Quote from Hurley about Solo and Jayden

[navery12]

In all candor I believe that it is safe to say that everyone who is not a center will warrant more minutes than he will receive this upcoming season and there is a strong likelyhood that even the two centers may be able to make a serious case that each warrants a lot more than the 20 minutes per game each should receive.

I will double down on what I posted months ago:

Injuries aside, outside of Karaban, no player will start every game.

At least until the stretch run of the BE regular season we will run a deeper rotation than we have seen under Hurley.

We have more talent at players 9-12 than we have ever had here.

I agree with most of this, but the starting lineup isn't going to be a constant change. I'd be surprised if it changes much at all unless there's some massive underperforming. Dan Hurley doesn't even change his underwear when we're winning, I can't see him switching up multiple starters every game all year

 

[BuffaloHusky]

Solo as well as everyone else will really need to buckle down on D to get major minutes as too many of these guys can consistently score. Conversely, I'm not sure yet who the stalwarts will be on D besides the proven commodities of Diarra, Johnson and Kalaban.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I disagree. Hurley uses coach-speak less than any other coach I can remember. If he says these guys are doing that well, I'm thinking they are in fact, doing well.

Expect when it comes to injuries

 

[IchabodCran]

It’s going to be interesting to see who for sure. Mahaney plays a position of need so it can’t be him. Liam is a OAD talent so it’s hard to imagine he isn’t going to get a lot of minutes one way or another.

But man there’s been so much positive buzz about Ross this summer.

I remember a lot of positive buzz around Ross before last season. Hopefully the game has slowed down for him and he can actually be aggressive this year.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I agree with most of this, but the starting lineup isn't going to be a constant change. I'd be surprised if it changes much at all unless there's some massive underperforming. Dan Hurley doesn't even change his underwear when we're winning, I can't see him switching up multiple starters every game all year

The starter at five will be split between Johnson & Reed and I think it will play out where the guy who starts the fewest if the two will still start eight to ten games this season. With Karaban at the four, there only three starting positions remaining. I'm not sayng that it will be a juggling match throughout the entire season, or that the guy who starts the bulk of the games at each position won't do so 25-30 times, but there will be a few games (3, 4. maybe 5) where that guy comes off the bench early.

Stewart, Ball and McNeeley should combine to start all games at the two and three. I highly doubt that there is a need to start one or two of them every game, and I imagine the staff will spend a lot of the earlier part of the season observing how well different combinations work.

What we end up seeng at PG will be dependent on how quickly Mahaney acclimates to this level of competition, how well Nowell develops as a freshman and how impactful Diarra can be as a starter. It would surprise me greatly if the season doesn't begin with Diarra as starting PG but it would surprise me further if there isn't a game or two where the staff doesn't experiment with Mahaney and Nowell starting.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

I can't tell if this is serious. Reading into what Hurley says about player's is fool's gold. Hurley notoriously has 3 layers of meaning to everything he says. He's anything BUT a straight shooter about what is going on with the team. Good coaches never are this time of year.

It's a motivational tool. Locker room note material. Maybe Solo and Jayden just need to be hyped up right now for whatever reason. Or maybe Jaylin or Mahaney has been slacking a bit and he's using it as fuel.

I felt the topics they chose to shoot in the behind the scene coaching room video a few wks back were put there as coach speak as well. I think it was about Ross disappearing (i think? definitely remember Tarris softball reactions mentioned). It's interesting the way he is yo-yo ing Ross, sending messages via the press to motivate and then reward. He wouldnt waste the bandwith if he didn't see something there with Ross. Though I do remember him shouting on Richie Springs one pre-season, so....

 

[navery12]

The starter at five will be split between Johnson & Reed and I think it will play out where the guy who starts the fewest if the two will still start eight to ten games this season. With Karaban at the four, there only three starting positions remaining. I'm not sayng that it will be a juggling match throughout the entire season, or that the guy who starts the bulk of the games at each position won't do so 25-30 times, but there will be a few games (3, 4. maybe 5) where that guy comes off the bench early.

Stewart, Ball and McNeeley should combine to start all games at the two and three. I highly doubt that there is a need to start one or two of them every game, and I imagine the staff will spend a lot of the earlier part of the season observing how well different combinations work.

What we end up seeng at PG will be dependent on how quickly Mahaney acclimates to this level of competition, how well Nowell develops as a freshman and how impactful Diarra can be as a starter. It would surprise me greatly if the season doesn't begin with Diarra as starting PG but it would surprise me further if there isn't a game or two where the staff doesn't experiment with Mahaney and Nowell starting.

Yeah I'm just gonna have to strongly disagree with you here. I do expect there to be lots of experimenting but I just don't see that being in the starting lineup. That's a recipe for disaster and a way to make the whole team unhappy.

You start your best players and then experiment with lineups later on. I expect all of what you laid out to be tested, and can see all those different lineups being used to close games. But pulling guys in and out of the lineup all year is how you end up with 8 players all afraid to make a mistake and playing timid

 

[ElPresidente]

if Dan says it, I'll follow!

 

[husky429]

Yeah I'm just gonna have to strongly disagree with you here. I do expect there to be lots of experimenting but I just don't see that being in the starting lineup. That's a recipe for disaster and a way to make the whole team unhappy.

You start your best players and then experiment with lineups later on. I expect all of what you laid out to be tested, and can see all those different lineups being used to close games. But pulling guys in and out of the lineup all year is how you end up with 8 players all afraid to make a mistake and playing timid

It's also just not Hurley's style. Except when injury was an issue (Castle) or some kind of discipline (Bouk) has Hurley ever tweaked a starting lineup significantly?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Yeah I'm just gonna have to strongly disagree with you here. I do expect there to be lots of experimenting but I just don't see that being in the starting lineup. That's a recipe for disaster and a way to make the whole team unhappy.

You start your best players and then experiment with lineups later on. I expect all of what you laid out to be tested, and can see all those different lineups being used to close games. But pulling guys in and out of the lineup all year is how you end up with 8 players all afraid to make a mistake and playing timid

I believe that you are misinterpreting what I am saying (and that you and I also have a different view on when to experiment).

If there is a guy that you plan on starting 30+ games, would it be better to have the two or three games where you do have him coming off the bench occurr in early-mid December of in February?

A specific question on this as I belieev it goes to the heart of the disconnect on this:

Do you believe that one of Stewart, Ball and McNeeley will start zero games this upcoming season?

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Do you believe that one of Stewart, Ball and McNeeley will start zero games this upcoming season?

Barring injury or poor play yes.

There’s no reason to experiment for the sake of experimenting if the starters are playing well.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I can't tell if this is serious. Reading into what Hurley says about player's is fool's gold. Hurley notoriously has 3 layers of meaning to everything he says. He's anything BUT a straight shooter about what is going on with the team. Good coaches never are this time of year.

It's a motivational tool. Locker room note material. Maybe Solo and Jayden just need to be hyped up right now for whatever reason. Or maybe Jaylin or Mahaney has been slacking a bit and he's using it as fuel.

In hindsight, they were always shooting straight. It was our eyes which were looking at it from the wrong perspective.

Yep, there a chance he is sending this as a message to keep Ross and Ball motivated. There's a chance it's to motivate Mahaney. There's a chance he's doing to motivate all 3 of them.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Unless we're going to a full 10 man rotation I'm skeptical of reading too much into these quotes. This is about the time of year every team has 11 guys that are looking better than ever. The Ball hype is real though, and he is going to start

What I like about supposedly having 10 rotational capable players is it helps in January and February when players inevitably get injured, the flu, whatever. It's nice to have a couple of depth players and still keep an 8-9 man rotation for every game. In years past when a player or two were out, the bench shortened to 6-7 players and they all had to eat those extra minutes in the middle of the grind of the season.

 

[navery12]

I believe that you are misinterpreting what I am saying (and that you and I also have a different view on when to experiment).

If there is a guy that you plan on starting 30+ games, would it be better to have the two or three games where you do have him coming off the bench occurr in early-mid December of in February?

A specific question on this as I belieev it goes to the heart of the disconnect on this:

Do you believe that one of Stewart, Ball and McNeeley will start zero games this upcoming season?

If there's a guy I plan on starting 30+ games I don't plan on having there be any games in December or February where he comes off the bench. I plan on him to start.

And injuries aside, yes. Your guess is as good as mine which guy that is, but I expect whoever wins the starting jobs between Ball, Stewart, McNeeley to keep it all year

 

[navery12]

It's also just not Hurley's style. Except when injury was an issue (Castle) or some kind of discipline (Bouk) has Hurley ever tweaked a starting lineup significantly?

Ignoring injuries the only ones I remember off the top of my head were Jalen Gaffney taking over the PG role from someone midseason, I think Gilbert. And Sanogo starting over Carlton, but that was very early in the year after a few games

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Probably just learning from the great JC again.

The season didn't truly start until JC was talking about how the bench pieces were playing like lottery picks...

 

[Chin Diesel]

Probably just learning from the great JC again.

The season didn't truly start until JC was talking about how the bench pieces were playing like lottery picks...

cough, cough. Justin Brown's best days are ahead of him. cough, cough.

 

[Fan1978]

Ross' biggest liability last year was lack of strength for his size and skill set. If he is physically stronger, he could be impactful.

Ball? Last year Hurley said he was one of the best shooters in practice but it did not carry over to game situations. If he can be more consistent shooting from the perimeter, he could be one of the better players on the team.

Your comment on Ball is spot on. He has all the physical tools. His problems last year were all between the ears and a total lack of confidence. He reminded me of Andre Jackson, best athlete on floor and rarely attempted or made a layup. He settled for chucking 3’s last year. Take it to the hoop and sky is the limit

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If there's a guy I plan on starting 30+ games I don't plan on having there be any games in December or February where he comes off the bench. I plan on him to start.

And injuries aside, yes. Your guess is as good as mine which guy that is, but I expect whoever wins the starting jobs between Ball, Stewart, McNeeley to keep it all year

I'll try again:

Do you believe that one of Ball, Stewart and McNeeley will start zero games this season. The only possible answers are yes or no.

 

[navery12]

I'll try again:

Do you believe that one of Ball, Stewart and McNeeley will start zero games this season. The only possible answers are yes or no.

I already answered that question in my last reply. Yes, I expect whichever one of those guys doesn't win the starting job to come off the bench all year

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Obviously a lot of water still needs to go under the bridge and guys need to prove it in games, but if we really are 9 or 10 deep I'd like to see if we could create a quasi "40 minutes of hell" for our opponents by pressing more than we've had to recently. Without Donovan patrolling the paint and a potential Samson/Reed fouling machine, I'm thinking that more ball pressure to create turnovers and or reduced quality paint penetration would serve us well in terms of lacking the "Donovan" effect.

 

[tennmike]

Your comment on Ball is spot on. He has all the physical tools. His problems last year were all between the ears and a total lack of confidence. He reminded me of Andre Jackson, best athlete on floor and rarely attempted or made a layup. He settled for chucking 3’s last year. Take it to the hoop and sky is the limit

I don't think it is a lack of confidence. Based on his play, it would seem more about not understanding the nuances of the game and employing his skills to the best benefit. Cam, Tristen, Alex, and Stephan all displayed a terrific BB IQ. Look at a recruit like Furphy with limited physical skills but an outsized game impact.

 

[Mr. French]

Unless we're going to a full 10 man rotation I'm skeptical of reading too much into these quotes. This is about the time of year every team has 11 guys that are looking better than ever. The Ball hype is real though, and he is going to start

I predict Ball to have at least a couple 20 point outbursts.

I think the Ross stuff is probably 1) true and a testament to his development, and 2) also a motivator to some guys that maybe feel they have PT locked in.

A tinge of “warning” to his wings. But I don’t doubt Ross developing in a real way. We always knew he had tons of tools.

 

[Kenny11]

The truth is that besides guys that are absolutely huge, nobody who goes through our practices and takes care of themselves off the court is going to get worn down (physically). The games are only 40 minutes and there are long timeouts every four minutes at a minimum…and many mini-breaks in between.

 

[husky429]

In hindsight, they were always shooting straight. It was our eyes which were looking at it from the wrong perspective.

Yep, there a chance he is sending this as a message to keep Ross and Ball motivated. There's a chance it's to motivate Mahaney. There's a chance he's doing to motivate all 3 of them.

I suspect the latter is the most likely. Chess, not checkers.