Hurley talks about the transfer portal shuffle

[LBird33]

He’s pathologically incapable of admitting his own mistakes? What the ef is he supposed to say? “Yeah I whiffed on Gaffney and Diggins. I suck”…. Get real dude.

What did he say that wasn’t true or is selling something? It sounded more like an admittance of the need to change, and like a guy who is hungry to get UConn to where it needs to be.

He just said the way he normally builds a program isn’t going to work anymore. He’s adjusting. He said he’s adjusting. He’s already delivered one of the top transfers on the market.

You guys are really unbelievable. I don’t want to hear any of this when we have our best offensive team yet under Hurley next season.
And Hurley hasn’t failed yet to coach a team to defend. The main failure has been half-court offense, and he’s addressing that by upgrading our scoring talent.

If results start to decline on the court, then we can have that discussion then. But Hurley needs our support more than anything right now.

He’s smart enough to adapt to the change in college basketball. It may feel clunky to us but when big change happens it’s clunky, Rather see him try to adapt than be stubborn and let the game pass him by. He clearly decided with his staff after this past season to make the change. Let’s see how it goes before condemning his moves. The college recruiting landscape is a different dog these days.

 

[Kitaman]

We currently have 2 guards on the team and a guard/forward. I hope he was referencing what he knows we'll have in the future.

Said yesterday:

“I want to put a great team on the court next year,” Hurley said. “I want to put a better team on the floor. We need more help at guard and on the perimeter. The best teams I’ve coached in college, we’ve had a number of great guards, a deep perimeter. We’ve had some great perimeter players here but I haven’t quite been able to have that great perimeter, which is what got me here from Rhode Island.”

 

[mauconnfan]

So let’s get this straight, you chose to believe Hurley when he says Floyd really would have helped us this year but chose to not believe him when he says this core is our best perimeter group. It’s become embarrassing. Are you guys really UConn fans? Hurley took us from the depths of despair and has been better every season. Truth is, next years roster will be better than last years. Yet we still complain. We still are unhappy. We still criticize our coach. I don’t get it. Again, are you really a UConn fan? Ask yourself what you want here. To me, it seems most of you want Hurley to fail. Well, I can tell you firsthand you picked the wrong guy to root against.

Yes I am very much a UConn fan of like 52 years. It doesn’t mean you’re not a UConn fan to question what is going on in the program. Actually to not wonder is rather strange. I’m guessing that many of “us” don’t want Hurley to fail and I wonder why anyone would even suggest that, strange. And the improvement you speak of, if 2 years in a row of many close losses as well as first round exits in the big dance is what we expect, then heck yeah we should all be thrilled. And if 4 kids leaving the program is what we should expect then heck yeah, things are fantastic.

I hope Johnson and Karaban can be the guys to take over some 3/4 minutes no doubt but we don’t know. We have one guy who can play the point right now, a damn good one it would seem but once again like last year we need more ball handlers and playmakers. Sanogo is exciting with Clingan backing him up. Hawkins looks like he can be the next wing, we will see. AJ is exciting no doubt, many here have him in the NBA. He can rebound, pass beautifully at times and defend when he puts his mind to it. He can’t shoot or finish for now, does that improve?

I’m good that you have the utmost confidence they will be better and as a “fan” I certainly hope you’re right. But I’m not afraid to say I’m not all that confident due to the latest departures as well as the fact they haven’t really finished strong in close games as well as in the dance. Rather short of successful thus far.

Rooting for everyone to get better, including the coaching staff. Hope we get more portal impact because we need it.

Let’s see what happens would love to have us be a player again!

 

[CL82]

Ask yourself what you want here.

To win at least a couple of games in the post season? That would be a beginning.

I’m a Dan Hurley fan, but he needs to start delivering in March.

 

[Hankster]

“Adapt or die,” Hurley said Wednesday night. “You’re going to have to blend, in the recruiting process, high-impact guys who are freshmen who are ready to go right away and help you win, and guys who need a little more development but have the talent to have a role here, and then being strategic with transfers.”

“You’ve got to adjust and be smart enough to adapt and try to build relationships a lot quicker,” Hurley said. “I got into coaching for relationships that build over time and grow over time and coaching a team that has that consistent continuity. But it’s a much different game than it was two or three years ago. I’m going to be agile and adjust.”

“I’m going to get this team and program so much better,” Hurley said. “We’re going to continue to get better seeds in the NCAA Tournament. We’ve got a core of big-time players in Adama, Andre, Jordan, Tristen coming in, the best perimeter group, when the ball goes up, we’ve ever had, with some outstanding front court players. We’re in a great place.”

Dom Amore: Transfer portal gives, takes and forces UConn men’s coach Dan Hurley to adapt to new reality

The UConn men's basketball program has been hit with a wave of transfers, to be expected in an era when the transfer portal is filled with more than 1,300 players. Navigating this new world of college basketball will be the challenge for coach Dan Hurley, as he builds a team for his fifth season.

www.courant.com

Free link:

12ft |

12ft.io

There is one comment he sounds like Coach K when we beat them in our first NC. Interviewing K who said "I coach for relationships" I guess.

 

[CL82]

He’s pathologically incapable of admitting his own mistakes? What the ef is he supposed to say? “Yeah I whiffed on Gaffney and Diggins. I suck”…. Get real dude.

What did he say that wasn’t true or is selling something? It sounded more like an admittance of the need to change, and like a guy who is hungry to get UConn to where it needs to be.

He just said the way he normally builds a program isn’t going to work anymore. He’s adjusting. He said he’s adjusting. He’s already delivered one of the top transfers on the market.

You guys are really unbelievable. I don’t want to hear any of this when we have our best offensive team yet under Hurley next season.
And Hurley hasn’t failed yet to coach a team to defend. The main failure has been half-court offense, and he’s addressing that by upgrading our scoring talent.

If results start to decline on the court, then we can have that discussion then. But Hurley needs our support more than anything right now.

To me it sounded like a guy in a performance review who knows he isn’t killing it. He’s identified the things he needs to change and promises to do that. Those guys don’t get fired, but they do get watched to see if they can actually live up to the promises.

 

[CL82]

2 more impact transfers and Castle would still leave 2 open scholarships. I’m curious as to if/how Hurley fills them.

Which raises a good question, is playing with less players the new normal in college basketball? It leaves you vulnerable to injury, or under performance, but also gives you the opportunity to give everyone meaningful minutes.

 

[uconnever]

We currently have 2 guards on the team and a guard/forward. I hope he was referencing what he knows we'll have in the future.

What do you think he means. I see exactly what he’s talking about. If we only add Castle we’re better off than before the exodus, but we add even more I believe.

 

[djct1999]

To win at least a couple of games in the post season? That would be a beginning.

I’m a Dan Hurley fan, but he needs to start delivering in March.

Fair. And he does. But this is a major step towards that!

 

[BrysonDeMan]

Which raises a good question, is playing with less players the new normal in college basketball? It leaves you vulnerable to injury, or under performance, but also gives you the opportunity to give everyone meaningful minutes.

i think you are right
i guess, as someone mentioned earlier, to get the 10-13 players you need to wait it out for the unsigned players to get desperate
a lot of teams will be needing these players so it'll be a war to get the best

 

[Hoophound]

What specifically leads you think he sounds rattled? I don't get that at all.

I perceive it as him admitting he misjudged things and now he has to adapt and fix it. He was just saying that he wasn’t enamored with the portal several months back. Now he needs to make a living off of it. He misread his roster in many ways and he now realizes it. Big wake-up call

 

[aburks41]

Which raises a good question, is playing with less players the new normal in college basketball? It leaves you vulnerable to injury, or under performance, but also gives you the opportunity to give everyone meaningful minutes.

It clearly is now. There’s no point of having 13 scholarships anymore if guys 9-13 play musical chairs every offseason. Just limit it to 10

 

[connVA]

I have zero idea of what this means.

Try this- I would probably not be including Jackson’s set shot among the solutions for our perimeter offensive issues. Not yet anyway.

 

[djct1999]

Yes I am very much a UConn fan of like 52 years. It doesn’t mean you’re not a UConn fan to question what is going on in the program. Actually to not wonder is rather strange. I’m guessing that many of “us” don’t want Hurley to fail and I wonder why anyone would even suggest that, strange. And the improvement you speak of, if 2 years in a row of many close losses as well as first round exits in the big dance is what we expect, then heck yeah we should all be thrilled. And if 4 kids leaving the program is what we should expect then heck yeah, things are fantastic.

I hope Johnson and Karaban can be the guys to take over some 3/4 minutes no doubt but we don’t know. We have one guy who can play the point right now, a damn good one it would seem but once again like last year we need more ball handlers and playmakers. Sanogo is exciting with Clingan backing him up. Hawkins looks like he can be the next wing, we will see. AJ is exciting no doubt, many here have him in the NBA. He can rebound, pass beautifully at times and defend when he puts his mind to it. He can’t shoot or finish for now, does that improve?

I’m good that you have the utmost confidence they will be better and as a “fan” I certainly hope you’re right. But I’m not afraid to say I’m not all that confident due to the latest departures as well as the fact they haven’t really finished strong in close games as well as in the dance. Rather short of successful thus far.

Rooting for everyone to get better, including the coaching staff. Hope we get more portal impact because we need it.

Let’s see what happens would love to have us be a player again!

Maybe it’s all relative. Have you asked why they never finished in close games? I know everyone loves to blame the coach for everything, but often times it comes down to execution. The players were gassed because, especially towards the end of the season, Hurley had a 6-7 player rotation. Why? Because 3 of the 4 kids who entered the portal proved that they weren’t capable. And that’s what your worried about? We have one of the hardest working, well connected staffs in the country. Do you really believe they were blind sighted by this? Do you really believe they don’t have a plan or have those spots filled already? Because I don’t.
The tone on here has been crazy to me. Some of the takes even crazier and impulsive. Explain to me how the world is coming to an end when the 4 guys who left are being replaced with more talent.

 

[Matrim55]

This ^. 100% this. Bring the energy DH. But stop with the BS. Stop waving to the crowd. Stop telling us what you think we want to hear. And just win. Let the results do the talking. Let’s go!

The results are that we finished in the Kenpom top 25 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005 & 2006. Here's our winning percentage trend:

Pretty good!

The other thing is that we haven't won in the tournament b/c we've lacked enough shot creation & shot-making. In the past six months he's partially answered that by landing a pair of 6-foot-5 point guards with NBA potential, and is now working to land at least two more in the transfer window.

Pretty good!

I'm not a Hurley stan -- dude has some obvious flaws as an in-game coach, and I'm mildly concerned about his record here wrt individual player development. But I haven't seen much in the way of excuses or BS from him, and in fact in another thread here he's being savaged for being too honest about his shortcomings.

Can't win sometimes, I guess.

Anyway, expect a couple more transfer signings and a Castle reclass.

 

[djct1999]

Yes I am very much a UConn fan of like 52 years. It doesn’t mean you’re not a UConn fan to question what is going on in the program. Actually to not wonder is rather strange. I’m guessing that many of “us” don’t want Hurley to fail and I wonder why anyone would even suggest that, strange. And the improvement you speak of, if 2 years in a row of many close losses as well as first round exits in the big dance is what we expect, then heck yeah we should all be thrilled. And if 4 kids leaving the program is what we should expect then heck yeah, things are fantastic.

I hope Johnson and Karaban can be the guys to take over some 3/4 minutes no doubt but we don’t know. We have one guy who can play the point right now, a damn good one it would seem but once again like last year we need more ball handlers and playmakers. Sanogo is exciting with Clingan backing him up. Hawkins looks like he can be the next wing, we will see. AJ is exciting no doubt, many here have him in the NBA. He can rebound, pass beautifully at times and defend when he puts his mind to it. He can’t shoot or finish for now, does that improve?

I’m good that you have the utmost confidence they will be better and as a “fan” I certainly hope you’re right. But I’m not afraid to say I’m not all that confident due to the latest departures as well as the fact they haven’t really finished strong in close games as well as in the dance. Rather short of successful thus far.

Rooting for everyone to get better, including the coaching staff. Hope we get more portal impact because we need it.

Let’s see what happens would love to have us be a player again!

I also don’t for one minute think this is a program culture problem either. I think the staff saw and admitted to the major red flags this team raised the past season, understand it’s year 5 and time to really show results, and knew 100% that w the roster as it was, next year would have been an uphill battle. They saw an opportunity to reset and keep the core. While I don’t believe Hurley would ever tell a kid to leave, I think he was very clear with his plans and both sides realized it was mutually beneficial to enter the portal. It seems because of the surprise of it all that Floyd, without ever playing a minute was already annointed as the next Kemba as most of the board never seen him play or even able to pick him out of a lineup, saw something change this past week. My guess, without knowing but seeing all the coaches in Indy w Castle, would be that.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Maybe it’s all relative. Have you asked why they never finished in close games? I know everyone loves to blame the coach for everything, but often times it comes down to execution. The players were gassed because, especially towards the end of the season, Hurley had a 6-7 player rotation. Why? Because 3 of the 4 kids who entered the portal proved that they weren’t capable. And that’s what your worried about? We have one of the hardest working, well connected staffs in the country. Do you really believe they were blind sighted by this? Do you really believe they don’t have a plan or have those spots filled already? Because I don’t.
The tone on here has been crazy to me. Some of the takes even crazier and impulsive. Explain to me how the world is coming to an end when the 4 guys who left are being replaced with more talent.

We did finish the close game against Nova when Hurley wasn’t coaching fwiw.

 

[djct1999]

The results are that we finished in the Kenpom top 25 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2005 & 2006. Here's our winning percentage trend:

View attachment 75586

Pretty good!

The other thing is that we haven't won in the tournament b/c we've lacked enough shot creation & shot-making. In the past six months he's partially answered that by landing a pair of 6-foot-5 point guards with NBA potential, and is now working to land at least two more in the transfer window.

Pretty good!

I'm not a Hurley stan -- dude has some obvious flaws as an in-game coach, and I'm mildly concerned about his record here wrt individual player development. But I haven't seen much in the way of excuses or BS from him, and in fact in another thread here he's being savaged for being too honest about his shortcomings.

Can't win sometimes, I guess.

Anyway, expect a couple more transfer signings and a Castle reclass.

What’s weird is that you would think Hurley’s strength would be guard development. Not sure why we haven’t seen that yet. But as a program in general, Sanogo’s development was through the roof and AJax’s was substantial. You have to believe we will see another jump from Ajax this summer and I expect Hawkins to be a totally different player next season.

 

[my2cents]

Who is he kidding? Best perimeter team, a total joke.
4 years into his tenure and he basically is starting from scratch.
His problem it seems is a lack of communication between him and his players regarding roles.
His constant touting his own success is totally off-putting. He feels that losing in the first round of the tournament is an accomplishment, it isn't. This ain't RI.

 

[Huskybass]

To win at least a couple of games in the post season? That would be a beginning.

I’m a Dan Hurley fan, but he needs to start delivering in March.

Absolutely. 12 years as a Head Coach and 2 NCAA tournament wins, total. Time to start winning some games when it counts.

 

[UConnJim]

It clearly is now. There’s no point of having 13 scholarships anymore if guys 9-13 play musical chairs every offseason. Just limit it to 10

The transfer portal has made roster management much harder. At most, 7 or 8 players can be part of the main rotation so you will have 5 to 6 players not getting much playing time. When you are recruiting well (according to the recruiting rankings) as Hurley has, you are going to have 5 or 6 top 125 kids sitting on the bench and they have immediate options at other schools.

Hurley probably could have kept Diggins if he played him slightly more and told him he was the starting PG this year, but it doesn’t seem like Hurley did that, so Diggins, in his best interests, is leaving. That seems to be a recruiting miss. I doubt Hurley promised Floyd a starting spot or major minutes so he left as well as now he will have not played major basketball game minutes for 2 years in a row. He and UConn probably would have better off if he played another year of HS basketball. It will be interesting to see if Hurley brings in kids to redshirt on the bench in the future.

 

[uconngb]

Yes I am very much a UConn fan of like 52 years. It doesn’t mean you’re not a UConn fan to question what is going on in the program. Actually to not wonder is rather strange. I’m guessing that many of “us” don’t want Hurley to fail and I wonder why anyone would even suggest that, strange. And the improvement you speak of, if 2 years in a row of many close losses as well as first round exits in the big dance is what we expect, then heck yeah we should all be thrilled. And if 4 kids leaving the program is what we should expect then heck yeah, things are fantastic.

I hope Johnson and Karaban can be the guys to take over some 3/4 minutes no doubt but we don’t know. We have one guy who can play the point right now, a damn good one it would seem but once again like last year we need more ball handlers and playmakers. Sanogo is exciting with Clingan backing him up. Hawkins looks like he can be the next wing, we will see. AJ is exciting no doubt, many here have him in the NBA. He can rebound, pass beautifully at times and defend when he puts his mind to it. He can’t shoot or finish for now, does that improve?

I’m good that you have the utmost confidence they will be better and as a “fan” I certainly hope you’re right. But I’m not afraid to say I’m not all that confident due to the latest departures as well as the fact they haven’t really finished strong in close games as well as in the dance. Rather short of successful thus far.

Rooting for everyone to get better, including the coaching staff. Hope we get more portal impact because we need it.

Let’s see what happens would love to have us be a player again!

Thank you for stating this perfectly. Expressing frustration does not equate to not being a fan. Has DH improved the program? Absolutely. Is there room for improvement? Most definitely. Expecting more does not make you less of a "fan". In fact, it makes you more of one. Blind loyalty is what gets you into trouble.

I'm happy to hear him SAY he is evolving. I will really believe it when it comes to in-game, in-season adjustments, because that's where his biggest weaknesses are. But at least him making an acknowledgement about change is a start.

 

[ToolzieFan]

Who is he kidding? Best perimeter team, a total joke.
4 years into his tenure and he basically is starting from scratch.
His problem it seems is a lack of communication between him and his players regarding roles.
His constant touting his own success is totally off-putting. He feels that losing in the first round of the tournament is an accomplishment, it isn't. This ain't RI.

Starting from scratch? All of the most talented underclassmen who produced last year - Sanogo, Jackson, and Hawkins - are returning. Karaban and Clingan, who are our most talented newcomers, will be here. Hopefully Samson Johnson sticks around. The highest-rated recruit Hurley has ever had, Castle, is probably coming early. Newton is much more talented than any player we’re losing in the portal. We definitely need a few more players. Maybe some players were mismanaged. The first round loss sucked. Again. But we are not starting from scratch. I wouldn’t be shocked if we’re better next year than we were this year, if we get one more plus player from the portal (admittedly, a big if at the moment).

 

[connVA]

I also don’t for one minute think this is a program culture problem either. I think the staff saw and admitted to the major red flags this team raised the past season, understand it’s year 5 and time to really show results, and knew 100% that w the roster as it was, next year would have been an uphill battle. They saw an opportunity to reset and keep the core. While I don’t believe Hurley would ever tell a kid to leave, I think he was very clear with his plans and both sides realized it was mutually beneficial to enter the portal. It seems because of the surprise of it all that Floyd, without ever playing a minute was already annointed as the next Kemba as most of the board never seen him play or even able to pick him out of a lineup, saw something change this past week. My guess, without knowing but seeing all the coaches in Indy w Castle, would be that.

To be fair, DH has done a fair amount of talking up Floyd. Not quite Ollie “Ferrari in the garage” level, but still. By the end of the season, everyone here seemed relatively clear-eyed about Gaffney, Diggins, and post-injury Akok but Floyd represented real hope. That said, he and the staff have had a plan throughout and it’s looking like we’re going to be (much) stronger once this all shakes out. Lesson learned is taking everything Hurley says publicly about players going forward with a grain (or quarry) of salt.

 

[my2cents]

Starting from scratch? All of the most talented underclassmen who produced last year - Sanogo, Jackson, and Hawkins - are returning. Karaban and Clingan, who are our most talented newcomers, will be here. Hopefully Samson Johnson sticks around. The highest-rated recruit Hurley has ever had, Castle, is probably coming early. Newton is much more talented than any player we’re losing in the portal. We definitely need a few more players. Maybe some players were mismanaged. The first round loss sucked. Again. But we are not starting from scratch. I wouldn’t be shocked if we’re better next year than we were this year, if we get one more plus player from the portal (admittedly, a big if at the moment).

Hey, I like your optimism. But until I see these new players play at the college level, I don't give much credit to the hype they all receive. No matter who we get, it will be a team of many question marks.