Hurley vs. fans

[ASweet3781]

This was a prototypical look ahead game. Won 5 in a row with Villanova on the horizon and overlook a game against Creighton at home we should win. Happens to the best teams. Happened to us. No need to say the sky is falling.

They looked ahead on a team that PUNKED them 3 times last year??

That reflects even worse on the program.

 

[Mister P]

And have Wade Garrett by your side.

My wife can’t fathom why I like and watch that movie anytime I come across it on TV.

 

[navery12]

The Marquette game was a strong road win for the resume. Marquette wasn't yet the team they are now, but that's not our fault or our problem; you win the games in front of you. But I don't remember looking particularly great. What I remember distinctly about that Marquette game was RJ making insane circus shot after circus shot and winning the game for us. I also remember thinking and then posting the next day that it was cool but absolutely not a sustainable model for our offense. And it's not. If we are going to be relying on that, then over time you will get a ton more of last nights results rather than the Marquette ones. RJ was great against depaul, but taking good shots. RJ played last night like the Marquette game with only difference being those bad shot prayers didn't go in.

It's going back a while now so I can't remember my initial reaction but it was one of our better performances in terms of game score/offense

 

[Get a Job]

My wife can’t fathom why I like and watch that movie anytime I come across it on TV.

It's weird: I've never seen the movie, and I've never read or heard the quote you referenced (as far as I can recall). I also don't recall ever hearing anything about the plot of Roadhouse, beyond maybe the fact that the main character is a bouncer (is that even true?). Despite all that, I knew immediately that your post was a Roadhouse reference. The brain works in mysterious ways!

 

[JamesinGR]

As Hurley matures into a high major job he will likely mellow.

Really? The guy is 49 years old and he needs to mature into a high major job? I want the guy to be successful, but verbal jousting, with opponents fans or ours, is bushy.

 

[Mr. French]

Bad look on both ends. I get it, I think I'm the same way as Hurley particularly when frustrated after a tough loss. It's a tough dichotomy because his passion and fire is what can make him great, so tough to say "stop being yourself" but at the same time you have to have awareness of the situation. That isn't going to help. But that's more frustration not being contained.

Good for DH. Fans are way too emboldened lately. The guy goes hard for us recruiting and coaching and wants to win more than those bozos yelling at him. I would have told them to zip it too.

I kinda agree, but then overall I also agree that it’s a bad look and it could indicate a reason why the team isn’t locked in. When that’s your personality I think you don’t realize how that can affect your players/coaching as well.

Overall I don’t think this incident is a huge deal but I get why people would worry it’s symptomatic of other issues (being cool and poised under pressure).

 

[CV1]

That was the worst game we played no doubt but we came in ranked 17th and a game out of first in the Big East. Hurley has brought this program out of the dead. Creighton did beat Nova this year and will probably end up making the tourney this year so people need to chill with Hurley and be a little more patient. Let’s see how we respond Saturday

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Just be the bigger man, Dan. We know fans are crazy, i’m a fan and i’m crazy. I wouldn’t do what these fans did but they are frustrated. But you get paid a ton and criticism is always gonna be there, grow up and tune it out. Also don’t go onto barstool and say the exact opposite of what you do. Simple.

 

[8893]

Sage wisdom

Pun intended?

 

[OkaForPrez]

Got to love the sweet irony of grown adults arguing with each other about tuning others out and being mature on the boneyard

 

[Squeeze]

Again tough look saying this and then acting like a child:

It's pretty ridiculous to call DH childish for yelling back at someone who screams "**** you, Hurley, you suck." Would you ignore it?

Cut the man some slack.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

The Marquette game was a strong road win for the resume. Marquette wasn't yet the team they are now, but that's not our fault or our problem; you win the games in front of you. But I don't remember looking particularly great. What I remember distinctly about that Marquette game was RJ making insane circus shot after circus shot and winning the game for us. I also remember thinking and then posting the next day that it was cool but absolutely not a sustainable model for our offense. And it's not. If we are going to be relying on that, then over time you will get a ton more of last nights results rather than the Marquette ones. RJ was great against depaul, but taking good shots. RJ played last night like the Marquette game with only difference being those bad shot prayers didn't go in.

Swap Martin for Cole and I'd agree with this. RJ is a pretty reliable scorer. He looked a step slow last night, everything was short or overcompensating. It is a huge problem for this team that he has to do as much as he does, night in and night out, for this team to win. It's not realistic to have him check the other team's point guard, run the offense, and be the release valve when they have nothing going, for an entire game. The fact that neither Gaffney nor Diggins can alleviate Cole's burden is a huge problem for this team going forward.

But Martin is the guy who just throws stuff at the rim and hopes its goes in. On nights when his shots are falling it's great and everyone gets excited and Hurley says he's going to play in the NBA but it is not something that can be relied on at all, and when he has nights like last night it's a killer.

 

[superjohn]

Swap Martin for Cole and I'd agree with this. RJ is a pretty reliable scorer. He looked a step slow last night, everything was short or overcompensating. It is a huge problem for this team that he has to do as much as he does, night in and night out, for this team to win. It's not realistic to have him check the other team's point guard, run the offense, and be the release valve when they have nothing going, for an entire game. The fact that neither Gaffney nor Diggins can alleviate Cole's burden is a huge problem for this team going forward.

But Martin is the guy who just throws stuff at the rim and hopes its goes in. On nights when his shots are falling it's great and everyone gets excited and Hurley says he's going to play in the NBA but it is not something that can be relied on at all, and when he has nights like last night it's a killer.

Hurley wearing down Cole was what we worried about all season and last night is the first time it was inescapable that he was physically and mentally exhausted. He looked exhausted like 5 minutes into that game. Short on everything and he played a really dumb floor game which is totally out of the ordinary and due to the mental and physical exhaustion of being the only one looked to dribble, score, pass, and defend from the backcourt every single game.

 

[uconn13]

Just be the bigger man, Dan. We know fans are crazy, i’m a fan and i’m crazy. I wouldn’t do what these fans did but they are frustrated. But you get paid a ton and criticism is always gonna be there, grow up and tune it out. Also don’t go onto barstool and say the exact opposite of what you do. Simple.

Hurley certainly has a future in politics when his coaching career comes to an end, saying the opposite of what he then does

 

[huskyfan224]

Anyone without high expectations or not frustrated has their head in the sand. The coach is SUPPOSED to be the guys that stupid drunk fans scream at. He gets paid a huge salary, and part of his role is to be the buffer to insulate these kids from some fan ridiculousness when possible.

I mean, shoot, I got screamed at as a small-time high school coach every game. It's just a part of the job.

I really hate when people blame the players. It's not RJ's fault he chokes on important FTs sometimes, or that AJ doesn't have the ability to finish at the rim. These guys are working hard and doing everything they can for the program. If they have skill deficiencies, it can't be helped at this point.They're still better at basketball than 99.9999% of the planet.

Who’s fault is it choking on FT’s and missing bunnies then? I wouldn’t blame the coach for that. Those are skills that most certainly can be improved upon and fixed by the player

 

[Madmannsucks]

I am always amused when a 50 yr old guy thinks he can still fight.

 

[McLovin]

It's pretty ridiculous to call DH childish for yelling back at someone who screams "**** you, Hurley, you suck." Would you ignore it?

Cut the man some slack.

I probably wouldn’t ignore it, but that’s why I’m not cut out to be a public figure.

If you’re going to be the public face of a sports team, handling criticism is part of the game (as long as that criticism is within the boundaries of “you suck at your job” and doesn’t cross any real lines).

Then again, it equally reflects poorly on our fan base that people are screaming profanities from the upper bowl at our coach. Inevitably with children in the vicinity.

…That’s what the boneyard is for!

 

[Umami Zen]

Pun intended?

@Kathy is one of my favorite posters. Pro-UConn and balanced/respected. No harm meant to her. Nuanced pun more about the guy referenced in the post.

Trying to throw a little post-game levity at the Yard after a tough loss. Life is too short. So yes--Intended.

 

[John]

It's pretty ridiculous to call DH childish for yelling back at someone who screams "**** you, Hurley, you suck." Would you ignore it?

Cut the man some slack.

are you serious man? Either the guy is a professional or he's not, but I don't want a coach doing non-professional things in public that poorly reflect on the University. This isn't the WWE dude.

 

[husky429]

Who’s fault is it choking on FT’s and missing bunnies then? I wouldn’t blame the coach for that. Those are skills that most certainly can be improved upon and fixed by the player

Of course it's the players fault they missed shots. But complaining about that is ridiculous--it's not like RJ or anyone else isn't working their tails off.

RJ is getting beat up for 35 minutes a game. The kids is putting his all out there and clearly exhausted right now. He went from a Howard commit to one of the best guards in the big east. The idea that RJ isn't working hard is ludicrous.

It just happened. He missed shots. He doesn't have the mental make-up to hit the right ones.

Blame the coaches for not recruiting another scorer, not having this team ready to play, not putting out guys in positions to score, or being 1-8 in close games. Or trying to fight fans. Whatever.

Once again: the coach is paid millions to take criticism. Some fans are over the top on the 'yard or elsewhere, but it's his job to deal with it.

 

[bendm]

some fans in the upper bowl of an emptying XL Center loudly articulated their feelings as coach Dan Hurley headed to toward the tunnel.

i think this guy was one of said fans

Wasn’t he just on Barstool bragging that he doesn’t care what people and fans think of him?

 

[Incursio007]

Beat Nova on Saturday & all this gets swept under the rug. Get it done & move on.

 

[ConnEd]

The troubling thing here is not as much DH's response in the moment - though I think he needs to be able to ignore taunts from frustrated fans - but his response later in the press conference where he doubles down on going "tough guy" with the fans. Not good. Admit your emotions got the better of you in the moment and pledge to do better. There is a pretty low percentage of the time where letting your inner caveman go thermonuclear leads to a positive outcome.

 

[superjohn]

Of course it's the players fault they missed shots. But complaining about that is ridiculous--it's not like RJ or anyone else isn't working their tails off.

RJ is getting beat up for 35 minutes a game. The kids is putting his all out there and clearly exhausted right now. He went from a Howard commit to one of the best guards in the big east. The idea that RJ isn't working hard is ludicrous.

It just happened. He missed shots. He doesn't have the mental make-up to hit the right ones.

Blame the coaches for not recruiting another scorer, not having this team ready to play, not putting out guys in positions to score, or being 1-8 in close games. Or trying to fight fans. Whatever.

Once again: the coach is paid millions to take criticism. Some fans are over the top on the 'yard or elsewhere, but it's his job to deal with it.

What we worried about all season with Cole finally happened last night. Not sure there's another player in the country who has had the burden placed on him that coach has placed on Cole. He's expected to be our dribbler, scorer, passer, creator, big shot maker, ball pressurer every single game and it finally caught up with him last night. He was spent mentally and physically that entire game.