Mike DiMauro: Hurley, Huskies get their mulligan

[AntG168]

We will bring in transfers. Gaffney will be better. Cole better. Sanogo better. Martin better. Jackson much much better. A real key is Akok, we missed him this year. Hurley never figured out how to replace him at the 4. No matter who played there, they couldn't do some of what he can do. Then you add 3 talented freshmen.

I think we'll be better than we were this year. The improvements will be critical, but I also think the structure of the team will be better. They were too dependent on one guy this year. Next year there should be more balance.

I think a few posters don't quite understand the talent that will be available in the transfer market. We're going to get our guy(s). It'd be a bigger shock if we don't

 

[Chin Diesel]

Players get better every year.

The talent on the roster has improved each season.

But talented players don't always improve.

 

[superjohn]

He's got to make a decision. Are we a slow down back to the basket feed the post team with Sanogo?

Or are we an athletic team who gets out in transition? You cant serve two masters.

I could actually argue that the success of Sanogo (and he was a GREAT frosh!) actually may have hurt us. Because with him in the game we didnt space the floor enough to let Bouk operate.

In my mind the best lineup (offensively) for the team whose season just ended was:

Cole, Gaffney, Bouk, Polley, Whaley.


That is the only lineup that could spread the floor and create space for Bouk.

Bouk wasnt the same after injury, and Im sure some of that was attributable to injury, I also think that some of it was we didnt give him space to operate once he came back. We were clogging the lane on offense and letting the defesnive team guard 3 Huskies with 2 defenders! So of course Bouk is gonna get blitzed with that given. I like Dan Hurley, this was not a good coaching year offensively using the pieces you have.

Jackson's abilities are totally neutered with the style of play Hurley has us playing at, Sanogo will get plenty of buckets and rebounds if we run as well.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I like Dan Hurley, this was not a good coaching year offensively using the pieces you have.

I don't disagree, but I also think it's fair to chalk some of it up to what a bizarre year it was with the limited practice time, no non-conference slate to speak of, etc.

 

[August_West]

I don't disagree, but I also think it's fair to chalk some of it up to what a bizarre year it was with the limited practice time, no non-conference slate to speak of, etc.

Definitely. But then you watch the other 35 tournament games under the same criteria and you see teams get themselves open shots. And, gasp, with an open shot they make them! Our problem was two fold. We were not good at getting ourselves good looks in offensive flow (in fairness, Hurley does a great job getting us good looks out of time outs) but in game flow offense we rarely got good looks. And then (and this one I cant pin on Hurley) the rare occasions where we got good looks, jesus, we cant make them.

 

[CallMeBruce]

unless there is a significant talent addition via transfer i’m not sure why we would expect an improvement next year.

the freshman we are bringing in will address key weaknesses (no true pg, lack of scoring outside bouk, need for a stretch 4 next to sanogo). but they are freshman so we shouldn’t rely on them too much.

i think we are well positioned for 2022-23, but i expect next year to be a very challenging year given how reliant this team was on bouknight, how many flaws we have without him, and how young key pieces will be next year.

obviously all of this is subject to change with transfer market.

"No true point guard" you guys say this about every point guard, and you're going to say it about Diggins, too. The problem isn't the guy playing point guard. It's that the offense doesn't run like you expect, so you make these wild claims about the players.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Definitely. But then you watch the other 35 tournament games under the same criteria and you see teams get themselves open shots. And, gasp, with an open shot they make them! Our problem was two fold. We were not good at getting ourselves good looks in offensive flow (in fairness, Hurley does a great job getting us good looks out of time outs) but in game flow offense we rarely got good looks. And then (and this one I cant pin on Hurley) the rare occasions where we got good looks, jesus, we cant make them.

You're not wrong, though if you look at what teams excelled in the tournament - it's largely those with at least two of these three factors:

• Prior experience in their team's system
• Prior experience in big games
• Didn't experience significant repeated Covid-related disruption during the season

0 of these three apply to us. That's not an excuse, but given the completely abnormal complexion of this season, it can't be ignored.

Success this season, given sporadic practices and no offseason, will bias towards those who can draw from previously-acquired experience and not those who had to gel and build a system heading into/during this season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Definitely. But then you watch the other 35 tournament games under the same criteria and you see teams get themselves open shots. And, gasp, with an open shot they make them! Our problem was two fold. We were not good at getting ourselves good looks in offensive flow (in fairness, Hurley does a great job getting us good looks out of time outs) but in game flow offense we rarely got good looks. And then (and this one I cant pin on Hurley) the rare occasions where we got good looks, jesus, we cant make them.

I think it's hard to be sure what the cause of this really is. Good players disguise a lot of problems. Pace of play is part of the issue for sure, as I think we all agree. I don't think Sanogo is an issue in that regard, he showed some aggressive moves handling the ball. I think he can score facing the basket and in transition. I don't find the "spacing" arguments persuasive. More than anything it seems our guys play like they are afraid of making mistakes. They make extra passes for the sake of saying they passed the ball, not because that pass actually achieves anything. The defense just stands there watching us, not having to actually react or adjust. It often looked forced, not fluid, loose or natural.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

"No true point guard" you guys say this about every point guard, and you're going to say it about Diggins, too. The problem isn't the guy playing point guard. It's that the offense doesn't run like you expect, so you make these wild claims about the players.

aside from height, do you honestly think that the natural position for cole/gaffney based on their skills & playing style is point guard?

they are combo guards. that isn’t a bad thing, it just is what it is. all i am saying is that this team did not have a natural facilitator that could get easy shots for others.

not sure why that would be a controversial claim.

i assume danny was projecting that gaffney would fill that role. early indications showed that he did not, so danny went and got cole as a stop gap (even if slightly mis-cast) until diggins gets here.

 

[Ts5034]

After the hangover I woke up with yesterday wore off, I realized that I prefer the disappointment of getting bounced in the first round of the tournament to the disappointment of finishing the season 14-18 and ranked 200th in the country. Given where the program was a couple years ago, this is progress. (I know a very loud poster disagrees.)

Lot of questions for next year, scoring chief among them. But they should be back in the tournament.

I agree. This is a whole different feeling compared to our last game of the season being a 80-40 slaughter at the hands of Houston in the AAC Tournament like a couple years ago. If the staff recruits at the level they have been, things are going to improve. Keep in mind, the better you play in the regular season, the better seed you are getting in the big dance. I know upsets happen all the time, and we won as a 7 seed in 2014, but I don't like being seeded on the 6-11 line. I will take a top 5 seed every tournament regardless of matchup. Under Calhoun, we were always seeded 1-5 in the NCAA Tournament outside of a few outliers like in 1991, 1992, and 2012.

 

[tzznandrew]

Jackson for all his tantalizing skills and athleticism, Im not sold on. The best passer and court vision guy in eons, but on the offensive end A. he cant shoot (and that is a generous,delicate way to put it) and B. he cant get to the rim (which is mystifying with someone with his handle and athleticism).

A follows from B.

In fact, he's such a bad shooter there's no reason to guard him out past 12 feet or so. You fix that and he can get by his guy.

I do think Sanogo in the post breaks some of that flow up, too. But I'm hoping an offseason and pre-season where they can all practice together will really help the key cogs get into a good rhythm.

 

[tzznandrew]

Presuming some good transfers, you're looking at a much more talented team than Hurley has had, in terms of Top 100 players. It will have a variety of players at different experience levels, too.

Without Bouk their ceiling may be lower. But if Sanogo, Gaffney, and Jackson make the sorts of improvements you expect from players that age, and Johnson, Samson, and Diggins reasonably contribute, you're in solid shape. Probably a fringe Top 30 team. Good transfers, though, can shoot that up a decent amount. Not Top 10 or anything (barring a huge leap from two of the above, or a bigger impact than expected from the freshmen), but certainly a team that could make the tournament.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I, for one, am looking forward to our freshmen guards who are coming in and hope we don’t bring on any transfers. Cole and Martin are enough for now. I’d rather deal with the freshmen’s growing pains than bring in guys who could stunt their development.
Keys to next year imo is Gaffney’s and Jackson’s growth, Akok’s recovery, and Hawkins ability to hit the ground running shooting wise.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Hurley has to change the pace we play at, it's by far my biggest criticism of him and it makes no sense to me.

It makes sense as his obvious growing edge. I'd be troubled if he doesn't recognize this, but doubt that's the case.

 

[storrsroars]

IMO, defense will remain this team's calling card and will be key to beating the teams we should beat and keeping us in games with tougher opponents. From the flashes we've seen, Gaffney could have CV potential in him - but that's both jr CV and sr CV and we didn't like the jr version all that much due to continuing bonehead plays. But he has the motor and probably the aggressiveness to follow a similar trajectory. Sanogo will only get better. Nobody knows about Akok. And Jackson will improve, but his positives might be mostly all in non-scoring categories. So, whether next year's squad is lock 4-5 seed or a bubble team falls squarely on the shoulders of the new recruits, how much playing time Hurley gives them and how well they respond.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

aside from height, do you honestly think that the natural position for cole/gaffney based on their skills & playing style is point guard?

they are combo guards. that isn’t a bad thing, it just is what it is. all i am saying is that this team did not have a natural facilitator that could get easy shots for others.

not sure why that would be a controversial claim.

i assume danny was projecting that gaffney would fill that role. early indications showed that he did not, so danny went and got cole as a stop gap (even if slightly mis-cast) until diggins gets here.

I think Gaffney has shown spurts of being that guy. When he plays confidently he’s one of the best guards on the team. Cole I agree is a combo guard. Personally would prefer him to be a spark off the bench rather than the lead guard.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

From the flashes we've seen, Gaffney could have CV potential in him - but that's both jr CV and sr CV and we didn't like the jr version all that much due to continuing bonehead plays. But he has the motor and probably the aggressiveness to follow a similar trajectory.

we have a major difference in perception of gaffney. i feel like he is the polar opposite of cv.

from the beginning cv had probably too much confidence. it took him a few years for his abilities to catch up to his perception of himself. the one thing he always had though was an incredible motor.

gaffney seems to suffer from a significant lack of confidence in his abilities, which causes him to play very tentatively. he seems to suffer from the opposite problem from cv....he needs his confidence to catch up to his actual abilities.

 

[Northbound]

What struck me most in that article is that I agree with DiMauro - I am sick of hearing about what a dumpster fire the program was 3 years ago. I keep hoping that Kate McKinnon will pop up as Dr. Wenowdis in his pressers.

It's ok the first year to reinforce "they this was a "s&%tshow", but let it go, man, let it go. It's your team - you took the gig stop looking in the wayback machine unless it's to critique your own performance, just get better save us the "you really don't know how great a job I've done" speech at every presser after a loss.

And I like Hurley

 

[Rich]

Mike DiMauro: Hurley, Huskies get their mulligan

Mar. 21—So now the UConn Huskies have their mulligan. Yes, even the great programs are entitled to them. And the C-minus the Huskies graded Saturday night in West Lafayette, Ind. ended the season, juxtaposing the simultaneous concepts of the future's hope and the present's sobering reality...

www.yahoo.com

I agree with him but at the same time think his viewpoint ignores the reality of the roster. Hurley needs multiple top 20 recruiting class material to work with before UCONN and the fan base can realistically believe the team has a shot at getting to the final four, much less reaching the round of 16. It's a question of talent at this point and not necessarily coaching.

If he can keep Andre Jackson around for another two years, combined with what we know of the '21 and '22 classes so far it will go a long, long way toward improving the team. But I have to say I'm not confident he can get it done....losing Javonte Brown Ferguson this year pretty well before the kid ever set foot on the court in a Husky uniform was an atrocious look for the program in the eyes of potential recruits. Lot of folks on this board disagree with me that it was no big loss but Hurley needs to recognize that he will need to take a lighter hand with kids for a bit until the program's shine has been polished back into existence. Then he can go full hard ass mode, as we'll have credibility again. And yes, I think JVB transferred as much due to general ennui as to the fact that he didn't see playing time....which really considering what other stuff we threw out there (Sanogo excepted) in the frontcourt and the results we achieved was beyond questionable deployment.

I really wouldn't look for much better than 4-6 finish in the conference next year, maybe a couple wins in the Big East tournament and another early exit in the Big Dance or possibly an NIT invitation. Long, long, long way to go here. IMO it appears UCONN administration is on the same page as they've already extended Hurley's contract without seeing the superlative results so many feel should be necessary for a re-up. They're willing to be patient, so we all pretty much have to be as well.

I go back to the fact that it took Wright 15 years at 'Nova to win a Natty. 15 years, folks. When you think of where the program was when DH came in the door, there's a substantial argument that we were worse off.

 

[my2cents]

Players get better every year.

Yeah, like Carlton and Brendan Adams, sure

 

[coachn]

What struck me most in that article is that I agree with DiMauro - I am sick of hearing about what a dumpster fire the program was 3 years ago. I keep hoping that Kate McKinnon will pop up as Dr. Wenowdis in his pressers.

It's ok the first year to reinforce "they this was a "s&%tshow", but let it go, man, let it go. It's your team - you took the gig stop looking in the wayback machine unless it's to critique your own performance, just get better save us the "you really don't know how great a job I've done" speech at every presser after a loss.

And I like Hurley

C- is about the right grade. The blame is everywhere.
Expecting Bouk to lead us to the promised land turned out to be false narritive.
In the end he hurt more than helped.
Come back next year Bouk a grown up and lead this team like a man.
Richard Hamilton example.

 

[businesslawyer]

He's got to make a decision. Are we a slow down back to the basket feed the post team with Sanogo?

Or are we an athletic team who gets out in transition? You cant serve two masters.

I could actually argue that the success of Sanogo (and he was a GREAT frosh!) actually may have hurt us. Because with him in the game we didnt space the floor enough to let Bouk operate.

In my mind the best lineup (offensively) for the team whose season just ended was:

Cole, Gaffney, Bouk, Polley, Whaley.


That is the only lineup that could spread the floor and create space for Bouk.

Bouk wasnt the same after injury, and Im sure some of that was attributable to injury, I also think that some of it was we didnt give him space to operate once he came back. We were clogging the lane on offense and letting the defesnive team guard 3 Huskies with 2 defenders! So of course Bouk is gonna get blitzed with that given. I like Dan Hurley, this was not a good coaching year offensively using the pieces you have.

Despite all the folks here who couldn’t understand it, this is why the last three or four weeks we’ve been finishing with Whaley and Polley as the bigs. Basically your lineup but with Martin in a bunch instead of msoftly Gaffney.

 

[uconnfan68]

A follows from B.

In fact, he's such a bad shooter there's no reason to guard him out past 12 feet or so. You fix that and he can get by his guy.

I do think Sanogo in the post breaks some of that flow up, too. But I'm hoping an offseason and pre-season where they can all practice together will really help the key cogs get into a good rhythm.

I’ve never seen such a vaunted athlete get blocked so many times trying to drive to basket. AJ should only get to go back and forth in the lane near the basket. If they alley oop for him, great... if not, it’s time to get putbacks.

 

[jibsey]

DiMauro nailed it, but Hurley must recruit his way out of this because we need talent and that means shooters.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Jackson's abilities are totally neutered with the style of play Hurley has us playing at, Sanogo will get plenty of buckets and rebounds if we run as well.

Like the first part, not so much the second part.

Agree with @August_West , what was best for Sanogo this past season wasn't best for the pace of play for the rest of the team.

Doesnt' necessarily mean it can't be merged or rectified next season but playing Sanogo iso and dump to him did necessitate playing a slower pace last season.