My Apologies to Dan Hurley
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In February and March, Dan Hurley seemed to completely change his attitude. He stopped coaching against refs and started coaching against the other teams.
He made a living making it known that he was not a referees coach, and it cost him. Many times. His OOC record and against top 25 records probably still aren’t very good.
But he made a change, and almost instantaneously the results changed.
That’s a hard thing to do when you’ve been doing something one way for a career…..and he did it instantly. And it worked.
If he continues down this path….the sky could truly be the limit.
The guy is a hell of a recruiter and motivator, and now he’s a hell of a coach.
We have him. And I give him all the credit in the world.
Let’s go Dan Hurley.
He made a living making it known that he was not a referees coach, and it cost him. Many times. His OOC record and against top 25 records probably still aren’t very good.
But he made a change, and almost instantaneously the results changed.
That’s a hard thing to do when you’ve been doing something one way for a career…..and he did it instantly. And it worked.
If he continues down this path….the sky could truly be the limit.
The guy is a hell of a recruiter and motivator, and now he’s a hell of a coach.
We have him. And I give him all the credit in the world.
Let’s go Dan Hurley.
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That's awesome and she is awesome! Go root for PC Hurley Haters, you're not worthy! Hop on your freescooter and take a hike.
She said it perfectly
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A thing to remember: most posters here think that when a team's offense is not performing well—or, say, possessions break down and it ends in 1-on-1 at the end of a shot clock—that the coach literally isn't asking the team to run an offense. I've seen it said about Calhoun, KO, and Hurley in the down years.
It can never be that, maybe, the offense is being run well. No. Nor can it be that perhaps the offense doesn't fit with the current group of players (too complicated for a new team, not the right roster construction). Posters here have actively argued that there was literally not an offense being run. And that's all you need to know about how wise so many posters here are.
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I think people tend to limit their view of coaches by what they see in the game, but being a good coach is so much more.
Hurley excelled at a number of things over the course of the season. The most important thing is getting players. Get top level players, and it makes everything else easier.
It also may sound superficial, but he changed his demeanor after getting that costly technical. The same thing happened at URI. In his fifth year, he was out of control in the sidelines, and a number of people talked with him about it, and got him to understand he was losing focus. He turned that season around, and I think he did the same thing this year. My guess is in both instances, he was putting to much pressure on himself.
He changed the focus of the offense to Hawkins and Sanogo. The working to get Hawkins in a dominant role helped Sanogo, and really helped Jackson just play his game instead of trying to do everything.
The other major change was Sanogo's defense was markedly improved down the stretch. Between that and Clingan completely changing opponents gameplan when he was in the game during the tournament, they didn't give up easy baskets.
Finally, he kept the team together when they struggled early in conference play. This is vital at the college level. We saw at Providence how quickly thinks can go sour when the team realizes the coach has checked out on you. Cooley's biggest strength was keeping the team believing in themselves, and that feel apart once the team knew he was leaving. Hurley, on the other hand, kept his team believing during their rough patch. That's coaching.
Hurley excelled at a number of things over the course of the season. The most important thing is getting players. Get top level players, and it makes everything else easier.
It also may sound superficial, but he changed his demeanor after getting that costly technical. The same thing happened at URI. In his fifth year, he was out of control in the sidelines, and a number of people talked with him about it, and got him to understand he was losing focus. He turned that season around, and I think he did the same thing this year. My guess is in both instances, he was putting to much pressure on himself.
He changed the focus of the offense to Hawkins and Sanogo. The working to get Hawkins in a dominant role helped Sanogo, and really helped Jackson just play his game instead of trying to do everything.
The other major change was Sanogo's defense was markedly improved down the stretch. Between that and Clingan completely changing opponents gameplan when he was in the game during the tournament, they didn't give up easy baskets.
Finally, he kept the team together when they struggled early in conference play. This is vital at the college level. We saw at Providence how quickly thinks can go sour when the team realizes the coach has checked out on you. Cooley's biggest strength was keeping the team believing in themselves, and that feel apart once the team knew he was leaving. Hurley, on the other hand, kept his team believing during their rough patch. That's coaching.
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That is not a good look. I am all for honesty, candor and authenticity. And I get the whole New Jersey don't take any bull spit attitude.
But "jerk off" and "arse hat" need to be removed from her vocabulary because it really doesn't help. It lowers the conversation to vulgarity. It reflects on her husband and the university. And it will turn off as many people as it pleases. It's a net loser.
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If coaching in a close game is your potential weakness, then why the hell not figure out how to win each game by 20 and remove that factor. Well Done Hurley.
He deserved a lot of the criticism. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom to find your footing. What makes Hurley a great coach and removes all doubt is his self reflection and evolution. He admits it and that’s why he is a great coach.
No he didn't and if losing a few tough Big East games, and one bad loss at home, is rock bottom then he did an amazing job all season.
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It wasn't rock bottom, but he absolutely deserved criticism.
But that tech at Xavier was horrible. That home loss vs. St. John's as well.
There were years where, quelle horreur, Jim Calhoun deserved criticism. That doesn't mean the things being criticized were always (or often) the things that should have been criticized, but it is clear he needed to make some adjustments. That's coaching. You have a plan, it works, teams scout you, you adjust. He did that exceptionally: the mark of an exceptional coach.
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This was me, too. I was a big fan of how he built up the program, but some of the in-game rotations and the multi-year pattern of losing close games had me worried. Those “concerns” seem to have been answered tenfold.
Well, maybe not the close games questions. But if you beat everyone by a hundred, those questions don’t matter.
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Your overall point has merit, but if you watched the entire interview, she showed up a bit harried from efforts to find the place, sat down at a bar with 4 guys who had already ordered her drink, and had some of their own, and wisely declined a refill.
In context, she was recognizably refreshing & fun, loyal & feisty. She said more than enough to rebut any belief that she's like that all the time.
My 'little sister,' who wore a succession of vintage shirts like Andrea's across the span of the tournament, was the enthusiastic & loyal girlfriend (and now 40-year spouse) of a D3 All-American & National Champion baseball player. She was no 'party girl'-type then or since, though is quite fun & lively, and she got a big kick out of Andrea, AND she was pretty regularly appalled by my screenshots and reports of posts on BY and within the chat...even if our private texting quite naturally included our own versions of strong emotional reactions, cursing, repeated phrases, air frustrations, etc.
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Waquoit
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One thing I'm pretty sure of, the haters didn't enjoy the ride as much as the rest of us. They're still waiting to play the "I told you so" card on the next close loss.
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I don’t think anyone truly cares. Maybe shift the conversation to a member of our coaches family getting spit on. She can call them whatever she pleases
Waquoit
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Old men do. They prefer prim and proper.
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I consider, "Meh..." to be 'opening the door' for a response in kind, if only to 'match' your perceived energy.
"...somehow this board figured [them] out first," is a dubious claim, but if taken seriously, it can be waved away as merely "the wisdom of crowds." The persistent mystery is that people so perceptive in analyzing the team or coach's failures or flaws remain unaware or beligerant in response to their own foibles.
It's not so much WHAT was often said as much as it was HOW it was said, WHERE it was said, WHEN it was said, and TO WHOM it was said. Those laying claim to some form of greater wisdom should consider their responsibility to project their smarts more wisely and maturely.
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Mr. French
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A lot more people should be willing to say this. I’d guess 0-3 people total on this board have even close to the experience or knowledge to discredit what he was doing as a coach. All they saw is results not being what they expected and determined he didn’t know how to coach. He does. Good on you for admitting it.
Mr. French
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I just had a similar sentence texted, then deleted it. Wasn’t as concise.
Everyone assumes every great coach just runs flawlessly executed actions for baskets every play, and when the results don’t coincide with their expectations, they assume “he doesn’t know how to coach.”
Waquoit
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It's a process, not a switch to be flipped like some are still insisting.
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I don’t think anyone should have to apologize. I do believe it would be nice if, when something goes wrong in the future (a broken play, a recruiting miss, whatever), some people could stop and think, wait! Do I now have any background knowledge that would make this particular thing I want to say or do not be prudent at this juncture? Probably not, but a girl can dream!
There's a HUGE difference between questioning coaching decisions and questioning a coaches ability, or acting like because a particular thing happened in a game or is happening in a game that the coach doesn't see it or know it or coach it.
Questioning particular coaching decisions is a normal part of fandom. Fans question certain decisions of every hall of fame coach ever. We can question Geno's decisions, and people would and should question certain Hurley decisions going forward. Winning a NC doesn't make you a god or perfect.
Dan Hurley comes from a talented knowledgeable family background. He paid his dues in coaching, and was successful everywhere he went before this job. He put together a quality staff. The thing that always made laugh on this board was the geniuses that would come here and mock him as if he wasn't qualified. The people who would come here and drop all their knowledge about what they were seeing and what was wrong with the team with the delusion that somehow Hurley and the staff wasn't smart enough to see what our resident boneyard genius was seeing.
Certain things can't get fixed overnight. I thought during the bad stretch this year that the two main things that needed to be addressed by the coaching staff was the poor guard play, and figuring out how to handle Andre's struggles. There were many different ways to address them, and the UConn staff addressed both beautifully.
Questioning particular coaching decisions is a normal part of fandom. Fans question certain decisions of every hall of fame coach ever. We can question Geno's decisions, and people would and should question certain Hurley decisions going forward. Winning a NC doesn't make you a god or perfect.
Dan Hurley comes from a talented knowledgeable family background. He paid his dues in coaching, and was successful everywhere he went before this job. He put together a quality staff. The thing that always made laugh on this board was the geniuses that would come here and mock him as if he wasn't qualified. The people who would come here and drop all their knowledge about what they were seeing and what was wrong with the team with the delusion that somehow Hurley and the staff wasn't smart enough to see what our resident boneyard genius was seeing.
Certain things can't get fixed overnight. I thought during the bad stretch this year that the two main things that needed to be addressed by the coaching staff was the poor guard play, and figuring out how to handle Andre's struggles. There were many different ways to address them, and the UConn staff addressed both beautifully.
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Is @BostonBay still around? He owes Hurley an apology. I know a lot of us questioned things Hurley did like strategy, etc., that's just natural of a fan, but that's different than a definitive statement that he'll never take the team to the next level. Last post from him was about a year ago so maybe he's not around any more.
www.the-boneyard.com
I never forget: Hurley will never take UConn to the next level
www.the-boneyard.com
Hurley will never take UConn to the next level
Totally outcoached tonight. No FG in last 7 minutes...Are you kidding me? He had the deer in headlights look & didnt know how to change things up to get an easy basket or 2 down the stretch. Same pattern with him in close games against good teams over the years. Nothing has changed.
I never forget: Hurley will never take UConn to the next level
This team will never take the next step with Hurley as coach
He just seems to push the wrong buttons over and over in close games. He's had enough time to prove himself. He's a much better recruiter than coach.
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Waquoit
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I look back and see I didn't get any likes when I stated two years ago "Hurley is way ahead of where JC was". I thinks it's OK to enjoy the Championship with over doing the JC love. Yes, he brought us into this world. But he also almost took us out of it.Is @BostonBay still around? He owes Hurley an apology. I know a lot of us questioned things Hurley did like strategy, etc., that's just natural of a fan, but that's different than a definitive statement that he'll never take the team to the next level. Last post from him was about a year ago so maybe he's not around any more.
This team will never take the next step with Hurley as coach
He just seems to push the wrong buttons over and over in close games. He's had enough time to prove himself. He's a much better recruiter than coach.
He wasn’t the only oneIs @BostonBay still around? He owes Hurley an apology. I know a lot of us questioned things Hurley did like strategy, etc., that's just natural of a fan, but that's different than a definitive statement that he'll never take the team to the next level. Last post from him was about a year ago so maybe he's not around any more.
Hurley will never take UConn to the next level
Totally outcoached tonight. No FG in last 7 minutes...Are you kidding me? He had the deer in headlights look & didnt know how to change things up to get an easy basket or 2 down the stretch. Same pattern with him in close games against good teams over the years. Nothing has changed.
I never forget: Hurley will never take UConn to the next level
This team will never take the next step with Hurley as coach
He just seems to push the wrong buttons over and over in close games. He's had enough time to prove himself. He's a much better recruiter than coach.
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Me too, I was down on all the fighting with the referees but I never said I wanted him fired, kinda wanted him to get ahold of his emotions and concentrate on coaching instead of turning all of the referees against UConn putting us at an unfair disadvantage. I didn’t think he could pull it off but he did it. I’m ecstatic to have been wrong about this. Hurley’s the man.
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Yeah but I just remembered this one the most. I hope @BostonBay is still out there and got to enjoy the championship he said would never happen.
ctchamps
We are UConn!! 6 >>>1!
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One is not like the others:
Other legends such as Michigan State's Tom Izzo (67), Houston's Kelvin Sampson (67), Tennessee's Rick Barnes (68), West Virginia's Bob Huggins (69), Iona's Rick Pitino (70), Miami's Jim Larranaga (73), Florida State's Leonard Hamilton (74) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (77) are either approaching or enjoying the twilight of their careers.
ctchamps
We are UConn!! 6 >>>1!
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I had to give Pal a like because 50% in this family agreed with him. I did my best to not show my hand.
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