Hurley/Gilbert | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Hurley/Gilbert

nyhuskies13 said:
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.
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it's called respect. Obviously some people on the BY don't want to believe that. Let's just move on
 
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.
 
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.
 
Dove said:
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?!?
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I could not agree more.
 
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?
 
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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
 
Martin said:
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?
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Do you believe in safe spaces or no? If no, your post is accurate.
 
Read mike Anthony’s article in the courant now.
anyone calling gilbert a quitter or saying they lost respect for him is a loser.
 
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.
 
caw said:
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.
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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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
Huskybass said:
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.
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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??
 
JSB60 said:
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.
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This. Imagine dominating something for your entire life. Getting all the accolades. All American, full ride to a top division 1 school. Seemingly on an upward trajectory, and then to maybe have injuries take that away. Or just coming to the realization that you can’t do it at the level you always could and thought you would be able to. It has to be really hard, especially on a young kid.
 
nyhuskies13 said:
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??
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This isn't complicated. The team wasn't performing well. Point guard is a very important part of the team. A change was needed. The change was made. All the rest is drama from you and a small handful of others. Period.
 
Huskybass said:
This isn't complicated. The team wasn't performing well. Point guard is a very important part of the team. A change was needed. The change was made. All the rest is drama from you and a small handful of others. Period.
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It's really not complicated. The team hasnt been performing well all season. Read the Mike Anthony article.

"Hurley came to Gilbert's defense, loudly, and I dont know that a UConn coach and player have hugged more than these two... But all the way, Hurley has also been in the difficult spot of wondering whether, or when, to move Gilbert down in the rotation and risk losing him altogether. Hurley stuck with him for so long, not quite ready to turn the key on a youth movement for a number of reasons."

And all some of us are saying is Hurley should have adjusted his minutes sooner and in a more gradual way. He waited until we were 10-9 and in last place in the league. And Al went from starter/leader and 30+ minutes a game, to the bench and having a freshman start over it. That's drastic.
 
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bazzdog said:
You are absolutely right Kathy. I have been battling with my heart and my head on this and my heart took over on this. Unfortunately most of the people here don’t see what’s going on.
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Hurley made a comment after one of the recent close losses about people not knowing the whole story. I've been searching for the quote but can't find it.
 
Huskybass said:
This isn't complicated. The team wasn't performing well. Point guard is a very important part of the team. A change was needed. The change was made. All the rest is drama from you and a small handful of others. Period.
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I don't think the situation was anywhere near that simple, and there was certainly a bunch of over the top criticism going on. However it appears that a small group of people are getting some satisfaction by pretending that a defense of the coach's performance by pointing out that the talent on the roster is lacking somehow drove Gilbert away. Pretty sad IMO
 
Hard to believe anyone is criticizing Hurley here. We had one chance, one, to be an NCAA team. That's with Gilbert playing to the best of his abilities. Hurley understandably gave him every chance. Alterique, whether still impacted by injuries or not in the right place mentally, wasn't the player he could be. He's still got talent. Can't think of anybody who persevered through more crap in four years of college ball. If he needs a mental reset, he has earned it.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
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?
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It's almost certainly #2, and the reason why is most likely:
- he was afraid of being too hard on the KO-era upperclassmen and alienating them, "loyalty", etc.
- he held out hope that Gilbert could turn things around on his own, that offering the highest ceiling for the team
- Gaffney not being ready to handle the load physically and adjusting to the college game
 
Tenspro2002 said:
It's almost certainly #2, and the reason why is most likely:
- he was afraid of being too hard on the KO-era upperclassmen and alienating them, "loyalty", etc.
- he held out hope that Gilbert could turn things around on his own, that offering the highest ceiling for the team
- Gaffney not being ready to handle the load physically and adjusting to the college game
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To me it's more complicated than that, really.

Gilbert has been more or less the team leader. Clearly he has a close relationship with Hurley. The big issue becomes when you start playing badly and you put so much on yourself as the leader, that sometimes guys start going too hard on themselves and then everything falls apart. Your play gets worse the harder you try to fix it. Your peers get frustrated and stuck between supporting you where you're at and needing you to play better so you don't impact the team. Then on top of that you've got all the off-the-court issues you've got to deal with, the pressures being the guy who has to pull your family up - all of it.

That's a lot, man.

And then you're the coach - and it's not like just benching another guy on the team. Although it gets to a point where you have to. But you know when you do, it might be the nudge off the cliff for the kid and you lose him entirely and who knows what the ripple effect is that it has on the team. Some guys might be ok with it but then other guys might start thinking 'well if coach can sour on AG, he can sour on me, too.'

But whatever went on this weekend - I think it was just a point where the coaches felt pulling the plug was in everyone's best interest, for now. And you could see the relief on the team all over the court. That's NOT Gilbert's fault clearly - no one's at fault. But him taking a break and getting right is the right call for everyone involved and all we can do is support him.
 
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Huskybass said:
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.
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Who do you believe isn't being held accountable?

I'm not blaming Hurley for the situation, nor am I blind to Gilbert's struggles. If Hurley has a fault, it's the same fault Calhoun had, i.e., loyalty to fault. It's the same fault that brought us KO, and the same fault that made many of us stick by him longer than we probably should have. And it's the same fault that caused Hurley and some of us to stick by Gilbert longer than others would have. Rooting for someone to succeed is not inconsistent with holding them accountable.

Huskybass said:
This isn't complicated. The team wasn't performing well. Point guard is a very important part of the team. A change was needed. The change was made. All the rest is drama from you and a small handful of others. Period.
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Raising good young men can be complicated. Maybe it sounds hokey or old fashioned to many here, but I remember well when Calhoun used to go on and on about how he viewed raising good young men to be his most important job, and I remember KO echoing those comments and seeming to live by that example in his first couple seasons coaching here. I believe Hurley has that same view, and it's something I value. Watching his presser last night I could see that, although he was proud of--and relieved by--what the team was able to accomplish by compartmentalizing and playing with focus, he was still personally hurting for whatever is going on with AG. I think that drama is real and I am glad for Anthony's article today, which really puts it in the proper perspective imo.
 
nyhuskies13 said:
Have been critical of AG this year from his play on the court, but respect him more than anyone on the team for his loyalty and devotion to the program. Really, really hope he returns and gets an opportunity to shine.

Watching tonight, you can’t help but wonder if Hurley set Al up for disappointment through his season-long, blind loyalty and the long leash he gave him. Instead of sitting him early this season after mistakes and slowly reducing his minutes while developing Gaffney and letting JG play through mistakes, Hurley continued to make Al the focal point of the team.

And the criticism grew not just because Al struggled, but because Hurley’s stubbornness allowed Al to make a multitude of mistakes over 30+ minutes per game instead of few in 20-24 minutes. It’s hard for kids to comprehend when your coach, who continued to tell you to keep doing what you’re doing, sits you at the end of Game 19 of the season and tells you a freshman would start in Game 20. This just feels horrible mismanaged on Hurley’s part.
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Great article !
 
nyhuskies13 said:
And all some of us are saying is Hurley should have adjusted his minutes sooner and in a more gradual way. He waited until we were 10-9 and in last place in the league. And Al went from starter/leader and 30+ minutes a game, to the bench and having a freshman start over it. That's drastic.
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It may be drastic but it had to happen, at 10-9 and last place in the league after 4 brutal losses in a row a drastic change was needed. At that point the "at-large" season was officially over and next season had really begun.

The rest of this season is about setting the tone for next season & beyond and maybe making a run in AAC tourney or sneaking in to NIT...that's really it.

AG can still go out on a positive note if he chooses to and maybe even have some memorable moments down the stretch. I hope he chooses to accept his new role but if he thinks it's in his best interest not to play that's fine too.
 
hello everyone. coming into the season, i had thought that our guard play was going to be uconn's greatest strength, especially considering the lack of depth up front. an improving gilbert and vitale - even tho he can be a bit of a loose cannon now and again - a second year from adams - who showed signs - plus two highly regarded freshman, made this a pretty safe assumption. and it is obvious how important guard play, especially the point guard, is in collegiate hoops, and we seemed to have plenty.

yet, somehow, gilbert has regressed as the season went on, for probably a variety of reasons, while everyone else at least maintained their ability levels, while the freshmen got their feet wet. i must admit that i was surprised, after several end of game mishaps, just how long hurley allowed him to finish games. altho i agree that this was probably a show of support for a personal favorite and an upperclassman, it can also be construed as the definition of crazy - doing - or watching - the same thing and expecting a different outcome.

what started out as a strength has become a liability, so clearly, for the good of the team, something had to be done and now we are seeing the repercussions of that decision. i am sure that this is not easy for anyone involved, but this is big time college sports and the team has to come first. and so far, so good.
 
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