Hurley quotes at Middlesex C o C Event

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

No. Sitting a guy who can potentally help the team win a game at some point in the seaon is not a good use of the roster.

On the other hand, absolutely if a massively more experienced coaching staff with dramatically more direct insights decides redshirting is best for both an individual player and program. Advantage Hurley, Moore, et al

 

[NJHoops]

Great comments about the improvement and expectations for the veterans and potential of the newer players, but a less than ringing endorsement for Adams.

“We felt he’d be a good person, a good player to help us rebuild the program. He’s an incredibly hard worker, he can really shoot the ball, he’s physically very strong, he’s athletic enough. It’s a big year for him to improve and develop a role for himself at UConn. My expectation is that he’s going to prove himself to be a valuable player this year."

It’s more a set of expectations that will lead to a decision than an endorsement. Everyone’s rooting for him, and I hope he meets them.

 

[ctchamps]

I like watching games more than highlights to get a feel for a player. I watched one game that Springs and Bouknight played in and felt Ritchie was growing into his body but even as he’s adjusting to the new growth he was a great rebounder. He knows how to position himself and assesses careens well. Oh and Bouknight played at another level over everyone else.

The problem with one game however is whether these performances were fairly constant or aberrations.

 

[ctchamps]

It’s more a set of expectations that will lead to a decision than an endorsement. Everyone’s rooting for him, and I hope he meets them.

Given the scholarship situation I was very curious why Hurley elected to have him come to UConn. It could only have been because he thought the kid would do well.

Hope his summer efforts pay off, he develops the confidence to shoot well and becomes a major contributor this season.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Who will be the first person here to say (claiming to be "serious") that if Hurley wins, he's "only doing it with [his predecessor's] players?"

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Big fan of this Hurley guy I tell ya.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Given the scholarship situation I was very curious why Hurley elected to have him come to UConn. It could only have been because he thought the kid would do well.

Hope his summer efforts pay off, he develops the confidence to shoot well and becomes a major contributor this season.

Programs needs guys like Adams. What a good program can't do is rely on the them for major contributions until Junior year. You hope they refine their game, do all the little things well to be capable backups who don't impact the game with athleticism or incredible skills, but with savvy, BB IQ, playing hard and not making mistakes.

Anybody expecting more is expecting too much.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just what we need and have been lacking for years.
A willing offensive rebounder with the inate skills do it.

Really haven't had that since Johnny Selvie left the program.

 

[Excalibur]

How many times will this burn us? Can't have people getting 2-3 fouls in the 1st 10 minutes.

Right. I'd prefer we be passive and soft.

I recall someone else leading physical practices in the past . . .

 

[auror]

Right. I'd prefer we be passive and soft.

I recall someone else leading physical practices in the past . . .

We were 312th in the country last year in free throw rate on defense and we fouled good shooters too often. All in all, opposing teams scored the 30th most free throws as a percentage of total points against us. Free throws are highly efficient shots. Opponents averaged 1.46 points per trip to the line for 2 against us last year, vs. 1.01 points per defensive possession in total (which means the strictly non-foul shot part of the pie was an even lower number).

You could argue it was the single biggest flaw on the team last year. It may have been a symptom of other issues (personnel and/or scheme) rather than just physical, aggressive play, though.

It's at the least a fair question to ask if Hurley is emphasizing avoiding fouling opponents enough.

 

[intlzncster]

Why? It's not like we won't need someone to pick up minutes in the middle this year.

Yeah, we've got 1 center right now. And a likely foul prone PF. Gonna need guys to fill minutes down there.

 

[intlzncster]

Given the scholarship situation I was very curious why Hurley elected to have him come to UConn. It could only have been because he thought the kid would do well.

Because at the time, it would have been a class of zero. Donut classes are unacceptable.

Plus, Hurley's first order of business was to change the culture. It's not lost on me that Adams was apparently the hardest worker last year. Forces others to keep up.

And you always need a role player guy or two at the end of the bench. When the team finally gets good, he'll be a Jr/Sr. Which is perfect.

 

[QDOG5]

Brendan Adams is the fifth guard. I hope he continues to improve but I can't see him playing more than 10-12 minutes a game.

 

[intlzncster]

We were 312th in the country last year in free throw rate on defense and we fouled good shooters too often. All in all, opposing teams scored the 30th most free throws as a percentage of total points against us. Free throws are highly efficient shots. Opponents averaged 1.46 points per trip to the line for 2 against us last year, vs. 1.01 points per defensive possession in total (which means the strictly non-foul shot part of the pie was an even lower number).

You could argue it was the single biggest flaw on the team last year. It may have been a symptom of other issues (personnel and/or scheme) rather than just physical, aggressive play, though.

It's at the least a fair question to ask if Hurley is emphasizing avoiding fouling opponents enough.

Tbf we were bad at everything. And they were just trying to get any kind of system installed.

They were trying to get a LOT of bad habits unlearned. Not the easiest job in the world.

And our guys were soft, with low motors. Just changing that alone was worth the foul fest. Aggression is good. But you've got to turn it on first. Then you can channel it.

 

[Huskybass]

Who will be the first person here to say (claiming to be "serious") that if Hurley wins, he's "only doing it with [his predecessor's] players?"

Please.

Really haven't had that since Johnny Selvie left the program.

Jeff Adrien would probably disagree.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Please.

If you're right and nobody makes that claim, I'll have done my job.
Thanks for what I read as support.

 

[Huskybass]

If you're right and nobody makes that claim, I'll have done my job.
Thanks for what I read as support.

Considering those same players were regularly getting slaughtered by 20-25 points under the other head coach, Hurley winning with them will be quite an accomplishment. I am very happy with the progress of the program over the past year and a half. Hurley is definitely the right guy for the job.

 

[Chief00]

wow! the praise for richie springs really jumped out to me:

“I think he is going to be great. He was a late add, but I think Richie, in his career, is going to prove to be as valuable as any of the other three freshman that probably came in with a lot more buzz. Richie’s 6-9, just turned 18, he’s still growing. Tristan Thompson is the best offensive rebounder I’ve ever coached, he plays for the Cavaliers, Richie Springs is would be the second best offensive rebounder I’ve ever coached. He’s such a quick jumper, traces the ball real well he’s going to develop a really good skill set. He could end up being 6-11 when it’s all said and done.”

Agree, Chief has been high on Springs too.

 

[husky429]

We were 312th in the country last year in free throw rate on defense and we fouled good shooters too often. All in all, opposing teams scored the 30th most free throws as a percentage of total points against us. Free throws are highly efficient shots. Opponents averaged 1.46 points per trip to the line for 2 against us last year, vs. 1.01 points per defensive possession in total (which means the strictly non-foul shot part of the pie was an even lower number).

You could argue it was the single biggest flaw on the team last year. It may have been a symptom of other issues (personnel and/or scheme) rather than just physical, aggressive play, though.

It's at the least a fair question to ask if Hurley is emphasizing avoiding fouling opponents enough.

Excellent stat to have, and I'm sure the kind of info that the coaches have looked at and are planning to address.

What do you think led to our high foul rate? New aggressive style of defense they're getting used to? Inexperience? Genuinely a bad defensive scheme? Player personnel?

 

[Bulldog]

Please.

Jeff Adrien would probably disagree.

Shelby, Adrien, Donnie Marshall, and back to LyMan DePriest; Just tough men who took any intrusions into there zone personally.

 

[pj]

We were 312th in the country last year in free throw rate on defense and we fouled good shooters too often. All in all, opposing teams scored the 30th most free throws as a percentage of total points against us. Free throws are highly efficient shots. Opponents averaged 1.46 points per trip to the line for 2 against us last year, vs. 1.01 points per defensive possession in total (which means the strictly non-foul shot part of the pie was an even lower number).

You could argue it was the single biggest flaw on the team last year. It may have been a symptom of other issues (personnel and/or scheme) rather than just physical, aggressive play, though.

It's at the least a fair question to ask if Hurley is emphasizing avoiding fouling opponents enough.

I gave you a like for data and analysis, but I think the chance that the high foul rate was due to a defect in Hurley's coaching is somewhere below 1%.

Getting more depth, getting Hurley's guys, getting better athleticism, better strength and conditioning, better team chemistry, better talking, better familiarity with the system, better rim protection / shot blocking, all of these will help reduce the foul rate. This stat is going to improve every year for Hurley's first four years.

 

[dennismenace]

I felt like he was overwhelmed by the pace of the game and hampered a bit by conditioning last year. He could be poised to make a decent Soph jump this year, though "athletic enough" is faint praise.

He's a big (6-4) strong kid and would love to see him play valuable minutes off the bench. Hope he is an igniter and can take it to the hole. We need some physicality on this team for a change. The quote above about practice being like hand to hand combat is music to the ears.

 

[mauconnfan]

He's a big (6-4) strong kid and would love to see him play valuable minutes off the bench. Hope he is an igniter and can take it to the hole. We need some physicality on this team for a change. The quote above about practice being like hand to hand combat is music to the ears.

I keep hearing he's a good shooter and I do believe it but we will need to see it. Improvement there and his foot speed will be required to get some solid minutes from the 2-3 spot. He also needs to improve ball handling as when guarded tight last year he had some issues. Overall I love his competitive nature, toughness and willingness to stick his nose in at anytime anywhere. Love to see this kid succeed he's just one of those hardworking kids who deserves a lot.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I keep hearing he's a good shooter and I do believe it but we will need to see it. Improvement there and his foot speed will be required to get some solid minutes from the 2-3 spot. He also needs to improve ball handling as when guarded tight last year he had some issues. Overall I love his competitive nature, toughness and willingness to stick his nose in at anytime anywhere. Love to see this kid succeed he's just one of those hardworking kids who deserves a lot.

Not predicting it, but what if he developed over his career like his brother?

 

[mauconnfan]

Not predicting it, but what if he developed over his career like his brother?

We'd all be very happy let's hope so!

 

[Tenspro2002]

How many times will this burn us? Can't have people getting 2-3 fouls in the 1st 10 minutes.

They have to be smart, not just tough, on defense. Last year it was like he had to coach effort so much that he didn't even have time to coach basketball IQ.

Fortunately, getting some of his own recruits, who should possess that IQ from the get-go, will make this easier.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Brendan Adams is the fifth guard. I hope he continues to improve but I can't see him playing more than 10-12 minutes a game.

10-12 is high. I would expect more like 3-5 mpg, with probably some DNPs sprinkled in against better opponents.

 

[Caronimo]

Like like like like like

 

[auror]

I gave you a like for data and analysis, but I think the chance that the high foul rate was due to a defect in Hurley's coaching is somewhere below 1%.

Getting more depth, getting Hurley's guys, getting better athleticism, better strength and conditioning, better team chemistry, better talking, better familiarity with the system, better rim protection / shot blocking, all of these will help reduce the foul rate. This stat is going to improve every year for Hurley's first four years.

Excellent stat to have, and I'm sure the kind of info that the coaches have looked at and are planning to address.

What do you think led to our high foul rate? New aggressive style of defense they're getting used to? Inexperience? Genuinely a bad defensive scheme? Player personnel?

Hurley routinely has his teams ranked over 300th in defensive free throw rate (as in many more free throws given to the other team than average). It's a common thread. 6 of his 9 D1 teams have ranked over 300th (and the best was 233rd). In contrast, Calhoun's first 3 title teams were 12th, 1st, and 5th in the country in the other direction. It's not necessarily a defect, but certainly a systemic tradeoff.

I think it's partly Hurley's focus on defensive on ball aggression and running hard at guys on the perimeter to prevent 3s, leading to other defenders needing to rotate and help in disadvantageous positions when the primary gets beat. It's nice to prevent 3s, but at the cost of FTs is a bad statistical tradeoff (can't fast break in retaliation off a FTA in addition to the bad points per shot numbers). Probably partly a lack of overwhelming athleticism compared to Calhoun's teams that didn't need to foul to recover. Maybe even more than athleticism it's about height, where Hurley historically has played a lot of 3 guard lineups and we were particularly small last year for a UConn team; Small teams likely foul more often on rebounds and guarding the rim. Also partly Cobb and Yakwe were egregious, especially defending high hedges in the PnR lol.

Edit to add- Looked it up. Hurley's never started 2 players above 6'8" simultaneously except for last year, but Polley basically doesn't count since he plays so much smaller than his height.

 

[RichZ]

Shelby, Adrien, Donnie Marshall, and back to LyMan DePriest; Just tough men who took any intrusions into there zone personally.

Shelby? That's my grand daughter.