Part of the problem is that Hurley makes his decisions based on what is going to deliver the best results in the immediate game/moment.
Yeah, but there is a pretty wide cavern between as good as Jim Calhoun and a coach who can get you to the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8 on a semi-regular basis with a shot at going all the way.
Hurley didn't win at Wagner and at Rhodey just by being a recruiter.
If some of the upperclassmen continue to struggle, I’d think we’ll see some changes. I appreciate how he sticks to his players but his rotation patterns just aren’t great. Of course some of the younger players will make mistakes but you have to give them some leash and grow with that. We saw that with Hawkins against St Bonnies. Some of the older guys just are what they are. Not trying to pick on him specifically but Tyler Polly just cannot be getting these minutes playing how he’s playing. Not asking for huge minutes for Samson Johnson or RD but small spurts seem warranted at this point and definitely more than 12 min for Hawk.
Calhoun started here in 1986. The dream season was 89-90 so it took Calhoun 3-4 years and a miracle shot to make us noticed and be the start of things into the March madness. Hurley had to clean a schiest cesspool created by Ollie. If we use the Calhoun time track I expect that this season may be salvaged with some respectability by Hurley. No I do not think that Hurley will be another Calhoun but how many Calhoun are there! How many are there to match a coach Szewszewski ( I spell it phonetically.
Sure put money money into Football so Mora can land a 3 star and finally beat Holy Cross! That’s the way to go.
I have no way of knowing how good his recruitment was at those stops. I'm sure his energy and enthusiasm provide a jolt to the program. It's probably easier to have better talent than your competitors at lower levels, since under recruited or late bloomers should be easier to find....and the guys you are coaching against are at that level for a reason.
I don’t think that would be the goal. Just reallocate some of the money spent on basketball into football. It is the better investment. Doesn’t mean basketball can’t still do well in a conference like the Big East.
Agree. I would hope he learns. I’m concerned that his style of game management won’t allow that. He can’t be thinking about the big picture when he’s actively orchestrating every posession from the bench like he’s the point guard and a cheerleader. Weirdly, he knows his x and o(s) inside and out, but can’t seem to apply theory to the situation at hand. Until he figures it out, we are going to have a ceiling.
Thank you! I swear I never heard or thought about this before! Truly breakthrough thinking! GT.FOH!
If he has Clingan try the “hard hedge” even once, then we will know that all hope is lost.
As I’ve said. I’m concerned but still optimistic once Sanogo returns, if he can incorporate Diggins and Johnson into the rotation. I suspect a few people in this thread though feel we’re not any better off than we were with the previous staff. We are still leaps and bounds above those final 4 years prior to Hurley taking over. He appears to do everything else right running a program, just has to prove he can win more games now.
Calhoun's first 4 years
Of course I remember the NIT win and yes that was the turning point. But over the years when I had mentioned the NIT I was criticized for bringing up the NIT. Most self styled UConn BB fans act as if the NIT is alllways a failure. Hell do those of us old even to remember when fans of UCONN opponent would chant “NIT” during games when UCONN was not doing well. Again I am not saying that Hurley is a Calhoun ( there are not many Calhoun). I will say that Hurley did have a bigger mess to clean up after Ollie while Calhoun had mediocrity to overcome and CAlhoun did a masterful job doing it.
