Miscalculations by DH

[freescooter]

Has to be Stewart

Yeah, ok. As I said we don’t have a guy

 

[Huskyforlife]

I don't care about a season that doesn't look anything like the season Hurley and the national media envisioned for the Huskies. We've had plenty of disappointing seasons after high expectations were thrust upon us in the preseason, it happens.

I think we're in our current situation because coach badly misjudged in the portal on the biggest position of need, I think he either thought too highly of a couple of our sophomores and or was blinded by loyalty, and I think he started the wrong center all season.

My read on it is he was feeling himself too much after the dominant back to back and kind of thought he could turn anyone into serious national championship contenders. This season humbled him and he now must make the necessary changes for the roster we'll have next season....Hurley and the team/program will be better for it next season.

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.

 

[RuffRuff]

Mostly worried about the fact that when it comes to ballhandliWas ng, Mahaney seems to be the second best handler on the team!

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.

 

[djct1999]

After the 2nd round of the NCAAs, so the Monday 8 days after Selection Sunday.

But guys are already "in the portal". Trilly Donovan has a list of 70 guys already.

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.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

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.

 

[djct1999]

For sure... We had Joey C, Naheim, AND DC coming off the bench to give us 5-7 a game each. Last year Hass was good for 6 and Samson would get two dunks a game.

Aside from Tarris (and sometimes even him), our bench generally gives us absolutely nothing offensively or defensively. Crazy how we went from being 10-11 deep in the preseason to really having six players who you could somewhat depend on.

And people continuously want to point out AM. But the staff swung and missed on far more than just him. Players aside, the most shocking thing to me starts with the team defense. It was an absolute mess from the start and derailed the entire season. We are to slow on the perimeter, we are to late to offer help side defense, and we are either out of position or just lack the interior presence we had the last two years. We used to score a ton in transition and moved the ball quickly. We saw none of that this year. We had no true pg, no true center, no depth, and when things mattered most, we turned to a freshman. I do agree ego played a part and this staff believed they created the perfect system. They learned quickly personnel matters and the system only works w the right kids. Our lack of depth and propensity to foul limited the staffs rotations. Tarris and Samson both probably would have better playing alongside each other but we rarely could do that because of foul trouble and no one behind them.We just didn’t have the right kids. The staff will adjust and my guess is this team will look completely different next year, including a surprise or two.

 

[RuffRuff]

And people continuously want to point out AM. But the staff swung and missed on far more than just him. Players aside, the most shocking thing to me starts with the team defense. It was an absolute mess from the start and derailed the entire season. We are to slow on the perimeter, we are to late to offer help side defense, and we are either out of position or just lack the interior presence we had the last two years. We used to score a ton in transition and moved the ball quickly. We saw none of that this year. We had no true pg, no true center, no depth, and when things mattered most, we turned to a freshman. I do agree ego played a part and this staff believed they created the perfect system. They learned quickly personnel matters and the system only works w the right kids. Our lack of depth and propensity to foul limited the staffs rotations. Tarris and Samson both probably would have better playing alongside each other but we rarely could do that because of foul trouble and no one behind them.We just didn’t have the right kids. The staff will adjust and my guess is this team will look completely different next year, including a surprise or two.

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.

 

[djct1999]

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. 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.

 

[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 DH'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 DH'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.
View attachment 107256

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 DH 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. Wonderful]

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.