Is this a must win for Hurley?

[alphasigko]

Yep, no doubt that it is a must win.

 

[Marat]

Not only is it a must win, but would really help if we smash Iona in the game.

 

[giddyup]

No, not like he gets fired. But, yes, because he will wear the “one and done” label around his head like a stinking dead albatross. If doesn’t get to week 2 with this team, I’d argue it’s a big failure squarely on his shoulders.

 

[Hoophound]

It’s a must win in the sense that the fan base will be very skeptical going forward if we lose. That’s a lot of pressure on Hurley in the UConn universe, but this is not an easy job and it pays accordingly. He’s should deliver this year. If he doesn’t, he’s got to next year. We can only give him a a free pass so many times. Three is a fair limit.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

No, he wasn't. He was pretty well on the way to being the dude he is now by the time he got to Storrs.

I could be wrong, I just remember hearing his story and what he did at 16. He would thank Calhoun for steering him in the direction he went in though.

Hawkins missed the NMSt game. Hurley sucks at keeping his guys healthy. Bet he smacked them on the head to make the concussions worse.

Seriously, there is a difference between having reasons and making up excuses. UConn had real reasons the past two years. Not saying a team can't win without their best/significant player injured but if they don't it is a legitimate reason.

I've said before, this is the first year (that we know of right at this moment) there is no good reason UConn shouldn't win at least the first round matchup, and there is a reasonable expectation to win the second round.

If you are going to blame Hurley for Hawkin's and Andre's no-show against Marquette, does he get credit for the guys who did play well and kept it to a 2 point margin against one of the best and hottest teams in the country? I would get this argument if UConn lost by double digits like X did but UConn didn't. They lost a close game against a very good team.

A good coach can only put his team in position to win the game, he can't win it for them. Hurley had UConn in position to win the Marquette game. UConn missed three open threes. Any one of those wins the game. That simple.

Lol at the revisionist history with Hawkins last year.

 

[uconngb]

If we get to a S16, Hurley will be getting a contract extension, and probably a pretty damn good raise to go along with it. In January when we were losing every night, I thought at the time that if we continued to slide and then got bounced again, then yeah his seat would be getting very warm next year. But we ended the season winning 10 of 12, and ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time since 2011. We finished 4th in Kenpom, 8th in the NET. We've lose in the BET semifinals the past 3 years by 3 points, 3 points, and 2 points. We're so so so close to finally breaking through again. There's no reason to start from scratch.

I hope that’s not true

 

[uconngb]

Those are what ate known as excuses. Excuses don’t get it done. Results get it done

 

[uconngb]

I was telling some of my friends this- the reality of the situation with Hurley is the following….

Hurley has brought this program back to where it belongs in just about every way- recruiting, professionalism, fan base, high tournament seeds, talent level, etc.

The one thing that still is missing is his in game coaching, obviously as I believe we are all aware of he has some rough games in big games. I am hoping with experience he continues to get better in this area- as I mentioned if he can continue to improve in this regard I believe UConn will be going back to more Final Fours in the near future.

Hurley is the now & is the future for UConn- I am expecting big things for the next decade under his leadership- buckle up!

In just about every way. Except for the results thing. Let’s just gloss over that.

 

[uconngb]

This is just a bad statement. Its not easy to make it to the Elite 8 thats next level. Hurley has never been to the sweet 16. If we lose in round of 32 he won't be on the hot seat but the chatter from all the haters will be louder as we would lose to a lower seeded team 3 years in a row. Sweet 16 and he gets a contract extension.

So you’re saying you are ok losing year in and year out as the higher seed??

 

[uconngb]

The kid was totally dehydrated and unable to walk. To call those stinkers is to ignore the fact he was physically unable to perform.

This was a strange year where Whaley also had an issue with dehydration. The university failed to take care of the kids. For some reason they got a pass and the kids were blamed. But something was wrong.

Lolololol

 

[caw]

I could be wrong, I just remember hearing his story and what he did at 16. He would thank Calhoun for steering him in the direction he went in though.

Lol at the revisionist history with Hawkins last year.

So he wouldn't have made a difference is your contention? Wouldn't have helped at all?

Hawkins wasn't some world beater last year but he still averaged 15 minutes and 6 PPG. Maybe he makes a difference, maybe not. Unknown, but he was a key player for that team, just giving the team an a decent sub for Martin who was at 39 minutes in the game should have helped. Don't act like he was some scrub last year either.

 

[Scottobot]

Frankly, Karaban and Clingan (Karaban especially) strike me as much more "winning" players than the older guys, even if Jackson and Hawkins are more talented.

Karaban and Clingan seem to play better when the pressure is on. Most players are the opposite, and as Alex and Donovan move into leadership positions in future years, I have no doubt they will be winning big games for us.

Jackson, Hawkins, and Sanogo still have time left to show us they are champions. We shouldn’t doubt them until their time with UConn is done.

Long ago people booed Tate George in a home game after he failed to make some key plays in close games. I was a kid then and ready to join in, and my dad’s friend turned me and said, “You don’t boo college players. These are young men, not professionals yet, still finding their way”. Later Tate George became a very clutch player and made perhaps the greatest shot in UConn history.

Lesson I learned from this is you have to have patience with college student athletes. Just because Jackson, Hawkins, and a Sanogo have had the big game winning shots yet, doesn’t mean it right around the corner.

 

[giddyup]

The kid was totally dehydrated and unable to walk. To call those stinkers is to ignore the fact he was physically unable to perform.

This was a strange year where Whaley also had an issue with dehydration. The university failed to take care of the kids. For some reason they got a pass and the kids were blamed. But something was wrong.

Yes it was, and the trainers and conditioning was . Bouk is what many of us suspected, though after some no shows at critical times. He’s down in the G league after another injury and sizzling 4 ppg in 2022. Should have stuck around to mature but the money train showed up.

 

[metsfan2323]

No doubt in my mind that if social media existed in the 90's the way it does now that this fanbase would have chased off Calhoun to another job. Absolutely no doubt it would have happened. It would have been exactly like the Cincy fanbase chasing off Cronin to UCLA.

Here's next year's starting lineup that you are sending to the portal if you think Friday is a "must win" with the implications involved in saying such a dumb thing:

Clingan,
Karaban
Jackson
Castle
and whoever wins the other back court position.

 

[That Guy]

The coaches you are listing are not Hurley's peers in the game. So let's look at his actual peers, the 50-and-under club with national title aspirations.

I'll only include their times at high-major schools to make it fair since no one can really hold Hurley accountable for not getting to a sweet-16 at URI... I won't include the covid year. If I miss anyone, let me know and I can add them.

Danny Hurley (50): (3 post-seasons at UConn)

• Nothing.

Oats (48): (2 post-seasons at Bama)

• 1 sweet-16

Beard (50) : (5 post-seasons at Texas and Tech)

• 1 championship loss
• 1 elite 8

Shaka (45): (6 post-seasons between Texas and Marquette)

• Nothing since his miracle final-four run at VCU

Mick Cronin (50): (3 post-seasons at UCLA)

• 1 Final Four
• 1 Sweet-16

Tommy Lloyd (48): (1 post-season at Arizona)

• 1 sweet-16

It isn't "must win" the same way no game is technically a "must win."

But I think it's fair to say between this season and next, we need to see a sweet-16 or that seat starts getting warm. He's clearly not getting fired no matter what happens this season.

I feel like Sean Miller belongs in this group even though he's 54.

 

[Kemba15]

It’s like if your kid fails a test…that’s on your kid. If every kid in the class fails a test, that’s on the teacher

This is an interesting analogy but I think it needs some context. How about if the kids do well on the practice tests but then on exam day their brains freeze. Whose fault is it then?

 

[tennmike]

I respectfully disagree. It is not that interesting.

 

[NJHusky]

This is an interesting analogy but I think it needs some context. How about if the kids do well on the practice tests but then on exam day their brains freeze. Whose fault is it then?

Lol interesting twist. I’ve heard of individuals getting brain freeze, never all the test takers. Above my pay grade.

 

[Candyman]

So you’re saying you are ok losing year in and year out as the higher seed??

Where did you read that? I said he won't be on the hot seat if we lose to St Marys or VCU but it won't shut up the haters that want him on the hot seat like yourself. Anything can happen in the tourney, if we lose to 5 seeded St Marys you will be calling for Hurley to be fired, is that what your saying?

 

[giddyup]

This is an interesting analogy but I think it needs some context. How about if the kids do well on the practice tests but then on exam day their brains freeze. Whose fault is it then?

Teacher needs to find a different way to test to show their knowledge.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

This is an interesting analogy but I think it needs some context. How about if the kids do well on the practice tests but then on exam day their brains freeze. Whose fault is it then?

The practice tests didn’t do a good job of preparing them for the real one then.

 

[jibsey]

There’s only going to be one fan base that will be entirely happy with what happens this tourney. We have 4 national titles and we are going to be thrilled with just a Sweet Sixteen appearance? Here’s a question, would you feel worse after a loss to Iona than after our loss to George Mason. I’ll answer that for you. No. That loss still haunts me maybe because I was in a Virginia bar watching it with GM fans but that was . Teams in lower ranked leagues are very capable of beating the big boys. We’ve seen this over and over in recent years, just ask Virginia.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

This all sounds like Calhoun can’t coach a team to the final four. Good thing this drivel is all part of the build up to the Championship.

I wasn’t on any UConn fan board at the time that Calhoun was hired (very sure they didn’t exist), but he was absolutely my first choice for the job at the time. What he accomplished at Northeastern was nothing short of miraculous. He took a city commuter school with no campus and no basketball history and found and landed guys like Reggie Lewis and Andre Lafleur. And won, a lot. The way they played was also how I wanted to see UConn play.

 

[Waquoit]

I don't know if it is a "must win". Plenty of coaches take a little time to get their sea legs. Look at Ollie in his first NCAA Tournament.

But it was Napier's 3rd.