Miscalculations by Dan Hurley

[dennismenace]

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

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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

Looks like BJ was not the only player or coach having problems with officials:

Bobby Hurley says Adam Miller ejections uncharacteristic

 

[RuffRuff]

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.

For as many close losses we had close wins. There was never a point this season where we looked in command. We had some hot shooting streaks and individual performances that put a ton of lipstick on the situation.

Last I knew being undefeated on the continent wasn’t a banner. It’s just a way of making one feel better about this team, lol. If anything our resume looks watered down as Baylor, Zags, Texas bubbly. Marquette is falling apart, Creighton was a one man show.

We got outmuscled by Seton Hall, that’s all you need to know. We were more skilled offensively but they were the more athletic and a tougher team, took 5 more shots than us. Thats where we are. I saw that one up close up.

This is not an elite 8 team fully healthy. Our best hope for any kind of run is that Solo, Liam and AK all get hot at once from 3. That is the only ticket we have.

I’m not pissy about it - this season has always been gravy. Set expectations right and you can just enjoy. I’m not gonna play the what if game unrealistically, that’s for sure.

 

[superjohn]

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.

You're talking nonsense here. The competition wasn't better than anything the Big East offers. Outside of playing Memphis in Hawaii Gonzaga is considered the best team we played out of conference and they're ranked 35th in the country. St. John's is by far the best team we've played.

 

[mauconnfan]

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.

Yep agree and still do. This was not a “miss”by Dan and the staff it just didn’t work out for some reason. Most that were after him had great program history. It’s too bad I loved the kids game at St Mary’s thought it was huge and the URI exhibition had to make you excited. Go figure!

 

[boog204]

We really gonna complain about 3 burger boys?

Wow, you missed the point. One of the major issues on this team is a lack of foot speed and athleticism. Dan Hurley was quoted before the year that they value offensive players that they can turn into defensive players. That didn't work, and that philosophy needs to be addressed.

We have four excellent recruits coming in. But it is a viable concern that none of them are considered great athletes and two have well-established question marks about how thin (Adams) they are and their current conditioning level (Furphy). If our defensive issues are linked, in part, to being outclassed athletically and our lack of foot speed/quickness, then Dan Hurley needs to rethink how we play defense. Putting guys who lack foot speed/defensive fundamentals on an ISO defensive island with no rim protection is not effective and this year's layup drill/help defense debacle is proof of it. Forcing poor defensive players to rotate and get manhandled by mismatches because our 5 is hedging in the parking lot is not ideal.

We need to bring in some players from the portal to up our overall athleticism and as Husky429 stated, have some "violence" in their game. Who knows who returns but our entire team, minus Reed (most of the time), a healthy Hass, and Liam are very finesse in either physicality or nature.

 

[Dogdeacon]

You know what else we are missing this year? An off the bench scorer. Joey California was the guy in 2023. Diarra played that role last year and to some extent in 2023. This team would really benefit from a microwave type off the bench when shots aren’t falling. Who is that guy on this team?

Diarra was a defensive stopper in 2023, full stop. Last year Diarra did provide some bench scoring punch, but it wasn't because he was creating it was b/c the team had 5 juggernaut offensive players so whoever came in got the benefit of opponent defense relaxing and focused on bigger threats.

This season the big threats other than McNeeley aren't gravitational pulls on defenders so would need more of a true create your own offense type off the bench. Still trying to adapt Mahaney into that role, while the need for ballhandling/backup PG makes it doubly tough as the kid hasn't been able to figure out either role. Tarris is scoring off the bench & like most bench scorers it is feast or famine.

Overall bench scoring is like #9 issue on the team. Any team that lost as many talented NBA players as UConn has the last 2 years is going to struggle. If UConn had 2 more returnees as strong as Clingan & Newton were (or Sanogo, Hawkins & Jackson yr prior) the team would be contenders yet again.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Has to be Stewart

Would say Reed, Jr. as he - for reasons only know to Dan Hurley - comes off the bench and outperforms Johnson.

 

[RuffRuff]

Wow, you missed the point. One of the major issues on this team is a lack of foot speed and athleticism. Dan Hurley was quoted before the year that they value offensive players that they can turn into defensive players. That didn't work, and that philosophy needs to be addressed.

We have four excellent recruits coming in. But it is a viable concern that none of them are considered great athletes and two have well-established question marks about how thin (Adams) they are and their current conditioning level (Furphy). If our defensive issues are linked, in part, to being outclassed athletically and our lack of foot speed/quickness, then Dan Hurley needs to rethink how we play defense. Putting guys who lack foot speed/defensive fundamentals on an ISO defensive island with no rim protection is not effective and this year's layup drill/help defense debacle is proof of it. Forcing poor defensive players to rotate and get manhandled by mismatches because our 5 is hedging in the parking lot is not ideal.

We need to bring in some players from the portal to up our overall athleticism and as Husky429 stated, have some "violence" in their game. Who knows who returns but our entire team, minus Reed (most of the time), a healthy Hass, and Liam are very finesse in either physicality or nature.

Hurley 100% over indexed on shooting, both in the portal and this class. The nice thing is now you can fix it in the portal.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

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

Would say the same about Johnson, but Reed, Jr., actually can: score, O and D rebound, back down a guy. Johnson has all the inconsistency without the upside.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

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.

Agree on the adjustment but bringing in 7' Reibe is going to help as a mini Clingan. Furphy has the BBIQ and moxie and toughness to work at the wing, and Mullins is going to come in at or above Solo Ball's shooting prowess level. I've watch way too much video on Mullins to see him be timid or not shoot well...he plays heads up defense too and anywhere past mid-court is his range.

I'm unsure about Adams but I have not watched as much video of him vs other 3.

 

[3rdbass]

Wow, you missed the point. One of the major issues on this team is a lack of foot speed and athleticism. Dan Hurley was quoted before the year that they value offensive players that they can turn into defensive players. That didn't work, and that philosophy needs to be addressed.

We have four excellent recruits coming in. But it is a viable concern that none of them are considered great athletes and two have well-established question marks about how thin (Adams) they are and their current conditioning level (Furphy). If our defensive issues are linked, in part, to being outclassed athletically and our lack of foot speed/quickness, then Dan Hurley needs to rethink how we play defense. Putting guys who lack foot speed/defensive fundamentals on an ISO defensive island with no rim protection is not effective and this year's layup drill/help defense debacle is proof of it. Forcing poor defensive players to rotate and get manhandled by mismatches because our 5 is hedging in the parking lot is not ideal.

We need to bring in some players from the portal to up our overall athleticism and as Husky429 stated, have some "violence" in their game. Who knows who returns but our entire team, minus Reed (most of the time), a healthy Hass, and Liam are very finesse in either physicality or nature.

Mullins is a great athlete but the rest that is a concern for sure. We all know the portal is going to be important to get at least 2 great athletes that can play D. Hopefully one of them is a bigger PG type.

 

[djct1999]

Mullins is a great athlete but the rest that is a concern for sure. We all know the portal is going to be important to get at least 2 great athletes that can play D. Hopefully one of them is a bigger PG type.

A lot depends on the future of AK. Many on here assume he is coming back. I am not as confident. . We need athletes in both the front and backcourt.

 

[Stinger92860]

The first post lights up AM. The guy barely played yesterday.

Because he is unplayable, especially against pressure. Don’t you think his being unplayable is contributing to losses? He was expected to be the 2nd PG by Dan Hurley.

 

[Stinger92860]

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.

I don‘t think strength is going to make him a better defender. He is a poor defender and thats that. He got beat on a back door on Sunday and he was not close to being in position, he rarely is. He is a very good catch shoot guy, but thats seem to be the extent of his offense. He has a great stroke, but can’t get separation off the dribble.

 

[Stinger92860]

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

Did these other schools recruit him to play PG?

 

[RuffRuff]

I don‘t think strength is going to make him a better defender. He is a poor defender and thats that. He got beat on a back door on Sunday and he was not close to being in position, he rarely is. He is a very good catch shoot guy, but thats seem to be the extent of his offense. He has a great stroke, but can’t get separation off the dribble.

Oh I saw the play, trust me. It's been happening all year. It won't help on the mental part of defense, but his ability to body up and feel confident in his strength to not be handsy could help. And it could definitely help in terms of taking the ball at the basket, drawing contact. That's really the next evolution of his game. Some of his takes this year have been downright comical in terms of just throwing the ball off the backboard. He threw up an airball in the paint against StJ's, which feels a product of him just being afraid of physicality.

 

[3rdbass]

A lot depends on the future of AK. Many on here assume he is coming back. I am not as confident. . We need athletes in both the front and backcourt.

I wouldn't call AK an even good athlete. I think with Stewart and definitely Abrahams we have good athletes at PF. Center is set. I think SF will be Mullins which will be fine but he is a bit undersized there even though he is a great Athlete. Yeah an athletic big PG and SG/SF would be great pickups in the portal. We would have the following then. Maybe even a 3rd transfer with size to play the SF would be great. Not sure we would get a transfer to play behind Ball but you never know with a kid stepping up a level from a lower conference who might just want to play for a National Championship and contribute.

C Reed/Reibe
PF Stewart/Abrahams
SF Transfer/Mullins
PG Transfer/Nowell
SG Ball/Transfer

 

[businesslawyer]

Samson I wouldn't call a miss. He is what he is and he is acctually a better rebounder this year and he did show some jump hook moves close to the basket which he never showed before. He is still a good change of pace player compared to Tarris. I think he has been pretty good. His defense has actually improved compared to last year. The others I agree have been dissappointing to say the least. Especially a player with obvious Talent in Stewart has been a headcase in consistency. He seems to take more time off then he plays when in which then points a little bit to bad coaching/mentoring.

Samson Johnson has some skills and has some holes in his game. But I've never seen a big who hits 77% of his FGs and 79% of his FTs, while playing defense the way the coach obviously wants him to, take incoming like many of the recent threads.

 

[Huskyforlife]

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.

Gotta give the man credit for keeping up appearances on the bench, despite how his and our seasons are going. You can tell he’s had good role models.

 

[3rdbass]

Samson Johnson has some skills and has some holes in his game. But I've never seen a big who hits 77% of his FGs and 79% of his FTs, while playing defense the way the coach obviously wants him to, take incoming like many of the recent threads.

Yeah he has really picked it up at the FT line. Makes me wonder if he could add a 10 foot mid range game to his offense. Sad to see we might never know as Hurley isn't allowing for that from either Center.

 

[UCTitleTown]

We need

Street agents work year round. They are sharks. Trust me on this, they are already talking to parents and inner circles and most kids already have a sense of what schools want them and how much they will pay.

Of note, I believe the ncaa is voting in April on giving current seniors a 5th year. This can open up a whole bunch of new options.

The NCAA needs to stop this 5th year, three school or four school nonsense. When colleges prefer to scout the portal over high school kids, the NCAA is beyond saving.

 

[djct1999]

I wouldn't call AK an even good athlete. I think with Stewart and definitely Abrahams we have good athletes at PF. Center is set. I think SF will be Mullins which will be fine but he is a bit undersized there even though he is a great Athlete. Yeah an athletic big PG and SG/SF would be great pickups in the portal. We would have the following then. Maybe even a 3rd transfer with size to play the SF would be great. Not sure we would get a transfer to play behind Ball but you never know with a kid stepping up a level from a lower conference who might just want to play for a National Championship and contribute.

C Reed/Reibe
PF Stewart/Abrahams
SF Transfer/Mullins
PG Transfer/Nowell
SG Ball/Transfer

Ak isn’t athletic but he is a winning player. He started on two championship teams and in the right role is elite.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Yeah he has really picked it up at the FT line. Make me wonder if he could add a 10 foot mid range game to his offense. Sad to see we might never know as Hurley isn't allowing for that from either Center.

RE: SJ. His lack of any type of shot has been a glaring issue this season. Teams leave him wide-open in the free-throw area because he won't even think about shooting or even driving from there. If he was a threat from there, the season could've been better, but he's not going to do it now if he hasn't yet.

Tried to use his initials, but it lists his full name. I hate that.

 

[RuffRuff]

\

Samson Johnson has some skills and has some holes in his game. But I've never seen a big who hits 77% of his FGs and 79% of his FTs, while playing defense the way the coach obviously wants him to, take incoming like many of the recent threads.

Reading between the numbers, he's taken all of 26 free throws in the BE this year across 16 games, so he's averaging about 1.6 free throws a game as a starting 5. It's nice that he's shooting with much nicer form, but his lack of getting to the line is a bigger negative than his shooting it well is a positive.

 

[El Obrero]

I don’t disagree that Hurley is probably the best coach in cbb right now, but the reason UConn has won two chips in a row is not him, it’s Andre Jackson and Donovan Clingan. While all of the top teams of the past two seasons have had dominant and even unstoppable individual players, those two brought unique abilities to the team on both ends that opponents couldn’t counter. And this enabled the coaches to eventually design an unstoppable offense. Without those two, I think there’s still a good chance they win one, but not back to back, no way.

 

[husky429]

I don’t disagree that Hurley is probably the best coach in cbb right now, but the reason UConn has won two chips in a row is not him, it’s Andre Jackson and Donovan Clingan.

Just naming two players is silly. We had an unbelievable amount of talent. Newton, Steph, Cam, Hawkins, Sanogo etc. were all elite players. These guys could take a well-designed offense or defense and run it to perfection.

 

[RuffRuff]

 

[Agent0]

A lot depends on the future of AK. Many on here assume he is coming back. I am not as confident. . We need athletes in both the front and backcourt.

It’s pretty widely known AK is not coming back next year

 

[superjohn]

It’s pretty widely known AK is not coming back next year

Where's he going?

 

[Agent0]

Where's he going?

Pro. Like he very nearly did last year