Those quotes sound like a rattled guy? Really? Sounds like someone who is observant and adapting to survive and thrive in a new CBB landscape.
If you want examples of guys who are rattled, look no further than 95% of the posts by all the chicken littles in these transfer threads the past few days!
There is definitely a new CBB landscape that is threatening roster stability for most programs. With the transfer rules now allowing a free one-time eject option to transfer and play somewhere else immediately, schools and coaches are captive to young teen-age players who are impulsive, sometimes don't exercise good judgement as they're growing up and they want and expect to play immediately. Keep in mind, college players are the creme-de-la-creme of the players who played in high school; they're accustomed to playing most of the time, not sitting and watching during games. As he's coaching at this elite level, Dan Hurley is learning, but like all of us on the Boneyard, he was most likely blind-sided by the Floyd transfer portal entry. But because he seeks to achieve elite college coaching status, Dan Hurley now realizes he must adjust his coaching ways and he is doing so. We all should give him credit for taking stock of the situation and making changes. But he doesn't yet have an established winning post-season track record at a major college power, so he is being second-guessed by some of his players (for their lack of playing time) and by some writers on this forum who better remember the successes of the good old days.
Thanks to Coach Hurley and his staff, the UConn MBB team played hard all year long. They were in pretty much in every game. As many have pointed out, the losses this past season were due to shortcomings in the roster construction. Probably because he really wants to win, and probably out of experience and loyalty to older players who have developed in his system, Dan Hurley relied on his veterans to the detriment of the incoming players. A lot of coaches relied on their experienced players due to the extra year of eligibility granted after the Covid shutdown. This was a new and different experience. It's natural to expect experienced players to play well more consistently and be more reliable. But our veteran players did not step up as much as the coaches and we had hoped for! Tyler Polley appears to be a terrific young man, but he has stayed pretty much a one-dimensional player (shooter) throughout his career. Jalen Gaffney showed promise and started as a freshman, but since Cole transferred in, he has not provided a consistent level of play that is needed from a back-up point guard. Unfortunately, despite Gaffney's inconsistent play, Diggins was not able to get needed playing time to develop. I suspect after mentioning the challenge from Dan Hurley during his recruiting process, Diggins probably felt he was coming to UConn with a good relationship with the head coach who would foster his development. I recall that he was helpful in UConn's recruiting of one or more players after his commitment. Seeing how Gaffney was not getting it done consistently, he had to be real disappointed for not getting the chance to get any significant playing time (whether merited or not) against opposing teams. As a top 100 recruit, his departure is disappointing. Akok did not get back to his playing level before the injury. None of us should be surprised that any of these players are planning to transfer. This is a sign of the time.
All high level coaches have disappointing stories with incoming touted players. Coach Calhoun had his misses. Scott Hazelton was a McDonalds All-American and I don't recall that he ever got any significant playing time before he departed. Doug Wrenn was an amazing athletic player, but he had issues and transferred back home to Washington. I recall a guy (Was it Nate something?) who also had issues and never played in a game for UCONN before leaving the program.
I suspect that many are concerned because Floyd's departure is somewhat of a mystery. We don't know yet what level of player he will become in college. He appears to be around 6'3" and weighs in around 210 - good size for a high school guard. One website has him listed at 6'2". I watched some of his high school play on Youtube. While some 3-point shots were displayed, much of his scoring was around the basket. He may not be as effective against larger and more talented college players. He did exhibit good ability to finish drives, including on fastbreaks. With his body type, he reminds me of Rashamel Jones. Rash was a big time scorer in high school, but he ended up becoming a back-up player in his final UConn year(s). Floyd may have been expecting to start next year and after seeing how new experienced players are being recruited from the portal and seeing the limited game time that Diggins got in his first year, he is leaving. His departure is also disappointing.
MBB is back to consistently getting more wins than losses. To achieve their goals, the coaches know they need to now get post-season tournament wins. Getting a commitment from the 6'5" guard Tristen Newton is a good start in the transfer portal. We must continue to strongly support Coach Hurley. He and his staff are making the effort to get UConn back to being an elite program.
