Some really thoughtful self reflection and comments by Hurley. | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Some really thoughtful self reflection and comments by Hurley.

metsfan2323 said:
His accomplishments at 3 stops already give him that 10 years. He is a peer with those men.

BTW Calhoun never had "10 consecutive years of dominance", it was usually 2-3 years of dominance followed by a rebuilding year. Also, the 2011/2012 UConn team featured 3 NBA players and a HOF coach and got bounced in the first round.

10 years of consecutive dominance is an absurd bar to set for anyone, but the Boneyard is often absurd.
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Holy crap, that's exactly what I've been saying, now you repeat what I've been saying as proof that I'm wrong.

This is awesome! Even those who try to prove I'm wrong, use my own words to prove I'm right.

Do do seriously thing Hurley has been as successful as Calhoun? I'd bet even Hurley knows this is a stupid argument.


Calhoun passed the test of time, Hurley is just getting started.

My money is on Hurley, above all others, to join Calhoun. But those who think b-2-b championship is enough, are delusional pseudo fans who wouldn't pass the preschool marshmallow test.
 
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temery said:
Holy , that's exactly what I've been saying, now you repeat what I've been saying as proof that I'm wrong.

This is awesome! Even those who try to prove I'm wrong, use my own words to prove I'm right.

Do do seriously thing Hurley has been as successful as Calhoun? I'd bet even Hurley knows this is a stupid argume
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at age 51 Hurley is on a trajectory that surpasses Calhoun, time will tell if he can maintain it.

Can you point out Calhoun's 10 consecutive years of dominance? I can't find it on the resume. Please point out 5 consecutive years if you can.
 
temery said:
What?
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You said Hurley had a "below average career" before coming to UConn. That is such bad-faith nonsense it undercuts any other point you try to make. He's still a hero at his two previous stops. He got the blue-blood UConn job because of his previous excellence. Performance you call below average.
 
Waquoit said:
You said Hurley had a "below average career" before coming to UConn. That is such bad-faith nonsense it undercuts any other point you try to make. He's still a hero at his two previous stops. He got the blue-blood UConn job because of his previous excellence. Performance you call below average.
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Below average when it comes to any GOAT conversation. Do you agree?
 
Waquoit said:
You said Hurley had a "below average career" before coming to UConn. That is such bad-faith nonsense it undercuts any other point you try to make. He's still a hero at his two previous stops. He got the blue-blood UConn job because of his previous excellence. Performance you call below average.
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Agreed, and Hurley's two best early UConn recruits were Akok and Bouknight and their injuries very much limited Hurley's early success.
 
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temery said:
I assume you're joking. If not, you are out of your freakin' mind. Hurley needs at a minimum ten consecutive years of dominance, with at least eight deep runs in the dance, to be considered a peer of JC, Izzo, and the old man.
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Izzo? Lmfao.
 
TroyHall98 said:
This is an odd statement by Hurley given how much he touted these guys earlier. He came into this season knowing he only had 1 returning starter and a bunch of developing sophomores and freshmen. He could have saved himself and the alumni/fan base a lot of angst if he pumped the brakes on a 3 peat before the season started.
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I don’t think he’s talking about anything other than having to use a slightly different coaching style with his team. You can’t coach all of your teams the same and he’s figuring out that a different approach is better for this group of players. It would be odd if he thought he could coach this group exactly the same as a different group and to not adjust
 
temery said:
Below average when it comes to any GOAT conversation. Do you agree?
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You really think this is a good argument? Comparing what Calhoun did in his late 50s and 60s to what Hurley did before he got the UConn job? And you're arguing that a below average coach gets the UConn job?

Calhoun was 57 when he went to the Final Four for the first time. Hurley won't be 57 for another 6 years and he's got two rings. What are you doing?
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
You really think this is a good argument? Comparing what Calhoun did in his late 50s and 60s to what Hurley did before he got the UConn job? And you're arguing that a below average coach gets the UConn job?

Calhoun was 57 when he went to the Final Four for the first time. Hurley won't be 57 for another 6 years and he's got two rings. What are you doing?
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The interesting thing about Hurley’s career/success is that it happened so fast.

Before UConn he never produced an NBA player or made a Sweet 16. Up until two years ago he still hadn’t made that sweet 16. Now he’s a B2B champion. But does that all of a sudden catapult him there off two years when Calhoun had a lot of success, just never the coveted Final Four before?

Do we consider Billy Donovan one of the greats because of his B2B at a young age?
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
The interesting thing about Hurley’s career/success is that it happened so fast.

Before UConn he never produced an NBA player or made a Sweet 16. Up until two years ago he still hadn’t made that sweet 16. Now he’s a B2B champion. But does that all of a sudden catapult him there off two years when Calhoun had a lot of success, just never the coveted Final Four before?

Do we consider Billy Donovan one of the greats because of his B2B at a young age?
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Yes
 
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temery said:
So having a below average career, then taking over a team with a history of dominance, have a crap record for two years, lose twice in the first round, then win two championships, and you're the GOAT on par with Jim Calhoun?

My god your bar is so low I'd need a shovel to find it.

Im on record: Hurley is the coach in the future, and he's off to a great start. But we all need to stop this bullshit that he is already the greatest of all freakin' time.

It's not fair to him; It's not fair to the team; It's not fair to the school, and makes everyone look foolish who believes he is on par with Calhoun, Coach K, and any number of successful longtime coaches.

I highly doubt even Hurley disagrees with me. It's a dangerous, counterproductive fantasy.
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Never said he was on par with JC. Said the pressure on him is greater than it was on JC because of the combination of JC's success, the 6 NCs and the back to back. The program has been a blue blood for a while but it only recently being universally considered a blue blood. All of it leads to more scrutiny of the program hence the pressure. This is a thread about Hurley's "bad" start and how he's going to change. Someone postulated people have talked to him including JC. Waquoit felt JC couldn't relate to Hurley. I wasn't talking about resumes. I was talking about pressure the program is under currently. Whole different level than when JC was here. And yes the pressure on JC was a lot. It got incrementally more so as a result of all the success. Not many programs get that type of scrutiny.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
I wish I could like this more than once. Anyone fixating on a three-peat and living and dying with how every game affects that goal is going to have a miserable year (which some of you seem to be into).

This is not last year's team. The goal is to get better all season long. Given the new pieces growing into new roles and the track record of this coaching staff it would seem to be a reasonable expectation that this will happen. At the end of the year there are going to be a handful of teams that will probably feel like they underperformed if they don't make the Final Four. I think we already have a general idea of who those teams are and this UConn team is probably not in that group.

But they're in another group that's going to become as good a team as possible and see where they stack up at the end of the season. And there are plenty of teams from this second group that end up doing great things. For God's sake, NC State was a 10th seed in the ACC tournament. They lost their last 4 regular season games, went 17-14 and needed a buzzer beater not to get bounced in their own conference tournament and they ended up in the Final Four. It's the journey that's supposed to be the fun part.
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The journey is the fun part. I don't get lasting enjoyment from "hey we won a national championship". Maybe the first one, or even the 2nd. I enjoy the games against good teams. I like seeing the players get better. It's the experience of the season that's fun.

So I want a deep run in the Big East tournament because that's more good games. Then I always want to make the NCAA tournament and go as far as possible because that's more good games. I don't have a banner on my wall at home for our league or NCAA championships, I didn't win them.
 
ctchamps said:
Never said he was on par with JC. Said the pressure on him is greater than it was on JC because of the combination of JC's success, the 6 NCs and the back to back. The program has been a blue blood for a while but it only recently being universally considered a blue blood. All of it leads to more scrutiny of the program hence the pressure.
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I think the difference is Calhoun never really cared what other people thought while Hurley tries to be aware and influence all those things.
 
metsfan2323 said:
His accomplishments at 3 stops already give him that 10 years. He is a peer with those men.

BTW Calhoun never had "10 consecutive years of dominance", it was usually 2-3 years of dominance followed by a rebuilding year. Also, the 2011/2012 UConn team featured 3 NBA players and a HOF coach and got bounced in the first round.

10 years of consecutive dominance is an absurd bar to set for anyone, but the Boneyard is often absurd.
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Eh, sort of. Is Billy Donovan up there with Calhoun in your mind? Or coach K? Or Dean Smith? I don't think he is. He's the last guy to do what Dan did, but as a college basketball coach, he's not among the legends. Doing it year after year with entirely new rosters of players, often changing style of play to suit them, that's what it takes.

The one knock on JC is that he didn't bank scholarships very well (or plan far enough ahead perhaps), so yes, he had teams that weren't that good from time to time. In the portal era that wouldn't have happened. He'd have filled those gaps.
 
HuskyHawk said:
The journey is the fun part. I don't get lasting enjoyment from "hey we won a national championship". Maybe the first one, or even the 2nd. I enjoy the games against good teams. I like seeing the players get better. It's the experience of the season that's fun.

So I want a deep run in the Big East tournament because that's more good games. Then I always want to make the NCAA tournament and go as far as possible because that's more good games. I don't have a banner on my wall at home for our league or NCAA championships, I didn't win them.
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This sounds like something a fan of a team with only 4 banners would say.................................

oh snap
 
temery said:
Below average when it comes to any GOAT conversation. Do you agree?
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You really Straw man this whole argument. Who is talking about Goat or blue bloods? Danny after back to back, Lakers, espn coverage etc. is in rarefied air in a way that JC and Uconn have never been. Not lifetime accomplishments, but current status of program and its role in college basketball.
 
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HuskyWarrior611 said:
The interesting thing about Hurley’s career/success is that it happened so fast.

Before UConn he never produced an NBA player or made a Sweet 16. Up until two years ago he still hadn’t made that sweet 16. Now he’s a B2B champion. But does that all of a sudden catapult him there off two years when Calhoun had a lot of success, just never the coveted Final Four before?

Do we consider Billy Donovan one of the greats because of his B2B at a young age?
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Donovan won over 70% of his games at UF and has a national title game appearance and another final 4 appearance in addition to his 2 titles.
 
uconnyankee said:
Reality is, it’s incredibly difficult to win a NC. Winning two back to back in the fashion UConn and Dan Hurley have done made it look very easy.
If I’m being honest, I was drinking the Kool-Aid and thinking this staff will do it again. I’m still bullish but maybe a little more realistic that this team has some work to do. But
I’m not sure why Dan Hurley is being scrutinized by some for what he’s said or done. The guy owes us nothing. He’s recruiting, selling the program and getting his players to buy in to the goal: winning a 3rd Natty.
this team got a little exposed in Maui. It was humbling for the team, humbling for Hurley, and for the fan base. But it was freaking November.
There is too much talent on this team and I am certain we have the best staff in CBB, so I think Maui was a learning not the new norm.
There are a lot of new parts to this squad. On top of that, you are banking on other players taking a step forward in their development.
I don’t know where this season lands. The odds would say not to expect a 3rd Natty. But as a fan I’m certainly hoping that’s the outcome. Right or wrong, that’s the bar for this year and probably the next few years.
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To me, losing all 3 games gives opportunity to address things that need to be addressed better than if had won the 1st one in a squeaker and then maybe one of the others. Team is not better or worse due to a couple of close losses but the national perspective and Hurley's mindset are different.

Expect more experimentation on schemes (both offense and defense, and personnel changes. Practices that incorporate more "player specific skills" (Balls defensive techniques, Reed/SJ positioning on opponent guard penetration, 3 point line defense, sharper cuts, etc.) and lineups that give Ross/Stewart more minutes and Ball less, Mahaney back to starting.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
The interesting thing about Hurley’s career/success is that it happened so fast.

Before UConn he never produced an NBA player or made a Sweet 16. Up until two years ago he still hadn’t made that sweet 16. Now he’s a B2B champion. But does that all of a sudden catapult him there off two years when Calhoun had a lot of success, just never the coveted Final Four before?

Do we consider Billy Donovan one of the greats because of his B2B at a young age?
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Actually, Dan did produce a NBA player prior to UConn. But that was from St. Benedict's Prep as J.R. Smith went directly to the NBA bypassing college.
 
It looks like his fuse just got lit. His timing is just perfect. It will go well with his name.
 
temery said:
That's an incredibly stupid, beyond laughable standard.

I have to ask: who defines blue blood better, Calhoun or Hurley.
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The question was whether Hurley was in rarified air, and the answer is yes.

There is this weird thing with old time UConn fans who really, really do not want to hand it to Dan Hurley. It's ok, no one is taking away what Calhoun did. We all still love him. But this sort of handwaving away the back to backs, which so few people have accomplished, is really something.
 
This is not a fair comparison at all. JC built Uconn from the ground up into a national brand with continuous challenges and successes over many years. Danny did something very spectacular with back to back. Danny referred to some of the coaches (and players?) that preceded him as "the immortals." He has a great head start at becoming one of "the immortals". He is pretty emotional in a good way and very open minded to the wisdom of others which I think is humility. Take a look at the staff he has assembled. I think he just got
everything straightened out and may have even ignited Samson in the process.
 
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aceboon said:
Donovan won over 70% of his games at UF and has a national title game appearance and another final 4 appearance in addition to his 2 titles.
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Was not aware of all that. It still doesn’t seem like he gets talked about in that Calhoun, Coach K, Roy, Izzo air. Maybe because he went to the NBA?
 
FreeKlaiber said:
You really Straw man this whole argument. Who is talking about Goat or blue bloods? Danny after back to back, Lakers, espn coverage etc. is in rarefied air in a way that JC and Uconn have never been. Not lifetime accomplishments, but current status of program and its role in college basketball.
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This is the point - I don't know how this devolved into a JC vs. Hurley resume argument, or better yet how Hurley's first 2 stops of success at low and mid majors became a downside to his career trajectory.
 
August_West said:
This sounds like something a fan of a team with only 4 banners would say.................................

oh snap
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I’ve been consistent on that all along. I do think making the tournament 34 years in a row is very impressive. Most of all I’d like to see Dan get this team to make it 5 years in a row. Sunday is key.
 
Waquoit said:
You said Hurley had a "below average career" before coming to UConn. That is such bad-faith nonsense it undercuts any other point you try to make. He's still a hero at his two previous stops. He got the blue-blood UConn job because of his previous excellence. Performance you call below average.
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Hurley got the UConn job based on the Hurley name and his last two years at Rhode Island. I'll throw in his positive attitude and work ethic - He's a cross between Billy Mays and the energizer bunny on Adderall.

Prior to that, his record was a little better than 50% at two low to mid major conferences.

And I'll repeat - he was a great hire.
 
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