Our Senior Guards

[nyhuskies13]

Those are the two senior guards YOU played Coach

3 for 17 with 10 turnovers

you want to call out the fan base when they play well...

own it when they don’t, and you still play them, and we can’t get off a shot with under 30 left

on Hurley

 

[nycscooby]

Hurley was awful tonight. His substitution patterns were off. The problem is that AG is our best ball handler by far so when he is out of the game and we are being pressured we have a big problem. Gaffney not ready. Vital too careless with the ball. Adams should have been in more tonight. Hurley should have had Bouknight on the floor more tonight too. Also, our inability to adjust to their half court defense (or how the game was being reffed which was absolutely terrible by the way) is on Hurley too. Agree that Akok looked great. Sid played well tonight too. Josh played well too. No one else really. It was a physical tough game.

 

[HuskyBoi]

we really needed Brendan in there just to handle the ball, takes pressure of the others. tonight was a nightmare

 

[husky429]

We are missing 1 serviceable guard. Gaffney is just not ready, and no one else is really able to play the PG position.

Regardless, Hurley is making coaching sin #1 by giving the leash he is to the senior guards. What he's doing is dangerous for team chemistry. As I said elsewhere, everyone, even coaches can be stunned by the MSG lights. If the coaching disaster occurs a third time, I'll start to be concerned.

 

[auror]

We are missing 1 serviceable guard. Gaffney is just not ready, and no one else is really able to play the PG position.

Gaffney needs to get 25+ min the next 3 games against the cupcakes. He needs to run the team and offense in those games. Get comfortable.

 

[CL82]

We are missing 1 serviceable guard. Gaffney is just not ready, and no one else is really able to play the PG position.

Regardless, Hurley is making coaching sin #1 by giving the leash he is to the senior guards. What he's doing is dangerous for team chemistry. As I said elsewhere, everyone, even coaches can be stunned by the MSG lights. If the coaching disaster occurs a third time, I'll start to be concerned.

One of my concerns about Hurley is there was no way to know if being a really good mid-major coach was his high tide mark. That's just a risk you take when you hire a hot young coach.

Now let me be clear, I think Hurley is an excellent coach. He hired an excellent staff. He seems to be able to get top talent. I love his energy and passion. But he isn't done in his development. He hasn't been great on game day. His team comes out flat. Then there's the whole hockey substitution thing. And while the our hero ball issues didn't originate with him, he's at the helm for this latest incarnation of it. I truly believe he grows and develops and figures it out, but right now we are seeing the growing pains. Hopefully, he quickly learns from his mistakes and adjusts.

 

[Jaker]

Need to start recruiting an experienced pg for next season

 

[boog204]

They were awful. But so were Bouk, Adams, and Gaffney. So, if he benches AG and Vital and plays the kids who all looked timid and unsure of how to run the offense against B1G comp and MSG, you all would freak out that DH needs to go with his seniors.

 

[Jaker]

I would rather play Bouk and Gaffney more and have them make mistakes and learn, that will make the team better in the future

 

[Griffman]

Need to start recruiting an experienced pg for next season

I don't think he's even looking at a PG for next season and is counting on Gaffney/Cole with Adams as a backup. I do think we need another off guard with ball handling skills and can create his own shot. I think that is what we are really going to be lacking next season.

 

[scotty0330]

I dont see Brendan Adams as being a much better option to handle the ball. Yes he doesnt dribble off his foot like Vital- but he also isn't that effective in getting team into offense and distributing. Gaffney in brief stints has shown potential. He needs to be developed quickly since his handle and vision seem to be better than existing parts - but confidence due to reps is lacking.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

@Griffman hit the nail on the head. I'm looking forward to a 20-21 backcourt with Cole at PG, Bouknight at the 2 and Adams/Gaffney off the bench.

Cole can distribute and find his own shot and we've seen tastes of how Bouknight can make his own shot.

If Gilbert leaves, then you can make the argument to sign a depth guard grad transfer, a la Terrell Allen on Georgetown.

 

[Shine33]

Need to start recruiting an experienced pg for next season

RJ Cole

 

[superjohn]

Don't know why some continue to sugarcoat it, the three loses are on them and they're on Hurley for continuing to let them do what they do. In our 3 losses Gilbert and Vital are 17-82 shooting with a ton of turnovers and they rarely ever come off the court with all their low basketball IQ bball plays. You can say they give us our best chance of winning but it's just not true. Continuing to let them play like this and it will continue with the same results, the losses will stack up.

 

[bmayuc]

Guard talk -

1. Bouk has to play 30. Good or bad, he needs minutes to get used to these grinder-type games. He also needs 5-10 possessions a game that are designed to get him shots or action toward the rim. Needs to be part of the gameplan. He had a really bad game, but the sooner he has some bad games the sooner he will figure it out.

2. Senior Guards - Oye Vey. I actually love the heart these guys have, but the mind and body are not aligned on what they can do. I've waited for CV to settle into a super-sub role for 4 years. Its time. AG missed shots. He is not a good shooter. But he has a clear role and needs to start. The wheels come off when he isn't there to handle the rock, for better or worse.

3. Brendan Adams was wayyyyyyy too amped for this game. that first three he took was a bad omen. He was gunning from the start, never got into his rhythm. I have a lot of confidence he will be fine. He seems very mentally tough.

4. Gaffney is not at all ready to play.

His minutes are utterly void of contribution to date. He looks like a kid who has no confidence in his ability to play at this level, unfortunately. He's got plenty of time to grow but early returns are very bad. There isn't a single thing that we can say he can "do" so far. Hasn't played with confidence, shot well, handled well, defended well, rebounded well, assisted well, etc. Problematic. You at least want your young kids to flash their skillset. He has not shown anything, yet. The only skill that the "eye" test suggests is his ability to deliver timely passes. Still, it is not reflected in production, as he really struggles to get anywhere with the ball.

Here is his advanced stat line(Red means bad. You don't even need to know the categories. They are all red. Justa assume every metric is bad):

If we are counting on him for a major role next year, we may need a backup plan. At the very least, by conference season we need to know whether he can in any way soak up minutes and be a contributor this year. Thus far returns are very poor.

 

[Waquoit]

Continuing to let them play like this and it will continue with the same results, the losses will stack up.

And demoralize the rest of the team. I've given Hurley some slack on this, I understood his concern about losing these two. After last night, I don't care about that anymore. Quick hook after the first selfish chuck, whether it goes in or not.

 

[dennismenace]

I dont see Brendan Adams as being a much better option to handle the ball. Yes he doesnt dribble off his foot like Vital- but he also isn't that effective in getting team into offense and distributing. Gaffney in brief stints has shown potential. He needs to be developed quickly since his handle and vision seem to be better than existing parts - but confidence due to reps is lacking.

How is Andre Jackson's handle? 6-6 SF could take some pressure off if he has a decent handle.

 

[ctchamps]

It's good to observe that the Boneyard panics less than our players.

There have been four #1's going down to inferior opponents. Florida had one of the major recruiting classes and look at their start.

Those first eleven minutes of the second half demonstrated kids on both teams were overwhelmed by the venue something that is happening a lot in college basketball this season.

It's easy to make suggestions when those suggestions can't be tested. CV had 5 assists and 7 turnovers. Al had 8 assists and 3 turnovers. Brendan had 0 assists and 3 turnovers. Bouknight has 0 assists and 3 turnovers. Four of CV's turnovers occurred with CV running the point and Bouk the second guard. Bouk did nothing during that 18-3 run to help CV. He played like a wing instead of a second guard. It was four on five. Brendan and Bouk were even more ineffective together. Same when Gaffney was in the mix. Nothing in this game was going to work once Al got his second foul.

Dickie V complained that coaches are too regimented and that's the explanation for the lack of production we're currently observing in college basketball. Sorry Dickie but I disagree. We are pushing teams to play difficult schedules earlier and earlier in the season. Part of the pressure of that push is the media and fans. Part is the structure of conferences that limits non conference match ups. Part is the pressure to make the NCAA tournament forcing teams to play tougher games early in the season when teams are beginning to develop.

My biggest concern is not how Hurley is coaching. My biggest concern is how the kids respond to losing. Do they react like people in this forum and start blaming one another and their coaches? Do they act like the world has ended as a result of that game and let it affect their ability to develop? If they do we know what the results will be.

In this day and age when everyone is exposed to one another much more than any time in the past it makes it more difficult for coaches and players to screen outside disruptions. Fans who insist on winning, who think that their suggestions are easy to implement and will result in the outcome they fantasize in their heads or on their computer gaming devices are a big factor in disrupting development. This is not an indictment of Boneyard posts. This is a forum for discussion. However I'm concerned that fans, including some in this forum, in their exasperation do go after players and coaches. This doesn't help anything. It only creates a negative atmosphere. It's a selfish and undisciplined behavior.

 

[Deepster]

Regardless, Hurley is making coaching sin #1 by giving the leash he is to the senior guards.

I'd like to hear why you think giving leash to senior guards is a sin.

 

[Martin]

And then the cycle repeats itself next year with a new crop of players.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Speaking of Adams. Coming out of a timeout, late in the second half, critical possession, they run a play and he catches the pass with one foot out of bounds. What a night. Really speaks to how bad Indiana is offensively that despite all the giveaways it still came down to the wire.

 

[ctchamps]

And then the cycle repeats itself next year with a new crop of players.

If you mean it's going to take a period of time before the newer players are comfortable with the system, can integrate with other players and become more and more consistent in providing positive contributions versus negative then your statement is very accurate.

 

[Shine33]

Don't know why some continue to sugarcoat it, the three loses are on them and they're on Hurley for continuing to let them do what they do. In our 3 losses Gilbert and Vital are 17-82 shooting with a ton of turnovers and they rarely ever come off the court with all their low basketball IQ bball plays. You can say they give us our best chance of winning but it's just not true. Continuing to let them play like this and it will continue with the same results, the losses will stack up.

Those numbers prove they are not worthy of playing in the crucial minutes when the game is on the line. I mean, that is horrid. Bouk and Gaffney couldn’t possibly perform worse. Continue the same starting lineup but play the young guys in crunch time. It can’t go worse than it has. I can’t believe @DaveHuskiesFan continues to ignore these numbers as a stat guy.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Speaking of Adams. Coming out of a timeout, late in the second half, critical possession, they run a play and he catches the pass with one foot out of bounds. What a night. Really speaks to how bad Indiana is offensively that despite all the giveaways it still came down to the wire.

I haven’t watched Indiana play any other games this year so I don’t know if they are a bad offensive team.

But IMO UConn played tough D and it appeared to me that It bothered the Indiana players. Everything they did was contested.

Also, UConn held their own on the boards, where IU has dominated other teams this year.

 

[boog204]

So, are the "bench CV and AG" crowd" thinking that Gaffney, Bouk, and Adams will perform better? Those three were horrendous last night and sorry, Gaffney is nowhere near ready to be a contributor at this juncture.