Hurley at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce quotes

[Excalibur]

By February Sid will be starting at the 3.

To me, having a guy like Polley who can shoot at the 4 gives you the luxury of putting someone like Sid at the 3, who may not be a plus shooter. The only question is whether they are strong enough to rebound at those positions.

 

[Candyman]

Not sure why you think anyone hates Polley. He was our best outside shooter last year.

What I hate is playing a skinny wing at PF and a guard at SF. I don't like it as a style of play. I think the Diarra injury and failure of the other guys to step up is forcing this puny lineup. I don't think Polley has shown any ability to rebound, and it's the weakest part of Carlton's game. So that lineup will get killed on the boards, and manhandled on the defensive end down low.

C'mon, I mean hate on not that they actually hate him. If you can't find BY members hating on Polley you didnt look hard enough. I like the kid

I also don't like stretch 4's with what we got.

 

[HuskyHawk]

C'mon, I mean hate on not that they actually hate him. If you can't find BY members hating on Polley you didnt look hard enough. I like the kid

I also don't like stretch 4's with what we got.

I honestly have not seen anything negative on Polley beyond the obvious. He was a freshman, couldn’t defend well, couldn’t shoot early on but came on and made a lot of big shots.

 

[Palatine]

I honestly have not seen anything negative on Polley beyond the obvious. He was a freshman, couldn’t defend well, couldn’t shoot early on but came on and made a lot of big shots.

Also later in the year, he attacked the rim more aggressively. He had trouble finishing but he got there. This is where a little added strength can make a big difference.

 

[KembaStepback]

What I loved seeing from CV at times was a head fake 1 dribble pull up. It's wide open and he's money at that shot.
I agree he's instant offense and would be great in that Brian Fair role as 6th man. Even Rashad was a 6th man. Once Jalen leaves, CV will start at the 2 with AG. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I hope CV is a stud and earns a starting role. I just think for what he is 6th man is most likely.

 

[Candyman]

I honestly have not seen anything negative on Polley beyond the obvious. He was a freshman, couldn’t defend well, couldn’t shoot early on but came on and made a lot of big shots.

My whole point is we had this who should start Polley or Sid argument and some hated on Polley's D, saying he's soft and can't drive while others highlighted his positives like the 3 point shooting at end of year and being just a Freshman. Another even said, "0% chance Polley starts over Wilson."

I was being sarcastic and saying I will sit back and watch this same argument unfold again.

 

[HuskyHawk]

My whole point is we had this who should start Polley or Sid argument and some hated on Polley's D, saying he's soft and can't drive while others highlighted his positives like the 3 point shooting at end of year and being just a Freshman. Another even said, "0% chance Polley starts over Wilson."

I was being sarcastic and saying I will sit back and watch this same argument unfold again.

There is a very strong tendency to overrate the immediate impact of new players. It's a natural optimism. Wilson is certainly a more highly regarded recruit, but experience matters, and he sat out last year. Effort on D matters too, and shooting depending on our lineup.

My ballpark guess? Starting AG, JA and say Smith, with Wilson leaves us with a lack of outside shooting. However, when CV comes in for Smith, I could see Wilson complimenting CV or B. Adams more. I think he's going to shuffle guys all over the place.

 

[Okafour rings]

I was at the breakfast this morning and trying to take notes on my phone as Coach went down the roster of players. While Mr. Amore covered most of the notes I took, I can add a few observations:

– Jalen has NBA talent, inferring that his success this year will accelerate UConn’s return to prominence in the eyes of recruits
– Alterique’s shoulder seems to be as good as it was before he first hurt it as a senior in high school. I was kind of surprised he called him a ‘junk yard dog,’ but got the impression that he could approach the defensive intensity of Boatright with that comment.
–He was describing Vital as having charisma on the court, with his arm raising and smiles, bringing the crowd into the game. Made me think of Kemba in that respect. While Coach wants to be more aggressive overall, he’s trying to teach Vital to take fewer chances on D that would put him out of position and weaken the team defense.
–He called Polley the best shooter on the team, unequivocally.
–Cobb: looks phenomenal, showing great commitment, and although he likes to play outside is the team’s best low post scorer. While he was talking about Cobb, he also said generally that the team must, at a minimum, get the ball inside every three possessions.
–Carlton: Amore mentioned the two most important points, that he has range to 17' now and has offensive moves over both shoulders. I can’t remember the last inside player for us who could do that.
K Williams: is intense, attacks the ball and can makes 3's (!!).
K Yakwe: the way Coach was talking, sounds like we may see a lineup of 4 smalls with high pressure defense with Yakwe as the back line defender.

He finished with talking about what he’s doing with the team in general: teaching man defense as 80 percent of offense involves ball screens; we’ll see pressure defense after made baskets; never throw away a possession at ANY time during the game;
rebounding technique and mindset: 3 players committed to offensive rebounding, ‘gang’ rebounding on the defensive end;
better shot selection; they’re going to be a ‘paint touch team’ meaning that the ball goes inside at least every third possession (as I mentioned up top); ‘toes to the line’ 3 point shots, meaning no more 25-foot heaves; there will be 3-guard lineups 90% of the time.

He finished with 2 goals they have this year:
1. Opponents respect who we are.
2. Compete for a conference championship. We owe it to Jalen, who could have gone pro but decided to stay. By extension, a conference championship gets us to the Dance.

One of the posters said he thinks Hurley is not a good speaker because of his monotone voice - that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Coach Hurley was engaging, funny, loved talking about his team (“if I keep going like this, they’ll have to serve you guys lunch too”), and really got into details about the team. I really like this guy.

 

[Son of Robert]

I was at the breakfast this morning and trying to take notes on my phone as Coach went down the roster of players. While Mr. Amore covered most of the notes I took, I can add a few observations:

– Jalen has NBA talent, inferring that his success this year will accelerate UConn’s return to prominence in the eyes of recruits
– Alterique’s shoulder seems to be as good as it was before he first hurt it as a senior in high school. I was kind of surprised he called him a ‘junk yard dog,’ but got the impression that he could approach the defensive intensity of Boatright with that comment.
–He was describing Vital as having charisma on the court, with his arm raising and smiles, bringing the crowd into the game. Made me think of Kemba in that respect. While Coach wants to be more aggressive overall, he’s trying to teach Vital to take fewer chances on D that would put him out of position and weaken the team defense.
–He called Polley the best shooter on the team, unequivocally.
–Cobb: looks phenomenal, showing great commitment, and although he likes to play outside is the team’s best low post scorer. While he was talking about Cobb, he also said generally that the team must, at a minimum, get the ball inside every three possessions.
–Carlton: Amore mentioned the two most important points, that he has range to 17' now and has offensive moves over both shoulders. I can’t remember the last inside player for us who could do that.
K Williams: is intense, attacks the ball and can makes 3's (!!).
K Yakwe: the way Coach was talking, sounds like we may see a lineup of 4 smalls with high pressure defense with Yakwe as the back line defender.

He finished with talking about what he’s doing with the team in general: teaching man defense as 80 percent of offense involves ball screens; we’ll see pressure defense after made baskets; never throw away a possession at ANY time during the game;
rebounding technique and mindset: 3 players committed to offensive rebounding, ‘gang’ rebounding on the defensive end;
better shot selection; they’re going to be a ‘paint touch team’ meaning that the ball goes inside at least every third possession (as I mentioned up top); ‘toes to the line’ 3 point shots, meaning no more 25-foot heaves; there will be 3-guard lineups 90% of the time.

He finished with 2 goals they have this year:
1. Opponents respect who we are.
2. Compete for a conference championship. We owe it to Jalen, who could have gone pro but decided to stay. By extension, a conference championship gets us to the Dance.

One of the posters said he thinks Hurley is not a good speaker because of his monotone voice - that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Coach Hurley was engaging, funny, loved talking about his team (“if I keep going like this, they’ll have to serve you guys lunch too”), and really got into details about the team. I really like this guy.

Thanks for serving that up. Nice to hear all the stuff that doesn't make it into the papers.