Hurley threads (merged)

[Doctor Hoop]

My reference is to a different now. See below.

I direct no contradiction toward your content or concerns here or previously.

What you quoted from me was intended to make that clear, and I thought I did so. Assuming that I failed on first try, I have no problem re-stating it with the same intent.

Keep only in mind that I also don't embrace any particulars, whether yours or somebody else's.

The "now" I speak of is our collective moment and the need for all parties who wish for maximized UConn MBB success to band together in common purpose more so than with common particulars.

We seem quite clearly incapable of aligning on common particulars. Can anybody credibly argue otherwise?

I'm asking everybody to reduce & release the hyperbusy conflict-generating mindset that results in confusion & clutter. Instead, clear the psychic space for team success.

Mine is a clarion call for everybody to get out of their own way. It's no dumber or ridiculous than staying stuck where you already are.

There are between 80-100 fan bases who want their team to be in the NCAA Tournament. It's possible that all of them have a majority belief that their team will not win the National Chasmpionship, and this is supported with good reason and strong emotions. One of those fan bases will be wrong. Why not us?

While I will be rooting for this team in each and every game, I see no contradiction in simultaneously feeling performance-related frustration during and after those games. This, a fan bulletin board, is a place to discuss both the rooting and the frustrations. And opine our perhaps (probably?) less informed suggestions to resolve the frustrations. Doing so should not be relevant to the team In effort, focus, or performance. If it is, that itself is a problem.

That said, I, like many on this board, have played and watched basketball for many years. Heck, I went to 20 straight BE tournaments sitting through 7 games minimum each time. Although most, me included, never played or coached at a division 1 level we know enough to know when something is a bit off, when in possession after possession in tight end-of-game scenarios we see the same breakdowns and the same struggles to get ‘over the hump’. Creighton is very good, is on a win streak, and was playing at home. There was no disgrace in losing. There was also no W when a W was eminently possible.

 

[Scottobot]

I like Hurley. He has done a great job recruiting and getting players to play hard. I think we are lucky to have him as coach. That said, I don’t understand his end of game decisions.

#1 At end of game when UConn is down, why isn’t Clingan in there to get offensive rebounds? When everyone is nervous and throwing up bricks, offensive rebounds win games. Obviously if your up you take him out because of free throws. Also when we need a stop, he should be in there to clear the defensive board. We win the Seton Hall game if he was in.

#2 Andre Jackson, clearly struggles at the end of close games. In multiple close games he decided to try to win the game himself by jacking up 3s, forcing impossible passes. How many times does that have to happen before Hurley realizes he has better options at the end of a tight game? Jackson wants to carry the team to victory, but he doesn’t have the skills yet, and he needs to sit at end of close games, or at a minimum hang out by hoop to get offensive rebounds. He can not be handling the ball on perimeter during close games.

#3 Karaban has probably been their best clutch shooter this year. He always looks calm. He has the best control of his emotions on the team. Why don’t they run plays for him at end of game?

#4 Saved the biggest mystery for,last. Why don’t they post up Sanogo at the end of games? He is the leading scorer, team captain, and shoots a high percentage. They completely abandon their post offense at the end of games.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

@Doctor Hoop


Again, I find nothing in your post to disagree with, and I have no criticism to offer. I hope that is clear to you. I like your post, appreciate its clarity of expression, and could claim its thoughts and feelings as very much like my own.

This paragraph of yours is pretty much all I'm writing about in this thread:

"Doing so should not be relevant to the team In effort, focus, or performance. If it is, that itself is a problem."

I completely agree.

 

[Hunt for 7]

That isn't what I wrote. That's what you read.

Fan expression can affect mental toughness in either helpful or unhelpful ways. It's surely not the source. I neither validate your point nor wholy reject its entirety.

There's really no fact there, and there's no way to reliably determine which criticisms are correct enough to be helpful, especially when they are mixed in with ones that are not constructive, let alone unwise or mutually contradictory of others.

You can help the leaders and the payers by not adding to their burden.

Maybe not you precisely, but some would be best to stop yelling at the driver from the back seat.

Ridiculous reply but thank you for correcting my grammar from there to the correct pronoun their. Maybe you and Hurley can teach English and literature in high school. You seem to love to play with words and take things literally when you choose or figuratively when you chose. Yes let’s all get on a fan message board and say only positive things. BTW are you reading the messages that have followed. How many reference mental toughness. And it seems you are the only one who thinks it comes from other places than coaching. I have played and coached this game granted at the high school level, but I can assure you one thing, when it’s a close game and your team I’d fighting for its “life” the players are looking at one person to make the believe. I now know at least you do not have the slightest idea about how team sports work. But you write beautifully.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I think from the corner he should try to drive the baseline and try to score or attempt to draw contact and draw a foul. Or drive from corner and kick out to opposite wing for a shot…occasional take a 3 if he can relax first before the shot….as for top of the key, he needs to step in to foul line, relax, set his feet and take the shot, like a foul shot where he is 68%.

Other times just keep the ball moving as with this said, you want to limit his outside shot attempts to around 5.

Would be interested to hear other solutions.

I love Andre and want him to succeed but this is starting to remind me of a situation with another freakish athlete Stanley “Sticks” Robinson when he lost his way look what he did to get his mental right…..maybe Andre needs to do something dramatic like that. Now it’s his confidence that has made the situation worse. This needs to be white board approach. I would love to see him go to the basket from the baseline, but most times when he does it’s the same result he leaves his feet and looks to dump the pass back out.

 

[bmayuc]

7-24 in Hurley's tenure in games decided by 5 points or less.

I could understand chalking it up as some random noise or or lucky/unlucky if the record was something like 15-16 or 14-17 in close games but it's obviously something much more when the numbers are that out of whack. When it seemed destined for yesterday's game to come down to the wire I didn't think there was any way we were winning it because we simply don't win those games.

This is the whole thing for me.

• "Recruiting"
  • GREEN CHECK - keeps improving and any transfers seem to be a good mutual decision
• "System"
  • GREEN CHECK - KenPom keeps moving up and to the right
• "In-Game/Tactics"
  • RED X ... 7-24 in close games, + eye test for composure and constant foul differentials suggest this is a real problem and Hurley must figure it out.
    

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Since nobody wants to answer the question about our "peer" group the last decade, I took a stab below. Excluded are the blue bloods: Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, UNC, and UCLA as well as Gonzaga and Nova (as were all well aware of their success):

Michigan: 1 F4, 3 E8, 6 S16, 2 Conf tourney titles
Mich State: 2 F4, 3 E8, 2 Conf tourney titles
Louisville: 1 E8, 1 S16, 1 Conf tourney title
Syracuse: 1 F4, 3 S16, 0 Conf tourney titles
Arizona: 2 E8, 4 S16, 4 Conf tourney titles
Florida: 1 F4, 2 E8, 1 Conf tourney title
Indiana: 1 S16, 0 Conf tourney titles

 

[Hunt for 7]

Just for clarity I was complimenting Robinson in my last post. Before anyone suggests I was throwing shade his was. RIP Sticks

 

[aburks41]

There are a million coaches (note to Hans Springfield it is a figure is speech. No I won’t give you a list of the million coaches) who can recruit, have great lineage and are good culture guys. Most of them get fired because they don’t win enough. My question, which none of the Hurleyites are willing to answer is how long are you willing to give him to win these games? He has had 5 years. Another 5? 2? 25? And what do you have as a standard? Is a Sweet 16 enough? An Elite 8? Final 4? National Championship? Round of 32? Here is mine: Elite 8 in the next 3 years. No excuses. Big East title within 2 years and Sweet 16. No excuses. No more 1-done tournament appearances starting now. You don’t want to be compared to Calhoun, coach at URI. You coach at Duke you’ll be compared to K. You coach at UNC you’ll be compared to Roy and Dean. UCLA and you get compared with Wooden. Indiana with Knight. You want to coach at a big time program that is the price of admission.

Something something comparison is the thief of joy...but overall I agree with that. Calhoun, K, Roy, Dean, Knight, etc are legends because they set the standard for those programs. Being compared to those guys is a good thing in my opinion because they set the benchmark for what it means to be successful at that school.

A UConn success story is not a R32 or S16 appearance. It's not a BET semifinals appearance. It's hanging championship banners. We need to see the postseason positive trajectory from Hurley this season. Hurley even said himself that if the "Fab 5" coming in next year doesn't win a Title, then he'll consider it a failure. He knows the expectations at UConn. Time for him to deliver

 

[tower1]

The Andre dilemma has been discussed quite thoroughly, but aside from giving him fewer minutes there really has been no constructive solution offered.

Most posters are saying Hurley should give some combination of Allyene, Diarra or Clingan more minutes at the expense of Jackson.

This approach, of course, comes with pros and cons and many variables.

But even if his minutes were reduced, Jackson will play significant minutes going forward. Rebounding, defense, energy against his lack of offense is the dilemma.

My question is, what should be done when Ajax has the ball at the three point line and his defender is sagging way off and disrupting the offense?

Seriously, what can be done? Jackson can shoot, and probably needs to take the shot at least a few times a game, but that has most often not helped the team.

Instead, what sort of play or action can free sanogo or Hawkins? What is newton’s role in that situation? is there a way for Hurley to counter that defensive strategy? What are the Xs and Os here to result in a quality shot?

We haven’t seen a consistent answer yet in the games or on this board so I’m throwing it out there.

Hurley needs to hire a Head coach ! He should be an assistant !

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Ridiculous reply but thank you for correcting my grammar from there to the correct pronoun their. Maybe you and Hurley can teach English and literature in high school. You seem to love to play with words and take things literally when you choose or figuratively when you chose. Yes let’s all get on a fan message board and say only positive things. BTW are you reading the messages that have followed. How many reference mental toughness. And it seems you are the only one who thinks it comes from other places than coaching. I have played and coached this game granted at the high school level, but I can assure you one thing, when it’s a close game and your team I’d fighting for its “life” the players are looking at one person to make the believe. I now know at least you do not have the slightest idea about how team sports work. But you write beautifully.

Thanks for wherever you are complimentary.

I rank a coach's leadership no lower than you do. It's paramount, and I'm puzzled that you might believe otherwise, but thank you for the opportunity to clarify.

I don't think you'd disagree with my assessment that you rank ineffable psychic energy lower than I do. And I have no doubt that you represent a majority opinion. I represent a commitment to squeezing the most out of the fans' contribution to a team's success.

I do not ignore, deny, or misidentify widely recognized & acknowledged shortcomings and risks. I frame them differently as growth challenges/opportunities in service of unity of purpose, in order to win each game as it comes, one at a time.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Something something comparison is the thief of joy...but overall I agree with that. Calhoun, K, Roy, Dean, Knight, etc are legends because they set the standard for those programs. Being compared to those guys is a good thing in my opinion because they set the benchmark for what it means to be successful at that school.

A UConn success story is not a R32 or S16 appearance. It's not a BET semifinals appearance. It's hanging championship banners. We need to see the postseason positive trajectory from Hurley this season. Hurley even said himself that if the "Fab 5" coming in next year doesn't win a Title, then he'll consider it a failure. He knows the expectations at UConn. Time for him to deliver

Thing is, Hurley sets these expectations that he doesn’t hit. Last year we spent a whole off-season with the length of time that we didn’t score in the tournament just to get upset in the 1st round. This off-season was about winning a Big East championship and was the talk of going into conference play.

It’s not like we’re coming up with these ourselves. These are stated team goals that are not being hit.

 

[Huskybass]

Recruiting and culture of the program both get an A. Winning big games, not so much. Hurley has only won 2 NCAA tourney games in his entire head coaching career, both in the same season at URI. I believe we have the pieces to be successful and win a couple tournament games this season. I think that would be a great step forward for both Hurley and the program.

 

[CheshireCat]

Hurley can't shoot the ball or make passes. Not his fault players did not execute and Jackson was a human turn over machine. 26% shooting will loose every game. Players have to play better it's that simple.

Hurley can control who should be taking the shots. Pretty sure Jackson shouldn’t be shooting more than Newton and Karaban combined. He wants so bad for him to to shoot his way out of his shooting issues, but he’s had all season to do it. If it’s not a layup or a dunk, a tough shot by another player is better than a good shot by Jackson. It’s that simple. His shooting issues need to be worked on in the off season at this point. If he has one good game like he did when he stuck those huge 3s vs Xavier on the road (and we still lost), it’s not going to be consistent, because he’s a poor shooter. This isn’t Karaban or Calcaterra with great shooting mechanics in a shooting slump, this is a bad shooter being allowed to shoot - and that’s on Hurley. It’s absurd that he had more FG attempts then Karaban and Newton combined.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Recruiting and culture of the program both get an A. Winning big games, not so much. Hurley has only won 2 NCAA tourney games in his entire head coaching career, both in the same season at URI. I believe we have the pieces to be successful and win a couple tournament games this season. I think that would be a great step forward for both Hurley and the program.

The two NCAA wins were in different years at URI.

 

[CheshireCat]

Andre will never be a shooter….his form is absolutely horrific. Even his free throws are a mess.

He just needs to find ways to make the defense pay for leaving him wide open. My idea….move towards the rim. If they are 12’ off of you, take those 12’ - make them do something.

Nope - he can’t hit those either.

 

[bendm]

2022-23: Ending the regular season winning 8 of 9

 

[REB1094]

I often think about what could have happened with that 19-20 team. They were hitting their stride at the perfect time and were bringing a lot of momentum into the AAC tournament

Vital deserved a better ending

 

[kansashusky]

Who were those games against?

 

[aburks41]

We can only hope...We're better than everyone left on our schedule

 

[Chief00]

2-21 on the road against teams that finished in the top half of the conference

Yes I realize that you’re supposed to be under .500 against decent conference teams. And the first few years were cleaning up a mess.

But this is not against the top one or two teams in the conference. It’s against the top half and so is including road games vs some mediocre teams.

Details below (highlighted games are vs top half teams).

Ugly.

 

[auror]

Thing is, Hurley sets these expectations that he doesn’t hit. Last year we spent a whole off-season with the length of time that we didn’t score in the tournament just to get upset in the 1st round. This off-season was about winning a Big East championship and was the talk of going into conference play.

It’s not like we’re coming up with these ourselves. These are stated team goals that are not being hit.

Every team has the goal of winning the league and national championship. Almost every one of them fails to reach it.

Our expectations should be independent from the team's goals.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Recruiting and culture of the program both get an A. Winning big games, not so much. Hurley has only won 2 NCAA tourney games in his entire head coaching career, both in the same season at URI. I believe we have the pieces to be successful and win a couple tournament games this season. I think that would be a great step forward for both Hurley and the program.

The pieces are there for the most part, just want to try to get more out of those pieces

 

[05Alum]

It's pretty easy actually. AJ is a chaos agent. Sometimes disrupting them. SSometimes disrupting us. It's Hurley’s job to figure out which it is early enough in the game and act accordingly.

Vs. Marquette AJ was a force for good. Vs Creighton it was the opposite. It's 100% on Hurley.

This is perfectly succinct and on point.

 

[EROCK CONN]

2021-22: Ended the regular season winning 6 of 7
2020-21: Ended the regular season winning 6 of 7
2019-20: Ended the regular season winning 6 of 7

Outstanding, thank you for sharing.

18 of 21 is 867% winning percentage. That’s elite if not historical.

 

[InTheRed]

If I were Hurley, I would try every other possible combination of players possible before putting Jackson in a game again. Go big, go small, I dont care. Hurley needs to figure out a solution. It is called coaching.

 

[dogpause]

He's upped the caliber of talent he's bringing in for next year, so I'm willing to give him a couple years with top talent. But perhaps we should all consider the possibility that the talent currently on the roster is simply not good enough to compete at the highest level of the BE.

On Saturday, one of the TV announcers pointed out that Hawkins' road stats are dramatically worse than his home stats.

Also, Sanogo is not a great defensive player; we don't have a true PG; AJ is an offensive liability and that enables teams to deny the ball going to Hawkins and double team Sanogo; Karaban is going to be great, but not until next year; Clingan is somewhat hampered by Sanogo's minutes and Hurley's refusal to play them together; and the rest of the roster are bit players. Maybe we're just not that talented.

OTOH, it will only take Hawkins scoring as he does at home to change this whole conversation. I believe he's the key.

 

[uconngb]

2021-22: Ended the regular season winning 6 of 7 ended post-season 1-2
2020-21: Ended the regular season winning 6 of 7 ended post-season 1-2
2019-20: Ended the regular season winning 6 of 7

2-4 is 33%.....that is NOT good. Especially with none of the wins in the NCAA

 

[Glastonhusky]

This is perfectly succinct and on point.

Not sure if this is on Hurley, it's not like he has another Jordan Hawkins on the bench ready to step in if Ajax is struggling. I actually think that he is starting to use Allene a little more, if he plays like he did against Marquette, this could be the answer going forward.

 

[87Xfer]

doomed