Hurley's Achilles heel

[UChusky916]

Hurley is a great coach, and I firmly believe he's THE RIGHT GUY for our program long-term. Having said that, it's fair to discuss areas for improvement.
For me, Hurley's biggest weakness, his "Achilles heel", is when the other team goes to a small line-up, as he ALWAYS feels compelled to match an opponent small-for-small.

Hurley appears to prioritize the team's defense, assuming he needs to match a small lineup defensively with our own small line-up to avoid mismatches against our bigs. However, by matching small-for-small, he ignores any offensive advantage we'd have with a big (like Sanogo) dominating the opponent's smaller lineup down low.

Our team's strength is the front court depth and offensive rebounding. Going small negates these strengths and hurts the team... it eliminates any rebounding advantage, puts our forwards out of position, and puts more pressure on our guards to break down defenders (which is a weakness for the team, outside of Cole). Hurley is essentially playing RIGHT into the opponents hands by matching-up small and letting them dictate OUR lineup and offense.

When opponents go small, Hurley should be punishing opponents by playing Sanogo... have him post up EVERY OFFENSIVE possession and feed him. Sanogo's shooting percentages are good enough to make them pay over time. He should force our opponent to adjust to us instead of the other way around.

Instead, Hurley continues to match small-for-small line-ups, and the team struggles. This is nothing new. Last night was yet another example in a long series of Hurley matching small-for-small lineups. Sanogo didn't shoot well last night (3-10) and didn't assert himself to get better position closer to the hoop, but he was missing for large stretches late in the second half last night with Creighton not playing a true center (injured). It's a simple fact that this team is better when Sanogo is playing.

Let's look back at some of the other recent instances last year where this occurred...

• L vs St. Johns (1/18/21): St. Johns did not have a true center, Hurley only played Sanogo 18 mins, absent most of the second half, despite dominating when in the game (12pts, 4 reb, 6-11 shooting). This resulted in a home LOSS in Gampel.
• 3x L vs Creighton ('21): Creighton rotated Mahoney (6'5"), and Ballock (6'5"), and Jefferson (6'5") at the 4 spot with Bishop (6'7") at center a lot. Kalkbrenner did come in for some minutes at center, but they played small most of the year in games against us. In 3 games vs Creighton, a freshman Sanogo only played 12 mins (5 pts, 4 reb, 2-4 shooting), 20 mins (13 pts, 5 reb, 5-9 shooting), and 21 mins (13 pts, 5 reb, 6-9 shooting). That's an average of <18 mins per game despite shooting ~60% from the field and grabbing ~5 rebounds. Obviously we got swept by Creighton last year, 3 LOSSES including the BET.
• L vs Villanova (2/20/21): Nova did not have anyone taller than 6'9" in their lineup this game. Sanogo only saw 20 mins (8 pts, 2 reb, 4-6 shooting). Loss vs Nova.
• L vs Maryland (3/20/21): Early first round exit from NCAA due to a bad match-up because Maryland EXCLUSIVELY played SMALL. Their tallest guys were 6'7" (Donta Scott) and 6'8" (Jarius Hamilton). Sanogo only played 16 minutes (!?!) despite the fact he had 2-3 inches on Maryland's tallest player. Granted, he didn't shoot great (2-7, 4 pts, 4 reb), but he needed more than 16 mins. He sat on the bench for long stretches in the second half as our season ended.

Despite this evidence of poor play and losing when going small, Hurley is as stubborn as they come and continually sitting Sanogo in those scenarios.

Opposing teams will start to scout this and take advantage, regardless of their depth at center. It's already hurt us repeatedly with no adjustment. Will that change moving forward, or will we blame another early NCAA exit on a bad match-up?

 

[UConnSwag11]

Great post

 

[UChusky916]

I'm really curious to see how Hurley will manage our lineup vs Nova on Sat.

Nova plays small with no true center. They have 3 forwards that play the 5, the tallest being 6'8".
On paper, Sanogo should have his way down low on the offensive end vs their "bigs".

Will Hurley continue to match small-for-small lineups, play into the opponent's hands, and sit Sanogo more than usual?

 

[NJHusky]

Wonder if some zone D might minimize the need to play small?? Nah.

 

[mauconnfan]

I'm really curious to see how Hurley will manage our lineup vs Nova on Sat.

Nova plays small with no true center. They have 3 forwards that play the 5, the tallest being 6'8".
On paper, Sanogo should have his way down low on the offensive end vs their "bigs".

Will Hurley continue to match small-for-small lineups, play into the opponent's hands, and sit Sanogo more than usual?

Dixon is an on paper 6’8 likely 6’6-1/2 actually but is a wide body who moves his feet very well. A huge ball fake guy and tough with knee and forearms on D. But Sanogo can work the rim over him just needs to get in deeper to the hoop. He needs to stay out of foul trouble and play 30-35 and use this strength against them. We will see

 

[auror]

This premise is not factually accurate for the game against Creighton.

We played 38 possessions with Whaley + Sanogo, which was the 2nd most of the whole season (and the first most game went to OT). We didn't play small for them.

 

[nycscooby]

To me Hurley seems to have two major flaws - - (1) his teams play tight. I really hope he hasn’t crushed Hawkins’ confidence. If I am not mistaken this kid was the Maryland high school player of the year. That’s right, the number one kid in an incredibly fertile basketball area, one of the best in the country. And now how does he look? Sure, the competition level is far different but plenty of similar credentialed frosh are contributing. Just think back to how he played in the Auburn game (and the whole team in fact played in the Bahamas and they were under duress there including playing without Whaley against MSU), just seems like this version of Hawk is pretty far from that one. I am focusing on Jordan in my example but the whole team seems tight to me especially when things start to go bad. Not enough joy!

(2) the half court offense is a mess, it just is. Thankfully we are an outrageously good rebounding team but man, our sets! Very hard to watch. Also, Hurley is set on the same substitution pattern. I like the Polley starting suggestion just to flip the script a bit but I really worry about scoring points. We aren’t running enough and we don’t get enough easy buckets.

Taking out the CCSU / LIU type games (6), we are averaging 74 pts/game with 4 of the 14 going to OT and one of those 2OT. We have only broken 80 points 4 times so far, 3 of which required OT and one being the Auburn 2 OT game.

We need to score more and more easily in the half court. Are we breaking 60 tomorrow?

 

[Ricker]

I think the basic point is correct. When we weren't playing Whaley & Sanogo together we did not play Akok, ie went small to match up, (even though Polley is 6'9 his game is not on the blocks). I'd view minutes of the 3 of them and adjust for foul trouble in individual games.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Only dilemma is Sanogo scoring 2 points down low but giving up 3's on the other end due to him not being a perimeter defender or UConn getting off track with its defensive rotations by helping out.

I don't mind the 4 small, 1 big for UConn for periods of time. I do want it to be Whaley who is the one big in that scenario.

 

[Chin Diesel]

We need to score more and more easily in the half court. Are we breaking 60 tomorrow?

I'd go a big no on that one.

 

[Icehawk]

This premise is not factually accurate for the game against Creighton.

We played 38 possessions with Whaley + Sanogo, which was the 2nd most of the whole season (and the first most game went to OT). We didn't play small for them.

Except once Kalk went out Sanogo's time went way down too and he sat on the pine.

We saw this last year as mentioned and maybe it's the right move... but it doesn't seem like it.

 

[Palatine]

We tend to forget Hurley has never coached at this level. He is facing coaches who have coached in major conferences for decades. He's still growing and learning. Isn't this why we have JC hanging around the program?

I believe that DH would benefit from having an older X & O guy, his version of Blaney, on the bench.

 

[NJHusky]

We tend to forget Hurley has never coached at this level. He is facing coaches who have coached in major conferences for decades. He's still growing and learning. Isn't this why we have JC hanging around the program?

I believe that DH would benefit from having an older X & O guy, his version of Blaney, on the bench.

I think DH's older XnO guy is the HS coach sitting behind the bench

 

[navery12]

I think the basic point is correct. When we weren't playing Whaley & Sanogo together we did not play Akok, ie went small to match up, (even though Polley is 6'9 his game is not on the blocks). I'd view minutes of the 3 of them and adjust for foul trouble in individual games.

We've played 20 games and 5 OT periods, so that's 1650 minutes at the 4/5 position. The combination of Sanogo/Whaley/Akok/Johnson/Springs have played 1351 minutes or 81.8% of available minutes. And it's 77% for the main 3 bigs

 

[80shusky]

McDermott gave everyone the playbook and going small does help with it. Limit touches by Sanogo and try to make Cole shoot poorly. Make the rest of the team beat you.

 

[wheelerdog]

I'm really curious to see how Hurley will manage our lineup vs Nova on Sat.

Nova plays small with no true center. They have 3 forwards that play the 5, the tallest being 6'8".
On paper, Sanogo should have his way down low on the offensive end vs their "bigs".

Will Hurley continue to match small-for-small lineups, play into the opponent's hands, and sit Sanogo more than usual?

If Sanogo doesn't play 30 minutes tomorrow I don't like our chances.

 

[nycscooby]

We tend to forget Hurley has never coached at this level. He is facing coaches who have coached in major conferences for decades. He's still growing and learning. Isn't this why we have JC hanging around the program?

I believe that DH would benefit from having an older X & O guy, his version of Blaney, on the bench.

I would agree with your take Pal - - don’t we have a recently retired D3 coach with strong ties to the program available? Kidding….sort of

 

[Umami Zen]

Jay has been playing 4 and 1 offense for the last 10 yrs quite effectively. Unless the opponent makes him pay -- He'll keep doing it. And if you don't think he won't be leaning on the refs about Sanogo's physicality on his guy Dixon.. You're wrong. Jay wants Sanogo watching the game from the bench.

Lets get off to a fast start and try to dictate pace..Take the home crowd out of the game

 

[Palatine]

I think DH's older XnO guy is the HS coach sitting behind the bench

That is a high school coach who never coached at this level. And he is NOT on the bench. I'm not down on our bench coaches. I just see a void that that could be filled with a valuable piece. A little gray hair.

 

[navery12]

That is a high school coach who never coached at this level. And he is NOT on the bench. I'm not down on our bench coaches. I just see a void that that could be filled with a valuable piece. A little gray hair.

You only get so many coaches on the bench though, so to add the X's and O's guy someone has to leave and I can't say I want any of our assistants to go

 

[auror]

Except once Kalk went out Sanogo's time went way down too and he sat on the pine.

We saw this last year as mentioned and maybe it's the right move... but it doesn't seem like it.

Are you sure? Or did he follow his normal sub pattern and you just noticed he was out because Kalk was out also. Kalk went out after 5 minutes of which Sanogo played them all and was due for a sub soon. I don't have his sub split by half and the HuskyGames replay isn't up yet, but Sanogo played his normal minutes for a non-OT game, and Whaley played one of his most minutes for a non-OT game.

Either way, we outscored them both in the 2nd half and specifically after Kalkbrenner went out, so I don't see the issue.

 

[Huskybass]

You only get so many coaches on the bench though, so to add the X's and O's guy someone has to leave and I can't say I want any of our assistants to go

This isn't calculus. You would think someone among Hurley, Young, Moore and Murray would have the capability to design simple, effective plays that suit our skillset. A few picks for Jackson to run back door cuts for example, a double pick for Polley, etc. Pretty basic stuff.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hurley is a great coach, and I firmly believe he's THE RIGHT GUY for our program long-term. Having said that, it's fair to discuss areas for improvement.
For me, Hurley's biggest weakness, his "Achilles heel", is when the other team goes to a small line-up, as he ALWAYS feels compelled to match an opponent small-for-small.

Hurley appears to prioritize the team's defense, assuming he needs to match a small lineup defensively with our own small line-up to avoid mismatches against our bigs. However, by matching small-for-small, he ignores any offensive advantage we'd have with a big (like Sanogo) dominating the opponent's smaller lineup down low.

Our team's strength is the front court depth and offensive rebounding. Going small negates these strengths and hurts the team... it eliminates any rebounding advantage, puts our forwards out of position, and puts more pressure on our guards to break down defenders (which is a weakness for the team, outside of Cole). Hurley is essentially playing RIGHT into the opponents hands by matching-up small and letting them dictate OUR lineup and offense.

When opponents go small, Hurley should be punishing opponents by playing Sanogo... have him post up EVERY OFFENSIVE possession and feed him. Sanogo's shooting percentages are good enough to make them pay over time. He should force our opponent to adjust to us instead of the other way around.

Instead, Hurley continues to match small-for-small line-ups, and the team struggles. This is nothing new. Last night was yet another example in a long series of Hurley matching small-for-small lineups. Sanogo didn't shoot well last night (3-10) and didn't assert himself to get better position closer to the hoop, but he was missing for large stretches late in the second half last night with Creighton not playing a true center (injured). It's a simple fact that this team is better when Sanogo is playing.

Let's look back at some of the other recent instances last year where this occurred...

• L vs St. Johns (1/18/21): St. Johns did not have a true center, Hurley only played Sanogo 18 mins, absent most of the second half, despite dominating when in the game (12pts, 4 reb, 6-11 shooting). This resulted in a home LOSS in Gampel.
• 3x L vs Creighton ('21): Creighton rotated Mahoney (6'5"), and Ballock (6'5"), and Jefferson (6'5") at the 4 spot with Bishop (6'7") at center a lot. Kalkbrenner did come in for some minutes at center, but they played small most of the year in games against us. In 3 games vs Creighton, a freshman Sanogo only played 12 mins (5 pts, 4 reb, 2-4 shooting), 20 mins (13 pts, 5 reb, 5-9 shooting), and 21 mins (13 pts, 5 reb, 6-9 shooting). That's an average of <18 mins per game despite shooting ~60% from the field and grabbing ~5 rebounds. Obviously we got swept by Creighton last year, 3 LOSSES including the BET.
• L vs Villanova (2/20/21): Nova did not have anyone taller than 6'9" in their lineup this game. Sanogo only saw 20 mins (8 pts, 2 reb, 4-6 shooting). Loss vs Nova.
• L vs Maryland (3/20/21): Early first round exit from NCAA due to a bad match-up because Maryland EXCLUSIVELY played SMALL. Their tallest guys were 6'7" (Donta Scott) and 6'8" (Jarius Hamilton). Sanogo only played 16 minutes (!?!) despite the fact he had 2-3 inches on Maryland's tallest player. Granted, he didn't shoot great (2-7, 4 pts, 4 reb), but he needed more than 16 mins. He sat on the bench for long stretches in the second half as our season ended.

Despite this evidence of poor play and losing when going small, Hurley is as stubborn as they come and continually sitting Sanogo in those scenarios.

Opposing teams will start to scout this and take advantage, regardless of their depth at center. It's already hurt us repeatedly with no adjustment. Will that change moving forward, or will we blame another early NCAA exit on a bad match-up?

Nailed it. Against small teams, I want two guys in the post. Screw "spacing". It's wildly valuable for teams with 4 knock-down 3 point shooters. It isn't all that useful for this team. You need a secondary post target to reduce the ability to double and triple Sanogo. Now that he's passing that will work even better.

I've been saying since that St. Johns catastrophe, dominate small teams with size inside. Force them to pull their better small players out and put in weaker bigs. Don't pull out our good bigs and put in weaker small players.

 

[NJHusky]

That is a high school coach who never coached at this level. And he is NOT on the bench. I'm not down on our bench coaches. I just see a void that that could be filled with a valuable piece. A little gray hair.

I’m not disagreeing with you. I think you are correct. I just think the person who is actually giving DH advice pre/post game is dad.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This premise is not factually accurate for the game against Creighton.

We played 38 possessions with Whaley + Sanogo, which was the 2nd most of the whole season (and the first most game went to OT). We didn't play small for them.

Sure, but we played mostly 4 out. That was the mistake. Especially once Kalk went out. That was the time to make sure we overloaded the post. They couldn't have stopped it. It would take at least 3 guys to defend both Sanogo and Whaley down low. If we don't want two in the post then we have to constantly cycle Whaley, Martin, Jackson as cutters to the rim when the ball goes in to Sanogo.