Hurley talking next year and portal

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Now I agree with the original post that Andre wouldn't of just been an easy 1rst round lock unless he improved his offensive skills which sadly is still his Achilles heel. Though his outside shot has gotten better he doesn't create off the dribble his own shot much if at all.

There are plenty of NBA players who either started out as poor shooters, and improved over time, or some who never improved. His defense and energy, ball handling, and court vision will get him minutes until his shot is up to a place where he will be a consistent starter minutes guy. If the shot never gets there, then he will still have a long career as a bench player who gives you every other attribute a player should have except shooting.

I know this isnt a perfect comp, but a player like Josh Giddey is a good measuring stick for Andre next season. He is taller than Andre, but not nearly the defender. Luckily for OKC they need him to be a decent team defender, and a playmaker on offense. They hope his shot improves, but if not it's not like he'll be playing in Turkey in 2 years. He may even be traded in the next 2 years if OKC looks for another guard/wing that can shoot for their 5-out offense, but Giddey will be offered contracts by about a dozen teams when that time comes. If Andre's shot never improves, that's a good mark to hit. If the shot does improve to a point where he can be relied upon to hit 38% on more than 3 per game, then he will be a starter for a long time especially because of his defense and unselfishness.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

"you lay some ground work potentially with that situation in case Alex ends up going, so you obviously have some contingencies that you prepare for that way"

interpretation- hurley has identified (and possibly even contacted) some stretch 4 options in the portal incase AK stays in the draft

He says later in the interview that there already aren't minutes available on next years team. It seems like he's saying that scholly 12 will be used on a developmental player, if one's available, and 13 will go unused again.

I like the idea of not using that last scholly if there isn't an absolutely perfect fit because a guy at the end of the bench who is unhappy about his lack of minutes won't be good for the locker room, and i think we all know after the last couple years how important team chemistry is. I could even see a situation where the last 2 scholarships are unused if a guy who is happy to be a developmental piece can't be had.

The team chemistry is more important than having an extra player in the unlikely event that we have an injury, and don't already have the depth to withstand it. And no one is going to come in here if the pitch is "we would like you to come here in case we have an injury, and if we dont you can just sit on the bench". No one who will ACTUALLY BE WORTH HAVING will accept that role when he could just get minutes on a lesser team, or in a lesser conference. Most teams don't withstand injuries anyways....there's just not enough minutes to have a good backup plan for that.

We currently have
4 Guards:
Mahaney, Ball, Nowell, Diarra

4/5 Wings:
Stewart, McNeeley, Abraham, Ross, (Karaban)

3 Bigs:
Samson, Reed, Singare

This is either 11 or 12 rotation level players (providing that Singare can improve enough to be a 3rd big, or second if injury). We can withstand injuries to all the position groups as long as there aren't more than 1 at a time, and they aren't season ending. And if they are, we weren't gonna survive it anyways (surviving = final 4).

 

[NJHusky]

Why do you want to be #1 so bad. Better to keep the pressure off. Hurley says this might be our most talented team, but definitely not the most experienced or #1.

Better to be #1 at the end of the season than at the beginning

 

[3rdbass]

There are plenty of NBA players who either started out as poor shooters, and improved over time, or some who never improved. His defense and energy, ball handling, and court vision will get him minutes until his shot is up to a place where he will be a consistent starter minutes guy. If the shot never gets there, then he will still have a long career as a bench player who gives you every other attribute a player should have except shooting.

I know this isnt a perfect comp, but a player like Josh Giddey is a good measuring stick for Andre next season. He is taller than Andre, but not nearly the defender. Luckily for OKC they need him to be a decent team defender, and a playmaker on offense. They hope his shot improves, but if not it's not like he'll be playing in Turkey in 2 years. He may even be traded in the next 2 years if OKC looks for another guard/wing that can shoot for their 5-out offense, but Giddey will be offered contracts by about a dozen teams when that time comes. If Andre's shot never improves, that's a good mark to hit. If the shot does improve to a point where he can be relied upon to hit 38% on more than 3 per game, then he will be a starter for a long time especially because of his defense and unselfishness.

I don't really see any similarities in their game besides maybe passing. Josh can create of the dribble his own offense and has a decent outside shot. Andre is a a lot better defender. I understand what you are trying to say but I would probably use someone like Andre's own teammate Patrick Beverly as a comparison. They are both defenders/energy guys first and give you enough offense to stay on the court. I know Beverly is more of true PG while Andre is more of Point Forward but they both lack on the offensive side and make up for that on the defensive side of the ball.

 

[3rdbass]

He says later in the interview that there already aren't minutes available on next years team. It seems like he's saying that scholly 12 will be used on a developmental player, if one's available, and 13 will go unused again.

I like the idea of not using that last scholly if there isn't an absolutely perfect fit because a guy at the end of the bench who is unhappy about his lack of minutes won't be good for the locker room, and i think we all know after the last couple years how important team chemistry is. I could even see a situation where the last 2 scholarships are unused if a guy who is happy to be a developmental piece can't be had.

The team chemistry is more important than having an extra player in the unlikely event that we have an injury, and don't already have the depth to withstand it. And no one is going to come in here if the pitch is "we would like you to come here in case we have an injury, and if we dont you can just sit on the bench". No one who will ACTUALLY BE WORTH HAVING will accept that role when he could just get minutes on a lesser team, or in a lesser conference. Most teams don't withstand injuries anyways....there's just not enough minutes to have a good backup plan for that.

We currently have
4 Guards:
Mahaney, Ball, Nowell, Diarra

4/5 Wings:
Stewart, McNeeley, Abraham, Ross, (Karaban)

3 Bigs:
Samson, Reed, Singare

This is either 11 or 12 rotation level players (providing that Singare can improve enough to be a 3rd big, or second if injury). We can withstand injuries to all the position groups as long as there aren't more than 1 at a time, and they aren't season ending. And if they are, we weren't gonna survive it anyways (surviving = final 4).

He does talk about the replacement for Karaban if needed more of immediate type impact player at PF while 13th would only be used for a developmental player if they found the right fit. Now I agree this would contradict his statement about already not having enough playing time for current players like Ross and Abraham to get minutes. I really don't see Abraham or Ross getting any minutes if Karaban is coming back or we get an impact player to replace him.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

I don't really see any similarities in their game besides maybe passing. Josh can create of the dribble his own offense and has a decent outside shot. Andre is a a lot better defender. I understand what you are trying to say but I would probably use someone like Andre's own teammate Patrick Beverly as a comparison. They are both defenders/energy guys first and give you enough offense to stay on the court. I know Beverly is more of true PG while Andre is more of Point Forward but they both lack on the offensive side and make up for that on the defensive side of the ball.

It's certainly not a perfect comp, im just using a non shooter as an example. Josh is much better this season, but still only a shooter if wide open, and even still no a good percentage.

Good call on Beverly. I like that much better. Although i think Andre, with time, has much more offensive upside than Bev ever had.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Singare expectations for were not addressed. I'd love to hear what they are seeing in him, whether we should expect a leap from him, or whether he is fighting for a spot but is prepared to have another development year. He lumped Nowell into a contributing statement without expounding on expectations for him.

I noticed that as well. He went out of his way to insert Ross in every Jaylin/Solo comment as a contributor, but only mentioned Singare when bragging on having 4 of 5 freshman from last year returning. He is SUPER popular in locker room, but I think Dan Hurley seems him right now as a Richie Springs/big insurance. Might never play or develop enough over the years, but good to have big depth. I hope I'm wrong, and he can step into center rotation next yr, because I like his energy. Just needs to show his defensive/rebounding to ever see the floor.

 

[3rdbass]

Alex would play some center next year. He is a matchup nightmare offensively and as he showed in the Purdue game, he got so much better defending bigs.

Hmmm I was at the game and he was getting killed by Edey inside but that was only done out of necessity and the game was basically over by then. Nobody was thinking he would actually stop Edey from scoring due to how much smaller he is. I think we will see him playing less at the 5 this year if Singare improves his strength.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Hmmm I was at the game and he was getting killed by Edey inside but that was only done out of necessity and the game was basically over by then. Nobody was thinking he would actually stop Edey from scoring due to how much smaller he is. I think we will see him playing less at the 5 this year if Singare improves his strength.

This is true, but to be fair Edey scored inside against everyone he played, including DC.
Alex, and even Stewart a couple times were great as "smallball 5's" last season. Opposing coaches went out of their way to mention how difficult it was to defend on the other end because of the skill on the floor.
No matter what you do you're going to gain something, and give up something else. We will give up size in the post, but gain major scoring and floor spacing on offense.
Watch the Xavier game when DC was out and Sam got into foul trouble. The small lineup was a killer in that game.

 

[3rdbass]

This is true, but to be fair Edey scored inside against everyone he played, including DC.
Alex, and even Stewart a couple times were great as "smallball 5's" last season. Opposing coaches went out of their way to mention how difficult it was to defend on the other end because of the skill on the floor.
No matter what you do you're going to gain something, and give up something else. We will give up size in the post, but gain major scoring and floor spacing on offense.
Watch the Xavier game when DC was out and Sam got into foul trouble. The small lineup was a killer in that game.

Actually DC was doing a great job after adjusting to Edey. DC strugged for the first few minutes of the game but adjusted afterwards. Edey was 8-17 before Clingan got into foul trouble Clingan's length was definitely giving Edey issues.

 

[3rdbass]

This is true, but to be fair Edey scored inside against everyone he played, including DC.
Alex, and even Stewart a couple times were great as "smallball 5's" last season. Opposing coaches went out of their way to mention how difficult it was to defend on the other end because of the skill on the floor.
No matter what you do you're going to gain something, and give up something else. We will give up size in the post, but gain major scoring and floor spacing on offense.
Watch the Xavier game when DC was out and Sam got into foul trouble. The small lineup was a killer in that game.

Yeah, I'm not disagreeing that the small ball lineup doesn't work but there are definitely some games where we will need Singare to step and give us minutes at the 5 when both Samson and Reed are in foul trouble. I'm excited to see if he comes back stronger and able to handle the 5 better. I think he will be a backup 5 the following year so getting some game time minutes will be critical to his decelopment.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

He does talk about the replacement for Karaban if needed more of immediate type impact player at PF while 13th would only be used for a developmental player if they found the right fit. Now I agree this would contradict his statement about already not having enough playing time for current players like Ross and Abraham to get minutes. I really don't see Abraham or Ross getting any minutes if Karaban is coming back or we get an impact player to replace him.

I used to agree with you but I have changed my tune. I think both Ross and Abraham will get minutes, I don't know from where, but situationally they will. Abraham might be the next lockdown player once he acclimates to our way of playing and Ross is an underrated quick twitch athlete, with a really nice 3 pt stroke. Hurley mentioned him as someone NBA scouts would ask about after practice. Maybe he's on Samson career development track. I started a post if we would have enough rebounding; now I think that these two could be the answer without Alex, or if we are getting bully balled

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Actually DC was doing a great job after adjusting to Edey. DC struggled for the first few minutes of the game but adjusted afterwards. Edey was 8-17 before Clingan got into foul trouble Clingan's length was definitely giving Edey issues.

I agree. My main point was that he was scoring in the post no matter the opposing big. He was the leading scorer in the tourney, and one of the regular season leaders as well. If you would like to remove DC from the conversation, that's fine.

What i'm trying to say is that Edey will not be a problem for this years version of the Huskies, and what the small lineup gives up to an opposing big on defense, it makes up for on offense. That's all i'm saying.
I can't remember where, but i calculated the season +/- for that lineup, and we were a pretty big + for the season, albeit in few minutes.

I don't think it should be the main lineup unless our 5 is Chet Holmgren, but for spot minutes, or even a game or 2 out of necessity, it can work....and honestly, is really fun to watch.

 

[3rdbass]

I used to agree with you but I have changed my tune. I think both Ross and Abraham will get minutes, I don't know from where, but situationally they will. Abraham might be the next lockdown player once he acclimates to our way of playing and Ross is an underrated quick twitch athlete, with a really nice 3 pt stroke. Hurley mentioned him as someone NBA scouts would ask about after practice. Maybe he's on Samson career development track. I started a post if we would have enough rebounding; now I think that these two could be the answer without Alex, or if we are getting bully balled

Well Ross isn't really an answer at the 4 or rebounding but would see minutes at the 3 if AK doesn't come back(Dominos impact). Abraham I agree would see some minutes at the 4 if his shot is more consistent.

I'm only talking based onwhat Hurley said during the interview based on AK coming back or we get an impact 4 from the portal. In this case I see it would be very hard to get Abraham or Ross much minutes but we will see what happens.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Yeah, I'm not disagreeing that the small ball lineup doesn't work but there are definitely some games where we will need Singare to step and give us minutes at the 5 when both Samson and Reed are in foul trouble. I'm excited to see if he comes back stronger and able to handle the 5 better. I think he will be a backup 5 the following year so getting some game time minutes will be critical to his decelopment.

Agree 100%.

 

[3rdbass]

I agree. My main point was that he was scoring in the post no matter the opposing big. He was the leading scorer in the tourney, and one of the regular season leaders as well. If you would like to remove DC from the conversation, that's fine.

What i'm trying to say is that Edey will not be a problem for this years version of the Huskies, and what the small lineup gives up to an opposing big on defense, it makes up for on offense. That's all i'm saying.
I can't remember where, but i calculated the season +/- for that lineup, and we were a pretty big + for the season, albeit in few minutes.

I don't think it should be the main lineup unless our 5 is Chet Holmgren, but for spot minutes, or even a game or 2 out of necessity, it can work....and honestly, is really fun to watch.

Yeah I agree we will play some small bal at the 5 if AK comes back. I believe we played it more last year when our Centers were in foul trouble because Singare wasn't really ready to contribute good minutes at the 5. I think there is a clear plan for this year by Hurley to get him minutes at Center so he can develop a little next year and not be a fish out of water in his Jr. year trying to back up at Center. Obviously his minutes will be limited to only when the Centers get into foul trouble but wih Johnson on the team I can see that happening at least a few times in the year.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Well Ross isn't really an answer at the 4 or rebounding but would see minutes at the 3 if AK doesn't come back(Dominos impact). Abraham I agree would see some minutes at the 4 if his shot is more consistent.

I'm only talking based onwhat Hurley said during the interview based on AK coming back or we get an impact 4 from the portal. In this case I see it would be very hard to get Abraham or Ross much minutes but we will see what happens.

I disagree on Ross. He needs some weight for sure, but with his skill he can be a terror on offense. We send all 5 guys to the glass on every play anyways, so rebounding is less of a concern as it is for some. I think his vertical ability will make up for his lack of girth when rebounding.
I agree that it will be tough for him and Isaiah to carve out minutes this season, but i hope they do. I think they both have real ability on both sides of the ball.

 

[DemonDeac22]

Why do we not see Singare becoming better and getting more playing time in 2024-2025? Johnson went from under 4 minutes per game as a sophomore to over 16 minutes last year. Singare must have learned something while working in practices for his entire freshman year. My expectations are higher for him.

 

[3rdbass]

I disagree on Ross. He needs some weight for sure, but with his skill he can be a terror on offense. We send all 5 guys to the glass on every play anyways, so rebounding is less of a concern as it is for some. I think his vertical ability will make up for his lack of girth when rebounding.
I agree that it will be tough for him and Isaiah to carve out minutes this season, but i hope they do. I think they both have real ability on both sides of the ball.

I didn't say Ross can't play but he is more of a 3 than a 4. He will get minutes if the lineup stays the same as presently constituted but it is hard to see if AK or a immediate impact piece at the 4 comes in due to the dominoes impact of minutes. You will have Stewart playing backup minutes to both AK at the 4 and McNeeley at the 3. Or it could be McNeeley back them both at the 3(Stewart would move to the 4 if AK is out). Ross skillset lends better at the 2 than the 4 and is ideally a 3 in our offense. I think McNeeley is an ideal 3 in our offense too. I think based on the quotes about getting another Impact 4 in the portal if Karaban doesn't come back he is worried about rebounding. We will also be smaller at the guard and center positions so rebounding will be at a premium with this team.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

I didn't say Ross can't play but he is more of a 3 than a 4. He will get minutes if the lineup stays the same as presently constituted but it is hard to see if AK or a immediate impact piece at the 4 comes in due to the dominoes impact of minutes. You will have Stewart playing backup minutes to both AK at the 4 and McNeeley at the 3. Or it could be McNeeley back them both at the 3(Stewart would move to the 4 if AK is out). Ross skillset lends better at the 2 than the 4 and is ideally a 3 in our offense. I think McNeeley is an ideal 3 in our offense too.

Offensively i don't think there is/will be a difference between the 3 & 4 in our system. Defensively we will need perimeter defenders & switchable players more than someone to play down low, imo. Any team that plays 2 low post players against us likely wont score more than 60 points anyways, so not a worry.

I think we all think of it as 1-2-3-4-5, when in reality we haven't really used that setup in a while. We have played 1-1-1-3-5, 1-1-2-3-5, 1-2-2-3-4, etc...
Dan Hurley will put the best 5 guys on the floor regardless of positional overlap, or deficiency. The truth is that it can be hard to distinguish the 1 from the 2, 3, or 4 on offense. He likes to have a 5 on the floor, but as we saw last season even that can be negotiable sometimes.

You're right that it will be hard to find minutes for everyone. No way we play 11 or 10 regularly. We'll see how it shakes out.

I can't freaking wait until November !

 

[ctchamps]

Well Ross isn't really an answer at the 4 or rebounding but would see minutes at the 3 if AK doesn't come back(Dominos impact). Abraham I agree would see some minutes at the 4 if his shot is more consistent.

I'm only talking based onwhat Hurley said during the interview based on AK coming back or we get an impact 4 from the portal. In this case I see it would be very hard to get Abraham or Ross much minutes but we will see what happens.

I heard Hurley say they had contingencies in the event AK did not return. Don't recall him describing those contingencies.

 

[3rdbass]

I heard Hurley say they had contingencies in the event AK did not return. Don't recall him describing those contingencies.

He did later in the interview talking about bringing in an impact 4 if possible.

 

[3rdbass]

Offensively i don't think there is/will be a difference between the 3 & 4 in our system. Defensively we will need perimeter defenders & switchable players more than someone to play down low, imo. Any team that plays 2 low post players against us likely wont score more than 60 points anyways, so not a worry.

I think we all think of it as 1-2-3-4-5, when in reality we haven't really used that setup in a while. We have played 1-1-1-3-5, 1-1-2-3-5, 1-2-2-3-4, etc...
Dan Hurley will put the best 5 guys on the floor regardless of positional overlap, or deficiency. The truth is that it can be hard to distinguish the 1 from the 2, 3, or 4 on offense. He likes to have a 5 on the floor, but as we saw last season even that can be negotiable sometimes.

You're right that it will be hard to find minutes for everyone. No way we play 11 or 10 regularly. We'll see how it shakes out.

I can't freaking wait until November !

Yeah, I was talking more on D. Ross and McNeeley are kind of undersized to play the 4 and rebound there and why Hurley mentioned Karaban hopefully coming back or getting an impact 4. He wants a guy who can hit the outside shot and drive and dribble a little bit but he also wants some decent size there to rebound and play D. I'm not saying this is written in stone but you can see what Hurley is looking for at his stretch 4 if possible.

 

[CL82]

2 years ago we lost a lot too. Starting 2 guard, starting center and 2 key bench pieces. And the result was we were better!!! Just stating facts.

Agree 100%. It wasn't easy, though. it was an impressive reloading job, and Hurley seems poised to repeat it.

(We are doomed though.)

 

[auror]

Why do we not see Singare becoming better and getting more playing time in 2024-2025? Johnson went from under 4 minutes per game as a sophomore to over 16 minutes last year. Singare must have learned something while working in practices for his entire freshman year. My expectations are higher for him.

Because he's going to be a sophomore, not a junior like when Samson increased his playing time. And more importantly there are 2 centers who were top 50 recruits that are now upperclassmen blocking his pathway to minutes.

 

[HooperScooper]

Not sure if this has been shared. Some good Dan Hurley quotes on the who & why of portal recruits.

How Dan Hurley used transfer portal to reload UConn men's basketball after NCAA title: 'Strategic'

The UConn men's basktball team added key transfers, retained key players and added three freshmen as Dan Hurley chases an NCAA three-peat.

www.ctinsider.com

“Before we bring somebody on campus, they have to be serious people,” ... “And they have to be serious about us. And there has to have been Zooms, enough phone calls and communications. We're just serious people. We need to bring just serious people in here. Their list of schools, how they've structured visits, how they're handling our conversations, we take that into account before we waste our time, or not waste our time, with certain types of players.”​

​

Hurley has said numerous times over the past couple of months that the goal isn’t to build an all-star team. It is to build a championship team. He’s done it two years in a row now and “three-peat” comes out of his mouth quite often.​

​

“It's people that are either going to fit us or not,”... “There's plenty of transfer portal players that that have a history of not helping their programs max out winning. And that's what we're trying to stay away from, because we are really desperate to win. … We're not bringing in seven players from the portal and throwing them against the wall and seeing what sticks. We're strategic that way.”​

Yeah saw that this morning. It's all from Hurley's media session yesterday that was posted on here last night.



It's 26 minutes long but still quicker than reading a Mike Anthony article. I kid, I kid. Kind of.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Yeah, I was talking more on D. Ross and McNeeley are kind of undersized to play the 4 and rebound there and why Hurley mentioned Karaban hopefully coming back or getting an impact 4. He wants a guy who can hit the outside shot and drive and dribble a little bit but he also wants some decent size there to rebound and play D. I'm not saying this is written in stone but you can see what Hurley is looking for at his stretch 4 if possible.

I will watch again when I get home, but I think he just said he was looking at some 4 men, but never said impact. Did mention developmental types I thought.

I dont think he was super clear about it, but logically, with the change in portal deadlines, there won't be anyone impactctful left by then most likely.

 

[3rdbass]

I will watch again when I get home, but I think he just said he was looking at some 4 men, but never said impact. Did mention developmental types I thought.

I dont think he was super clear about it, but logically, with the change in portal deadlines, there won't be anyone impactctful left by then most likely.

He mentioned developmental more with the 13rh if he uses it. At least that is what it sounded like. Though I agree he wasn't super clear on the 12th pick besides mentioning a 4 for sure. Yep went over it again and that is exactly what he said. I just inferred that the 12th pick would be more of an impact player 4 man since he was pretty clear that the developmental pick would be the 13th pick. I guess we will find out at the end of May/Early June what he wants to do with the 12th pick as he wants to play the young guys too.

 

[Waquoit]

Hurley's philosophy is a bit different than Bruce Pearl's. I heard Pearl say, "Why should I waste my time developing a guy when he's just going to go play for someone else?"

 

[dennismenace]

“We are really desperate to win…”. I wonder if Danny could coach the Yankees and the Giants.

Probably not. Sadly, winning is not the most important thing there anymore. Uconn is a very hard act to follow.