Our Offensive System for Next Season

[CL82]

He may not have a system but he does have a formula as he has said. But i see what you are saying as the `23 teams starting 5 had different style of players in it compared to `24 but it was the same system with an even better result. Newton was the pg so that was the same but Spencer was very different than Hawk, Castle very different from Ajax, Ak was Ak and Sanogo was very different than Clingan but it all worked the same way. Then you look at the bench its also a whole different thing but the same with Samson, Diarra, Stewart and Ball. Not sure if its a system or formula but whatever it is Hurley has it running like clockwork and i believe this team should be in the mix yet again and other teams need to figure out how to deal with it or rolled again in March.

It is immensely complex. We may be talking something like 40 or 50 different iterations, say 10 different sets with four or five variations to each. It's going to take a while for the new guys to wrap their mind around that. That's a big piece of way getting Alex back was so critical. It's another guy who already understands the system.

 

[Samoo]

Oh boy. You do realize last years team may have the most dominant team in college basketball since the UCLA days of the 1960’s

That's what people said last year in September.

 

[awy]

offensively they should have the same potential but defensively a bit more vulnerable

 

[nomar]

Just like it was gonna be hard to replace Hawkins and Jackson and Sanogo the year before. We might repeat, we might not, but next year's team is really talented and has plenty to replace what was lost

Last year I believed we'd been able to adequately replace those guys. Nobody can replace Clingan. You can make up for that, and maybe we will, but I'm not expecting that you lose 4 out of 5 starters from the best MCBB team in 28 years and can be even better the following season.

Then again...

kganythingispossibillllllllllllllllll.jpeg

 

[nomar]

It is immensely complex. We may be talking something like 40 or 50 different iterations, say 10 different sets with four or five variations to each. It's going to take a while for the new guys to wrap their mind around that. That's a big piece of way getting Alex back was so critical. It's another guy who already understands the system.

The importance of the continuity that Alex will give us cannot be understated. I'm mostly talking about on the floor but certainly off it as well.

 

[Fan1978]

I loved Andre Jackson and appreciated his unique skills, but that one personnel change from him to Stephon Castle made a huge improvement in the offense for the 24 team. Castle constantly looked to take the ball inside, which Andre was reluctant to do or just didn’t. And another change was getting Cam Spencer on the team- if I had to choose between having him or Hawkins, I would take Cam- he was so versatile scoring around the basket, plus Cam was just as good an outside shooter in my opinion.

Cam was much better player than hawkins in every aspect of game. Cam was an absolute stud. Hawkins was still green and young. Hopefully his full potential is realized in nba.

 

[ucp990411]

That's what people said last year in September.

I don’t think anybody with any basketball intelligence said that about a team that lost 8 games

 

[Uconn10922]

Personally I think on offense Hurley ups the tempo. He has very capable shooters as starters and reserves. They will get into their offense quicker and try to find the open shooter more deliberately. They will also utilize their increased athleticism. I think there is more of an emphasis on quick outlet passes leading to wide open 3s or at the rim finishes. If their sets break down I think you look to Mahaney, Ball, Stewart and Hass to go one on one. Reed can be a good option in the post for the second unit.

On defense I think they become super aggressive. I think you start Samson so they can start the season as business as usual and familiarity and you let him be aggressive. If he gets a couple of quick fouls, no big deal you have Reed who is much less foul prone. Also, you let the guards apply increased pressure leading to turnovers and making it hard to get into the post. Again the depth on the wing and guard allows you to expend energy and fouls without it hurting you.

I think this team leans into being aggressive on both ends and relies on depth each night to find the hot hand or overcome foul trouble.

 

[speckle]

Cam was much better player than hawkins in every aspect of game. Cam was an absolute stud. Hawkins was still green and young. Hopefully his full potential is realized in nba.

Nope. JH was superior at getting to the bucket in transition, and at least as good in 1v1 defense and, catch+shoot 3s wrapping screens. Cam was obviously the more complete and ultimately superior player but that's what you'd expect from a guy with an extra 3yrs of experience.

Not worried, just interested to see how we handle losing our top 3 lead guards. I imagine it'll be a team effort, but I'd like to see 1 or 2 of our guys become dribble/pass-out-of-anything type lead guards. If I'm an opposing coach, I'm attacking our point until proven otherwise.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I could be wrong but I'm going with the premise that our offense this past season was more intricate and provided more scoring options than the season before due to the fact that we had a number of players who were in their second year learning it. What we will see this upcoming season will be very dependent on how quickly some of the kids pick things up. This is where the returnees will have an advantage (albeit, possibly only a slight one) over incoming players.

I am looking forward to see what they can do, especially once we reach late February and beyond.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

When u r the backup u can play a little more aggressively than when u r the starter

Those SJ fouls weren’t aggressive, they were dumb. Big difference

 

[caw]

I could be wrong but I'm going with the premise that our offense this past season was more intricate and provided more scoring options than the season before due to the fact that we had a number of players who were in their second year learning it. What we will see this upcoming season will be very dependent on how quickly some of the kids pick things up. This is where the returnees will have an advantage (albeit, possibly only a slight one) over incoming players.

I am looking forward to see what they can do, especially once we reach late February and beyond.

Agreed with that first paragraph. I do think there are a good amount of returning players who should know the system by now.

Karaban, Diarra and Samson are all in year three+ and have shown they know the system offensively. Samson may be limited in how he scores but he has shown a pretty good feel for passing from the high post and dribble hand-offs.

Stewart played more the fifth man on offense last year but you could see his understanding of where to be increase game by game. Ball didn't seem to have any problems picking it up and was only overshadowed by who was in front of him. I think those five have a pretty solid understanding of the system.

I'm not worried about Mahaney at all. He comes from Saint Mary's. While not as intricate, they run some decent stuff as well.

The three high school kids will have to pick it up but all three seem to have good BBIQ.

Reed is the question mark. Michigan just ran pretty basic stuff and was bad at that. Love his highlights but he didn't do a lot that UConn bigs are asked to do (passing, screening, etc.) but he did show some athleticism that neither Sanogo, nor Clingan showed. That said, considering when he visited, I think Hurley has a good idea of what he brings.

Ross and Singare are also kind of question marks but I think both will show better than expected if given the chance (especially Ross).

 

[Drame]

Hurley has said his offensive has ten sets and there are around five options for each of these sets. So yeah, that is a system. It is a system that can be tailored to personnel because it so large and diverse.

And this year, you will see many teams imitating Hurley's system

He was talking about this years team. A system is playing the same basketball from year to year with different personnel. Like what Tony Bennet at UVA had done for the past 10 years.

 

[Drame]

Personally I think on offense Hurley ups the tempo. He has very capable shooters as starters and reserves. They will get into their offense quicker and try to find the open shooter more deliberately. They will also utilize their increased athleticism. I think there is more of an emphasis on quick outlet passes leading to wide open 3s or at the rim finishes. If their sets break down I think you look to Mahaney, Ball, Stewart and Hass to go one on one. Reed can be a good option in the post for the second unit.

On defense I think they become super aggressive. I think you start Samson so they can start the season as business as usual and familiarity and you let him be aggressive. If he gets a couple of quick fouls, no big deal you have Reed who is much less foul prone. Also, you let the guards apply increased pressure leading to turnovers and making it hard to get into the post. Again the depth on the wing and guard allows you to expend energy and fouls without it hurting you.

I think this team leans into being aggressive on both ends and relies on depth each night to find the hot hand or overcome foul trouble.

Im thinking along these lines. I think more switching on the perimeter.

 

[inWV]

I loved Andre Jackson and appreciated his unique skills, but that one personnel change from him to Stephon Castle made a huge improvement in the offense for the 24 team. Castle constantly looked to take the ball inside, which Andre was reluctant to do or just didn’t. And another change was getting Cam Spencer on the team- if I had to choose between having him or Hawkins, I would take Cam- he was so versatile scoring around the basket, plus Cam was just as good an outside shooter in my opinion.

Hawk’s super fast release was special, but Cam was perfectly adapted to the way the offense evolved. The top four guards could all create and that fact made Cam’s innate craftiness all the more dangerous.

 

[temery]

I loved Andre Jackson and appreciated his unique skills, but that one personnel change from him to Stephon Castle made a huge improvement in the offense for the 24 team. Castle constantly looked to take the ball inside, which Andre was reluctant to do or just didn’t. And another change was getting Cam Spencer on the team- if I had to choose between having him or Hawkins, I would take Cam- he was so versatile scoring around the basket, plus Cam was just as good an outside shooter in my opinion.

Andre Jackson had his own brand of basketball charisma that made the team better. I loved his attitude.

 

[Samoo]

I don’t think anybody with any basketball intelligence said that about a team that lost 8 games

About a team with the third highest average margins of victory in the NCAA tournament history?

 

[YoungFree]

Oh boy. You do realize last years team may have the most dominant team in college basketball since the UCLA days of the 1960’s

Yep.

 

[YoungFree]

I want whatever you're smoking

I am SUPER EXCITED for 2024-25 and I do believe we have a real chance at a 3-peat but, man, people seem to have no idea how hard it is going to be replace two lottery picks AND a 1st team All American. Oh, and Cam Spencer too.

I know...I ain't smoking. I'm normally pessimistic so I thought I'd be optimistic

 

[huskeynut]

Any coach worth anything adapts his offense and defense to the talent on the team.

People say Hurley has a system. Ok, fine. I think Hurley and Luke have specific principles that the offense must execute. Screens, pick and rolls, ally oops and the like. Continual motion of all 5 players on the court. Patience and someone gets loose for a layup, mid ranger jumper or a three. The key is to practice these principles to perfection. No hesitation.

 

[ucp990411]

Score more points than the other guys. Every game.

 

[Son of Robert]

In this thread I have to give props to Tristan Newton. You can make a case that we don't win without Clingan, or Karaban, or Castle, Spencer, Diarra,...... Jackson, Sanogo, Hawkins from the year before, but perhaps the strongest case for this 2 year run, alongside the coaching, is the play of Tristan Newton. He ran the team 30 minutes a game, perhaps our most complete player on the floor. Watch any other player's highlights, and you will see Tristan Newton everywhere, involved in every facet of the game. BIG EAST player of the year on one of the polls, All American, Final Four MVP twice, dude made it happen. If our backcourt leadership can somehow come together and fill the shoes of Tristan Newton, everything else having its place too, we may just contend for another title. I mean, it took Hurley like 10 minutes to put up a banner for Tristan, as a Husky of Honor alongside the greats once they returned victorious from Phoenix. That is some special stuff right there.

 

[HooperScooper]

In this thread I have to give props to Tristan Newton. You can make a case that we don't win without Clingan, or Karaban, or Castle, Spencer, Diarra,...... Jackson, Sanogo, Hawkins from the year before, but perhaps the strongest case for this 2 year run, alongside the coaching, is the play of Tristan Newton. He ran the team 30 minutes a game, perhaps our most complete player on the floor. Watch any other player's highlights, and you will see Tristan Newton everywhere, involved in every facet of the game. BIG EAST player of the year on one of the polls, All American, Final Four MVP twice, dude made it happen. If our backcourt leadership can somehow come together and fill the shoes of Tristan Newton, everything else having its place too, we may just contend for another title. I mean, it took Hurley like 10 minutes to put up a banner for Tristan, as a Husky of Honor alongside the greats once they returned victorious from Phoenix. That is some special stuff right there.

Would be even more special if people spelled his name right. T-R-I-S-T-E-N. Tristen.

 

[EricLA]

Would be even more special if people spelled his name right. T-R-I-S-T-E-N. Tristen.

Yeah, can't like a post where they can't spell the name correctly of a guy who not only won 2 NC's, but was an AA, and will be on the Huskies wall of honor. Not many players have achieved all that.

Not Donovan Klingen, Alex Caraban, Steven Castle, etc.

 

[Sphinx]

The Boneyard is a curious place. People so frequently say the exact opposite of what they intend, and yet everyone understands exactly what they intend. It's a phenomenon that can't be understated, by which, of course, I mean overstated. But you knew that.