Kimani Young!

[AntG168]

Kimani praise has been warranted. BUT that team playing like that without their coach is a testament to what Hurley has built not a negative.

 

[spudzj6]

Leaders create leaders. Hurley not only recruits the right players, but the right staff...and it doesn't stop there. He develops his players, and develops his staff. If anyone knows anything about culture building, they can see what is being built at UConn.

Edit to add: go watch the post game press conference. Listen to the words carefully. This is a well built, culture driven organization. I'm guessing it was Hurley who told Kamini he needs to be at the presser

 

[polycom]

So this is the last yeah with him unfortunate.

 

[MJKI]

If we get 1 more year of Kimani I’ll be ecstatic. No one should be mad if he leaves though. What he’s brought to this team is huge and I’m sure he’s taught Taliek and the rest of the staff so much about recruiting. Lucky to have this man on the side

 

[alphasigko]

Kudos to Coach Kimani! A GREAT step-in performance! The team responded so well to/for him!

 

[tentoes4rings]

Not sure we win this with Hurley in the game. Kimani made all the right calls tonight. Great subbing and TOs. Outcoached a HOF coach in his first W. That's legit

Unfortunately for him, this W gets credited to Hurley, just ask Coach K.

 

[Conndog]

LOL I knew someone was gonna make a post like this.

Because it’s true?

 

[willie99]

We were noticably more composed down the stretch with Kimani coaching IMO. Not saying it wasn't possible under Hurley, but Kimani's style of coaching was better suited to this type of game.

I'm sure there are plenty of other games we would've won with Hurley and not with Kimani. Probably more... he's the head coach for a reason.

But Kimani's brand of cool and calm won this game. He and Tom had control of this game. It is exactly what we needed. They just have different strengths as coaches is all.

Pure poppycock. Young did a great job, this is Hurley's team

Toughness wins close games, along with rebounding, defense and making free throws

Some people used to suggest Blaney was better than Calhoun, because he was more composed and didn't have a quick hook. No joke

 

[Kemba Time]

We were really impressed with the way Kimani commanded practice and worked with Tyrese/Hawkins individually at the open practice before the season, so when he walked by us before the game last night I said to my wife “better enjoy having him here tonight because he could be a head coach somewhere next year.”

When Kimani took over for Hurley, my wife turned to me and said “I guess this is his big audition.” I’d say he passed.

Great performance from a great up-and-coming coach. Hurley built one heckuva staff here and Kimani is the gem of the group.

 

[Hankster]

Not sure we win this with Hurley in the game. Kimani made all the right calls tonight. Great subbing and TOs. Outcoached a HOF coach in his first W. That's legit

Also, he kept his composure.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Three second half charges on Gillespie! Who had odds on that?!

It’s about time he got called on those. It’s not just against us but every team they play

 

[djct1999]

It’s sort of cool to play with house money. Kimani steps up in a huge spot,coaches one hell of a game, and shows the world what he can do. If he losses by one, still a well done coaching job. If he gets blown out by 20, it was Hurley’s fault. So two, things. Kimani deserves praise and will most likely get a good mid major opportunity next year. But let’s stop the silliness that we are a better team w him as coach. Ask any kid who plays for Hurley and they would all run through a wall for him. Why? Because at some point in their life Danny has or will for them.

 

[husky429]

It’s sort of cool to play with house money. Kimani steps up in a huge spot,coaches one hell of a game, and shows the world what he can do. If he losses by one, still a well done coaching job. If he gets blown out by 20, it was Hurley’s fault. So two, things. Kimani deserves praise and will most likely get a good mid major opportunity next year. But let’s stop the silliness that we are a better team w him as coach. Ask any kid who plays for Hurley and they would all run through a wall for him. Why? Because at some point in their life Danny has or will for them.

Unless I have someone on ignore, no one has said we're a better team with Kimani as HC.

 

[djct1999]

Leaders create leaders. Hurley not only recruits the right players, but the right staff...and it doesn't stop there. He develops his players, and develops his staff. If anyone knows anything about culture building, they can see what is being built at UConn.

Edit to add: go watch the post game press conference. Listen to the words carefully. This is a well built, culture driven organization. I'm guessing it was Hurley who told Kamini he needs to be at the presser

100%. It is who Danny is.

 

[CTBasketball]

My ears are still ringing. What a game, Kimani literally called a perfect set of plays down the stretch. His sub patterns were excellent too.

How’d he know giving Cole a big rest during and thru the under 4 TO was a game changer!

 

[Stinger92860]

LOL I knew someone was gonna make a post like this.

it’s a fair question. If we lost, those 3 points off techs would dominate the conversations here. The flip side, did the ejection fire up the team, did it help us get some calls, would that have been a charge at the end of the game.

gillepsie had 3 charge calls. He pushes off almost all the time. There was a late drive where he used his left hand to hold off Sanogo and it appeared he grabbed his shirt. The guy is really, really good, but he also creates space with his off hand/arm. I play with a guy who does this, hits you with his arm and then calls fouls. It’s frustrating and has caused more than a few issues.

 

[Blaneylover]

Not sure we win this with Hurley in the game. Kimani made all the right calls tonight. Great subbing and TOs. Outcoached a HOF coach in his first W. That's legit

Coach Young is going to be on everyone's short list. I think that he kept the team focused when it would have been easy to become distracted. He drew up terrific plays down the stretch. Polley's 3 and Cole's 2 were great individual plays stemming from schemes drawn up in the huddle. The only issue I had with all of it was the substitution pattern. Cole didn't get a blow until late and Sanogo seemed to get an abnormally long blow. Obviously it all worked out and both were great.

A great win for the program and a great win for Coach Young as he prepares to field offers for a top job this off season.

 

[husky429]

Coach Young is going to be on everyone's short list. I think that he kept the team focused when it would have been easy to become distracted. He drew up terrific plays down the stretch. Polley's 3 and Cole's 2 were great individual plays stemming from schemes drawn up in the huddle. The only issue I had with all of it was the substitution pattern. Cole didn't get a blow until late and Sanogo seemed to get an abnormally long blow. Obviously it all worked out and both were great.

A great win for the program and a great win for Coach Young as he prepares to field offers for a top job this off season.

I thought he sat Sanogo a good amount of time. He wasn't doing it on offense at the time, and we needed Whaley's defense. Both of them in the game is always risky for our offense.

I wish he had put in Polley 2 or 3 possessions earlier so we could find a shot instead of force-feeding Sanogo just after the under 4 timeout. Ultimately a minor thing though. It worked out.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

What an amazing job he did in a really tough spot. Used TOs well, called great plays. He’s an impressive guy and will be a hot commodity.

Watching him last night was a bittersweet realization that he won't be here much longer, but that's only because he deserves a shot at bigger and better things.

 

[awfuldan]

I loved the call to shoot a quick 3 down 4 with 25 seconds left. So many coaches go for a quick 2 there and I think it's often wrong--especially so when we are not a great finishing team and Nova is an amazing free throw shooting team. The play to get the 3 off was perfect too.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I thought he sat Sanogo a good amount of time. He wasn't doing it on offense at the time, and we needed Whaley's defense. Both of them in the game is always risky for our offense.

I wish he had put in Polley 2 or 3 possessions earlier so we could find a shot instead of force-feeding Sanogo just after the under 4 timeout. Ultimately a minor thing though. It worked out.

Some of those late fouls on Sanogo were because he was absolutely gassed by the end of game. Nova's style requires Sanogo to defend on the perimeter a lot and defend perimeter drives much more than he normally does and that takes a toll. He definitely needed the extra rest this game and even with that, was clearly worn down by the end.

 

[Jimdish255]

Was worried about Sanogo and Cole getting breathers. Wish they got them earlier but they pulled through. Polley switch out was huge. Whaley two turnovers trying to force the pass to Sanago hurt.

Hugeeee win!!!! Great job Kimani loved it!

My no 1 issue with our game management. Even a minute or 2 for Cole here and there would be great. You can see his production has started to tail off a bit. Would have gotten AJ on Gillespie earlier again to save RJ. It's probably never going to be perfect but my main concern with this team down the stretch is managing RJ during games and practices. He drives the bus and needs to be ready at the end of games.

 

[Incursio007]

So proud of how the team rallied together to battle through adversity. It is really a testament to the culture resurgence that we as fans have been clamoring for. The crowd support was nuts --- easily up there with any game I can recall attending.

I'm very happy for Kimani & it will be bittersweet if/when he decides to take a big-name head gig elsewhere. He will always be a part of our program & a Husky for life.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I'm very happy for Kimani & it will be bittersweet if/when he decides to take a big-name head gig elsewhere. He will always be a part of our program & a Husky for life.

It's sort of like a great player leaving early for the NBA. It's tough to lose that person, but it also helps in the future. If Hurley can show working on his staff is a great stepping stone, he will continue to get great coaching talent.

 

[husky429]

Pure poppycock. Young did a great job, this is Hurley's team

Toughness wins close games, along with rebounding, defense and making free throws

Some people used to suggest Blaney was better than Calhoun, because he was more composed and didn't have a quick hook. No joke

Remind me where I said Kimani was a better coach than Hurley?

Kimani was what we needed yesterday. Not everyday, not most days. But yesterday.