Miscalculations by Dan Hurley

[superjohn]

Hurley had a multi-year sample size even before the last 2 years that made him fairly confident he could coach up just about any players of decent 3*+ talent to play KenPom 50 or better team D over the course of a season.

I’m sure he felt we could get enough out of all of the current sophomores & vets plus the transfers that we’d have a similar or better “serviceable” D thst would suffice with an anticipated Top 5-10 offense.

While some of our offensive issues have already been covered in this thread, it’s the poor defense (still stuck at 97 and visually horrible most games) that has killed us in at least half of our losses.

The offense has been even worse than the defense the past month.

 

[RuffRuff]

Well said. Part of it is human nature. What this program and this staff not only achieved the past two years but also how they achieved it was beyond amazing. Danny became the face of college basketball. Celebrity status/ego certainly interfered and I think not only did they feel invincible they felt a pressure to run it back a certain way. They drank their own koolaid but who honestly wouldn’t? I mean he had Kentucky and the Lakers both offer everything to him. He was on top of the world. But one thing I know, is Danny has a tough jaw. When he gets punched in the face, he fights harder. This season was that sort of punch that knocked him back. He proved the last few years his ability to adapt and adjust. It was the catalyst for his success. This offseason will be fascinating.

100% spot on - as close to coaching euphoria as it gets. They were drinking the Kool-Aid, and so were we! If you don't think that state of mind impacts decision making, you're kidding yourself. They probably thought anything they touched turned to gold, find the right "character" of kid and we can teach him the secret sauce. I might even argue having a season like this only sets Hurley up better to win NC's over the next 5.

 

[uconngb]

Feels like there was a covergence of multiple colliding variables:

1) Emphasis on development & continuity as part of culture (Hurley was outspoken on this) - sophomore class
2) Indexing heavily on shooters/culture fits/good processing (also outspoken) - Mahaney
3) Loyalty to program guys - AK/Samson

Samson isn't a starting 5 on any NC caliber team, and it's not debatable. I remain convinced this was a shortened and distracted roster build, which I cannot totally blame the coaches on and it's unlikely to happen again. It's also pretty clear there was some overconfidence in the system being the driver, not the amazingly high level of talent.

I'm simply curious how they'll adjust, confident they will. I do think it's going to take a lot of work and will test recently stated philosophies.

Key in today's world is being Kenny Roger's and knowing when to hold em and when to fold em.

Well said

 

[ec33]

The offense has been even worse than the defense the past month.

The wheels have certainly come off. Diara being limited has killed this team. AK being a shell of himself (for whatever reason -- the downturn did come with the ankle injury) has hurt as well.

For all that didn't go right (and all Dan Hurley's "failings), this team was undefeated on the continent when healthy (outside of Nowell and his health would certainly have helped).

That makes me very optimistic for next year if they get the PG position right and can return to health. I have a great deal of confidence that the coaching staff won't make the same mistakes again (but being human, he will likely make other mistakes in the future).

 

[alphasigko]

Coach Hurley’s success the last two seasons was partly due to loyalty that he showed players.
He also has felt very confident in the natural talent and hard work of this year’s sophomore class in projecting how well they play this year.
Because of that loyalty, he avoided recruiting more experienced players the recruitment of which might have been perceived as being disloyal.
He likely felt a similar loyalty to Hass. He had to see that Solo didn’t and doesn’t have the dribbling and passing skills to play point.
I have been a strong supporter of Mahaney. But except for a couple of games, he has clearly struggled. Even when he has contributed well on the offensive end , he still lacks the strength to play defense in the Big East. His lack of strength also makes it problematic for him to be the prime ball handler when defenders are allowed to bump you without fouls being called.
Add in the misfortune of Hass’ chronic knee issue and this leaves us without a true point guard.
His recruiting strategy has also reflected loving the offense that was such a big part of success the last two years, more than the defense that has been the focus of more of his career. This may have been what was so attractive about recruiting Mahaney. Without the way defense is allowed to be played in the Big East, with cutters allowed to move freely, he could have been and maybe could still be a key piece towards some truly beautiful offense.
The recruiting class for next year, although very talented, seems to fit This same mold.
Hopefully, UConn can play better once we are out of the Big East (and perhaps Mahaney will as well)

Where are we going and when?

 

[alphasigko]

BJ Freeman - Guard - 6'6" 200 lbs

Arizona State's leading scorer has been dismissed. Can he transfer today? A few discipline issues, no biggie.

BJ Freeman College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

BJ Freeman - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

BJ Freeman no longer with ASU due to detrimental conduct

BJ Freeman is no longer with the Arizona State men's basketball team due to conduct detrimental to the team, a team spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.

arizonasports.com

If Coach's brother kicked him off ASU, I seriously doubt that Coach would ever consider him to play here.

 

[RuffRuff]

The wheels have certainly come off. Diara being limited has killed this team. AK being a shell of himself (for whatever reason -- the downturn did come with the ankle injury) has hurt as well.

For all that didn't go right (and all Dan Hurley's "failings), this team was undefeated on the continent when healthy (outside of Nowell and his health would certainly have helped).

That makes me very optimistic for next year if they get the PG position right and can return to health. I have a great deal of confidence that the coaching staff won't make the same mistakes again (but being human, he will likely make other mistakes in the future).

This team could have been fully healthy all year and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in what they could do in March. It’s a massively flawed roster and the tape is out. Most teams are banged up by this point.

 

[SwingDog]

This is literally what happened. He thought Mahaney would compliment the returners and be that Newton/Spencer hybrid we were missing.

He probably thought all 3 of the sophomore wings would’ve benefited more from practicing against the 2024 team for a full season, but only Solo improved. Nobody blamed him before the season for handing the keys over to those guys.

Now that we’ll be a year removed from any likely post season success, we don’t have to worry about guys cashing in on loyalty to remain in the rotation. 2-3 impact transfers that hopefully will be scouted better than Mahaney will be tremendous next to our returning core and recruiting class.

I know Hurley gets a lot a lot of criticism for bringing in Mahaney but let's remember he was sought after by many other high profile programs...including St. John's.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I know Hurley gets a lot a lot of criticism for bringing in Mahaney but let's remember he was sought after by many other high profile programs...including St. John's.
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It's crazy that people think this is a science. How quickly we forget that we barely missed out on Nick Timberlake before Cam fell into our lap.

I was just watching Nebraska and Gavin Griffiths is a sophomore on that team, averaging 2.4 points in 10mpg. He was a top 40 recruit that we all wanted badly before he signed with Rutgers.

Player evaluations are hit and miss.

 

[3rdbass]

Feels like there was a covergence of multiple colliding variables:

1) Emphasis on development & continuity as part of culture (Hurley was outspoken on this) - sophomore class
2) Indexing heavily on shooters/culture fits/good processing (also outspoken) - Mahaney
3) Loyalty to program guys - AK/Samson

Samson isn't a starting 5 on any NC caliber team, and it's not debatable. I remain convinced this was a shortened and distracted roster build, which I cannot totally blame the coaches on and it's unlikely to happen again. It's also pretty clear there was some overconfidence in the system being the driver, not the amazingly high level of talent.

I'm simply curious how they'll adjust, confident they will. I do think it's going to take a lot of work and will test recently stated philosophies.

Key in today's world is being Kenny Roger's and knowing when to hold em and when to fold em.

I think Hurley thought Reed would be the starter eventually but his game is still so inconsistent and he fouls too much.

 

[knicksin7]

I think he simply over corrected post the maryland tourney loss. At time he spoke about not having enough offensive players, and changing philosophy to bring in offensive players and try to teach them how to play his D. Problem was, and is, we lost the mix. Also that the offensive players we have, have major flaws (too slow, cant penetrate, no ballhandling)- that was Hurley and staffs miss. We lost defensive identity he yearns for. If you want dogs, dont get a cat. Its fine though, after 2 nattys you can have a just ok season.

However I am genuinely concerned next yrs recruits fit this same mode. I think Dan Hurley is eventually reflective but his knee jerk is always to defend himself, which is natural. When he gets his cringe lip read comment at ref, he initially says I wish the tv would show other coaches in big east bc they are just as bad. Ummm ok. But since then he has calmed down on sideline, so he GOT the point. I think he gets the flaws of this team construction, & while I think he is deflecting in the moment, he sees and will address issue with better mix in future. But it needs to goto portal to bring in qualities our 4 recruits just dont have

We really gonna complain about 3 burger boys?

 

[Mr. Hand]

We really gonna complain about 3 burger boys?

Are you new here?

 

[cp176]

Feels like there was a covergence of multiple colliding variables:

1) Emphasis on development & continuity as part of culture (Hurley was outspoken on this) - sophomore class
2) Indexing heavily on shooters/culture fits/good processing (also outspoken) - Mahaney
3) Loyalty to program guys - AK/Samson

Samson isn't a starting 5 on any NC caliber team, and it's not debatable. I remain convinced this was a shortened and distracted roster build, which I cannot totally blame the coaches on and it's unlikely to happen again. It's also pretty clear there was some overconfidence in the system being the driver, not the amazingly high level of talent.

I'm simply curious how they'll adjust, confident they will. I do think it's going to take a lot of work and will test recently stated philosophies.

Key in today's world is being Kenny Roger's and knowing when to hold em and when to fold em.

All you really have to do is look at most of our opponents on the court before the start of any game. I’ve been saying this all year - we look physically smaller than most of our opponents up and down the roster. We’ve been playing many teams with men - most of our kids look like boys. There is a tremendous difference in general physically between 19 and 20 year olds and pretty much mature men who are 22,23, and 24. It is going to be curious how he deals with roster building going forward.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I think Hurley thought Reed would be the starter eventually but his game is still so inconsistent and he fouls too much.

Inconsistency and fouling too much is also Johnson's hallmark. And Johnson is much less productive on offense or st rebounding. Johnson still has more career fouls than career rebounds.

 

[uconnyankee]

Was at the game Sunday, seats low mid court. While the outcome wasn't great, great environment and good to catch up with this team again. Hurley has a lot of work to do. There are clear deficiencies in the potential returning core & it's nothing freshman can make up. To say they were physically outmatched would be an understatement. It was men versus boys out there (with the exception of Tarris).

A couple recognitions, in thinking ahead to next year:

Solo is a thin kid. He's ripped, but not strong enough to either defend properly or finish at the rim, and doesn't have the quickness (or savvy) to make up for it. It really showed in a game like this. He has to get meaningfully stronger for me to lock him in at the 2 next year, would prefer having an insurance policy combo he can compete with. I'd want flexibility and options there and not put all eggs in, if we really want to compete. There are light bulbs that don't go off as often as you would like.

Stew - I don't know how he overcomes his spacial awareness issues. He gets lost at a level that is hard to fathom, showcased by 4 fouls in 13 minutes. This has become a consistent issue that hasn't developed an ounce since start of season. He can flash some offense at times, but then produces little elsewhere and is an extreme defensive liability. He is chasing his man from behind regularly.

Ahmad - had a couple really nice looks inside, and has an eye for the pass. His handle and general presence on the court as a short PG feels kinda unorthodox as it looks like a running back playing PG. I'm going to hold on any real eval as a seldom played freshman.

AM & Ross - not enough meaningful minutes to assess much, but verdict seems to be out there.

Where my curiosities continue to loom is how significant a talent shift Hurley makes, in recapturing toughness and physicality, especially now that Pitino is back and stealing the BE shine. Pitino's statements around passing on HS recruiting will be an interesting variable, because now that StJ is a legitimate foe, it should be top of Hurley's mind to be able to compete with a Pitino roster. StJ is likely going to have Ruis, Zubi & Wilcher back to start, and he'll be looking to grab his type of players in the open spots.

Furthermore, I have to think Hurley has to be burning being slapped into humility. There is a lot of chatter going on right now about how Pitino is the best ever, blah blah. We have a real rivalry on our hands, which is fun.

Our staff is awesome and will adjust. I personally don't think Hurley is going to be patient trying to get back to the top, especially after having misdialed so badly on this team. It was a heckuva misdial. If anything this had to be a reality check that it's not about the system as much as talent, and sliding scale of shooters/processors has to move back to toughness/physicality/size/athletecism.

This team is a hard watch at times given how physically outmatched they've been, which tends to have a hopeless feel as your only option is outshoot.

great assessment. I’m a Stewart fan and want him to make that next leap.
Your description of him always chasing his guy from behind is perfect.

I think Nowell has some upside. He just needs some more time in real game speed. He showed an improvement in his composure and confidence just the past couple games. kid is built like a brick s-house. KEA was listed at 5-10. This kid is listed at 6-0. So I don’t think height will be a limiting factor as some point out. Hope to enjoy his progress.

 

[mauconnfan]

One simple way of looking at it all is they ended up with Diarra and Johnson as starters. That right there told you a lot about who they would be. These guys are really good 6/7 guys off the bench and needed to stay there.

Portal is huge for ‘25-‘26, misses can’t happen and real Husky toughness, both ends needs to return.

 

[RuffRuff]

It's crazy that people think this is a science. How quickly we forget that we barely missed out on Nick Timberlake before Cam fell into our lap.

I was just watching Nebraska and Gavin Griffiths is a sophomore on that team, averaging 2.4 points in 10mpg. He was a top 40 recruit that we all wanted badly before he signed with Rutgers.

Player evaluations are hit and miss.

Take a look at TJ Power at Virginia. McD AA out of Mass and Duke recruit. He’s just not very good. They’re everywhere. I give Scheyer credit for cutting bait how he did last year on a number of highly recruited kids.

Hurley needs to balance out the over focus on shooting. Ajax wasn’t a shooter, nor was Steph. We didn’t even shoot the 3 all that well last year and were dominant. You need them but it’s only a piece of the pie.

 

[djct1999]

I know Hurley gets a lot a lot of criticism for bringing in Mahaney but let's remember he was sought after by many other high profile programs...including St. John's.
View attachment 107256

Mahaney was highly sort after. He was a stud at St. Mary’s. He has a longstanding relationship w Gary Bennett dating back to aau in the Bay Area. From those days moving forward, Aidan was the golden child and everything was geared around him. Even at St. Mary’s. I am good friends w someone who knows his situation well. At the time, even my friend felt it was a great get for UConn. Aidan was always a scorer and looked to move to a high major to push himself to the next level. It seemed logical last spring No one, from Aidan to the staff, could have expected this.

 

[UCfor3]

Thank you for posting this. The Hurley defenders don’t realize that criticizing him for bad coaching, being stubborn, etc does NOT necessarily mean people want him fired or are running him out of town. We have every right to criticize just as much as we had every right to praise the last two years.

If people don’t want to concede that he’s done a pretty bad job this year, I don’t know what to say. That has no bearing on how good a job he did the previous two years. They can both be true.

Some on here criticize with way more enthusiasm than they praise. It's obvious who those people are. Same ones every time. I'm just going to leave that there. It's their right to do as they please or dislike who they dislike. To each their own.
Being the highest paid state employee shouldn't get thrown in your face every time you have a down year. Think he earned that. Calhoun got that thrown in his face also. Not a dime back. Outside of John Wooden from a bygone era, what coach/program legit challenges for a title every single year? Outside of maybe Duke, who gets whatever player they want, the nature of the sport makes it very difficult. Especially when going up against SEC programs with deep NIL pockets in the future..
As far as this year goes, I think it's more bad team construction(also on the staff) than bad coaching. Our best player is a freshman who missed 5 weeks and is at a physicality and athleticism disadvantage against almost every opponent. We have no ball handling, athleticism, we have bad individual defenders, no shot creators, and no bench depth. Karaban has been in a season long slump. Reed is enigmatic but promising.. Solo has improved. Not much beyond that. Diarra's knee made an already awful PG situation completely untenable. You could argue making the tourney is a pretty decent coaching job considering everything. If one more person mentions "all the talent" on this team. This team is not that talented at all and certainly the pieces don't fit together well. It's not even in the same stratosphere of the last 2 years in terms of talent. We lost Spencer, Newton, Clingan and Castle from last year and replaced them with nothing remotely close to equaling that. Blame the staff for a bad offseason assembling the team. All the armchair coaches that solely blame the game coaching is just lashing out in frustration. You could always point out things here and there that you disagree with like Reed playing more, but this team wasn't going to be that good regardless. You can't win in CBall with one decent guard(Solo), nobody that can dribble, and bad defense. We have a team of shooters that aren't shooting all that great. Losing is usually a collective effort.

 

[RuffRuff]

Mahaney was highly sort after. He was a stud at St. Mary’s. He has a longstanding relationship w Gary Bennett dating back to aau in the Bay Area. From those days moving forward, Aidan was the golden child and everything was geared around him. Even at St. Mary’s. I am good friends w someone who knows his situation well. At the time, even my friend felt it was a great get for UConn. Aidan was always a scorer and looked to move to a high major to push himself to the next level. It seemed logical last spring No one, from Aidan to the staff, could have expected this.

Interesting insights, thanks for sharing.

Left the open practice a major doubter, and it played out. You can’t teach size and foot speed. Also hard to call a 38% shooter from the field who can’t defend a stud. Nice player, for their system. A lot of faith in the name. This may have worked out well for Bennett as it will help him retain his profile.

Interesting looking back on his 247 HS profile was 143rd in his class sandwiched between AJ Storr and Jayden Pierre. He was a 3 star, but a little higher than I would have thought.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

It's crazy that people think this is a science. How quickly we forget that we barely missed out on Nick Timberlake before Cam fell into our lap.

I was just watching Nebraska and Gavin Griffiths is a sophomore on that team, averaging 2.4 points in 10mpg. He was a top 40 recruit that we all wanted badly before he signed with Rutgers.

Player evaluations are hit and miss.

The portal and player evals (Especially for non-Top 5 recruits) are actually quite a lot like poker...

There is a definite skill element that if you can master, you can be a long-term winner. But there is a BIG short-term luck element that can make you look like a loser...sometimes for much longer than you'd think.

There were many on this board who felt it was the Demise of Hurley that we didn't get local boy Gavin on our squad.

Man did we dodge a bullet on that one.

 

[80shusky]

Mahaney was highly sort after. He was a stud at St. Mary’s. He has a longstanding relationship w Gary Bennett dating back to aau in the Bay Area. From those days moving forward, Aidan was the golden child and everything was geared around him. Even at St. Mary’s. I am good friends w someone who knows his situation well. At the time, even my friend felt it was a great get for UConn. Aidan was always a scorer and looked to move to a high major to push himself to the next level. It seemed logical last spring No one, from Aidan to the staff, could have expected this.

UConn is going to need a stud point guard out of the portal to go with Nowell. I'm thinking moving Aiden to the two in a Joey C type of role would make him more comfortable and benefit him and the team. Let him come in and knock down some shots off the bench.

 

[RuffRuff]

l

The portal and player evals (Especially for non-Top 5 recruits) are actually quite a lot like poker...

There is a definite skill element that if you can master, you can be a long-term winner. But there is a BIG short-term luck element that can make you look like a loser...sometimes for much longer than you'd think.

There were many on this board who felt it was the Demise of Hurley that we didn't get local boy Gavin on our squad.

Man did we dodge a bullet on that one.

At the most basic level, the foundation of good recruiting is that you want fast, tall, physical and athletic. You can identify this stuff quickly, as can everyone else. That is your full house and best chance of winning the hand. There is then the element of evaluating smarts, skill, instincts and system fit, which is much harder to evaluate, especially if the foundation is lacking - would be a pair of 2s that might turn into a winning hand.

You can win with both but have a much better odds with the former. Hurley took a chance with a pair of twos on a kid like Mahaney.

 

[Kolumbo]

If Coach's brother kicked him off ASU, I seriously doubt that Coach would ever consider him to play here.

You guys are a tough crowd.

Hey, a 6'6" guard who can ball. Where have we seen this before? Maybe Bobby sucks as a coach. Some ASU fans are more upset with Hurley than with Freeman. Remember Caron Butler went through very tough times before being a huge success at UConn.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

We really gonna complain about 3 burger boys?

re-read. I am enamored with our recruits (3 at least). Very skilled, good shooters, high IQ (hopefully). But the qualities that THEY bring wont affect the "boys vs men" narrative some saw vs St Johns.

They are all skilled, but dont have the brawn/athleticism we will need, and dont have on our roster now as a whole. I am afraid if one will ever be able to play our D style based on his lack of brawn tbh. Will need portal for this to fix the mix (skill vs athlete) or we have same issues. Not hard to understand.

 

[djct1999]

Interesting insights, thanks for sharing.

Left the open practice a major doubter, and it played out. You can’t teach size and foot speed. Also hard to call a 38% shooter from the field who can’t defend a stud. Nice player, for their system. A lot of faith in the name. This may have worked out well for Bennett as it will help him retain his profile.

Interesting looking back on his 247 HS profile was 143rd in his class sandwiched between AJ Storr and Jayden Pierre. He was a 3 star, but a little higher than I would have thought.

It sounded like Bennet and the St. Mary’s staff was blindsided and crushed. Aidan’s dad is a stud analyst on Wall Street and is often on cnbc. His sibling has extreme special needs and he and Aidan are very close. He is a great kid. It really is a shame it didn’t work out better. I can’t imagine how hard this season has been on him, not meeting expectations and being so far from home.I will root for this kid wherever he goes.

 

[80shusky]

re-read. I am enamored with our recruits (3 at least). Very skilled, good shooters, high IQ (hopefully). But the qualities that THEY bring wont affect the "boys vs men" narrative some saw vs St Johns.

They are all skilled, but dont have the brawn/athleticism we will need, and dont have on our roster now as a whole. I am afraid if one will ever be able to play our D style based on his lack of brawn tbh. Will need portal for this to fix the mix (skill vs athlete) or we have same issues. Not hard to understand.

I have hopes for Furphy as far as toughness and physicality go. He's 6-6, 220 and shows some physical play in the video I've seen of him.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

I have hopes for Furphy as far as toughness and physicality go. He's 6-6, 220 and shows some physical play in the video I've seen of him.

my fave incoming recruit, but his lateral foot speed remains to be seen. I think he could have highest upside

 

[RuffRuff]

re-read. I am enamored with our recruits (3 at least). Very skilled, good shooters, high IQ (hopefully). But the qualities that THEY bring wont affect the "boys vs men" narrative some saw vs St Johns.

They are all skilled, but dont have the brawn/athleticism we will need, and dont have on our roster now as a whole. I am afraid if one will ever be able to play our D style based on his lack of brawn tbh. Will need portal for this to fix the mix (skill vs athlete) or we have same issues. Not hard to understand.

This frosh class is amazing but it doesn’t solve for next year. It takes exceptional freshman to lead teams to be NC contenders. Maybe if you got frosh built like men already and AJ, Boozer and Pedersen onto the same team. I don’t even think a kid like Ament is worth the one year bag as he’s going to get pushed around next year.


There is a massive physical adjustment for freshman pivoting to college ball. If we want to roll out the frosh and soph class as our core, so be it but it would be a developmental year and setting up for the following. I would set expectations appropriately as a fan if that ends up being the approach. I don’t think it will.

 

[ec33]

This team could have been fully healthy all year and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference in what they could do in March. It’s a massively flawed roster and the tape is out. Most teams are banged up by this point.

Sure, some of the problem is the "just grab them so they cannot cut and then outmuscle them" of the Big East -- but when healthy, this team was still undefeated on the continent. That competition was better than anything the Big East offers.

Once March came and '"just grab them so they cannot cut and then outmuscle them" suddenly became a ton of fouls, then things would have opened up again.

Championship caliber? No. Just about everything went wrong outside of McNeeley perhaps being better than expect with Reed and Ball being okay. Somewhere on the verge of Elite 8. Not bad when everything goes wrong.

But you are welcome to be pissy and bitter about it. Thank Hurley is a fool. See how that works for you.