitted he short changed Whaley his sophomore year. Didn’t know what he had. I don’t think many people did.
The way Whaley played though it probably doesn’t translate to practice too much. The offensive rebounds and outbacks. He’s not a back to the basket big. Carlton was playing very well I league play also.

 

[Kenny11]

It was a bad decision and Hurley kind of admitted toward the end of that season..but so what.he went with cobb who had playmaking ability and regretted it. Things like that happen. Porkchop seemed to have an awesome offseason last summer and definitely improved anyway.

 

[VindiKate]

I remember Whaley saying after the season he had a hurt ankle that held him back early and kept him out of rotation?

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I am definitely in the minority, but I could see IW having an All Big East type season next year if he continues his trajectory. He has great touch (other than that one game towards the end of the year), he has an incredible second jump, and great defensive instincts. The BE doesn’t have the greatest big men, I have a feeling he could be a 12ppg 8-10rpg player next year.

 

[Huskyforlife]

He massively improved during the off season, it's all about Whaley accepting the challenge, he wasn't that player as a sophomore.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

I'm trying to look forward, not back

 

[Hoophound]

Whaley got much stronger. That changed his game. This is a game where increasing your vertical an inch can make you a good rebounder instead of a nothing. Strength and elevation are everything. He did the work.

 

[superjohn]

I am definitely in the minority, but I could see IW having an All Big East type season next year if he continues his trajectory. He has great touch (other than that one game towards the end of the year), he has an incredible second jump, and great defensive instincts. The BE doesn’t have the greatest big men, I have a feeling he could be a 12ppg 8-10rpg player next year.

I'm totally sold on him as well now. That end of the season play wasn't a fluke, he was the best player on the floor in a couple of those games.

 

[Stainmaster]

In retrospect, at face value, this decision looks terrible right? Is there something we don’t know? He was said to be healthy for the second half of the year. We needed toughness and rebounding desperately last year, he looked great during moments of his freshman year, we didn’t have a ton of kids available. Decision is mind boggling to me.

It's quite something to see how often you're baffled by someone with the pedigree and track record of Dan Hurley.

 

[HooperScooper]

Before this past season. There was hard work and improvement.

“Isaiah didn’t play much last year, I feel like there were pockets of opportunities that I could have given Isaiah, but I wanted to give Eric Cobb minutes. Isaiah had a great summer, a great preseason, he’s been great in practice through the first seven practices and he’s looking like a real reliable player. Can play the [power-forward] spot in a big lineup, can even play because he’s up to 225-230 [pounds]. He’s really worked hard, and we think he could be a really valuable player for us moving forward.”

Dan Hurley breaks down the UConn men’s basketball roster: ‘We’re more talented, we have more depth, we’re more athletic, but we’re younger’

Seven practices into his second season as UConn men’s basketball coach, Dan Hurley is exuding confidence. “No. 1, I’m confident in my system and my ability to build an organizatio…

www.courant.com

 

[HooperScooper]

“His whole body has changed, he doesn’t look like the same guy,” coach Dan Hurley said, after Whaley came off the bench to get 14 points, six rebounds and five blocks. “We made an adjustment with his shooting, did something with his technique a little bit, and he’s an athletic player. Defensively, he’s in the right spots. He just brings a lot of value right now to the program.”

Whaley, the 6-foot-9 junior, will be Josh Carlton’s primary backup at center, and when Hurley wants to use a bigger lineup to match up with certain opponents, Whaley and Carlton could be on the floor together. That could mean a lot of minutes for someone who barely played last season.

“Usually, you could see on a guy’s face during the course of the season,” Hurley said, “guys with a limited role are super frustrated, and may have one foot out the door on you, but he never showed us that side of him. He worked hard all last year, and once I met with him in the off-season, he’s been shot out of a cannon ever since. What he did today was real, in terms of the way he was able to be effective."

Whaley stayed at UConn throughout the summer and did not take a break. His mother back in North Carolina understood, he said, and encouraged him to get better.

“I knew, to contribute to the team, I was going to have to sacrifice something,” Whaley said, “and the sacrifice I made, not really seeing my family since March, but it was going to be a huge summer.”

Whaley put on 25 or so pounds, to get over 220, and is ready to play more physical. He unpacked a couple of mid-range jump shots, too, as delighted teammates yelled, “poppers,” his new nickname.

UConn’s Isaiah Whaley ‘doesn’t look like the same guy’ and other takeaways from win over St. Michael’s

This is a time of year when college basketball is filled with talk of the “great summers.” Who bulked up, who worked on their game, who is ready to make that big jump? When UConn men&#8…

www.courant.com

 

[HooperScooper]

Whaley, who played 23 of the Huskies’ 33 games last season, averaging 3.6 minutes, now had a road map to a more meaningful role. He weighed about 202 pounds, and coach Dan Hurley wanted him 20 or so pounds heavier in order to hang in and compete to be Josh Carlton’s backup at center.

After two months and a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with more emphasis on the PB than the J, Whaley, 6 feet 8, is now throwing 221 pounds around at the Werth Center. On June 22, he was ready to tweet the hashtag, #ChallengeAccepted.

Isaiah Whaley bulking up to fight for meaningful minutes with UConn men

Isaiah Whaley was in the Werth Family Center in May, taking jump shots, when he heard the familiar footsteps. “Coach Hurley walked up behind me,” Whaley said. “He usually talks to…

www.courant.com

 

[Chin Diesel]

In retrospect any time a player makes a dramatic leap one year from the year prior results in fans suggesting the previous year said player shouldn't have played so that said player would gain an extra year going forward.

 

[LStudfellow]

In retrospect, at face value, this decision looks terrible right? Is there something we don’t know? He was said to be healthy for the second half of the year. We needed toughness and rebounding desperately last year, he looked great during moments of his freshman year, we didn’t have a ton of kids available. Decision is mind boggling to me.

And exactly how much better do you think Isaiah, at 201 pounds, was going to make us two years ago? Should he have played more, in retrospect? Yes. But I do not see why you're making a big deal out of it when the big jump occurred because of the off-season work he did. He needed the extra 20 pounds, that is a fact. He still struggled with bonafide big beefy guys being able to body him.

All that being said - I love the whole Isaiah Whaley story. He took what Hurley said to him at the beginning of last off-season as motivation and a road map to becoming a better player. He sacrificed, and put in the work. Now he has turned himself into arguably our best big man... with all of us highly anticipating his senior season.

I have one word for his blossoming before our eyes: AWESOME!

Let's enjoy looking forward to just how much fun Isaiah will be to watch next year, as opposed to worrying about the 1 or 2 or 3 wins he "might" have helped us get last year. Would an 18-15 record last year really have been any better than the 16-17 record we actually achieved? Uh, I don't think so.

 

[WrenchFan69]

There is a very real chance Whaley ends this year as my favorite Husky of all time.

 

[ToolzieFan]

He was obviously just trying to keep his draft stock down to make sure he got four years out of him. Duh.

 

[UconnU]

In retrospect any time a player makes a dramatic leap one year from the year prior results in fans suggesting the previous year said player shouldn't have played so that said player would gain an extra year going forward.

A. We were so short we had Sid and Brandon playing significant minutes at PF at the time.
B. Whaley looked good as a freshman

 

[QuickDraw]

IW's foot speed & ability to get off the floor are impressive for a guy his size, he hedges hard like few big's can and goes up to attempt a block then right back up for the board fast. Like CV, his effort & will are visible to all, as fans you have to admire the work he has done & effort he puts on display. If he can improve the consistency of his mid-range jumper he will be tough to take off the floor next year.

 

[Waquoit]

IW's foot speed & ability to get off the floor are impressive for a guy his size, he hedges hard like few big's can and goes up to attempt a block then right back up for the board fast.

I agree. And it seemed like he was getting a good read on his guys, he wasn't one to go flying in the air on a pump fake.

 

[Palatine]

No mystery. Cobb was a true power forward. He also would flash that he was some one to be reckoned with....alas,it was always just a flash. And when Cobb came out, Whaley did little to earn the minutes.

 

[Hoophound]

No mystery. Cobb was a true power forward. He also would flash that he was some one to be reckoned with....alas,it was always just a flash. And when Cobb came out, Whaley did little to earn the minutes.

Cobb would have been a hell of a player if he’d had the right coach in his ear from day one.