I like to hear this

[MTBingNinja]

Something a lot of coaches say after a terrible performance. But Hurley is a man of his words so this carries some weight. Hoping for a beat down of grambling on Saturday.

A beat down on Saturday would be nice but let’s see a beat down against West Virginia!

 

[Chin Diesel]

Call me Doubting Thomas from Missouri.

Show me.

I'll believe it when I see it.

I think there's a better chance of 7 players logging 95% of minutes than there is any one of the three non-rotation players (Diggins, Springs, Johnson) seeing 10 or more minutes.

 

[superjohn]

Definitely was a joke. My point was they've barely gotten any meaningful in game minutes. Now next season we'll have to live with freshman mistakes from Sophmores. Especially Diggins. We are going to need him to be steady next season. So some gametime this season was super important. I just don't see him getting it in Big East play

Both Diggins and Samson need to play.

 

[OkaForPrez]

A few thoughts on freshman playing time:

• Diggins was hurt a lot of the summer. That certainly has set his clock back.
• Coach hangs his hat on defense and I'm personally glad he does. Playing well in the defensive system is not something you just show up with. Hawkins stays on the court because we need his raw offensive ability, but he's getting beat regularly on defense (nevermind the adventure of his ball security at the moment).
• Many here want there to be a reactive change to the minutes allocation in game. I don't think that's how Hurley operates. You earn your court time in practice. By hitching game minutes to practice you ensure good, competitive habits in practice and that tide raises all boats.
• If you don't make the young guys earn it like you did their predecessors, then you run the risk of losing your locker-room. There's a balance.

 

[superjohn]

Call me Doubting Thomas from Missouri.

Show me.

I'll believe it when I see it.

I think there's a better chance of 7 players logging 95% of minutes than there is any one of the three non-rotation players (Diggins, Springs, Johnson) seeing 10 or more minutes.

I'm worried about it too. He talked about our great depth all preseason and the start of the season. He needs to start using it or it's just talk. Guys are already too comfy and we should be wearing down teams.

 

[husky429]

That’s a little overly dramatic.

Hurley did say in his presser yesterday that the freshman didn’t have normal summers or last years of prep ball, so they’re taking more time getting up to speed (along with many other freshman around the country in that recruiting range). He said they need to get them up to speed fast though because Cole needs help. Development doesn’t stop at week 4, so I’d hardly say their season is wasted lol.

Honest question... how was their summer not normal? Diggins was hurt for a month, but Johnson? The guys were on campus and working hard like any normal year.

And as far as their prep years, everything was basically the same except for the kids had to wear masks during the game.

Excuses.

 

[Chin Diesel]

A few thoughts on freshman playing time:

• Diggins was hurt a lot of the summer. That certainly has set his clock back.
• Coach hangs his hat on defense and I'm personally glad he does. Playing well in the defensive system is not something you just show up with. Hawkins stays on the court because we need his raw offensive ability, but he's getting beat regularly on defense (nevermind the adventure of his ball security at the moment).
• Many here want there to be a reactive change to the minutes allocation in game. I don't think that's how Hurley operates. You earn your court time in practice. By hitching game minutes to practice you ensure good, competitive habits in practice and that tide raises all boats.
• If you don't make the young guys earn it like you did their predecessors, then you run the risk of losing your locker-room. There's a balance.

On point #3. You earn PT by having good practices and doing what coach wants. You should keep your PT by doing it in games. When good practice habits don translate to game time results, coaches should adapt.

 

[superjohn]

A few thoughts on freshman playing time:

• Diggins was hurt a lot of the summer. That certainly has set his clock back.
• Coach hangs his hat on defense and I'm personally glad he does. Playing well in the defensive system is not something you just show up with. Hawkins stays on the court because we need his raw offensive ability, but he's getting beat regularly on defense (nevermind the adventure of his ball security at the moment).
• Many here want there to be a reactive change to the minutes allocation in game. I don't think that's how Hurley operates. You earn your court time in practice. By hitching game minutes to practice you ensure good, competitive habits in practice and that tide raises all boats.
• If you don't make the young guys earn it like you did their predecessors, then you run the risk of losing your locker-room. There's a balance.

Hawkins defense was solid. He doesn't get beat any more than Gaffney and Jackson do. Not sure exactly how Gaff has earned it. Jackson brings more to the table but he still makes a lot of careless mistakes.

 

[superjohn]

Honest question... how was their summer not normal? Diggins was hurt for a month, but Johnson? The guys were on campus and working hard like any normal year.

And as far as their prep years, everything was basically the same except for the kids had to wear masks during the game.

Excuses.

If what Ant and some others think will happen with Samson and Diggins sitting all year you have to think top high school players, high school/AAU coaches and opposing coaches will take note. They need to play for our depth this season, their development for next season, and it doesn't look great for recruiting.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Watch the highlights. Andre had a few fast break buckets, some nice passes and owned the defensive glass for the most part. At some point you've got to realize how much he positively impacts the game. That said, the sloppy ball handling and lazy passes do partially offset his contributions.

Seems like you're watching through blue colored glasses, not that that's a bad thing. He had 4 points total. I can only remember one fast break basket. I don't recall his other 2 points. As others have noted, his passes seemed sloppy and kind of lazy last night. I don't think his 3 turnovers accurately reflect his poor passing. In the half court set he really offered very little last night. For his game to move forward and for us to be able to reap the rewards, he needs to work on his handle and develop the ability to break down his man and draw the double team for a dish or finish at the rim. He barely used any of his god given athletic ability last night. Kind of a waste.

 

[UCfor3]

It's not just the freshman. Akok is barely playing in any game that is competitive. The circle of trust has shrunk. The rotation has gotten smaller and with the current injuries it's a little odd that we are not using our depth. Feels like a potential strength is turning into a weakness.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Watch the highlights. Andre had a few fast break buckets, some nice passes and owned the defensive glass for the most part. At some point you've got to realize how much he positively impacts the game. That said, the sloppy ball handling and lazy passes do partially offset his contributions.

My take on Jackson (right now) is a lot like my take on Martin. They both bring lots of good to the table, however, along with it comes some sloppiness and bonehead plays. But as Andre becomes more comfortable, I expect it to really click for him. Meaning a game with a stat line of 17 or 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 or 7 assists is likely to happen at some point. And who wouldn't sign up for that?

More than anything, I'm hoping that Cole gets some real help in terms of ball handling and running the team. Perhaps some combination of Jackson, Gaffney and Diggins can accomplish that.

Martin can drive to the basket with relative ease, and he can actually shoot the ball. I don’t see how they are that similar currently. Plus AJ is a much better passer, although he didn’t show it last night.

 

[navery12]

Seems like you're watching through blue colored glasses, not that that's a bad thing. He had 4 points total. I can only remember one fast break basket. I don't recall his other 2 points. As others have noted, his passes seemed sloppy and kind of lazy last night. I don't think his 3 turnovers accurately reflect his poor passing. In the half court set he really offered very little last night. For his game to move forward and for us to be able to reap the rewards, he needs to work on his handle and develop the ability to break down his man and draw the double team for a dish or finish at the rim. He barely used any of his god given athletic ability last night. Kind of a waste.

He had the fast break dunk off the steal, or more accurately the UMES guy dropping the ball a few times until he picked it up. And then had the layup on a 2 on 1 where he went up going for a poster dunk and adjusted mid-air to lay it in

 

[Storrs South]

I got to be honest, I don't see why everyone is so fixated on Diggins and Samson to play. This is the deepest team Hurley has ever had so comparing freshmen run to previous seasons doesn't make sense when the competition for minutes was Kassoum Yakwe, Eric Cobb, or Tarin Smith.

This team goes 9 deep when healthy, mostly consisting of juniors and seniors. You need to earn your time on the court, specifically at the defensive end as we know with Hurley and likely makes exceptions if Hurley thinks you are special offensively (see Bouk and Hawk).

With Martin out, Hawkins took Martins minutes and they were 8 deep until the second half when Sanogo went out and down to 7 deep.

No one player was easy to point to as playing poorly, rather it seemed a complete effort of just lack of energy across the board: everyone missed some wide open 3s, some missed layups, some silly unforced turnovers, and UMES making some really lucky shots (could cut up the tape and count 5 or 6 that had no business going in).

That's not an excuse for the overall effort, but it's more to the point of we aren't in practice and some bizarre stuff happened coupled with another slow start that allowed UMES to be emboldened to play way above their skill level.

Diggins and Johnson have gotten some play and...they looked like freshmen. They will both be great players, but this coaching staff at the very least should have earned the fanbases trust after taking this team from KenPom 179 to 98 to 52 to 21 to whatever they are as of this (I believe 28) in 3-4 years. Growth isn't always linear, despite the fact they got us back to respectability so quickly and in such a straight progression.

The things that need to be fixed are obvious: don't feed Sanogo unless he gets better position, Sanogo passing out of double teams, Andre being more careful with the ball, Andre taking the open 3 when presented, Gaffney being more aggressive driving and shooting, Whaley shooting the 3 when it's there, guys doing a better job keeping their guy in front of them and not biting on ball fakes as hard, Hawkins fixing his handle.

Just overall less reliant on feeding it to Adama and hoping he can get a basket. They won't correct all of those things, but improve in a couple areas and they should be good. They are usually solid enough on offense rebounding that it covers up a lot of mistakes, but didn't hit the boards hard (a lot of that due to Martin's absence) which is why they got exposed. Coupled with UMES hitting some really difficult shots that were well defended, it limited UConn getting out in transition. Those two things probably add an additional 10-12 point cushion and we are talking about this game like the Binghamton contest.

My only takeaway is the last two weeks have shown how important guys like Whaley and Martin are to the overall operation particularly on defense and rebounding. Not that two freshmen who still have a lot to learn need to getting minutes.

 

[navery12]

Diggins and Johnson have gotten some play and...they looked like freshmen. They will both be great players, but this coaching staff at the very least should have earned the fanbases trust after taking this team from KenPom 179 to 98 to 52 to 21 to whatever they are as of this (I believe 28) in 3-4 years.

Agree with everything but especially the part I'm quoting and even moreso the part in bold. That's where I'm at right now. I get we're all still scarred from the AAC years but no reason not to trust this staff and what they've shown in terms of development

 

[superjohn]

I got to be honest, I don't see why everyone is so fixated on Diggins and Samson to play. This is the deepest team Hurley has ever had so comparing freshmen run to previous seasons doesn't make sense when the competition for minutes was Kassoum Yakwe, Eric Cobb, or Tarin Smith.

This team goes 9 deep when healthy, mostly consisting of juniors and seniors. You need to earn your time on the court, specifically at the defensive end as we know with Hurley and likely makes exceptions if Hurley thinks you are special offensively (see Bouk and Hawk).

With Martin out, Hawkins took Martins minutes and they were 8 deep until the second half when Sanogo went out and down to 7 deep.

No one player was easy to point to as playing poorly, rather it seemed a complete effort of just lack of energy across the board: everyone missed some wide open 3s, some missed layups, some silly unforced turnovers, and UMES making some really lucky shots (could cut up the tape and count 5 or 6 that had no business going in).

That's not an excuse for the overall effort, but it's more to the point of we aren't in practice and some bizarre stuff happened coupled with another slow start that allowed UMES to be emboldened to play way above their skill level.

Diggins and Johnson have gotten some play and...they looked like freshmen. They will both be great players, but this coaching staff at the very least should have earned the fanbases trust after taking this team from KenPom 179 to 98 to 52 to 21 to whatever they are as of this (I believe 28) in 3-4 years. Growth isn't always linear, despite the fact they got us back to respectability so quickly and in such a straight progression.

The things that need to be fixed are obvious: don't feed Sanogo unless he gets better position, Sanogo passing out of double teams, Andre being more careful with the ball, Andre taking the open 3 when presented, Gaffney being more aggressive driving and shooting, Whaley shooting the 3 when it's there, guys doing a better job keeping their guy in front of them and not biting on ball fakes as hard, Hawkins fixing his handle.

Just overall less reliant on feeding it to Adama and hoping he can get a basket. They won't correct all of those things, but improve in a couple areas and they should be good. They are usually solid enough on offense rebounding that it covers up a lot of mistakes, but didn't hit the boards hard (a lot of that due to Martin's absence) which is why they got exposed. Coupled with UMES hitting some really difficult shots that were well defended, it limited UConn getting out in transition. Those two things probably add an additional 10-12 point cushion and we are talking about this game like the Binghamton contest.

My only takeaway is the last two weeks have shown how important guys like Whaley and Martin are to the overall operation particularly on defense and rebounding. Not that two freshmen who still have a lot to learn need to getting minutes.

Because we're basically 7 deep now with Akok being totally nonexistent and depth was supposed to be an advantage over the teams we play. We don't execute well enough on the offensive end consistently to be a ball control type of team. We should have an athletic advantage over everyone we play. It's hard to run and wear teams down when you only go 7 deep.

 

[elmcityboy]

yeah, i am also in agreement with @Storrs South, although i think a large part of the anxiety around diggins and johnson is less "they would be better than polley/gaffney/whoever" and more around losing them to transfer at the end of the season.

obviously, college basketball is what it is in 2021, but hurley and staff have proven they've been able to hold on to the guys they want to hold on to (javonte brown being the possible exception, although he is not exactly lighting it up at a&m) and until that's no longer true, we have to continue trusting this staff.

 

[OkaForPrez]

@Storrs South @elmcityboy

Its really only about Diggins for me because against high major ball pressure Gaffney hasn't shown he has the handle to help relieve the pressure on RJ or execute the offense. Exhibit A - Auburn Press, Exhibit B - Last possession against MSU.

Gaff does some nice things - He's shooting well, he can get to the foul line, his decision making looks somewhat better. But he's not our #2 PG and in his Junior year we're getting closer to saying he never will be.

Diggins is a natural point. We need to develop him over the course of the year so we can rely on him in March.

 

[Improviser]

Springs is commended for staying as long as he has. I hope he will get some PT and that his practice performance will justify Hurley's giving him some in game experience.

 

[Captbluefin]

Hurley needs to play the freshman. He held back Bouk. And Adama expressed he was not happy after St.John’s disaster last year and then got more time. Hawkins seems more of a sensitive guy. Hurley needs to play him not the BS wait till 3/4 of a season to play him.

Also last night he was open a lot and teammates were not passing to him. He looked frustrated.
They need to feed him. I hope everyone concerned about playing time does not effect this team.

Hurley needs to manage a stacked team and he has never had to do it before. This is not Wagner or URI talent.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I like this thread's title, and I like Hurley's quoted first sentence: "Obviously, I did a horrible job of preparing these guys for this game."

As to the following sentences, I agree with this...

Show me.

I'll believe it when I see it.

I got to be honest, I don't see why everyone is so fixated on Diggins and Samson to play. This is the deepest team Hurley has ever had so comparing freshmen run to previous seasons doesn't make sense when the competition for minutes was Kassoum Yakwe, Eric Cobb, or Tarin Smith.

This team goes 9 deep when healthy, mostly consisting of juniors and seniors. You need to earn your time on the court, specifically at the defensive end as we know with Hurley and likely makes exceptions if Hurley thinks you are special offensively (see Bouk and Hawk).

With Martin out, Hawkins took Martins minutes and they were 8 deep until the second half when Sanogo went out and down to 7 deep.

No one player was easy to point to as playing poorly, rather it seemed a complete effort of just lack of energy across the board: everyone missed some wide open 3s, some missed layups, some silly unforced turnovers, and UMES making some really lucky shots (could cut up the tape and count 5 or 6 that had no business going in).

That's not an excuse for the overall effort, but it's more to the point of we aren't in practice and some bizarre stuff happened coupled with another slow start that allowed UMES to be emboldened to play way above their skill level.

Diggins and Johnson have gotten some play and...they looked like freshmen. They will both be great players, but this coaching staff at the very least should have earned the fanbases trust after taking this team from KenPom 179 to 98 to 52 to 21 to whatever they are as of this (I believe 28) in 3-4 years. Growth isn't always linear, despite the fact they got us back to respectability so quickly and in such a straight progression.

A good discussion, but I'll still roll things back to that first sentence by DH. Though simplistic, I believe that better preparation would have resulted in a large enough margin during the game that DH could have put more players on the court in order to learn more about in-game skills and combinations perhaps not yet seen.

Instead, he had to concentrate on not screwing up up and suffering an embarrassing loss. As such, the game represented a lost opportunity, and that's the basis for most of the comments here.

I counted at least 3 very poorly chosen shots by Cole that quite fortunately went in, and a similar number of shots that Jackson reflexively passed up which gave UMES the confidence to pull back from guarding him with more care. And Adama similarly continued to take lower percentage shots. If continued, these patterns will likely result in some frustrating losses against upcoming competition. As to last night, I am so thankful for Whaley.

I fully endorse this paragraph:

The things that need to be fixed are obvious: don't feed Sanogo unless he gets better position, Sanogo passing out of double teams, Andre being more careful with the ball, Andre taking the open 3 when presented, Gaffney being more aggressive driving and shooting, Whaley shooting the 3 when it's there, guys doing a better job keeping their guy in front of them and not biting on ball fakes as hard, Hawkins fixing his handle.

MSU & UMES were both games that required adjustments to player unavailability, both known in advance and occurring in-game. This too will be a theme within the season, so I'm adding it in addition to the fixes above.

Just overall less reliant on feeding it to Adama and hoping he can get a basket. They won't correct all of those things, but improve in a couple areas and they should be good. They are usually solid enough on offense rebounding that it covers up a lot of mistakes, but didn't hit the boards hard (a lot of that due to Martin's absence) which is why they got exposed. Coupled with UMES hitting some really difficult shots that were well defended, it limited UConn getting out in transition. Those two things probably add an additional 10-12 point cushion and we are talking about this game like the Binghamton contest.

My only takeaway is the last two weeks have shown how important guys like Whaley and Martin are to the overall operation particularly on defense and rebounding. Not that two freshmen who still have a lot to learn need to getting minutes.

I think there will continue to be a variety of takes that reflect anxious feelings about whether this year will be good or great, as well as how much of either. Given the past 7 seasons, that shouldn't come as any surprise.

 

[Conndog]

I'd like to see more screens set so players can flash to elbows or foul line area to receive the ball. There, they can shoot, drive to basket, pass to baseline teammates, etc. Certainly will be necessary when teams play zone against us. We set up too much outside, need somehow to get the ball into the interior more.

 

[aburks41]

Springs is commended for staying as long as he has. I hope he will get some PT and that his practice performance will justify Hurley's giving him some in game experience.

At this point I feel like Springs is just content with being at UConn and happy to be involved in the basketball program. He knows he's behind Johnson, Clingan, etc for the future, maybe he doesn't really even want to play lol.

 

[Get a Job]

At this point I feel like Springs is just content with being at UConn and happy to be involved in the basketball program. He knows he's behind Johnson, Clingan, etc for the future, maybe he doesn't really even want to play lol.

Like Alex Moran from Blue Mountain State, who believes the best role on a college football team is backup QB? Interesting theory...

 

[lange10]

My hope for Diggins was that he could be a true lead guard for 10-15 minutes a game to allow 1. Cole to rest or 2. Cole to play off ball more. Gaffney still struggles to initiate the offense versus legitimate competition. He’s just so dang timid.

My only other gripe right now is one I’ve felt for awhile now dating back to last season. I love Whaley. I love Sanogo. But when the two of them are on the floor together, especially when Jackson is too, it’s a disaster for us offensively at times. That combo doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon but I really hope we explore lineups with Martin (when healthy) at the 4 & Sanogo or Whaley at the 5 more frequently.