Sanogo wants more PT

[BGesus4]

Yeah, bottom line is you can’t have one coaching philosophy. You need to coach to the talent you have. We said it earlier with some of how he used Bouk. We are unbelievably lucky to have Hurley leading our program but his biggest weakness is his lack of experience at this level riding the most talented players on the floor... although he seemed to figure it out quickly with Bouk

 

[Tenspro2002]

Hurley has always favored upperclassmen and guards.
This is not Wagner or URI and the caliber of guys he is bringing in are much better.
You can let seniority dictate who plays. Also playing 3 guards when the only really good guard you have is out indefinitely is begging for games like today to happen.

The better the talent Dan Hurley bring in the more he has to adjust his thinking and not be stubborn.

I think this is about right. He plays who he's most comfortable with, based on his experience having generally under-talented teams.

That's seniors, and that's guards. And that usually is what gets it done at the mid-major level. Hell, usually guard play is what gets it done at the high-major level too when you have the personnel.

But he needs to be able to adjust.

 

[JakeTheDog]

Honestly, I would be ripscalito if I was Hurley and another coach humiliated me like that. Anderson laughed in Hurley's face by going 5 guards, and honestly, it was disrespectful. Unfortunately, Hurley was not capable of doing anything about it.

Yesterday Hurley wore a shirt with the famous Tyson quote "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Today Mike Anderson punched Danny in the face and he didn't swing back.

 

[UConn_Top_Dog]

5 out is actually a terrible offense for shooting 3's, and any coach that is not a moron can defend the perimeter against a 5 out easily with a 3-2 or 3-1-1 matchup zone.

Edit: I would stretch a basic 2-3 though if I was the coach. defenders could easily close out to the corners, and the top of the zone could cover the 3 other shooters easily since it is hard to properly space with a 5 out.

Honestly, I would be ripscalito if I was Hurley and another coach humiliated me like that. Anderson laughed in Hurley's face by going 5 guards, and honestly, it was disrespectful. Unfortunately, Hurley was not capable of doing anything about it.

I just watched some of the Xavier St Johns game and every time Xavier went zone St Johns struggled. And guess what Xavier won that game. If some knows Coach Hurley personally on here please plead with him to try zone and pound it inside to our bigs next time we play those clowns.

 

[Marat]

I just watched some of the Xavier St Johns game and every time Xavier went zone St Johns struggled. And guess what Xavier won that game. If some knows Coach Hurley personally on here please plead with him to try zone and pound it inside to our bigs next time we play those clowns.

I read that Hurley didn't want to go zone because SJU was hitting 3s . I also think he hates doing it kinda of like Calhoun. But he's going to have to try to be adaptable to the situation more for us to survive until Bouk returns.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The problem is Hurley too rigidly sticks to his script.

Obviously the script for this year is to play Sanogo for stretches at a time, let him learn playing behind Whaley and Carlton, and then be ready to dominate next year when those guys are gone.

The end of game script is to win with ballhandling, athleticism, quickness, and flexibility on D. That's not a bad idea in general, but it clearly wasn't working today.

And the sad part, or the part leading to hope, is he obviously game plans well. Very rare for UConn to go in to the first TV timeout without a lead or at least functioning as a team. Gone are the days of getting down 13-2 because the players weren't prepped.

Hurley is still average at best and definitely outside the top tier of in-game coaches. He just seems to be off by 2-3 possessions when momentum is changing and hasn't shown the midas touch of knowing which substitution needs to be made to continue positive momentum for UConn or to break up momentum for the opponent.

 

[BigFanCT]

This needs to be nipped in the bud before it becomes an issue. Not a great look that we just had a big guy transfer out because of lack of playing time, now another one is complaining about the same thing. I keep saying that its a good thing we don’t play again until Saturday. The entire team and staff needs the break mentally for than anything at this point

They just had a week off, lol.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I have no insight into Sanogo's mind. Maybe he is considering a transfer due to limited pt. Probably not, but who knows.

From a broadcasting/entertainment standpoint, I like his honesty. Sports interviews are always filled with cliche nonsense. It's nice to hear legit comments.

So good fo Sanogo. Poke the bear. Shake things up a bit.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

My chance to be right when I identified Hurley's over-reliance on small lineups after the Hartford game and got a multi day banning. Now I am just pointing out the obvious.

I suppose it's better that you pat yourself on the back for being so right, rather than whining that others don't recognize or acknowledge how right you are...but not by much.

 

[Watchdog]

While AS was 6 for 11 (54.5%), the rest of the entire team was 18 for 49 (36.7%).

In addition, he scored at more than twice the rate of the rest of the team:
12 points in 8.5% of the minutes equals 0.71 points per minute played for AS while 58 points in 91.5% of the minutes equals 0.32 points per minute played by the rest of the entire team.

Comparison of all the big men plus Adams (for no particular reason):
Sanogo: 6 for 11 for 12 points in 17 minutes. Plus 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul;
Whaley: 4 for 8 (1 for 2 FT) for 9 points in 36 minutes. Plus 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 3 TO's and 3 fouls.
Carlton: 0 for 1 (0 for 2 FT) for 0 points in 3 minutes. Plus 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 blocks, 1 foul and 1 TO.
Polley: 2 for 9 (1 for 6 on 3's, 2 for 2 FT's) for 7 points in 26 minutes. Plus 1 rebound, 0 assists, 0 blocks, 1 steal, 2 fouls and 0 TO's.
Adams: 1 for 3 (1 for 2 on 3's, 4 for 4 FT's) for 7 points in 30 minutes. Plus 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 blocks, 1 steal, 4 foulss and 2 TO's.
Akok: 0 for 1 for 0 points in 2 minutes. Plus 2 rebounds, but nothing else.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Kids are sensitive at this level. Especially freshmen with nba aspirations. If he feels the coach isn't in his corner or doesn't believe in him a transfer is extremely possible. Hurley needs to talk to him and they need to get on the same page asap. Hurley needs to explain his plans for him this season and beyond and help Sanogo understand that is needed and wanted and that he will be getting a lot more pt.

I know a kid that went through something like this. He actually went into his coaches office to discuss transferring after a disappointing season of low pt. The coach started by apologizing for not giving him more pt and explained how much he'll need him next season and how much pt hey is going to get ect. In this case it was enough for the kid to stay. Will it be for Sanogo? That's a huge risk to take. Dan better set it straight yesterday.

 

[dennismenace]

Interesting thread to say the least.
1) I was astonished how polished Sanogo looked with footwork and using both hands on offense. Looked like his confidence is really coming on and he is just scratching the surface. The growing confidence will allow him to be more aggressive without getting into foolish fouls. Really bright future. This was a coming out party.

2) It was obvious to everyone that Polly cannot stay with anyone defensively who drives to the rim. That would seem to say he is a big and not a wing or guard on defense. At 6-9 that is not so surprising. He had 26 minutes and ONE rebound. If he could stay with his man he could defend perimeter and to the rim but he could not. He was off on 3 point shooting, When he is off he needs to sit because the ENTIRE reason for him being on the floor at all is catch and shoot or transition 3's and this has to make up for deficient defense. It would be wonderful if he was able to execute on defense but not really sure if he even has the talent at this level. He cannot play inside or rebound.

Conclusion: More PT for Sanogo and less PT for Polly. You want your seniors on the floor if possible but not if they cannot compete for minutes.

 

[Kenny11]

I understand the matchup issues but let’s be honest. St johns small ball lineup isn’t the 2015 Warriors. There were opportunities in the second half for Sanogo even if that meant subbing him in and out a few times.

 

[Waquoit]

I want a full Calhoun "I duck*ed up" speech. Apologies don't mean crap if he doesn't realize why everyone is so mad

You want snarky sarcasm at a time like this?

 

[NJHusky]

I just watched some of the Xavier St Johns game and every time Xavier went zone St Johns struggled. And guess what Xavier won that game. If some knows Coach Hurley personally on here please plead with him to try zone and pound it inside to our bigs next time we play those clowns.

He hasn’t played a zone at all this season. Do they even practice it?

 

[Slick]

Imagine comparing a freshman big averaging 4pts a game on 53% shooting to NPOY emeka okafor?

I think Akok is demanding more playing time also. Javonte Brown wanted more playing time too. Not easy being a coach that’s why they get paid a lot of dough.

 

[Improviser]

I think Akok is demanding more playing time also. Javonte Brown wanted more playing time too. Not easy being a coach that’s why they get paid a lot of dough.

Being objective about it from what I have viewed, Sanogo's request (based on results) seems a better argument.

Not his fault coming back from an injury, but Akok does look tentative. I suppose giving him a few more minutes when he is playing and seeing what happens, is an option. Problem is that most games are close, and quality play is at a premium. If those extra minutes are non-productive, it is a lost opportunity for the team.

If you lost momentum and a chance to build a lead, or maintain one, it could be costly.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Being objective about it from what I have viewed, Sanogo's request (based on results) seems a better argument.

Not his fault coming back from an injury, but Akok does look tentative. I suppose giving him a few more minutes when he is playing and seeing what happens, is an option. Problem is that most games are close, and quality play is at a premium. If those extra minutes are non-productive, it is a lost opportunity for the team.

If you lost momentum and a chance to build a lead, or maintain one, it could be costly.

I don't know where this comes from. He barely played. I saw him make a great hustle play jumping out of bounds to save the ball for us. What was remarkable was that despite starting by going the opposite direction out of bounds, he was the first Husky down court. We need that.

The worst player on the court for UConn against St. Johns was Polley. And there was no close second. If Hurley is going to insist on playing Whaley at the 5, and sitting Sanogo and Josh, then Akok is a much, much better option at the 4. He is excellent at recovering to the rim and affecting shots. Polley provides about as much interior defense as a kitten. I never, ever want to see Polley at the 4 again. If we need him to shoot at the 3, fine.

 

[gtcam]

This is just a weak look from a guy with so much intensity. I'd expect a comment like this from the previous regime, but sad to see if coming from the current staff. They need to reevaluate how they prepare their game scripts and focus being the team that dictates the game, especially when you have an unstoppable force like Sanogo was today. The fact he couldn't figure out how to exploit St. Johns small ball with Sanogo playing out of his mind inside is a little scary and eyeopening. Instead he let us our poor perimeter defenders get exploited by St Johns.

I'd expect a comment like this from the previous regime
I can guarantee you, coming from an expansive NBA learning experience KO would have never said that at all. In fact it is such an incredibly stupid statement, made because Dan Hurley felt he had to say something, it may give you an inside look at the thinking of the man in charge. Let's hope it was a misstep and it has resulted in some honest discussion between coach and player. Let's wait and see what happens down the immediate road.

 

[Spaceman213J]

Sanogo wants to be on the floor. I don't want to see him move on. However, I'm glad he feels that way. You want all your players thinking they should be out there. I just think most of us agree with him in this instance.

 

[Tiamat7]

Anybody want to speculate on the match-ups for Saturday's game vs Creighton? Sanogo on Bishop? And Bishop (or the backup center) plays a lot. So hopefully Hurley gives Sanogo plenty of minutes.

Then Whaley on Jefferson? I guess....?

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Just speculating, but I wonder if Dan Hurley’s propensity to play small ball comes from him having coached at Wagner then URI?

In those leagues everyone plays with one big and then a bunch of guards and tweeners.

Maybe Dan Hurley reverts to that comfort zone even though this level BB you want multiple talented bigs on the floor.. Nova might be the exception.