Hurley on Ross

[uconn_jack]

When he's not in foul trouble, he's been getting the majority of the minutes lately, and has been the one on the floor at the end.

Yeah, I don't understand the obsession about starting Reed over Johnson. Reeds biggest problem is he starts slow or dissappear sometimes, whereas, for whatever his faults, Johnson is always active from the tip and I think is better in helping to try and set the tone. I don't think we lose anything from starting Johnson, and it also delays Reed from picking up early fouls. What matters is who is playing the best, who has the better matchups, and who plays the most minutes accordingly across the entrie game.

 

[Huskyforlife]

It’s pretty strange in Ross first 3 games he took 28 shots. Then he just stopped being aggressive and slowly faded until he became unplayable. I don’t think Hurley would’ve held him back, he was calling him the best player in practice right before the season, and said he would’ve started the first game if he wasn't injured. It’s a very strange season for a player Hurley clearly likes a lot.

 

[auror]

It's hard for me to shake that first game Ross played. Hurley had really built him up, and then he delivered. I know it was against the Little Sisters of the Poor, but Hurley was having him movement shoot off screens and directly off DHOs. He was driving without hesitation.

Now he's clanging wide open threes. Just standing there on offense.

The confidence is gone. I can see Hurley thinking I should've played him more to keep his confidence higher. We're missing that 3&D guy.

For those with Storrs Central, the highlight reel from the New Hampshire game is wild to watch considering how the rest of the season has gone:

Husky ReView: New Hampshire (11/9)

Deep dive into the film and stats of UConn's win over New Hampshire

storrscentral.com

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He played 27 minutes against Marquette and had 2 points and a rebound. Since Eastern Shore in November I don’t think he’s had more than three rebounds in a game and he’s only had more than 4 points once. He may very well be more productive but there’s certainly no track record of minutes = production. I mean the bar for a legit contributor on a team that has any hope of doing anything is certainly higher than that.

 

[Fishy]

Averaging 14 minutes per game. Against teams not equivalent to Manchester CC, averaging 1.5 pts/game, 1.4 rebounds and .7 assists. He’s pitched donuts in 11 of the 22. We can talk about potential all we want, the kid has had as unremarkable as year as it gets. If you want to keep him around as a token culture kid, go for it.

I’ve not been impressed. I find it hard to believe that Abraham could not put up equally unimpressive results if given the chance. I find it hard to believe that you could not put up equally unimpressive results if given the chance - I can keep doing this until I get down to department store mannequins. He’s not been good.

 

[djct1999]

This makes no sense. If there ever was a season to find a player minutes it’s this one. Hurley has stared the opportunity to play Ross more straight in the eye and has chosen not to. This doesn’t sound like retention to me. This sounds like trying to help a kid he really likes personally find another good opportunity. It’s no different then when you broke up with a high school girlfriend and said it’s not you it’s me just to make her feel better because she was a nice person.

 

[Fatroony5]

Ross reminds me a guy Hurley would’ve recruited at URI or early in his UConn tenure, like a Brendan Adams/Gaffney type. They get minutes, everyone can clearly see they aren’t good enough to play big minutes at this level but you keep hearing about their potential & still see them play. Maybe he is wowing people in practice but it’s clear it’s not translating to the games. The minutes speak for themselves at this point. I’m rooting for Ross, he seems like a good kid, just don’t see it with him at this level.

 

[Deleted at users request]

It’s pretty strange in Ross first 3 games he took 28 shots. Then he just stopped being aggressive and slowly faded until he became unplayable. I don’t think Hurley would’ve held him back, he was calling him the best player in practice right before the season, and said he would’ve started the first game if he wasn't injured. It’s a very strange season for a player Hurley clearly likes a lot.

Well he hasn't been encouraging him to take more shots either. Don't think Ross has a green light ti be aggressive through mistakes and still get playing time.

 

[JMick]

I feel like this is more of a shout-out for Ross because Hurley appreciates his efforts, and maybe a bit of a dig on some other guys who haven't been putting in the work.

 

[uconngb]

Your act gets tired after awhile…we get it, you don’t like how the season has gone and the coaches and players suck. The pieces haven’t come together yet as we had hoped. Ross still has an extremely high ceiling. He’s the best athlete we have on the team and he has the highest upside on the defensive side of the ball which is where we desperately need help.

One thing you can say about Ross is the kid always plays 110%. We need him to give 110% effort but slow things down on offense. For all his flaws, he probably has a higher upside than Stewart solely because of his motor.

And yours as well. Ross has literally shown NOTHING that proves he deserves more minutes.

 

[uconngb]

Ross has gotten double digit minutes around 20 times this season and has really done nothing. He had opportunity after opportunity, so I’m not sure I would compare his situation with Nowell’s.

But, but…..he’s on a mock NBA draft board

 

[uconngb]

It's hard for me to shake that first game Ross played. Hurley had really built him up, and then he delivered. I know it was against the Little Sisters of the Poor, but Hurley was having him movement shoot off screens and directly off DHOs. He was driving without hesitation.

Now he's clanging wide open threes. Just standing there on offense.

The confidence is gone. I can see Hurley thinking I should've played him more to keep his confidence higher. We're missing that 3&D guy.

For those with Storrs Central, the highlight reel from the New Hampshire game is wild to watch considering how the rest of the season has gone:

Husky ReView: New Hampshire (11/9)

Deep dive into the film and stats of UConn's win over New Hampshire

storrscentral.com

You said the magic words: New Hampshire

 

[REB1094]

Playing time is dependent on 2 things

Stay in front of your man, which Ross does sometimes and does not do most times

Make open shots, make a play off the catch, or make a play handling the ball. Ross doesn’t do any of those right now

He’s 9th/10th man so opportunities are limited. It’s up to the core rotation to build enough of a lead where Ross can have lower pressure minutes and see what he can build on. But when every possession is life or death, it’s tough

6’6 freak athlete will always have potential, but it’s the end of February for a team fighting for a single digit seed line. Not really the time to be developing fundamentals in game

 

[BPT2Storrs]

My take on this is that the Mahaney experiment is over. Ross should have gotten those minutes and he didn’t. He wants Ross to stay as he now realizes he brings more value to the team.

 

[80shusky]

We need Kwintin Wiiliams!

 

[ucp990411]

If Ross plays more than 5 minutes tomorrow we are in big trouble. Sounds like our coach is getting ready for next year

 

[Kemba15]

And another segment of the fanbase will be white knighting for Hurley any time they perceive any slight sent his way.

Yes the head coach who’s won 12 straight NCAA tourney games, without a single close outcome, and who assembled the best starting 5 the sport has seen in the last 15 years, gets the benefit the doubt when it comes to barely relevant press conference remarks the year after going B2B. Wild take!

 

[jostar1]

This makes no sense. If there ever was a season to find a player minutes it’s this one. Hurley has stared the opportunity to play Ross more straight in the eye and has chosen not to. This doesn’t sound like retention to me. This sounds like trying to help a kid he really likes personally find another good opportunity. It’s no different then when you broke up with a high school girlfriend and said it’s not you it’s me just to make her feel better because she was a nice person.

If we can't understand what it means, how can anyone else?

 

[superjohn]

Playing time is dependent on 2 things

Stay in front of your man, which Ross does sometimes and does not do most times

Make open shots, make a play off the catch, or make a play handling the ball. Ross doesn’t do any of those right now

He’s 9th/10th man so opportunities are limited. It’s up to the core rotation to build enough of a lead where Ross can have lower pressure minutes and see what he can build on. But when every possession is life or death, it’s tough

6’6 freak athlete will always have potential, but it’s the end of February for a team fighting for a single digit seed line. Not really the time to be developing fundamentals in game

Where did the whole freak athlete thing with Ross come from? That's right up there with the defensive stopper thing. I'm not calling you out, I've seen it repeated over and over.

I watched basically all his big event AAU games before he came here and he never came across as a freak athlete. He looked like a development player with a nice stroke on corner threes. I watched Abdou Toure after his freshman high school season coming off the bench as the 6th man for New England Expressions and I immediately noticed he was different than everyone else. Could tell right away that kid was a freak athlete. Same when I watched Andre Jackson in AAU and high school and I immediately saw it in games when he put on a UConn jersey.

Ross had a very nice quick first step baseline reverse layup against UNH and a jelly fam layup that would've been blocked into the 10th row by any legit team. That's about all we've seen from him other than a dunk on the break on someone against East Texas Agriculture and Mechanical Commerce.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Yes the head coach who’s won 12 straight NCAA tourney games, without a single close outcome, and who assembled the best starting 5 the sport has seen in the last 15 years, gets the benefit the doubt when it comes to barely relevant press conference remarks the year after going B2B. Wild take!

You're right. And the fact that you have to even remind people of that is wild.

What i find really funny is the "maybe Dan Hurley is seeing something we're not' comments.
Yes!!! He is seeing way more than you are seeing. Dan Hurley is smarter than you. And way better than you. And crushes everyone on this board in basketball accumen. It's not even close.

 

[jostar1]

What good does it do to say this now? Hurley didn't notice this at the end of summer?

 

[jostar1]

Retention politics

Hurley should be cleaning house.

 

[JMick]

What i find really funny is the "maybe Dan Hurley is seeing something we're not' comments.
Yes!!! He is seeing way more than you are seeing. He is a high level, possible future hall of fame coach. He is seeing more than you. He knows vastly more than anyone on this board. And if you think to yourself "but i could assemble a roster and evaluate talent at this level" then you're the friend in your group that people make fun of.

Clearly he knows more and he sees the guys in practice every day. But to play devils advocate, there are tons of guys who look great in practice and then suck when the real competition starts. And vice versa. I think anyone who has been around sports, especially playing them, knows people like that. And a lot of coaches get enamored with the former and don't ever give a chance to the latter. Its not exactly rare.

Now is that the scenario here? Idk. I'd venture to say most here don't know.

 

[REB1094]

Where did the whole freak athlete thing with Ross come from? That's right up there with the defensive stopper thing. I'm not calling you out, I've seen it repeated over and over.

I watched basically all his big event AAU games before he came here and he never came across as a freak athlete. He looked like a development player with a nice stroke on corner threes. I watched Abdou Toure after his freshman high school season coming off the bench as the 6th man for New England Expressions and I immediately noticed he was different than everyone else. Could tell right away that kid was a freak athlete. Same when I watched Andre Jackson in AAU and high school and I immediately saw it in games when he put on a UConn jersey.

Ross had a very nice quick first step baseline reverse layup against UNH and a jelly fam layup that would've been blocked into the 10th row by any legit team. That's about all we've seen from him other than a dunk on the break on someone against East Texas Agriculture and Mechanical Commerce.

The jelly fam layup and dunk were pretty sick tho along with a few offseason workout videos, the kid can jump

 

[Scottobot]

I would guess Ross is one of the few people that has the effort and attitude Hurley wants. He just can’t shoot, dribble or pass.