Hurley and Transfer Portal

[superjohn]

He gave every signal he wasn't enthusiastic about the portal process and was prioritizing Freshman recruits, which was successful. The results speak to that on both fronts.

And only 1 freshman plays.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Needed at least one more ball handler.

You're right. If only Hurley was able to have recruited a Top 70 overall recruit who was also a Top 10 PG in this past class...that is what this team really needs. Even if he took this young freshman and gave him 10 minutes a game to give RJ a break on the ball and take off the pressure and let this freshman build up experience. I wish Hurley had recruited someone like that......oh wait a minute.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Bad take - No matter what you think of them, if we had got the DPOY and 6th Man of Year from another top conference, Hurley would have struck gold.

Don't forget, Cole and Martin as transfers are pretty good gets also.

Let’s be clear though, TP as 6MOTY averaging 7.5 and 2 is not a 6MOTY in like, any other conference. I was and still am absolutely flabbergasted as to how he got that award last season.

I also love the kid and love his service to the team over the past 4+ years, but I would’ve been content on moving on from him for someone who was more than one dimensional.

 

[Ricker]

When I read the title of the thread, I thought Hurley entered the transfer portal himself

 

[nelsonmuntz]

When I read the title of the thread, I thought Hurley entered the transfer portal himself

He would wish he had if he read this board.

 

[CTBasketball]

Cole just isn’t what you want out of a lead guard. We have solveable issues but that one will linger around until March.

 

[tennmike]

I think this is a valid criticism. Yes we had a great incoming class + 2 super seniors, BUT minutes were there for a scoring guard / wing. As @Hoophound said, we probably just struck out.

I would swap Floyd Jr. with Gaffney right now. One is a winner, the other, not so much.

 

[MyDorona]

There are a number of posters saying that Hurley didn’t try or didn’t look for a transfer. I don’t think that’s accurate. I think this is a result of people buying Hurley’s spin.

Early on, there were many rumors that Hurley & Co. were in on some top-15 transfers. Those transfers committed quickly to other schools. There was also some credible evidence that Freeman “stepped down” because Hurley wasn’t happy with his level of commitment recruiting transfers in the offseason.

It is probably true that Hurley & Co. had no interest in what was left after the top 15-20 transfers were off the board. It’s also true that Hurley’s pre-season media campaign included the refrain that he doesn’t want to make this Transfer U. However, don’t buy that they weren’t interested in transfer help- particularly when it comes to shooters and ball handlers.

 

[cohenzone]

I never gave him the benefit of anything on this. If a Coaches job isn't to evaluate weaknesses and address personnel issues during the off season I don't know what it is. Great recruiting class means zippo if we can't shoot and want to compete in March.

Um, Hawkins is supposed to address that issue and he is seeing the floor. Polley supposedly is a shooter and the fact that he isn’t making them is not something a coach can change. Martin is not a horrible shooter. Ditto Cole who right now isn’t shooting at a great clip. I’d guess Hurley thought he had that base reasonably covered with some contribution. from Akok who right now is making a case for Johnson to play more, and Whaley . While I’ve said Gaffney (who also supposedly can shoot) isn’t the worst back up option, I’ve also said I’d like to see Diggins more. Can he make jumpers? A limited sample implies maybe.

There is some sort of assumption that some unidentified transfer would be taking and not missing a bunch of the shots all of the guys I’ve identified are missing. And play the D Hurley wants which has pretty good even in the losses. Personally, I think if the main offensive rebounders would stop tipping wildly so much and grab the ball to go back up and maybe score or be fouled we might get 6-10 more points a game.

 

[CL82]

I’m confused. Who were we supposed to get, and could have gotten, that would have projected as better than Hawkins?

Lol there are a lot of moving pieces in that question.

The kid I would’ve liked to have gotten is Kadary Richmond. That helps with our ballhandling and takes some of the pressure off of Cole. Moving Cole to the 2 likely helps three point shooting. He would’ve been a tough sell because of all the work Seton hall had already put in originally recruiting him.

 

[businesslawyer]

Lol there are a lot of moving pieces in that question.

The kid I would’ve liked to have gotten is Kadary Richmond. That helps with our ballhandling and takes some of the pressure off of Cole. Moving Cole to the 2 likely helps three point shooting. He would’ve been a tough sell because of all the work Seton hall had already put in originally recruiting him.

But that’s the point, isn’t it? We are bashing on Hurley because the few people in the portal that could of helped us didn’t want to come here? There is a good chance Richmond might have helped us. But he didn’t have a clear path to starting here, either. He couldn’t assume he would push AJ to the bench. And he might have simply wanted to come home to NJ.

 

[Captbluefin]

Right. Three years ago he wouldn't play IW and the next year found him to be his best big man.
Last year he overlooked AS so much there was a fear he'd lose him to the portal until a late season change of heart gave him more time and significant development.
This year it's SJ and RD and, to a degree, too little usage of JH.

Hurley better be careful. His commitment to older guys is going to cost him his future guys.

Adama made comments after St. John’s disaster last year and Hurley started playing him. Adama was not happy. I bet there are several young guys not happy on the bench right now.

Hurley can’t do the BS he did with Bouk and Adama. He will be loosing players.

 

[CL82]

But that’s the point, isn’t it? We are bashing on Hurley because the few people in the portal that could of helped us didn’t want to come here? There is a good chance Richmond might have helped us. But he didn’t have a clear path to starting here, either. He couldn’t assume he would push AJ to the bench. And he might have simply wanted to come home to NJ.

Well first, I’m not bashing Hurley (and neither are you), though I have some questions regarding his game management.

You asked who could we have gotten out of the portal who would’ve helped us. Off the top of my head Richmond is one.

Did he have a clear path to starting? Well, yeah, the same path everyone has the starting, be the best player. If I were pitching it, I would pitch it exactly the way I explained it. Look, we expect you to get a significant amount of minutes at point. Don’t worry about Cole being ahead of you, because if you are as good as I think you are, we will move him to the two and you’ll get the majority of the minutes at the one.

Seton Hall dramatically improved themselves via the portal, with the additions of Richmond and Yetna. And, to be honest, I’d like to think that it should be rare that we lose a player to Seton Hall. No disrespect to them, but we are a land grant university with far better facilities and brand recognition. Both of them would have helped us, though Yetna had a harder path to playing time.

The notion that we didn’t get them and thus we couldn’t have got them is circular reasoning. Clearly, Curley wasn’t too happy with the effort we made in the portal and it resulted in a change of staff.

That said, I am not one of those who are piling on early because of one loss. I do, however, think that, in year four, criticism of his game management, especially at the end of games, is fair.

 

[Dean Wormer]

Hurley better be careful. His commitment to older guys is going to cost him his future guys.

Adama made comments after St. John’s disaster last year and Hurley started playing him. Adama was not happy. I bet there are several young guys not happy on the bench right now.

Hurley can’t do the BS he did with Bouk and Adama. He will be loosing players.

Dan Hurley already hinted that some guys were grumbling about not playing. With the reality of the portal he’d better pay attention. You can’t just play certain players and not give others the same chance. Diggins needs to get some legit run, and so does Samson.

 

[KingAG]

We’re 9-3 with room to improve. You all are hitting the panic button WAY too early. It’s funny how the same posters are saying l, “ Nova is fine” and “we’re in danger”. I was at the game yesterday. We SUCKED FOR 36 minutes. But what stuck out more is our lack of a post presence. Sanogo makes a big difference, even as a black hole. Hurley drew up a beautiful play at the end of the game, Hawkins bricked it. We’ll be fine, we’ll figure it out. The season is FAR from determined. Hurley hasn’t been nearly as bad as some of you are saying. We handle losses TERRIBLY as a fan base.

 

[Hoophound]

We’re 9-3 with room to improve. You all are hitting the panic button WAY too early. It’s funny how the same posters are saying l, “ Nova is fine” and “we’re in danger”. I was at the game yesterday. We SUCKED FOR 36 minutes. But what stuck out more is our lack of a post presence. Sanogo makes a big difference, even as a black hole. Hurley drew up a beautiful play at the end of the game, Hawkins bricked it. We’ll be fine, we’ll figure it out. The season is FAR from determined. Hurley hasn’t been nearly as bad as some of you are saying. We handle losses TERRIBLY as a fan base.

I don’t know. I think for many of us, we’ve been seeing the same problems for a few years and we don’t see a way to something better yet. We haven’t had a true PG, we can’t drive and we can’t shoot. Aside from that, we have some very talented guys on the bench getting no chance to develop and we will need them to be all grown up by next season. I really thought that next season would be when we’d see a return to UConn basketball with superior athletes and solid skills. Now I foresee a young team with little experience trying to find their way. Diggins, Johnson and Springs need to get some run.

 

[tower1]

Dan Hurley already hinted that some guys were grumbling about not playing. With the reality of the portal he’d better pay attention. You can’t just play certain players and not give others the same chance. Diggins needs to get some legit run, and so does Samson.

Agree 100% !

 

[polycom]

We’re 9-3 with room to improve. You all are hitting the panic button WAY too early. It’s funny how the same posters are saying l, “ Nova is fine” and “we’re in danger”. I was at the game yesterday. We SUCKED FOR 36 minutes. But what stuck out more is our lack of a post presence. Sanogo makes a big difference, even as a black hole. Hurley drew up a beautiful play at the end of the game, Hawkins bricked it. We’ll be fine, we’ll figure it out. The season is FAR from determined. Hurley hasn’t been nearly as bad as some of you are saying. We handle losses TERRIBLY as a fan base.

I’ve been waiting to see your blue colored glasses, thank you for not disappointing. You make the class of ‘14 proud.

 

[KingAG]

I

I don’t know. I think for many of us, we’ve been seeing the same problems for a few years and we don’t see a way to something better yet. We haven’t had a true PG, we can’t drive and we can’t shoot. Aside from that, we have some very talented guys on the bench getting no chance to develop and we will need them to be all grown up by next season. I really thought that next season would be when we’d see a return to UConn basketball with superior athletes and solid skills. Now I foresee a young team with little experience trying to find their way. Diggins, Johnson and Springs need to get some run.

I agree in terms of Diggins and Samson. But with Cole, Sanogo, Hawkins, and possibly Martin returning. Nothing about that team is “young and inexperienced”. I don’t think we should judge this season and or this team just yet. We’ve beat some good teams, and lost to some good teams. It’s honestly we’re I thought we’d be. We’ve been top 25 for 75% of the season. I get the concerns, but I think the severity of the results have been a little overstated

 

[ToolzieFan]

I might be wrong, but the perception at the time seemed to be that we pursued Noah Locke. He has started every game at Louisville. He is also having his worst shooting season yet, by far, 33.1% overall, 31.3% from 3, 77.8 FT%, and 10.5 PPG. Did we legitimately pursue him? Did we have a realistic chance at him? Would he have been a difference maker? I don’t know the answers. I don’t know which other shooters we went after and had an actual chance to land.

 

[KingAG]

I’ve been waiting to see your blue colored glasses, thank you for not disappointing. You make the class of ‘14 proud.

Saying as sucked for 36 minutes is blue colored glasses. Kick rocks

 

[navery12]

I might be wrong, but the perception at the time seemed to be that we pursued Noah Locke. He has started every game at Louisville. He is also having his worst shooting season yet, by far, 33.1% overall, 31.3% from 3, 77.8 FT%, and 10.5 PPG. Did we legitimately pursue him? Did we have a realistic chance at him? Would he have been a difference maker? I don’t know the answers. I don’t know which other shooters we went after and had an actual chance to land.

Could be spin, could be reality, but the story seems to be we pursued him until Polley decided to come back

 

[Jimdish255]

Um, Hawkins is supposed to address that issue and he is seeing the floor. Polley supposedly is a shooter and the fact that he isn’t making them is not something a coach can change. Martin is not a horrible shooter. Ditto Cole who right now isn’t shooting at a great clip. I’d guess Hurley thought he had that base reasonably covered with some contribution. from Akok who right now is making a case for Johnson to play more, and Whaley . While I’ve said Gaffney (who also supposedly can shoot) isn’t the worst back up option, I’ve also said I’d like to see Diggins more. Can he make jumpers? A limited sample implies maybe.

There is some sort of assumption that some unidentified transfer would be taking and not missing a bunch of the shots all of the guys I’ve identified are missing. And play the D Hurley wants which has pretty good even in the losses. Personally, I think if the main offensive rebounders would stop tipping wildly so much and grab the ball to go back up and maybe score or be fouled we might get 6-10 more points a game.

One is a freshman and the other a streak shooter that disappears for weeks at a time. That's not at all what we're talking about. At least not what I ever suggested was a solution to a problem that was apparent last year. If that's what Coach was banking on the results so far suggest he was badly mistaken. I hope things turn around but that's just hope, not the proven scorer we needed.

 

[ToolzieFan]

Could be spin, could be reality, but the story seems to be we pursued him until Polley decided to come back

Honestly, even though it is still early in the year, those shooting numbers are bad. If he was shooting like that and taking minutes from Hawkins, then the Boneyard would be livid. I have not watched them play, though, so I don’t know if there is anything I am missing with Locke.

 

[TRUCONN76]

Right. Three years ago he wouldn't play IW and the next year found him to be his best big man.
Last year he overlooked AS so much there was a fear he'd lose him to the portal until a late season change of heart gave him more time and significant development.
This year it's SJ and RD and, to a degree, too little usage of JH.

I seem to recall Isaiah saying two years ago that it took him to the Villanova game to finally realize that he had to change his ways in how he practiced and the consistency of his effort. When Akok went down he was ready to step in. With regard to Adama he started as a freshman fouled a lot and was inconsistent. I remember with Calhoun that type of playing put you on the bench especially from a freshman. I would like to see more of the freshmen too, but not if they are not ready either due to confidence, strength, understanding assignments, or academic issues in adjusting to college. I have no idea where they stand in development and neither do you. To suggest that Hurley can’t assess the readiness of his players but you can is rather arrogant. I also seem to recall that Uconn is one of only two schools in the country with no transfers in this year. I believe that is because he must be being honest and consistent and earning the players trust.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I seem to recall Isaiah saying two years ago that it took him to the Villanova game to finally realize that he had to change his ways in how he practiced and the consistency of his effort. When Akok went down he was ready to step in. With regard to Adama he started as a freshman fouled a lot and was inconsistent. I remember with Calhoun that type of playing put you on the bench especially from a freshman. I would like to see more of the freshmen too, but not if they are not ready either due to confidence, strength, understanding assignments, or academic issues in adjusting to college. I have no idea where they stand in development and neither do you. To suggest that Hurley can’t assess the readiness of his players but you can is rather arrogant. I also seem to recall that Uconn is one of only two schools in the country with no transfers in this year. I believe that is because he must be being honest and consistent and earning the players trust.

Hurley has a history of benching talented freshmen here. Bouk was a lottery pick and was benched for Polley until his injury. Sanogo might make the NBA as well and came off the bench for a significant chunk of his freshman season. Perhaps Sool/Hawkins/Johnson will never play in the NBA, but we'll never know if they aren't given a thorough chance.

 

[Ricker]

I haven't noted any posters saying that they knew better than Hurley that Diggins was game ready and that playing him will solve our problems. What posters seem to be expressing, is that keeping Diggins on the bench and not giving him a chance in games is essentially an endorsement that Hurley is satisfied with how Gaffney is playing. A lot of people have an issue with Gaffney's contribution so far, and, would rather suffer some freshman mistakes. Coupled with Hurley's growing record of underestimating players on the bench and stubbornly sticking with underperforming veterans, I think it a fair criticism.

 

[tzznandrew]

Right. Three years ago he wouldn't play IW and the next year found him to be his best big man.

It's possible, just possible, Whaley improved a lot.

I know the board really liked Whaley back then, because he had passion and energy, but the kid didn't know how to be part of a team offense or defense. He frequently didn't know where to be. That sort of level of confusion sometimes—by mere chance—leads to stray rebounds and points because he's doing things the opponent (and his teammates) don't expect. But the vast majority of what little minutes he got then, he sucked. But he was recruiting as the sort of kid who would sit on the bench and by junior and senior year be able to give minutes. That's what happened.

 

[superjohn]

It's possible, just possible, Whaley improved a lot.

I know the board really liked Whaley back then, because he had passion and energy, but the kid didn't know how to be part of a team offense or defense. He frequently didn't know where to be. That sort of level of confusion sometimes—by mere chance—leads to stray rebounds and points because he's doing things the opponent (and his teammates) don't expect. But the vast majority of what little minutes he got then, he sucked. But he was recruiting as the sort of kid who would sit on the bench and by junior and senior year be able to give minutes. That's what happened.

Hurley even said he screwed up not playing Whaley.

 

[tzznandrew]

Hurley even said he screwed up not playing Whaley.

Coaches say a lot of things to the media that are directed to their own players, particularly for confidence. Do you really think Justin Brown was ever the best player in practice?

Whaley was almost never where he was supposed to be. You could even see him realize it and get mad at himself in some games.