Hurley media availability 1/31/25

[Get a Job]

McNeeley is a game time decision!

 

[controlfade]

It will be February! After the last game Hurley said he was expected to be out till the end of January and had been a limited participant at practice recently

 

[Palatine]

Liam practiced today. Almost full. Still a game time decision.

 

[RuffRuff]

Lot of recycled filler between medical updates in the first 60 seconds, up until the point he gets into this team lacking fire and tenacity in the team construction. Which begs the question of where he’s getting that next year.

Was that Zanetto asking questions? Guy really finds his way into rooms, would make a killer wedding crasher.

 

[superjohn]

Lot of recycled filler between medical updates in the first 60 seconds, up until the point he gets into this team lacking fire and tenacity in the team construction. Which begs the question of where he’s getting that next year.

Was that Zanetto asking questions? Guy really finds his way into rooms, would make a killer wedding crasher.

Well we're going to have like 6 new players next season and two freshmen who have barely played this season.

 

[RuffRuff]

Well we're going to have like 6 new players next season and two freshmen who have barely played this season.

Finger crossed. You know how I feel about depending on frosh leading. Maybe our new big hoss comes in showing he can be that given he can’t wait to be a f;$ken Husky .

 

[auror]

Was that Zanetto asking questions? Guy really finds his way into rooms, would make a killer wedding crasher.

It's a media availability and he's in the media. Shrugs.

 

[GHSWolverines]

It will be a big morale booster for the team when Liam steps on the court again. It is probably a 10% chance he plays tonight. FINGERS CROSSED.

 

[RuffRuff]

It's a media availability and he's in the media. Shrugs.

That guy is resourceful. If the Hurleys have a spare bedroom he may be moving in by end of 2025.

 

[Rico444]

Finger crossed. You know how I feel about depending on frosh leading.

Which is funny because our best player this year (and player that, once he got hurt, our performance fell off fairly drastically) is a freshman.

 

[RuffRuff]

Which is funny because our best player this year (and player that, once he got hurt, our performance fell off fairly drastically) is a freshman.

Sure - but go look around the top teams this year or any year and tell me if being freshman lead amounts to much, outside of this years Cooper Flagg experience. So yeah if you get that generational guy perhaps. That’s usually top 1-2 recruits. Rutgers has the 2&3 picks of the draft and that’s done nothing. And it’s very much TBD what this team can amount to with Liam. Great frosh are usually best in secondary roles, like Steph last year. There is just too steep a maturity gap between 18 and 22-23.

 

[navery12]

Sure - but go look around the top teams this year or any year and tell me if being freshman lead amounts to much, outside of this years Cooper Flagg experience. So yeah if you get that generational guy perhaps. That’s usually top 1-2 recruits. Rutgers has the 2&3 picks of the draft and that’s done nothing. And it’s very much TBD what this team can amount to with Liam. Great frosh are usually best in secondary roles, like Steph last year. There is just too steep a maturity gap between 18 and 22-23.

You mean like our freshman next year playing next to a senior Tarris Reed Jr, junior Solo Ball, junior Jaylin Stewart, senior Aidan Mahaney? The most likely starting lineup next season is going to have 4 upperclassmen and Braylon Mullins

 

[Deleted at users request]

You mean like our freshman next year playing next to a senior Tarris Reed Jr, junior Solo Ball, junior Jaylin Stewart, senior Aidan Mahaney? The most likely starting lineup next season is going to have 4 upperclassmen and Braylon Mullins

Going to go out on a limb and say none of the freshmen start next year.

 

[Rico444]

Sure - but go look around the top teams this year or any year and tell me if being freshman lead amounts to much, outside of this years Cooper Flagg experience. So yeah if you get that generational guy perhaps. That’s usually top 1-2 recruits. Rutgers has the 2&3 picks of the draft and that’s done nothing. And it’s very much TBD what this team can amount to with Liam. Great frosh are usually best in secondary roles, like Steph last year. There is just too steep a maturity gap between 18 and 22-23.

Those three won't be the whole team by a long shot. And Liam is great, but I wouldn't call him "generational."

 

[RuffRuff]

Going to go out on a limb and say none of the freshmen start next year.

I'm with you on this. I'm 55/45 on Mullins starting. That would be an incredibly small backcourt if we went Aidan/Ahmad, Solo & Mullins.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I'm with you on this. I'm 55/45 on Mullins starting. That would be an incredibly small backcourt if we went Aidan/Ahmad, Solo & Mullins.

I’d bet a good amount of money Ross has a big jump this summer and starts at the 3 as a junior.

The mix of talent and experience will be too much for a freshman that’s not a projected lottery pick to take the job from.

 

[RuffRuff]

I’d bet a good amount of money Ross has a big jump this summer and starts at the 3 as a junior.

The mix of talent and experience will be too much for a freshman that’s not a projected lottery pick to take the job from.

He could, but he's hard to project. He's a long kid with some handle. His defense and athletecism have been overstated, but plus relative to this team. He's shown little offensively with some really awkward moments that make it really hard to understand what his upside is there. Looks fine in a shoot around, but really goofy in gametime. Maybe it slows down for him, but I still feel like he's got a limited ceiling.

Last few teams you basically knew most of what you were bringing back and what you needed to fill. This year feels a lot more gray, so much as the only position on the floor that feels slam dunk is Solo at the 2.

 

[superjohn]

He could, but he's hard to project. He's a long kid with some handle. His defense and athletecism have been overstated, but plus relative to this team. He's shown little offensively with some really awkward moments that make it really hard to understand what his upside is there. Looks fine in a shoot around, but really goofy in gametime. Maybe it slows down for him, but I still feel like he's got a limited ceiling.

Last few teams you basically knew most of what you were bringing back and what you needed to fill. This year feels a lot more gray, so much as the only position on the floor that feels slam dunk is Solo at the 2.

Umm, Tarris is a slam dunk at the 5.

 

[Deleted at users request]

He could, but he's hard to project. He's a long kid with some handle. His defense and athletecism have been overstated, but plus relative to this team. He's shown little offensively with some really awkward moments that make it really hard to understand what his upside is there. Looks fine in a shoot around, but really goofy in gametime. Maybe it slows down for him, but I still feel like he's got a limited ceiling.

Last few teams you basically knew most of what you were bringing back and what you needed to fill. This year feels a lot more gray, so much as the only position on the floor that feels slam dunk is Solo at the 2.

I’m pretty much looking at this as his freshman year. Most of his problem is that the game is moving too fast.

Once he has a summer after learning what he needs to work on and the confidence of being older than a lot of the guys he’s playing against, I’m certain he will be fine.

He has a lot of tools to be a great player once that happens. The only position I see us really needing help with is at PG.

Stewart is another player who should make a leap when he has a summer of preparing to be “the guy” if he’s given that chance.

Summers are a lot different when you’re fighting for minutes compared to when you’re preparing to lead.

 

[RuffRuff]

Those three won't be the whole team by a long shot. And Liam is great, but I wouldn't call him "generational."

Take a look at 247's composite for this years freshman in what is considered a really good class.

Flagg 1 and Maluach 6, are doing their thing primarily because of Flagg
Harper 3 and Bailey 2 - underperforming, outside bubble
Edgecombe 4 - Baylor has underperformed
Tre Johnson 5 - Texas is on the bubble
Jailil Bethea 7 - Miami is atrocious
Ian Jackson 8 and Drake Powell 11 - UNC is outside the bubble
Quintanance 9 - AzSt is outside the bubble

Net net, hard to win with even the best freshman. The previous yeas freshman class didn't do much at all other than Steph.

To the other post, yeah Tarris is 90% slam dunk, but I do think Reibe is interesting as a taller 5 with more versatility and perimeter skills. End of day, Hurley plays the 5 practically at even split anyway so doesn't matter much. But yes, that position is shored up.

 

[FearThePups]

Which is funny because our best player this year (and player that, once he got hurt, our performance fell off fairly drastically) is a freshman.

Yeah but he’s special. That’s why he’s a 5 star

 

[Rico444]

Take a look at 247's composite for this years freshman in what is considered a really good class.

Flagg 1 and Maluach 6, are doing their thing primarily because of Flagg
Harper 3 and Bailey 2 - underperforming, outside bubble
Edgecombe 4 - Baylor has underperformed
Tre Johnson 5 - Texas is on the bubble
Jailil Bethea 7 - Miami is atrocious
Ian Jackson 8 and Drake Powell 11 - UNC is outside the bubble
Quintanance 9 - AzSt is outside the bubble

Net net, hard to win with even the best freshman. The previous yeas freshman class didn't do much at all other than Steph.

To the other post, yeah Tarris is 90% slam dunk, but I do think Reibe is interesting as a taller 5 with more versatility and perimeter skills. End of day, Hurley plays the 5 practically at even split anyway so doesn't matter much. But yes, that position is shored up.

Basketball is a team sport, it's not fair to blame great players for team performance.

 

[RuffRuff]

Basketball is a team sport, it's not fair to blame great players for team performance.

Relatively speaking they’re not great yet. They’re raw talented 18 year olds who aren’t usually mature enough to lead older men.

 

[Rico444]

Relatively speaking they’re not great yet. They’re raw talented 18 year olds who aren’t usually mature enough to lead older men.

I'm not really sure where this 'leadership' concern is coming from. We will have plenty of upperclassmen playing major minutes next year. Our freshmen don't need to lead, they just need to play ball well.

 

[Griffman]

You mean like our freshman next year playing next to a senior Tarris Reed Jr, junior Solo Ball, junior Jaylin Stewart, senior Aidan Mahaney? The most likely starting lineup next season is going to have 4 upperclassmen and Braylon Mullins

And senior Alex Karaban. It would be wise for him to get his NIL money rather than being stuck in G League purgatory.