If you were a Point Guard why would you want to play in Hurley's offense?

[8893]

So despite being a stud at a mid major, it’s a given that he still had to be developed significantly to be a bigtime BE guard? There’s no way to measure that whatsoever. He was 21, strong and polished when he started here.

Bob Hurley was probably more instrumental to RJ's development.

 

[nomar]

If we are being honest, Cole was already pretty much at that level when he arrived. He had over 1500 points at Howard and averaged 6 assists there. Given those numbers, it wasn't surprising that he did real well here.

Not surprising -- I totally agree -- but also not guaranteed, either. You never know what you're going to get from a mid-major transfer.

I may be forgetting somebody, but of all the guys who have transferred "up" to UConn, it seems like he and Martin did the best.

 

[navery12]

I don't understand why we don't have a hundred plays designed to free AJax for alley-oops or breakaway dunks.

It was hard to design those plays with 3 defenders standing in the paint. I'd expect to see a lot more next year

 

[8893]

Not surprising -- I totally agree -- but also not guaranteed, either. You never know what you're going to get from a mid-major transfer.

I may be forgetting somebody, but of all the guys who have transferred "up" to UConn, it seems like he and Martin did the best.

Shonn Miller did ight, too.

 

[nomar]

Shonn Miller did ight, too.

Like I said, I may be forgetting somebody. You'd think I wouldn't have forgotten the guy from my alma mater, though!

 

[Huskybass]

Not surprising -- I totally agree -- but also not guaranteed, either. You never know what you're going to get from a mid-major transfer.

I may be forgetting somebody, but of all the guys who have transferred "up" to UConn, it seems like he and Martin did the best.

We agree. But Cole wasn't your ordinary mid-major transfer. He was a conference player of the year who had scored 1500 points and averaged 6 assists both previous years. Plus he already had pretty good games against some P5 teams previously. The odds were pretty good that he would do well here.

In addition to Cole and Martin, I would add Shonn Miller as a quality transfer...and Kromah, a GW transfer, was an important piece of the 2014 title run.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

It's really simple. The ball will be in the PGs hands the majority of the time and there is currently 40 mins a game to fill at that position. Say what you want about about the state of the program, but players want to play and the minutes are there. Not much selling has to be done here.

 

[UofCT]

So despite being a stud at a mid major, it’s a given that he still had to be developed significantly to be a bigtime BE guard? There’s no way to measure that whatsoever. He was 21, strong and polished when he started here.

Do you think RJ was better in 2020-21 or 2021-22? That's called development. Thanks.

 

[Jaydumo20]

The only reason for a PG not to come to UConn right now is the weather.

Ha. Hey they are people on the yard who seem to think that weather is a prime factor for kids (winters in fla. Blah blah) Remember the Florida vs. Uconn discussion a few weeks ago?

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't understand why we don't have a hundred plays designed to free AJax for alley-oops or breakaway dunks.

We ran a ton of them for Akok his freshman year. We have several players, Johnson included, who would be hard to stop on those plays. I would say it's easier when your PG is taller. I can imagine AJax throwing a lot of those lobs for others.

 

[Huskybass]

Do you think RJ was better in 2020-21 or 2021-22? That's called development. Thanks.

He was marginally better from a statistical standpoint in 2021-22 but the fact remains that he had over 1500 D1 points and over 400 D1 assists when he arrived at UConn. He wasn't a player that needed lots of "development" at UConn. Yes, he refined things a bit, but he was essentially the same player with a little more wisdom and savvy.

 

[Get a Job]

Ha. Hey they are people on the yard who seem to think that weather is a prime factor for kids (winters in fla. Blah blah) Remember the Florida vs. Uconn discussion a few weeks ago?

I mean, I doubt it's a non-factor. A girl in a bikini is a pretty rare sight at UConn. Other schools, not so much.

 

[Chin Diesel]

We ran a ton of them for Akok his freshman year. We have several players, Johnson included, who would be hard to stop on those plays. I would say it's easier when your PG is taller. I can imagine AJax throwing a lot of those lobs for others.

You hit on a good point. In order to complete the alley oop you need someone who can make the pass with the right arc and height. I don't think UConn had any guards who could make that pass last season.

 

[fatlucy]

He was marginally better from a statistical standpoint in 2021-22 but the fact remains that he had over 1500 D1 points and over 400 D1 assists when he arrived at UConn. He wasn't a player that needed lots of "development" at UConn. Yes, he refined things a bit, but he was essentially the same player with a little more wisdom and savvy.

You can bend the truth to support your narrative but you’re just embarrassing yourself.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

We ran a ton of them for Akok his freshman year. We have several players, Johnson included, who would be hard to stop on those plays. I would say it's easier when your PG is taller. I can imagine AJax throwing a lot of those lobs for others.

I would rather see a back screen and a lob to Jackson rather than Jackson throwing the lob which might end up being a behind the back bullet to the upper decks.

 

[8893]

You hit on a good point. In order to complete the alley oop you need someone who can make the pass with the right arc and height. I don't think UConn had any guards who could make that pass last season.

RJ could. It was the first play of the game at the XL vs. Villanova and apparently they had been working on it in practice before the game; and then they never ran it again, and Andre never scored again until the last basket of the game, which was the front end of his 1-1.

 

[bblanco15]

If you were an elite Point Guard why would you want to come to play at UConn with the offense that Hurley currently runs?

I have my own opinions, but I would like to hear other peoples thoughts

I should have first stated that this wasn't meant to be an anti Hurley post. I was trying to start a conversation specifically about Hurley's offense that he has been running the last couple years the X's and O's.

The team defense for the most part has been great all year and what has been keeping them in games, the biggest flaw has been scoring.

We haven't had guards in a while that can get into the paint and consistently make plays for themselves and others, other than RJ Cole and he still had his limits even though he put up some decent numbers. (Some of that might be inflated due to usage since he was literally the only guy that could be trusted to dribble the ball).

Watching all the other teams in the NCAA tournament they all have multiple guys on the floor at all times who can break their man down and get into the paint and make plays.

I know a lot of that has to do with floor spacing so players have more room to operate.

Some of it has to do with having shooters on the court, but a lot of it has to do with coaches running plays to put players in positions to utilize their strengths and take advantage of mismatches.

I understand the available playing time, history, facilities, and conference are huge selling points to recruits, now that we just lost all three of our guards

I was looking to start a discussion from a offensive X's and O stand point, based on what Hurley has run the last few years what's going to attract elite guards to come here again and play?

 

[Huskybass]

You can bend the truth to support your narrative but you’re just embarrassing yourself.

I don't have a narrative. From a statistical standpoint, Cole was marginally better this season than he was the year before. His scoring average increased from 12.2 to 15.8, but his assists per game dropped slightly, and his 3 point % went down as well. His free throw % went up and he played great D and drew lots of charges. I have no narrative, but Cole didn't develop that much after he got here. He was a pretty developed player from the first game he played in a UConn uniform.

 

[Slick]

If you were an elite Point Guard why would you want to come to play at UConn with the offense that Hurley currently runs?

I have my own opinions, but I would like to hear other peoples thoughts

I think most of the top point guards would be thrilled to show the improvement that RJ Cole showed with Hurley as a coach. One of the coaches that had a team that played against Hurley at Howard could not believe that RJ could defend the position like he learned to do under Hurley. Also I know it sounds lame but did you realize that RJ made first team all Big East? I think that is why Hurley got a commitment from Stephen Castle one of the top point guards in the class of 2023. Not much else you can say.

 

[Rico444]

Like I said, I may be forgetting somebody. You'd think I wouldn't have forgotten the guy from my alma mater, though!

 

[8893]

No, he's an Oberlin alum.

 

[Rico444]

No, he's an Oberlin alum.

 

[ZenConn]

Fishy’s point is stupid, actually.

Villanova, Duke, UNC and Kansas are all playing transfers this weekend.

Baylor (the defending national champion) and programs like Houston and Texas Tech, amongst others, have built their highly successful programs upon transfers.

I agree. Simply said, we need to be more active on the transfer market. Eric Mussellman has made a living constructing rosters out of the transfer portal. First at Nevada and then now at Arkansas.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I remember when people complained about Calhoun.

 

[nycscooby]

You get to lead a talented group of teammates against top-tier competition, and have a chance to be a top 10 team and compete for national championships. You trust the coaches to work out the offense.

The offensive struggles were more a product of poor roster construction than of lack of ability to coach offense. The roster was too limited, one-dimensional, and easy to defend. The addition of shooters (Hawkins, Floyd, Karaban; Castle and maybe Griffiths to follow) and a crafty point guard like yourself will work wonders.

I wish I could agree with this but I don’t (as to the roster construction). A good coach adapts his system to the talent and strengths of his players. The other type of coach does not.

 

[nomar]

Somebody in that writing room hated Cornell.

Nobody has done more damage to the school than the Nard Dog.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I mean, I doubt it's a non-factor. A girl in a bikini is a pretty rare sight at UConn. Other schools, not so much.

True. Maybe we should take all the new recruits to Diana's pool. That'll rope em in

 

[pj]

I should have first stated that this wasn't meant to be an anti Hurley post. I was trying to start a conversation specifically about Hurley's offense that he has been running the last couple years the X's and O's.

The team defense for the most part has been great all year and what has been keeping them in games, the biggest flaw has been scoring.

We haven't had guards in a while that can get into the paint and consistently make plays for themselves and others, other than RJ Cole and he still had his limits even though he put up some decent numbers. (Some of that might be inflated due to usage since he was literally the only guy that could be trusted to dribble the ball).

Watching all the other teams in the NCAA tournament they all have multiple guys on the floor at all times who can break their man down and get into the paint and make plays.

I know a lot of that has to do with floor spacing so players have more room to operate.

Some of it has to do with having shooters on the court, but a lot of it has to do with coaches running plays to put players in positions to utilize their strengths and take advantage of mismatches.

I understand the available playing time, history, facilities, and conference are huge selling points to recruits, now that we just lost all three of our guards

I was looking to start a discussion from a offensive X's and O stand point, based on what Hurley has run the last few years what's going to attract elite guards to come here again and play?

I don't think it's an X's and O's issue. UConn had the Kenpom #19 adjusted offense last year, despite starting several non-shooters, having only one ballhandler, and a 6-person rotation. With that kind of roster to get to the #19 offense suggests very good offensive coaching.

To me, the problem was roster construction, and Hurley seems to agree since he has adjusted recruiting and is remaking the roster.

 

[MexicoHusky]

If you were an elite Point Guard why would you want to come to play at UConn with the offense that Hurley currently runs?

I have my own opinions, but I would like to hear other peoples thoughts

Seems like Cole had both a green light and freedom to do whatever. Combine that with tons of P.T. available. Why wouldn't you.

 

[imno1]

Do you think RJ was better in 2020-21 or 2021-22? That's called development. Thanks.

Do you remember when some wanted Gaffney to start over RJ? Good times