Hurley/Gilbert

[glastonbury50]

Hurley allowed Gilbert to play Gilbert's game. Gilbert's game fell short of winning. Hurley adjusted. No betrayal.

This is right on. If Gilbert had lived up to the hype we would have had far more success and Hurley had no choice but to roll with him. Also tough for op to have such a hot take without knowing the facts yet. Very quick to blame Hurley. I trust Dan Hurley to do the right thing.

 

[Towney007]

From the sounds of the players’ tone and what they said and what Dan said - they’re fine. To me - it sounded like guys who were relieved.

 

[Towney007]

As for Gilbert - he came in w/ a pedigree but he never played up to it. Injuries didn’t help things but even back then - there was a lot of speculation that he could be a bust for basically, well... all the things you’ve seen that drive you nuts about him.

Great kid. Dealt a bum hand. But he’s played enough basketball here for me to be ok with saying a lot of the hype around him was wrong. It happens. But a lot of the optimism around him was people chasing that five star rating like a dog chasing a car. He wasn’t very good and isn’t likely getting better.

From what I heard - it wasn’t good this weekend either. So it is what it is and the rest of the team seemed to be pretty fine with it, if not motivated because of it. And the production even though it was against Temple - was just different. There’s no getting away from it. And the less he’s been involved, the better everyone has played.

you can do with that what you want.

 

[glastonbury50]

Not sure what's more maddening, watching a guy who's busted his butt (and shoulder) for this team not living up to expectations, or reading posts ripping him apart because of it.

Nice win tonight, but let's not pretend some obvious truth got revealed because we beat a mediocre team at home. Dare I remind anyone we shot 35% from the field and 24% from 3. The only difference is we won.

Its high level basketball man. Be ready for criticism bc its gonna happen at some point in life through bball or the workforce. As long as there is a fanbase they have the right to critique and criticise. That being said I love Al the person, but he's been extremely frustrating to watch this year.

 

[Ts5034]

Seriously. If anything Hurley is too nice. He takes pride in his non-transfer thing to a fault. There are guys on this team who would have been pushed out at most D1 programs. He's not a guy who cleans house--he sticks with the players.

Exactly, thats why I highly doubt Hurley and the coaching staff are pushing Gilbert away in late January of his Senior season.

 

[bendm]

1) Was Hurley encouraging AG to play the way he did? And if so, why?
or
2) Was AG playing this way against Hurley's wishes? And if so, why did Hurley let this go on so long?

in other words, hurley was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. surprise surprise.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Need a wrestling heel turn by AG.

Next game at Memphis, home of some of the best wrestlers and storylines. AG lays out Dan Hurley with a blindsided chair somewhere in the second half.

Pulls of his UConn jersey and has a Memphis jersey underneath. Teams with Prescious for a monster second half comeback against UConn.

If this happened, I literally wouldn't blink an eye or think I never saw this coming.

A remake of the Tupelo MS concession stand brawl that was the birth of hard core.

Seriously. If anything Hurley is too nice. He takes pride in his non-transfer thing to a fault. There are guys on this team who would have been pushed out at most D1 programs. He's not a guy who cleans house--he sticks with the players.

Name names or shut up
i will
Based on last year only Whaley , and Adams looked like they they might be over their heads.He recruited Adams and Whaley has surprised us all.
I know he didn’t like Wilson but my god only an idiot which chase an athlete like that unless he was a serious behavioral problem.
He loved Gilbert so much he recruited a transfer instead of a Juco.
He wasn’t chasing Vital who he also loves. He is a coach’s type of player..
He certainly wasn’t chasing. Polley his best shooter or Carlton his only 5.
So please put that BS to bed.
So he chases Whaley and Springs becomes ineligible ,boy are we screwed.
All the players he has are legimate players .

 

[husky429]

A remake of the Tupelo MS concession stand brawl that was the birth of hard core.

Name names or shut up
i will
Based on last year only Whaley , and Adams looked like they they might be over their heads.He recruited Adams and Whaley has surprised us all.
I know he didn’t like Wilson but my god only an idiot which chase an athlete like that unless he was a serious behavioral problem.
He loved Gilbert so much he recruited a transfer instead of a Juco.
He wasn’t chasing Vital who he also loves. He is a coach’s type of player..
He certainly wasn’t chasing. Polley his best shooter or Carlton his only 5.
So please put that BS to bed.
So he chases Whaley and Springs becomes ineligible ,boy are we screwed.
All the players he has are legimate players .

Wow, you're pleasant. You keep saying "chasing" and I don't think you know how that word is properly used. Because what you're writing makes no sense. Why would Hurley chase a current player? You chase recruits.

Anyways, if you don't know that Whaley was told he likely doesn't have much of a future on this team, but he chose to stay anyways, you haven't been reading the 'yard. Hasn't exactly been a secret. A lot of D1 coaches pull the scholarship for kids in that position. Whaley's strength increases and growing from a non-factor into a serviceable (albeit still deeply flawed) player is a testament to the coaches allowing him to stay, and working with him despite their concerns.

 

[Watchdog]

I would hate to see AG's career end like this, but if his heart is not into it, then he should go. If he wants to come back and contribute, Hurley should take him.

The part I struggle with is, Temple sucking aside, that the ball movement was much better without AG. Which raises two questions:

1) Was Hurley encouraging AG to play the way he did? And if so, why?

or

2) Was AG playing this way against Hurley's wishes? And if so, why did Hurley let this go on so long?

Who knows about 1 or 2, but to me all evidence points to 3.
3) Hurley cares about his players and he and his staff work with them to develop them to their fullest potential.

Maybe I'm wrong but I believe he recognized AG's work ethic and drive to bring UConn back to its former greatness and believed AG could have a great year and go out in style. Look how much AG improved as last year went on until he ran into that pick against WSU and Hurley undoubtedly believed AG could build on that this year. He supported him to the nth degree when fans started being hyper critical of AG earlier this year and made a point of urging the fans to cheer him on (as he did in Charleston) on a number of occasions when AG looked like he might be turning the corner.

Also consider how much IW and BA improved from last year. Think back about how many on this board believe Hurley should have cleaned house of KO recruits and how many have relentlessly criticized CV for his "hero ball". It looks to me like Hurley really is building a culture and I don't say that because of tonight's win. We've had three bad games this year and we've played some pretty good teams. Compare that to the last three years. If the recruits they're bringing in plus Cole and Springs develop as the players have in Hurley's first year and a half I think there'll be a lot of Happy Husky Fans going forward.

 

[metsfan2323]

I would hate to see AG's career end like this, but if his heart is not into it, then he should go. If he wants to come back and contribute, Hurley should take him.

The part I struggle with is, Temple sucking aside, that the ball movement was much better without AG. Which raises two questions:

1) Was Hurley encouraging AG to play the way he did? And if so, why?

or

2) Was AG playing this way against Hurley's wishes? And if so, why did Hurley let this go on so long?

Having AG come back next year to be our third or fourth string point guard (Bouk can play point too) is probably not the best use of a scholarship, or AG's talents, especially when there is no guarantee Polley will be ready to play next season. (need to find a shooter)

 

[UconnFanDC]

Lol. We beat Temple. The way the team shot, this a lost against most anyone else.

 

[GHSWolverines]

That’s sort of my point. He never adjusted Gilbert’s role. He kept him as the focal point for too long. It took 19 games and a 10-9 record for him to realize he needed to make a change?

People have been saying the same thing since early Charleston. And that frustration led to the over criticism of Al. Hurley stubbornly allowing him to do the same thing over and over did not do him any favors.

it's called respect. Obviously some people on the BY don't want to believe that. Let's just move on

 

[SixRings]

The OP makes a lot of assumptions unless he/she is in the huddles and at the practices. We don’t know the coaching conversations between Dan Hurley and AG. We do know that: 1) Dan Hurley is NOT a passive talker 2) Dan Hurley doesn’t have the game hook for players like JC had. He’s patient with players while in the game. I liked JC’s hook but it’s not my decision and each coach has his own style. Because I know these things I will assume that Dan Hurley has tried coaching AG and has not simply let him play his game but I could be wrong. I really liked the extremely low number of turnovers last night. TO’s from AG drives were gut wrenching and likely lowering team morale.

 

[caw]

Let’s not go crazy here, it was Temple, a bad Temple team. We will see if things are actually better after the next few games.

Was today’s game bc Temple couldn’t turn UConn over because Temple is bad, or because UConn has fixed that part of the game.

Was Whaleys play something that can be counted on? Adams?

I will say UConn did seem to attack the rim more and got calls bc they didn’t try and avoid contact.

I personally believe Gilbert isn’t necessarily the problem but rather Vital and Gilbert are just a very bad combination. I think having either one off the bench would have been an upgrade. Their skill sets just don’t mesh well, and was particularly bad at the end of games. A team can handle playing one player that takes bad shots on the court at a time, not two who do at the volume they do.

Problem Hurley has/had is that both are seniors who play hard and are pretty good defenders. Not to mention their backups were freshmen (one who was suspended to start the year and one who was recovering from a leg injury).

Overall, this season is still going in the right direction. I would hate to think what some recent teams would have done this year. The defense has been solid all year and it appears the system is being put in place. Regardless of record this is a good step for year two of a program rebuild.

 

[Hankster]

Set him up for disappointment? Now I have heard it all.

AG entered the season most probably in his final season. That deserves respect and the starting job. Okay, the starting job was basically by default. And AG blew it almost every single night. He has peaked.

Set up for disappointment?!?

I could not agree more.

 

[Martin]

If I am hired to do a job and I continue to make bad decision after bad decision should I be surprised if I get replaced?

 

[nyhuskies13]

I thought mods were supposed to remove suggestions players should transfer, leave next season, or will be better off elsewhere. Kids need thick skin, but they also need support when hitting a very rough patch.

The idea that he would be the 3rd or 4th guard next year is idiotic garbage at worse, and uneducated assumption at best.

1. Has anyone seen RJ play Big East level competition for a full season?

2. RJ will be shaking off the rust of sitting for a full year in the early part of the season. This is tough for a majority of transfers, nevermind yogoing guys taking a step up in competition

3. Gaffney might be better served being 1st off the bench

4. RJ and Al could start in the backcourt together with Vital gone.

you have a number of possibilities that would lead to a dynamic team with Al next year being ignored by “fans” of the program

 

[CTBasketball]

If I am hired to do a job and I continue to make bad decision after bad decision should I be surprised if I get replaced?

Do you believe in safe spaces or no? If no, your post is accurate.

 

[Excalibur]

Lol. We beat Temple. The way the team shot, this a lost against most anyone else.

What does this have to do with anything?

 

[Kenny11]

Read mike Anthony’s article in the courant now.
anyone calling gilbert a quitter or saying they lost respect for him is a loser.

 

[8893]

I don't fault Hurley or Gilbert. I think they both acted in good faith and for the right reasons. For whatever reason it just wasn't working and it clearly created a lot of pressure on AG. He has been through a lot with this program and this was finally supposed to be his moment and his team to lead, and it was not going as planned for anyone, to put it mildly.

Both are stand-up guys in an increasingly transactional world where loyalty, hard work and the long view are valued less and less, and where acceptable "conversation" on social media has coarsened more and more.

I don't know what the best ending is for AG from here, but I hope he seeks and finds it. He owes us nothing.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Let’s not go crazy here, it was Temple, a bad Temple team. We will see if things are actually better after the next few games.

Was today’s game bc Temple couldn’t turn UConn over because Temple is bad, or because UConn has fixed that part of the game.

Was Whaleys play something that can be counted on? Adams?

I will say UConn did seem to attack the rim more and got calls bc they didn’t try and avoid contact.

I personally believe Gilbert isn’t necessarily the problem but rather Vital and Gilbert are just a very bad combination. I think having either one off the bench would have been an upgrade. Their skill sets just don’t mesh well, and was particularly bad at the end of games. A team can handle playing one player that takes bad shots on the court at a time, not two who do at the volume they do.

Problem Hurley has/had is that both are seniors who play hard and are pretty good defenders. Not to mention their backups were freshmen (one who was suspended to start the year and one who was recovering from a leg injury).

Overall, this season is still going in the right direction. I would hate to think what some recent teams would have done this year. The defense has been solid all year and it appears the system is being put in place. Regardless of record this is a good step for year two of a program rebuild.

Whaley played similar against Temple as he did against a much better Houston team. His progress has been steady and tracking in the correct direction.

I commented more than once this season when Gaff/Gilbert/Vital were on the court together things moved more smoothly on offense. I don't think you are off base with the Vital/Gilbert combo not being efficient.

 

[JSB60]

I think Hurley has managed this as best he could in terms of player and team relationships. My belief is that AG has had difficulty adjusting to his post-injury body and the possibility of being on the bench at key times. He may adjust and be back. I think the future core (Akok, Bouk, Gaffney) were thrilled at the change on the court even while caring about and missing their teammate. This is going to be a difficult year, but better times are coming.

 

[Huskybass]

The fact of the matter is that the 7 healthy, in uniform scholarship players played well enough last night to blow out a bad Temple team. Sitting behind the bench and seeing only 2 subs was startling, but the kids pulled together and cruised to an easy win despite shooting poorly. Props to all 7 of those guys for each stepping up and contributing to a badly needed win.

 

[nyhuskies13]

And it's the exact same handful of people who blindly supported our former Coach when it was clear to everyone else that he was failing miserably. The concept of accountability isn't something they comprehend apparently.

Have you two lost it?

So critiquing a 22yr old who has shown nothing but devotion to the program and is struggling mentally with coming to grips with his dream ending and asking that guy to transfer is NOT out of bounds.

But saying a 48yr old coach who gets paid $3/M a year, shouldn’t have adjusted his role earlier, limited his shots, removed him after turnovers, given the ball to someone else in the final minute, holding Hurley accountable for that is not allowed??