IMO it isn't so much that Hurley doesn't play freshmen, it's that he stubbornly stays with schemes and players that are so obviously not working. Sometimes it holds back freshmen like Diggins/Johnson. Gilbert was killing us and everybody on this board knew it, but it took forever for Hurley to bring him off the bench. Result - the team improved. Brendan Adams was killing us and everybody on this board advocated change, but it took forever for Hurley to come to the same realization. Result - the team improved. Gaffney literally didn't hit a 3 in Dec / Jan / Feb and wasn't helping us win. This time, after months again obvious to the boneyard, Hurley eventually just cut back the minutes and stayed longer with starters. Whaley came on the scene when Hurley had to play somebody from the bench. He was much more effective in game play than Hurley's evaluation of him in practice, (per Hurley at the time). ie Hurley's every day practice evaluation doesn't equal projecting actual performance. We know Hurley used Josh Carlton in a high hedge defense not suited to Josh's strengths, sticking with a system rather than adjusting to a player's talents. We know that Hurley wants to mold highly rated high school stars in practice and avoid suffering their game mistakes until they can seamlessly step into games. We know he has a quick hook for some players and yet lets some other players play through the same mistakes. Now, just like with injuries and extended terrible play, he is only turning to the portal because he has to. Conclusion: Hurley is a good coach who is stubborn to a fault and clearly not infallible, but he recruits well, and eventually comes around to the Boneyard Point of View when the Boneyard has a general consensus. (there is always an outlier opinion to be hanged). Trust the Boneyard.
