Hurley versus Edsall (and BD for that matter)

[Palatine]

Hurley came in. Kept all the old regime players. Got behind old regime players. Tried to improve them to be the best they could be. Concentrated on winning. Talked about winning and made it clear that losing was bad.

Edsall came in. Cleared out the old regime players. Concentrated on the players he brought in, gave them all the minutes. Made it clear he was not interested in winning (until some point in the future) and ran down everything that came before his return.

Did I miss anything?

 

[kemba]

Did I miss anything?

That most of the old basketball players were at least decent recruits, and some elite recruits, while most of the old football players had little to no FBS offers

 

[uconndogs]

Did I miss anything?

A life apparently.

 

[UConnJim]

Crazy analogy. UConn is a basketball blue blood that can attract elite talent. Football is not.

The basketball roster that Hurley inherited was an above average Division 1 roster. (Remember, there are over 300 schools.). And, basketball rosters can be turned around quickly through recruiting as freshmen can make an impact early. Edsall inherited a roster that had to be close to the bottom of FBS and freshmen linemen don’t have an impact.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Did I miss anything?

One has a 95-player roster and the other 15?

 

[huskymedic]

Did I miss anything?

Posting it in the third person?

 

[uconndogs]

Posting it in the third person?

lol

 

[Uconnalliance]

Man we’re digging deep here ,can’t wait for the dead of winter posts

 

[SubbaBub]

Hurley came in. Kept all the old regime players. Got behind old regime players. Tried to improve them to be the best they could be. Concentrated on winning. Talked about winning and made it clear that losing was bad.

Edsall came in. Cleared out the old regime players. Concentrated on the players he brought in, gave them all the minutes. Made it clear he was not interested in winning (until some point in the future) and ran down everything that came before his return.

Did I miss anything?

DH only has to play 5 players at the time and 3 of those he inherited were actually D1 level players. He also had a brand to sell.

Comparing two sports is ridiculous. When FSU finds a decent FB coach they will miraculously turn around too. Their BB program won't.

 

[pepband99]

Man we’re digging deep here ,can’t wait for the dead of winter posts

No, it's just @Palatine grinding his axe with Edsall down to the handle.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

The first thing I learned about being new to an organization in my Ed Leadership program is you are more successful taking over and adjusting to people in your organization and using their skills and weaknesses to focus on improvements than trying to clear out or make people adjust to you.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

That most of the old basketball players were at least decent recruits, and some elite recruits, while most of the old football players had little to no FBS offers

Ollie’s last recruiting class was ranked like 120. The studs he brought in in 2016 had all moved on or nursing shoulder injuries. Hurley wasn’t exactly taking over a vintage UConn team. I think the only top 100 recruits on the team last year were Adams, Gilbert and Wilson.

 

[noeynox]

That most of the old basketball players were at least decent recruits, and some elite recruits, while most of the old football players had little to no FBS offers

So in other words, the same type of players that continue to be recruited.

Seriously if I was an AD I'd put in contract language that would void the contract if a coach took the podium and began talking about a total rebuild. That is basically saying "what you see here is not my fault". Going into year 4 and we still hear the same mantra.

 

[CL82]

So in other words, the same type of players that continue to be recruited.

Seriously if I was an AD I'd put in contract language that would void the contract if a coach took the podium and began talking about a total rebuild. That is basically saying "what you see here is not my fault". Going into year 4 and we still hear the same mantra.

Well the clock is officially running. 2 wins isn't getting it done next year and neither is 3. Frankly I wouldn't feel a whole lot of job security with 4. 5 gets him a 5th season but he's still on the hot seat. For all of you grumbling that RE has to [poop] or get off the pot, next year is the year that will decide things. I hope he can do it, because yet another reboot might kill the program.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Based off the 2020 schedule - 5 is the minimum - 6 should be where we are and any P5 wins will be greatly appreciated.

 

[UConnJim]

The first thing I learned about being new to an organization in my Ed Leadership program is you are more successful taking over and adjusting to people in your organization and using their skills and weaknesses to focus on improvements than trying to clear out or make people adjust to you.

That's true unless you don't have people with skills.

Look, the football roster was a total mess when Edsall took over and his real first recruiting class are redshirt freshmen and sophomores. If you look at all of the players that left UConn since Edsall took over, none were drafted by the NFL, only two, Darrian Beavers and Tyler Davis are starting for an FBS school, 2 others moved to FBS schools in reserve roles, a couple are playing in Canada, and the rest either quit football, went JUCO, or moved down to FCS or D2. How do you compete with that kind of roster?

Look who Diaco inherited: 4 NFL draft picks: Byron Jones, Geremy Davis, Obi Melanfonwu, and Foley Fatukasi, plus Andrew Adams and Noel Thomas. At QB, he inherited Casey Cochran, Tim Boyle, and Chandler Whitmer.

 

[noeynox]

Well the clock is officially running. 2 wins isn't getting it done next year and neither is 3. Frankly I wouldn't feel a whole lot of job security with 4. 5 gets him a 5th season but he's still on the hot seat. For all of you grumbling that RE has to [poop] or get off the pot, next year is the year that will decide things. I hope he can do it, because yet another reboot might kill the program.

Believe me i root for the guy. He just does some of the most mind numbingly stupid things imaginable. Has forever.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

The first thing I learned about being new to an organization in my Ed Leadership program is you are more successful taking over and adjusting to people in your organization and using their skills and weaknesses to focus on improvements than trying to clear out or make people adjust to you.

I didn't realize Erectile Dysfunction Leadership Programs existed.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I didn't realize Erectile Dysfunction Leadership Programs existed.

Only for people with botched circumcisions.

 

[UConnJim]

Ollie’s last recruiting class was ranked like 120. The studs he brought in in 2016 had all moved on or nursing shoulder injuries. Hurley wasn’t exactly taking over a vintage UConn team. I think the only top 100 recruits on the team last year were Adams, Gilbert and Wilson.

The roster Hurley inherited was miles better than the one Edsall inherited. Let's look at the recruiting rankings:

Jalen Adams 5* #23 player
Alterique Gilbert 4* #32 player
Sidney Wilson 4* #87 player
Mamadou Diarra 4* #126 player (injured, but didn't realize it at the time)
Christian Vital 3* #166 player
Tyler Polley 3* #168 player
Josh Carlton 3* #178 player
Eric Cobb 3* #273 player out of HS. Offers from South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, George Mason, Seton Hall, UCF, VCU, Kansas St., Mis. St.
Isaiah Whaley NR
Kwintin Williams NR

Yes, that is not a national championship calibre roster, but, based on recruiting rankings, that is an above average college basketball roster. But, we all know there were flaws with the roster as the team ended up 6-12 in the AAC and 15-16 overall. BTW, the 6-12 in the AAC was UConn's worst in conference record since joining the AAC.

I think Hurley is doing a great job, but is much easier to recruit basketball players to UConn and a basketball roster can be dramatically improved in one season with a few top freshmen recruits.

One last point. If UConn wanted to quickly turn around the football roster, they could have. How? Bring in JUCOs, transfers, and academic risks, but that is not the UConn way. So Edsall has to bring in high school seniors and develop them. Compare that to SMU: 24 transfers and 10 JUCOs on the roster. Houston? 14 transfers and 17 JUCOs. Tulsa? 6 transfers and 13 JUCOs. UCF? 18 transfers, 7 JUCOs. Temple? 9 transfers, 18 JUCOs. USF? 19 transfers, 8 JUCOs. Memphis? 4 transfers, 17 JUCOs. UConn? 5 transfers, 4 JUCOs.

 

[Waquoit]

The roster Hurley inherited was miles better than the one Edsall inherited. Let's look at the recruiting rankings:

Isaiah Whaley NR

Edsall runs this guy off the team. "Smart" fans on the BB board were saying that Hurley's not running the guy off was a sign of personal weakness. One year with Hurley and Whaley's playing important minutes. He was on the floor and made a nice hoop during the stretch when UConn took control of Miami last game. I'm not saying he's great but not only does he contribute on court, he's driving competition in practice. On top of that, you can see he works hard at his game and likes to be here. That's how you change the culture!

 

[SubbaBub]

Again one guy, as opposed to 30.

 

[Waquoit]

Again one guy, as opposed to 30.

All of them who stayed have bought in. I focused on "one guy" because he was the lowest ranked, a guy HCRE tosses aside. Edsall's "my guys" philosophy isn't about changing the culture, it's about buying as much time as possible before he gets canned. It worked, it looks like he's getting four year despite horrible results.

 

[kemba]

Ollie’s last recruiting class was ranked like 120. The studs he brought in in 2016 had all moved on or nursing shoulder injuries. Hurley wasn’t exactly taking over a vintage UConn team. I think the only top 100 recruits on the team last year were Adams, Gilbert and Wilson.

Yes so 3 elite recruits and a bunch of decent ones, like I said. In basketball, when it comes down 5-8 guys

 

[kemba]

So in other words, the same type of players that continue to be recruited.

Seriously if I was an AD I'd put in contract language that would void the contract if a coach took the podium and began talking about a total rebuild. That is basically saying "what you see here is not my fault". Going into year 4 and we still hear the same mantra.

With point one you are correct however they are his guys, and he has a track record of finding lower rated recruits that he's able to develop while Diaco does not


With point 2 it comes down to results, doesn't really matter what they say. Honestly Hurley has said a lot of the same stuff about changing culture, constantly bringing up how bad the program was when he got here, constantly talkiing about needing to bring in more "UConn level" type recruits. He's gotten results though a lot quicker for the reasons many have already stated, and also because, and this is one of the many reasons this thread is stupid, he is a better coach than edsall is and nobody would dispute that. However, basketball is in position to go out and hire the best coach on the market and football is not.

For the record im far from in love with edsall and its reasonable to say there's not enough progress and we need to move on, but the comparison this thread made is stupid