Need to get so much better

[giddyup]

A recruiter, B- composition, gentlemen’s C in-game. 4 years in, Houston… we have a problem.

 

[Demo Square]

Hey Guys, I'm retired & watch a lot of college hoops. So I have seen MANY great, versatile three-point shooters playing across the nation this year. They ARE out there - but usually not in the Big City Eastern Recruiting Fields (scorers do but not great shooters usually). And they ARE NOT wearing UConn on their jerseys - haven't in many years. When we see the shots falling regularly from at least three Huskies, & guys getting hot, & Hurley getting the ball to the hot shooters again & again consistently - Then we can call Hurley a recruiter & in-game coach who can adapt on the fly. Not before. Right now, UConn has a shot at a very versatile, good shooting junior guard recruit named James Johns down at LUHI on the Island. I saw him get 5+ three-pointers five games in a row. And he can handle the ball, drive & also score creatively, has hops & can D up too. He has great confidence. If Hurley misses out on a guy like Johns next year?...... Results are still up & down, & the jury is still out on Hurley the recruiter. The Huskies are on the way up again, but not to "Big Dawg" championship level yet. There is a HUGE talent difference between Top 12 teams & this year's Huskies, especially in the backcourt & wings. The offense of these current personalties does not flow. Point guard position is thin & limited - we need longer, stronger guards who don't get tired (like an Ivey from Purdue). Our front court & back courts are like two different worlds that rarely interact in a timely fashion - always out of phase. No consistent outside shooters, a young Sanogo who still must learn to pass it out of double teams & the game of basketball. Not enough clear outs for Jackson (give him the green light to score, Hurley!, & working on his shooting form). Lotsa depth but also..lotsa flaws in every player. Polley to the bench. Gaffney, garbage time only. Where is Martin? Can Hurley make these guys any better than they are this year? Can the players improve under Hurley's system? Can they work better together for 40 minutes? Good question. Let the shots fall from future Huskie skies! - Father Demo

 

[LIuconn]

I said around here Cole would be gassed in Feb if he has to do everything for 35 min a night. I was told they’re 19-21 year olds and not to worry about it. And here we are

 

[Demo Square]

Hey LIuconn, To yours & others' points here about UConn backcourt getting gassed? You are all completely right. And there are coaches out there who specifically look for recruits who don't get tired - & who can shoot & play D full-court all day! Little Ricky Pitino was the first to use the three-point shot as a primary weapon in college. (he learned it from legendary St. Agnes (NY) coach Frank Morris). Paul Westhead followed at Loyola Marymount. Rick combined it with shooters who could also defend full-court..... & never get tired. That's been the secret to his instant successes at every college stop he's made - recruiting the players he needs for his 40-minute full-court game. Look where he's taking Iona right now - 19-3, NCAA bound. What a turnaround! IN ONE YEAR DANNY! Ricky's first disciple Billy Donovan (who played for Morris in HS) used the same formula successfully at Marshall & Florida. And now, that a hole Auburn crook of a coach Bruce Pearl is using the same formula - look at his never-tired recent recruits! But that's next-level recruiting, beyond Hurley's scope at this point (though I'm glad he beat Pearl earlier this year). Hurley needs to START WITH SOME GREAT SHOOTERS. Then go after the indefatiguable, long & rangey guards. Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, Wes Biaosuknia, & Shabazz Napier were all examples of the kind of athletes we are talking about here. Gym rats who played both ends all day & night, & who truly loved the game of basketball - another HUGE issue among many of today's players - love of the game. Many of these current "genetic-lottery winners" don't even like hoops - and it's showing as much as Cole getting winded in the second half. Hurley's gotta step up his recruiting plans. vision, territory. -FATHER DEMO-

 

[temery]

Hey Guys, I'm retired & watch a lot of college hoops. So I have seen MANY great, versatile three-point shooters playing across the nation this year. They ARE out there - but usually not in the Big City Eastern Recruiting Fields (scorers do but not great shooters usually). And they ARE NOT wearing UConn on their jerseys - haven't in many years. When we see the shots falling regularly from at least three Huskies, & guys getting hot, & Hurley getting the ball to the hot shooters again & again consistently - Then we can call Hurley a recruiter & in-game coach who can adapt on the fly. Not before. Right now, UConn has a shot at a very versatile, good shooting junior guard recruit named James Johns down at LUHI on the Island. I saw him get 5+ three-pointers five games in a row. And he can handle the ball, drive & also score creatively, has hops & can D up too. He has great confidence. If Hurley misses out on a guy like Johns next year?...... Results are still up & down, & the jury is still out on Hurley the recruiter. The Huskies are on the way up again, but not to "Big Dawg" championship level yet. There is a HUGE talent difference between Top 12 teams & this year's Huskies, especially in the backcourt & wings. The offense of these current personalties does not flow. Point guard position is thin & limited - we need longer, stronger guards who don't get tired (like an Ivey from Purdue). Our front court & back courts are like two different worlds that rarely interact in a timely fashion - always out of phase. No consistent outside shooters, a young Sanogo who still must learn to pass it out of double teams & the game of basketball. Not enough clear outs for Jackson (give him the green light to score, Hurley!, & working on his shooting form). Lotsa depth but also..lotsa flaws in every player. Polley to the bench. Gaffney, garbage time only. Where is Martin? Can Hurley make these guys any better than they are this year? Can the players improve under Hurley's system? Can they work better together for 40 minutes? Good question. Let the shots fall from future Huskie skies! - Father Demo

Please use paragraphs

 

[That Guy]

To be honest, this season is going exactly how I expected. I thought we would be slightly worse than last year or just about the same. You can't lose a player like Bouknight and not replace him with a similar talent on an already offensively deficient team and expect great results. I thought going in, some guys would have to take massive leaps offensively for us (Gaffney and Jackson) or the freshmen would have to step up and perform. Neither of those things happened, and the only bright spots for me have been Sanogo and Cole. I'm not surprised with where we're at right now and I think this teams ceiling is the S16 if we can get a couple favorable matchups in the 1st and 2nd round through finishing strong and earning a decent seed.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Cole is gassed, we have no backup. Cole is the only guy who can take his man off the dribble but he's 5'11 so has to rely on a step back or wild layups...

We're streaky/bad from three and don't do any of the basic little things adequately like pick up/squeeze a loose ball or make a layup. Our only offense is to try to get it into Sanogo and score or hope RJ can create something. One of the easiest teams to scout I've seen....

Two seasons in a row where our high water mark best win was at the very beginning of the season. Other teams are getting a lot better as the season progresses, we're getting a lot worse. Hurley better step up recruiting even more and hit the transfer portal hard for guys who can drive and score and we've gotta hope the young current top recruit players we already have develop. This is embarrassing and should not be happening in year 4 of Hurley.

I think the biggest thing with Hurley and the guards is that he though Gaffney would be a good player at this point and serviceable back-up. That’s clearly not the case. So that led him to not playing Diggins more than 20 minutes this season and redshirted Floyd. He has to move on from Gaffney. He’s played Martin at the point more than Gaffney which is a good move

 

[UConnSwag11]

A guy who averages 9 and 6 put up 24 and 11 on our supposed great interior defense. Sanogo is so easily maneuvered down there.

Sanogo barely played in the first half. And in the second half he was playing with foul trouble. Defense starts at the perimeter