Reed and Diarra should start

[Hunt for 7]

I think the only reason Mahaney is starting is simply Hurley trying to keep his confidence at some acceptable level. He knows Hass can handle either role.

But the bigger picture is he just won two chips with starting back courts that were all 6’5” or taller except for Cam who was 6’4” but rebounded like he was 6’7”. Sure we had Joey C coming in for instant offense and Diarra both years but they were off the bench.

Look at our incoming recruits all big guards except for the big guy Riebe, who auto corrects to Reuben which should be fun, Hurley likes big guards and he is not shy about saying it.

Personally, my starting lineup would be Johnson, Karaban, McNeeley, Ross and Ball. I could see Diarra starting over Ball but that is the only question mark for me. Then Diarra sixth man again, Reed Jr and Stewart there is our perfect 8 man rotation. Mahaney needs to figure out how he can play a role like Joey C. Until he defends better that has to be his role. But Joey had swag, Mahaney not sure has that showman in him not with his current body language.

I hope I am wrong about Mahaney, never want to see our guys struggling.

 

[3rdbass]

I think the only reason Mahaney is starting is simply Hurley trying to keep his confidence at some acceptable level. He knows Hass can handle either role.

But the bigger picture is he just won two chips with starting back courts that were all 6’5” or taller except for Cam who was 6’4” but rebounded like he was 6’7”. Sure we had Joey C coming in for instant offense and Diarra both years but they were off the bench.

Look at our incoming recruits all big guards except for the big guy Riebe, who auto corrects to Reuben which should be fun, Hurley likes big guards and he is not shy about saying it.

Personally, my starting lineup would be Johnson, Karaban, McNeeley, Ross and Ball. I could see Diarra starting over Ball but that is the only question mark for me. Then Diarra sixth man again, Reed Jr and Stewart there is our perfect 8 man rotation. Mahaney needs to figure out how he can play a role like Joey C. Until he defends better that has to be his role. But Joey had swag, Mahaney not sure has that showman in him not with his current body language.

I hope I am wrong about Mahaney, never want to see our guys struggling.

You are right about his D but wrong about his offense. He has it in him to be a great scoring guard. He is a crafty penetrator and score from all 3 levels. He just needs confidence. I personally would like to see him become the 6th man off the bench. I think that is the perfect role for him.

 

[willie99]

Anyone clamoring for Diarra to start should really listen to Dan Hurley's post game comments

Who? Is he the two time defending champion or something? We all know more than that chump

I just reached out to the Lakers and offered my services. Just waiting on their response



I'm just playing, don't go Boneyard on me. But I'm glad we have Dan and I'm just here for the ride.

 

[Hunt for 7]

You are right about his D but wrong about his offense. He has it in him to be a great scoring guard. He is a crafty penetrator and score from all 3 levels. He just needs confidence. I personally would like to see him become the 6th man off the bench. I think that is the perfect role for him.

Absolutely agree he has an offensive game. He is a great shooter and handle. If he embraces a role like you mention, I think that is the prime outcome for our team.

 

[Sphinx]

Rewatch the highlights of the game. With 8 minutes to go, UConn leading 73-35 and cooking on all burners, DH puts his starting lineup back in, Mahaney at point. Everthing immediately stagnates on offense, Uconn going scoreless for the next two minutes. On defense, LeMoyne scores on its next two possessions, each time a driving layup past a flat-footed Mahaney. Time out. UConn retakes the floor without Mahaney. Not saying that was Mahaney's last chance, but there certainly can't be many more.

 

[AllHusky]

You are right about his D but wrong about his offense. He has it in him to be a great scoring guard. He is a crafty penetrator and score from all 3 levels. He just needs confidence. I personally would like to see him become the 6th man off the bench. I think that is the perfect role for him.

Bench time quite often forces a former starter to confront the issues plaguing him with an urgency much greater that if the Coach keeps letting him work it out in his staters role. Weaker kids retreat, stronger kids respond. Doubt Mahaney was recruited thinking he was anything but strong. Would like to see it happen, and see Aidan respond.

On the FB side, Joe Fagnano seems to have responded well to diminished role, while Nick Evers seems to need a taste of it.

 

[AtlHusky]

I'm also in the camp of starters don't matter much, but one thing I found missing early on that's been effective for Samson, the team, and the crowd, is the lob game. I haven't seen AM look for it much, so I'd like to see Hass, who is effective driving to the hoop, and Samson on the floor together more often early on.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm also in the camp of starters don't matter much, but one thing I found missing early on that's been effective for Samson, the team, and the crowd, is the lob game. I haven't seen AM look for it much, so I'd like to see Hass, who is effective driving to the hoop, and Samson on the floor together more often early on.

You’re echoing what I wrote and what Hurley has stated. He didn’t state directly about Hassan playing with Samson. He stated the guards have not used Samson in the lob game. Since Ball and Mahaney have been primarily playing with Samson the implication is more Hassan and Samson.

 

[Palatine]

2 slow starts in a row against bad teams
Reed if given the minutes wil be a monster. He’s much more diversified than Johnson and Johnson’s best position is as a 15 minute energizer off the bench. He’s still very important but he just fouls way too much as a starter.
Diarra gives us a defensive force that can find us easy offense. It’s easy to see both of these players( Reed and Diarra)will give us the lift we need to start the game

Does Hurley know this?

 

[Rico444]

I trust in Hurley and this staff fully, so I'm willing to give Mahaney a longer leash, but he hasn't looked great. Certainly not writing him off, as Newton had his ups and downs when he first came over here too.

 

[Sphinx]

A fair question to ask: Would DH risk an unnecessary loss or two in order to completely fulfill his commitment to Mahaney? I believe he would. Would we?

 

[Waquoit]

A fair question to ask: Would DH risk an unnecessary loss or two in order to completely fulfill his commitment to Mahaney? I believe he would.

I don't. If UConn is losing and he's stinking out the joint he's getting the hook. And I don't think starting him is risking an unnecessary loss.

 

[ucp990411]

It’s amazing how many people here know more than the best coach in college basketball.

 

[PAHusky]

A fair question to ask: Would DH risk an unnecessary loss or two in order to completely fulfill his commitment to Mahaney? I believe he would. Would we?

Would Dan Hurley risk a loss for anything? Come on

 

[bendm]

A fair question to ask: Would DH risk an unnecessary loss or two in order to completely fulfill his commitment to Mahaney? I believe he would. Would we?

Hurleys commitment to AM was a UConn scholarship for this season, and to try and coach him up the best he could. That’s his commitment to every player, not being a starter

 

[JerseyAlum]

It’s amazing how many people here know more than the best coach in college basketball.

Well the knock on Mahaney was he played to the level of his opposition. When Saint Mary’s played Gonzaga he was at this best.

DH knows this and played against Saint Mary’s. I trust either DH can live with this or is trying to change this but either way in DH I trust.

 

[Improviser]

A fair question to ask: Would DH risk an unnecessary loss or two in order to completely fulfill his commitment to Mahaney? I believe he would. Would we?

I doubt Hurley made any commitment to Mahaney to play any specific amount of time, absent decent performance or transcendent performance.

Mora inexplicably left in Evers until he got hurt and then Fagnano took over, and he turned the game around. Did Mora have a promise he made to Evers about playing time or felt he had to justify Evers' NIL? Maybe so.

Hurley is not Mora. If Hurley were coaching the football team, he would have pulled Evers for not moving the needle.

Hurley will pull Mahaney (after starting) if he can't get the job done during the game, and will limit his minutes for that game. Top coach that he is, he will give Mahaney other chances to get the job done at another time or at another game.

 

[jibsey]

Rewatch the highlights of the game. With 8 minutes to go, UConn leading 73-35 and cooking on all burners, DH puts his starting lineup back in, Mahaney at point. Everthing immediately stagnates on offense, Uconn going scoreless for the next two minutes. On defense, LeMoyne scores on its next two possessions, each time a driving layup past a flat-footed Mahaney. Time out. UConn retakes the floor without Mahaney. Not saying that was Mahaney's last chance, but there certainly can't be many more.

Hurley doesn’t abandon his starters easily. Mahaney was likely promised that to come here no matter what Hurley says now. You may very well be right but we will need to see more evidence and against big time teams before he changes his mind I’m pretty sure. There’s plenty of time.

 

[Sphinx]

Hurley doesn’t abandon his starters easily. Mahaney was likely promised that to come here no matter what Hurley says now. You may very well be right but we will need to see more evidence and against big time teams before he changes his mind I’m pretty sure. There’s plenty of time.

I agree. It would be pretty hard to bench Aidan while we're still undefeated and explain that to future portal transfers. DH has made a pretty big bet on his being right about Aidan.

 

[AllHusky]

He probably is right, only it is difficult to gauge the time it will take for a 100% effective assimilation. In the meantime, he's got 6 weeks(conservatively) to tinker with combos of Hass, Ball, Liam, Ross, Nowell, at the 1 and 2. Instead of looking at Aidans slower than hoped for transition, look at the opportunity to explore how the whole lineup works with these different combo's. Huskies end up stronger overall, and we don't necessarily take an L because of it.

 

[my2cents]

I know it's a discussion board, but I think I will go with whatever Hurley decides. Based on his record as a coach, to not agree with his choices, seems silly.

 

[dogpause]

Well the knock on Mahaney was he played to the level of his opposition. When Saint Mary’s played Gonzaga he was at this best.

DH knows this and played against Saint Mary’s. I trust either DH can live with this or is trying to change this but either way in DH I trust.

Mahaney's competition this year is his teammates who are all fighting for PT.

 

[ctchamps]

I know it's a discussion board, but I think I will go with whatever Hurley decides. Based on his record as a coach, to not agree with his choices, seems silly.

Coaches are not infallible. In the first half of the women’s game against North Carolina after building a large lead Paige came out of the game and I said to myself great I hope they rest her 4-5 minutes.

Instead she goes back in shortly after a minute resulting in her being tired in that fourth period when NC made their run.

Now Geno has to weigh a couple of things I don’t. First the momentum was strongly in UConn’s favor when Paige went back in so you consider the choice of completely devastating your opponent. Second Paige has finally turned on the aggressive button and you don’t want to rein that in. So that was probably the thought process of Geno.

But after this game I hope he considers the fatigue factor in his playing time for Paige.

The discussions we have here are thought processes that are frequently viable. What’s a problem for me is individuals who postulate ideas and believe they can’t be wrong or don’t consider the downsides to their arguments.

 

[bendm]

I agree. It would be pretty hard to bench Aidan while we're still undefeated and explain that to future portal transfers. DH has made a pretty big bet on his being right about Aidan.

Please. First of all I will never believe he promises a starting spot to any one. Recruit or transfer. Second even if he did the explanation is simple, “play well and you won’t get benched“

 

[AllHusky]

A benching in hoops is not nearly as big a deal as in FB or Baseball. Unless a coach just gives up on a kid, they’ll have a shot to prove they belong