Outcoached

[Conndog]

Jay Wright is one of the best if not best in the college game right now.

Really, what would you do. Whaley, Sanogo both have 2 fouls early. Jackson doesn't show up at all. Akok is N/A. What is the adjustment. They built an early lead. Hawkins looks lost.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but really what can Hurley do differently.

The one thing I've changed my mind on is that it is time to move on from Gaffney. Diggins can't do worse. Nobody could. No shot. He's more Terrence Samuels, but at least Samuels was a shut down defender at times.

Maybe Hurley can coach his big men not to foul 30+ feet from the basket, maybe Hurley can teach his team 3 or 4 basic offensive plays and practice them over and over until they can do it in their sleep,

 

[DMIL]

We're they well-chosen shots, we'll-setup, within optimum range, squared up, without rushing it too soon in the clock or too late in the clock, or were they short-armed, too circus-like, a lesser shot than somebody passed up?
We do all of these to an alarming degree.

I know that good defenses force this kind of stuff, but I think we're more prone to this as a matter of how the team chooses or is coached to play.

100%. These are the things the team can control and improve however it is not happening.

 

[DMIL]

You aren't going to win when your "best player" decides to take 1st halves off vs Creighton and Nova (not talking about RJ)
You aren't going to win when your "best player" isn't under the boards fighting for rebounds vs the better teams
You aren't going to win when you have a 2 guard start and play so many minutes and not score
You aren't going to win when your coach doesn't play his highly regarded freshmen and expect them to have any confidence by keeping them on a short leash
You aren't going to win when you create nothing to free you shooters and your PG refuses to pass to the open players when he drives into the trees and your big fails to pass out of a double team 90% of the time
You aren't going to win when you have a team that has no idea what to do in a half court offense
You aren't going to win when you do not shake up your rotations and continually try to force players into positions that they are not suited or comfortable. Coach to your players strengths not how you envision things would look like in a perfect scenario.
I could go on
Time is ticking and tournament seed is dropping
Time for change - not in replacing the coach but instead how you have to react to what is going on the court
The players are there, the talent appears to be there - lets put it together the right way

100%

 

[freescooter]

Cole isn't the sole issue but for us to be more successful he has to be more consistent with his decision making. We need him to be great however we get o.k. to good to not so good from him. He needs to be the conductor on the floor, the leader and that starts with less turnovers, more consistent at the free throw line, better entry passes and passes in the right spots setting up his teammates, better at setting UCONN's game pace, better shot selection. Based on the pieces we have this is the key need right now and everything else will open up for this team particularly on offense. It's not just scoring that we need from Cole. If Cole is able to elevate his game a bit the rest of the team will respond.

Then we need a different player. Look, Cole is what he is. Not terrible, not great. Just average. Replace him with any of about 30 pgs and nobody would no the difference.

 

[Mr. French]

I hear you but heres the issue though. We automatically said our prior coach couldn’t develop players. Now we have better players supposedly and many aren’t getting better, they continue to make the same mistakes game after game. They can’t shoot, can’t create. I blame B.B. IQ for some but why is it ok for AJ to continuously play out of control and make really awful decisions when he came out a huge recruit. Gaff as well as others. I mean I don’t want to give up on the man but if you’re not frightened we haven’t hit our ceiling then you’re not watching closely.

I clearly said I don’t know the issue…after 3 or so awful years, I think we knew the issue w/ our prior coach (who I didn’t jump the gun on either).

This is the first year where majority of his recruits are playing and some are Frosh/soph, so yeah if they all are worse or no better in a year or 2, it will be BAD. I don’t expect that, but it’s possible.

I just think right now it’s impossible to say what the issue is.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

It's kind of baffling how bad we are at some things... On the play late where Andre got called for a moving pick, he had a clean drive to the basket that he turned down... I was expecting a dunk, a reverse layup, something. And he completely turned it down. Very Ben Simmons like. I don't know how he can be so athletic and talented while having no idea to use all that to finish around the basket. In 2 years he hasn't been coached to be able to do so either.

Cole and Martin have been playing great at times but they are only going to be able to take the team so far as the lead guys. I'm kind of looking forward to when they go and the younger, more talented guys are forced to step up like they were this year without Bouknight. Andre has to be forced to be the lead guy and Hawkins needs more shots for his confidence and development. Starting to think this year is a dud and it's going to be show and prove time for Hurley when it's just his top recruits. No transfers, just the talent he recruited and is suppose to be developing.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I clearly said I don’t know the issue…after 3 or so awful years, I think we knew the issue w/ our prior coach (who I didn’t jump the gun on either).

This is the first year where majority of his recruits are playing and some are Frosh/soph, so yeah if they all are worse or no better in a year or 2, it will be BAD. I don’t expect that, but it’s possible.

I just think right now it’s impossible to say what the issue is.

The issue is bad offensive basketball IQ. Guys simply don't make good decisions with the ball. Nobody knows how to create for others besides Jackson and he's reckless when he does it and is a complete non-factor in scoring most of the time.

Our team is the exact reason why college basketball is mainly run by good guard play. We have only one true guard on our team that's good and he's limited himself.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I think it is obvious that Hawkins needs to play more and get a bigger rope before Hurley takes him out for a boneheaded TO. AJ brings almost nothing on the offensive side. At least this guy can shoot. He should at least take Polley's minutes as we need to develop this kid offensively.

Hawkins is a great talent, agree that he needs more PT. Why couldn’t Hurley try playing Hawkins, Polley, Sanogo, Martin and Cole? I mean four lights out three point shooters and a scorer under the basket, and of those four shooters, three are very capable of dribble drive, and if Sanogo gets double teamed one of the shooters is open. I’ll tell you who else needs to play more, Gaffney! I thought last year when Bouknight was tearing things up, that Gaffney was the 2nd best talent on the team.

 

[Viet Vet]

Maybe Hurley can coach his big men not to foul 30+ feet from the basket, maybe Hurley can teach his team 3 or 4 basic offensive plays and practice them over and over until they can do it in their sleep,

Thank you, Conndog. I've been beating that drum for months (actually years).

 

[Mr. French]

The issue is bad offensive basketball IQ. Guys simply don't make good decisions with the ball. Nobody knows how to create for others besides Jackson and he's reckless when he does it and is a complete non-factor in scoring most of the time.

Our team is the exact reason why college basketball is mainly run by good guard play. We have only one true guard on our team that's good and he's limited himself.

I know what the team issue is, I don’t know the issue of what’s causing it.

 

[Kenny11]

Whoah…people are still using the “Ollie’s players” argument?

 

[CTrefugee]

Nothing else to say

He is still "I want to be your buddy" with his team. When you throw the ball lazily and the other team intercepts - you sit the next time the clock stops. When you dribble straight into 3 other players - you sit ASAP. When you lose your man for no good reason and he gets an easy layup - you sit ASAP. That's the only way these players will remember what they did wrong. Calhoun knew this.

 

[husky429]

I'm not blaming Ollie for that. I said it was on Hurley to rely on those players. He needs to bring in his guys now to get our talent up to a Villanova team.

This team is 11/13 Hurley's recruits. Blaming low-level Ollie recruits or that Hurley is still upgrading the talent is a tired, lazy take.

 

[CTrefugee]

Idk what our coach is supposed to do when our “best player” gets dominated all game and can’t run an offense or hit a shot.

This team is going nowhere so long as RJ Cole is a part of it.

Take out Cole and lose EVERY non-cupcake game.
from the dictionary:
noun (2)
Definition of gaff (Entry 3 of 5)
1a: something painful or difficult to bear : ORDEAL —usually used in the phrase stand the gaff

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I know what the team issue is, I don’t know the issue of what’s causing it.

Our coach isn't an offensive coach. He's great defensively and knows how to get guys to play hard. But I haven't really seen much offensive develop from guys since he's been here. Needs to call Calhoun about that and get his thoughts on how he worked his magic. Guard play under him was consistently poised and special no matter how talented the guy was coming out of HS.

 

[husky429]

Our coach isn't an offensive coach. He's great defensively and knows how to get guys to play hard. But I haven't really seen much offensive develop from guys since he's been here. Needs to call Calhoun about that and get his thoughts on how he worked his magic. Guard play under him was consistently poised and special no matter how talented the guy was coming out of HS.

Our offense has been higher ranked than our defense all year.

 

[3rdbass]

This team is 11/13 Hurley's recruits. Blaming low-level Ollie recruits or that Hurley is still upgrading the talent is a tired, lazy take.

It takes time to stamp your identity. I'm definitely happier where we are then a below .500 team in the AAC. LOL!

 

[Husky68]

It takes time to stamp your identity. I'm definitely happier where we are then a below .500 team in the AAC. LOL!

He's stamped his team's identity: poor offensive scheme/play, intense but not particularly effective defense, poor clock management, limited player development, hot head (put a skirt on him and could be Kim Mulkey).

 

[giddyup]

You people are endless in your criticism. How many open shots did we miss? Hard to change a game plan when you can’t make a damn shot.

Dude, the game was over 10 minutes in with Wright taking Hurley to the shed schematically. He knew Hurley would press, and knew if he could iso out bigs in open floor they would be in foul trouble in no time. Hurley, the clown, was in checkmate before he even knew it. The rest was scrambling to stop the bleeding and praying for good luck.

 

[polycom]

Our offense has been higher ranked than our defense all year.

At least someone notices.

 

[Northbound]

Yeah the lack of offensive adjustments by Hurley to get open shots for our guys puzzles me after the last 2 performances. Did he magically think something would change?

This is exactly what puzzles me - is it piss poor execution or just no scheme to get good shots consistently? I do even think its adjustments at this point - what the hell is happening because it doesn’t appear there is a opponent specific offensive plan to attach week spots in opponents D, cresting mismatching, etc.

I’m certainly not Riley or Pop or even the local hs hack but for christ sake what the hell is going on.

 

[freshler40]

Yeah was just the first 2 possessions of the 2nd half I believe. 1st one we got a stop, 2nd one we gave up a 3 and then I think we went back to man. Hopefully it's not the last time we see it this season, can be an effective tool in short bursts. The cynic in me says Hurley will be headstrong and use the 3 they hit as a reason to bury it for the rest of eternity though.

Well, if man to man is the answer, how does Nova shoot 60% and 95% from the foul line? We need to switch up our defenses more, good to see the full court press in the second half. It created some turnovers but really exposed Sanogo to 2/1 long court passes and strong back-down plays by Nova. Jay had all the answers and quickly responded. We traded hoops for much of the second half. Our offense looked better as we played faster and concentrated our offense on a few players. While it wasn't the total answer, we played with more determination and at least broke even with Nova.

Jay has well coached players that know their rolls. They also shot much better in all facets than us and are a quality top 10 team year after year. We are not there yet but I like our grit and effort during several serious come backs.

 

[freshler40]

Our offense has been higher ranked than our defense all year.

Just look at the magic Calhoon, Miller & Company have done with the Div 111 program at Saint Joesephs. 17-0, rated around #6 in the country! WOW it is a guard orientated offense, high scoring act. Great to see and done in 4 years, recruited from scratch.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

This team is 11/13 Hurley's recruits. Blaming low-level Ollie recruits or that Hurley is still upgrading the talent is a tired, lazy take.

Tired, lazy takes, recency bias, and selective memory takes about how things used to be are the cornerstone of the Boneyard!!!

Calhoun was never a “great” offensive coach. More often than not, most years and most games, watching his teams on offense was maddening. It was only when we had elite-level talent that we were good on offense.

I love Coach Calhoun but if you’re honest you know it’s true.

 

[EnochRoot]

He’s the only guy who can man the position he didn’t play great but we have zero other answers you make no sense. Gaff is dreadful and the coach doesn’t even give the other guy any minutes. Cole is fine considering the whole situation.

Good grief. When your PG has more turnovers than assists? Just because he’s the best of the options Hurley has given the team, does not mean he’s fine. None of what I’ve said makes “no sense.”