Praise for Hurley

[dogpause]

Dan Hurley has taken a lot of heat lately, and much of it is understandable, IMO. However, last night he literally willed his team to victory in a game where midway through the seecond half, a win seemed far less likely than a gut-punishing ugly loss. We were behind in every significant statistic with less than 10 minutes left, yet managed to win going away, and even coming out on top in most of the important stats.

This team may not be as capable as the past two, and as others have pointed out, fan expectations may have been unreasonably high, but it does have one advantage over the two championship squads -- it is battle tested like no UConn team in history, so I would not put anything past them.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Hurley's decision to turn up defensive pressure by extending full court was the move that woke us up.. When we still lived in the world where I thought we went 10 deep, Id hope for either some full court man trap or 1-2-1-1 full looks like the nadav days. It was his coaching move, and decision to utilize Reed down low, that made the last 10 minutes different from the first 30

 

[TroyHall98]

Did we forget the Seton Hall game? The truth is he has had some good moments and not so good moments this year.

I’m not saying he is a bad coach. We are lucky to have him and we wouldn’t have had the recent success without him but we have to be truthful about this year.

 

[Scrappy3]

To me Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley are gold.

 

[alphasigko]

IMO it is a bit early for much praise to be lavished on DH regarding this team's performances to date.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Did we forget the Seton Hall game? The truth is he has had some good moments and not so good moments this year.

I’m not saying he is a bad coach. We are lucky to have him and we wouldn’t have had the recent success without him but we have to be truthful about this year.

I'm glad this post is time-stamped 4:20. Otherwise, I'd think it was serious.

It's late February: for what possible positive purpose would you post anything about a necessity to be truthful about this year, and to premise it on the season having good moments and not so good moments?

The original post sought praise for a second half coaching job that resulted in a win that a large majority of fans would have thought was impossible. And you want to remind us of what had happened in the prior game? Again, for what possible positive purpose?

I don't care whether you think Dan Hurley is a good coach or a bad coach. In fact, I didn't bother to form any opinion on whether you were even saying he was a bad coach; that's in you. And I certainly don't think we're "lucky" to have DH as our team's coach.

Many people worked very hard for the results and good fortune that have come UConn's way. Luck isn't much different from a coin toss.

Please don't use your misperceptions and sloppy rhetoric as a basis for claiming any imperative to be truthful about year that's still in progress. For the third time - for what possible positive purpose would you urge such a course?

There are six regular season games, and two tournaments yet to be played. There are injuries to heal, and haikus to be written. Take your potheaded drivel elsewhere and get your head & heart & gut back into the season one day at a time. That's the reality.

 

[TroyHall98]

I'm glad this post is time-stamped 4:20. Otherwise, I'd think it was serious.

It's late February: for what possible positive purpose would you post anything about a necessity to be truthful about this year, and to premise it on the season having good moments and not so good moments?

The original post sought praise for a second half coaching job that resulted in a win that a large majority of fans would have thought was impossible. And you want to remind us of what had happened in the prior game? Again, for what possible positive purpose?

I don't care whether you think Dan Hurley is a good coach or a bad coach. In fact, I didn't bother to form any opinion on whether you were even saying he was a bad coach; that's in you. And I certainly don't think we're "lucky" to have DH as our team's coach.

Many people worked very hard for the results and good fortune that have come UConn's way. Luck isn't much different from a coin toss.

Please don't use your misperceptions and sloppy rhetoric as a basis for claiming any imperative to be truthful about year that's still in progress. For the third time - for what possible positive purpose would you urge such a course?

There are six regular season games, and two tournaments yet to be played. There are injuries to heal, and haikus to be written. Take your potheaded drivel elsewhere and get your head & heart & gut back into the season one day at a time. That's the reality.

Did I hurt your feelings? Good one on the post time though.

My point is that while he deserves praise for engineering a comeback last night, he also deserves criticism for some of the losses. It’s been an up and down year. The praise is worthwhile if the team becomes galvanized from this win and can find some consistency in their performance. Sorry if accountability season-to-date hurts your sensibilities.

 

[HuskyFich]

Anyone who has animosity towards Hurley this year needs to take a hard look in the mirror about their own talent analysis. I think it was pretty much obvious this years team was going to regress, or at the very least have much more growing pains.

The reason ppl are upset is because we’re not a final four favorite/contender as of now, when at same time the only reason fans even thought it was possible for a 3-peat this year is because we have Dan Hurley as our coach.

Can’t have it both ways.

 

[uconngb]

Anyone who has animosity towards Hurley this year needs to take a hard look in the mirror about their own talent analysis. I think it was pretty much obvious this years team was going to regress, or at the very least have much more growing pains.

The reason ppl are upset is because we’re not a final four favorite/contender as of now, when at same time the only reason fans even thought it was possible for a 3-peat this year is because we have Dan Hurley as our coach.

Can’t have it both ways.

That’s not even close to true. The reason many are upset is the WAY this team has played, the obvious coaching shortfalls that have been exposed and the inexcusable examples of “softness” and “not showing up” for certain games that coaches and players themselves have pointed out.

Also, keep in mind there was one guy fanning the flames of a potential 3peat and it was Dan Hurley. So yeah, he’s got some valid criticisms to face. (And I didn’t even mention roster composition and talent identification).

 

[jibsey]

My news feeds have a stream of articles attacking Hurley. I don’t know where this is all coming from but it’s definitely happening and it’s been going on ever since Maui. He’s attracting a lot of hate and it’s new this year based on a few outbursts early on.

 

[Scoe]

My news feeds have a stream of articles attacking Hurley. I don’t know where this is all coming from but it’s definitely happening and it’s been going on ever since Maui. He’s attracting a lot of hate and it’s new this year based on a few outbursts early on.

If the critics can't attack your game they will attack your character.

 

[djct1999]

People should listen to the Dauster top dogs podcast. If you really listen and read between the tea leaves it explains alot as to what is going on. The biggest takeaway is how the transfer portal stuff begins now and how disruptive it is to locker rooms to most programs. For the greater part of two years, UConn has been immune to that. Doesn’t feel that way this year and Danny seems to be struggling w that. This is a learning year for sure. Unrealized expectations, eval misses, roster construction, kids not fully buying in, etc is all new to this staff. Expect them to fully adapt and come back w a vengeance!

 

[Umami Zen]

This year was always going to be choppy and inconsistent. Hurley continues to learn and grow as a coach. He has made mistakes and has improved in certain areas. He was loyal to his returners and NC players.

If you're looking for a silver lining. Haven't played our A game for 40 minutes yet.

 

[boog204]

To me Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley are gold.

To be fair, Scrappy, you could spin gonorrhea as gold. And I mean that as a compliment.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

IMO it is a bit early for much praise to be lavished on DH regarding this team's performances to date.

I get it. When the team plays well, it's because of the players. When they don't, it's on Hurley.

Like everyone (with the possible exception of my ex-wife), DH is not perfect and yes, a lot of our issues are due to the composition of the roster which is entirely on him. I still see quite a bit of the problem being that too many on this roster seem to believe that effort is something they can get away with turning on and off depending on how they feel about the opponent.

I have no doubt that we will see a tremendous effort on Sunday. What I am concerned with, especially if we do beat St John's, is what we see when we play Georgetown. If we mail that one in, we will need to accept that this team doesn't want it badly enough, and that won't be on any member of our coaching staff.

 

[Hunt for 7]

We never thought the 22-23 team had a chance at the end of January. They were toast. Then just like Hurley mentioned in his post game of the Villanova game “who knows what is going to materialize with this team.”

Thinking that before Liam got hurt we were trending way up. Top ten up. 2-3 seed up. Sound familiar to another recent season. Then we lost him for a month Alex also got hurt and has not been the same player for the most part since the two free throw misses.

This team may have some March magic in it. This weekend is a big game to hopefully start the magic.

We need a few things to happen IMO. Ball to keep getting better every game like he has been. His defense, rebounding and now passing has all improved. Alex just being Alex again and would that really be a miracle, I think it is going to happen. Diarra staying healthy enough to keep playing big minutes. McNeeley just being Liam and not deferring to Alex. You are our star my man accept the role, I am sure Alex won’t mind. And maybe a more consistent Reed.

If those things happen or even 3 or 4 out of five the whole ceiling for this team changes. Just think about the losses if Alex makes half those three pointers like he has for 2+ years we are sitting at 3 losses in league and this weekend playing for a first play tie. The margins are tight but reality suggests we have a chance to change the whole season over the next three weeks.

UConn is UConn that has never changed since Khalid got on that scorers table after the Dook game, just when you think we can’t we can. UConn equals u can.

 

[superjohn]

People should listen to the Dauster top dogs podcast. If you really listen and read between the tea leaves it explains alot as to what is going on. The biggest takeaway is how the transfer portal stuff begins now and how disruptive it is to locker rooms to most programs. For the greater part of two years, UConn has been immune to that. Doesn’t feel that way this year and Danny seems to be struggling w that. This is a learning year for sure. Unrealized expectations, eval misses, roster construction, kids not fully buying in, etc is all new to this staff. Expect them to fully adapt and come back w a vengeance!

 

[husky429]

Dan Hurley has taken a lot of heat lately, and much of it is understandable, IMO. However, last night he literally willed his team to victory in a game where midway through the seecond half, a win seemed far less likely than a gut-punishing ugly loss. We were behind in every significant statistic with less than 10 minutes left, yet managed to win going away, and even coming out on top in most of the important stats.

This team may not be as capable as the past two, and as others have pointed out, fan expectations may have been unreasonably high, but it does have one advantage over the two championship squads -- it is battle tested like no UConn team in history, so I would not put anything past them.

I don't think anyone was willed to victory. The team had great effort throughout the game. He benched AK and we went on a run, then turned up the pressure and fed the ball to Reed on the other end to win the game. The win was good personnel managements and Xs and Os.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

I don't think anyone was willed to victory. The team had great effort throughout the game. He benched AK and we went on a run, then turned up the pressure and fed the ball to Reed on the other end to win the game. The win was good personnel managements and Xs and Os.

i posted praise about these very 2nd half adjustments that allowed us the win. My criticism of Hurley is that he does NOT make the in game adjustments when needed and is too stubborn with his beliefs (at times). Maybe staring into the abyss of a villanova home loss with 10 minutes to go, led to the changing things up. Jstew was buried after quick hook in first half after TO, but he put him in for AK in the SECOND HALF (2 unheard of events), and his grown man rebound was a spark. DH finally letting Reed move away from being screener guy, into using his good footwork for easy buckets on low block. If he continues to be more adaptive like this we can make a run.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

I'm glad this post is time-stamped 4:20. Otherwise, I'd think it was serious.

It's late February: for what possible positive purpose would you post anything about a necessity to be truthful about this year, and to premise it on the season having good moments and not so good moments?

The original post sought praise for a second half coaching job that resulted in a win that a large majority of fans would have thought was impossible. And you want to remind us of what had happened in the prior game? Again, for what possible positive purpose?

I don't care whether you think Dan Hurley is a good coach or a bad coach. In fact, I didn't bother to form any opinion on whether you were even saying he was a bad coach; that's in you. And I certainly don't think we're "lucky" to have DH as our team's coach.

Many people worked very hard for the results and good fortune that have come UConn's way. Luck isn't much different from a coin toss.

Please don't use your misperceptions and sloppy rhetoric as a basis for claiming any imperative to be truthful about year that's still in progress. For the third time - for what possible positive purpose would you urge such a course?

There are six regular season games, and two tournaments yet to be played. There are injuries to heal, and haikus to be written. Take your potheaded drivel elsewhere and get your head & heart & gut back into the season one day at a time. That's the reality.

I always enjoy a nice witty Hans novel lol. And I agree 100%

 

[UConniki]

I'm glad this post is time-stamped 4:20. Otherwise, I'd think it was serious.

It's late February: for what possible positive purpose would you post anything about a necessity to be truthful about this year, and to premise it on the season having good moments and not so good moments?

The original post sought praise for a second half coaching job that resulted in a win that a large majority of fans would have thought was impossible. And you want to remind us of what had happened in the prior game? Again, for what possible positive purpose?

I don't care whether you think Dan Hurley is a good coach or a bad coach. In fact, I didn't bother to form any opinion on whether you were even saying he was a bad coach; that's in you. And I certainly don't think we're "lucky" to have DH as our team's coach.

Many people worked very hard for the results and good fortune that have come UConn's way. Luck isn't much different from a coin toss.

Please don't use your misperceptions and sloppy rhetoric as a basis for claiming any imperative to be truthful about year that's still in progress. For the third time - for what possible positive purpose would you urge such a course?

There are six regular season games, and two tournaments yet to be played. There are injuries to heal, and haikus to be written. Take your potheaded drivel elsewhere and get your head & heart & gut back into the season one day at a time. That's the reality.

I can’t seem to decide one way or the other whether your response is serious or just some lighthearted attempt at humor. If your goal was to confuse what your intent was then you’ve succeeded. Either way job well done.

 

[djct1999]

I get it. When the team plays well, it's because of the players. When they don't, it's on Hurley.

Like everyone (with the possible exception of my ex-wife), DH is not perfect and yes, a lot of our issues are due to the composition of the roster which is entirely on him. I still see quite a bit of the problem being that too many on this roster seem to believe that effort is something they can get away with turning on and off depending on how they feel about the opponent.

I have no doubt that we will see a tremendous effort on Sunday. What I am concerned with, especially if we do beat St John's, is what we see when we play Georgetown. If we mail that one in, we will need to accept that this team doesn't want it badly enough, and that won't be on any member of our coaching staff.

This 100%. He trusts 7. A few kids have one foot out the door. This is the most disjointed team Hurley has had here. It doesn’t help that this group was saddled with unrealistic expectations to start.

 

[05Alum]

When they were reeling in the second half, and Hurley brought in Nowell it was bizarre to me. Him basically saying to the fan base, you guys all wanted to see more Nowell, have at it.
The late game moves felt like a throw it against the wall and see what sticks moment from the madman. And it worked.

 

[AntG168]

If this is a “tough” Hurley year moving forward then we are in spectacular shape. This season hasn’t even come close to a disaster. We’re just spoiled.