Hurley talking next year and portal

[auror]

Last year we had 8 former top 100 guys (4 were freshmen) plus 5th years Spencer and Newton. This year we have 10(!) former top 100 guys (3 freshmen) plus 2x All-Conference WCC Jr Mahaney. The guys that end up 6th-11th on this roster are going to be GOOD. The season Talking Heads narrative is that UConn's bench will be better than a lot of teams starting lineup.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

It’s going to have two top 10 picks? Lol

Right because the mark of a good college roster is nba talent. If that were the case Dook, Ky, Kansas would win every year. With AK, we are deep and talented and incredibly versatile. P
That plus, I put a great deal of stock on what Dan Hurley thinks.

 

[NJHoops]

I know it‘s kind of stressful when Dan brings up players possibly transferring and hearing from/being influenced by other schools during the season. He references “if he stays with us” and that kind of stuff, but I think it’s a good approach. Everyone knows what’s happening, why not be transparent with your guys and call it out and then move on? Re-recruiting is a year-long thing now. This staff is really good at communicating their player development approach to their guys, and the results speak for themselves.

Danny used to be kind of devastated when players transferred, even if they weren’t that good. He saw it as a failure of the program or the environment they created that someone would want to leave. He adjusted to the normalization of mass transfers and works the system as good as anyone now. If someone chooses to move on, like Nahiem, the response is love ya, appreciate your contribution, now we’re going to get someone else good.

 

[Ricker]

In the press interview, Dan mentioned Nahiem reached out to him at the final four to offer his support. I liked that their relationship was still positive despite the transfer. My wife thought she saw him still with Nika in the videos with Nika off to Seattle. (talk about a tear jerking goodbye with Geno - "you changed my life" - I needed tissue)

 

[BRS24]

Not sure if this has been shared. Some good DH 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.”​

 

[Inyatkin]

You said it's better to keep the pressure off, I think that's ridiculous. This program thrives on lofty expectations.

People still talk about things like "keeping the pressure off" as if we're some plucky up-and-comer, not the two-time defending national champions. There's going to be pressure, and it's fine.

 

[DRBackup]

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.

LOL!!! There is no "keeping the pressure off" for the two time defending champs.

 

[jibsey]

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

 

[gtcam]

Honestly if Jackson was on this team, we would have had an even better season... undefeated...? He would have been an all American and drafted high in the first round.

Watching AJ play defense in the NBA lately doesn't translate into a high 1st round pick. Athletic but completely at a loss on assignments. He stood out defensively his final year at UConn but it's a different game in the NBA. I'm not saying he won't get it but not sure if an NBA team will give him the time needed - maybe some G League exposure would help. He's got a lot of things to work on this off season. The potential is there but he is a hard fit.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Watching AJ play defense in the NBA lately doesn't translate into a high 1st round pick. Athletic but completely at a loss on assignments. He stood out defensively his final year at UConn but it's a different game in the NBA. I'm not saying he won't get it but not sure if an NBA team will give him the time needed - maybe some G League exposure would help. He's got a lot of things to work on this off season. The potential is there but he is a hard fit.

With all due respect, i dont think you're right on this one. First of all, Andre is basically tasked with being the only perimeter defender on his team at any given time. His job is to be a disruptor. His teammates miss (seemingly) dozens of rotations per game making it look like Andre screwed up when in fact someone was caught looking at the ball instead of moving over 5 feet to stay between the 2 players that need to be defended. That team is about as poorly coached as you can be on both sides of the ball, and it stands out more recently with Giannis out. He and Lopez could usually make up for a lot of defensive mistakes (usually by Dame or Beasley, 2 of the worst defenders in the league) just by being huge and near the rim, which is how a lot of NBA teams run their defense, and how we ran ours to a degree (funnel to the rim).

The way their roster is built now, with Lillard instead of Holiday, Andre has to be an energy , and all the teams defense on the perimeter, and he's done a great job of that, especially considering he's a rookie. There aren't many rookies that pick up a teams defense in their first season. AJ has done as good a job as any rookie in the league on the perimeter.

 

[3rdbass]

With all due respect, i dont think you're right on this one. First of all, Andre is basically tasked with being the only perimeter defender on his team at any given time. His job is to be a disruptor. His teammates miss (seemingly) dozens of rotations per game making it look like Andre screwed up when in fact someone was caught looking at the ball instead of moving over 5 feet to stay between the 2 players that need to be defended. That team is about as poorly coached as you can be on both sides of the ball, and it stands out more recently with Giannis out. He and Lopez could usually make up for a lot of defensive mistakes (usually by Dame or Beasley, 2 of the worst defenders in the league) just by being huge and near the rim, which is how a lot of NBA teams run their defense, and how we ran ours to a degree (funnel to the rim).

The way their roster is built now, with Lilliard instead of Holiday, Andre has to be an energy and defense guy on the perimeter, and he's done a great job of that, especially considering he's a rookie. There aren't many rookies that pick up a teams defense in their first season. AJ has done as good a job as any rookie in the league on the perimeter.

Yeah I was a critical of Andre's defense while at UConn at times. He didn't always play the best man on the ball defense and preferred to block shots from behind or try for highlight reel steals and then dunks on the other side but he has improved a lot starting at the end of his UConn career into the NBA. His defense I agree has been much approved in the NBA so not sure why that poster had his defense as being an issue due to missed assignments. Andre is one of the few Bucks who play D on that team sadly. 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.

 

[CL82]

When you look at what we're losing on paper, it seems pretty daunting. Of course, then you look at what we're bringing in and there's a whole lot of reason to be hopeful.

 

[JMick]

Last year we had 8 former top 100 guys (4 were freshmen) plus 5th years Spencer and Newton. This year we have 10(!) former top 100 guys (3 freshmen) plus 2x All-Conference WCC Jr Mahaney. The guys that end up 6th-11th on this roster are going to be GOOD. The season Talking Heads narrative is that UConn's bench will be better than a lot of teams starting lineup.

Practice is going to be insane

 

[Iluvsuebird]

If Singare comes back stronger he can play those minutes at Center when both bigs are in foul trouble and allow us not to move a PF into that position which we had to do out of necessity mostly last year.

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.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

When you look at what we're losing on paper, it seems pretty daunting. Of course, then you look at what we're bringing in and there's a whole lot of reason to be hopeful.
View attachment 100376

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.

 

[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 DH 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.