Hurley said this during half time show interview

[ctchamps]

This is the second time hes mentioned big east refs. He should really knock that off.

Hurley changed his interaction with the refs quite some time ago. He still can get better but the degree of change has been nothing short of remarkable for someone who has had a lifetime of habits to break.

My observation is that the BE reffing did not change. It is wrong for a coach to act out of control letting emotions dictate behavior. That ends up being abusive. It is just as wrong for an authority to react with an abusive response. That is what high step and some other BE refs have done. Doing it while Hurley was out of control is understandable but these refs are getting paid and trained to not let a coaches poor behavior impact their job. They failed and compounded it when they carried it out after Hurley changed.

There is supposed to be oversight of refs when that happens. That oversight failed. If the system demonstrates inaction to a problem Hurley has nothing to lose by exposing that failure. Hurley's behavior and how the team has performed in this tournament has given him leverage to this problem.

I commend him for astutely recognizing the leverage and not being afraid to take advantage of it. There is some irony in all of this in that the exposure has been done with great self control.

Hurley is showing the way!

 

[ctchamps]

It’s a story that plays well, so I don’t mind it, but they got great again when they figured out how to balance letting Andre play free and giving him some limits and explicit directions on his offensive (shooting) role.

To add to this:

That skid was the result of coaches having enough game tape to scheme against our strength. We've had to counter and that takes time and players who are flexible to change and can do it quickly.

Let's focus on Adama. During that 14-0 run one of the most frequent criticisms in this forum was Adama's inability to pass out of a double team. Fast forward to February and he is not only able to do that from the post but we can put him at the top of the key and have him create from there. This adaptation could not be accomplished with most players. Adama is that special individual who learns quickly and works on it to perfection quickly. As a result of this change we can now take the liability of Andre's perimeter shooting and create schemes in which opposing teams will pay a price if they sag off of him. Why? Because doing so either results in them losing where Andre is on the court or the player guarding him has to keep an eye on him which negates the effectiveness of double teaming Adama.

You have spoken! This is the way!

 

[ElGreco]

There was no doubt that Hurley’s sideline demeanor and especially as it related to the refs was hurting his team. We all saw it.

That he recognized it and made the change shows real maturity as a coach and a human.

To admit it to a national audience shows humility.

We are watching the evolution of Coach Hurley in real time.

Spot on. Evolution is what it is. I feel confident he will soon be one of the best out there.

 

[ElGreco]

To add to this:

That skid was the result of coaches having enough game tape to scheme against our strength. We've had to counter and that takes time and players who are flexible to change and can do it quickly.

Let's focus on Adama. During that 14-0 run one of the most frequent criticisms in this forum was Adama's inability to pass out of a double team. Fast forward to February and he is not only able to do that from the post but we can put him at the top of the key and have him create from there. This adaptation could not be accomplished with most players. Adama is that special individual who learns quickly and works on it to perfection quickly. As a result of this change we can now take the liability of Andre's perimeter shooting and create schemes in which opposing teams will pay a price if they sag off of him. Why? Because doing so either results in them losing where Andre is on the court or the player guarding him has to keep an eye on him which negates the effectiveness of double teaming Adama.

You have spoken! This is the way!

Very well stated

 

[housekeys]

Tristan Newton had 6 FTA against the Zags. During the losses @Xavier, @Providence, @Marquette, Newton had a total of 1 FTA.

"So what", the BY experts said, it was because we settled for the outside shots and did not drive to the basket. BUT, during those 3 games, Sanogo had 3 FTA total, and his game is all inside. And while the experts can point to high 3pt attempts, well of course. When you drive and are not getting the whistle you may just settle for the outside shots instead.

It is clear the officiating was the cause for most of our problems during the losing skid. Dan Hurley cannot say that in public. He has been "dancing around" the officiating issues in all his answers to the "what changed" question. There were strategy changes that did indeed help with the refs. We saw an improvement in results the last part of the season. But the ref problem was still there, and as it happened, UConn could not win the BE tourney (credit to Marquette however, they played a super game).

Games are officiated differently in the NCAA's. Not perfectly or better. Just differently. It is the style that is different. Different emphasis, etc. It seems to favor the UConn style more.

 

[Husky25]

Yeah thats one way to take it. Id just rather he not mention the refs because they may take it the way they want to take it.

Right? Kinda crazy for Hurley to take accountability for James Bouknight's actions or Gampel security in Feb 2022.

 

[UChusky916]

In Pardon My Take, they asked Dan Hurley if he ever "wakes up in a bad mood and knows he's going to get T'd up later in the game."

Dan's response was no, but he mentioned that he was previoysly informed of which refs will be calling their game in the morning of gameday, and that he knew with certain guys he was going to have a problem with, and he let it stew all day getting mad.

Hurley admitted it was affecting him, and changed so that now he ignores the officials on the gameday sheet in the morning, and finds out officials right before the game.

Continues to show growth and maturity by admitting it was an issue and working to fix it. And he's done better.
Obviously it helps when you have a talented team that performs better too.