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Message: [QUOTE="ctchamps, post: 5167591, member: 37"] That's a good question and relevant to the discussion of whether Hurley tries to set an example of having a good culture. Coaching a team is a balancing act in trying to be fair to players with the goal of winning. In Samson's case the coaches assessed that his ability to score outweighed his inability to rebound. They assessed Reed Jr. would be ok with coming off the bench and might have promised Samson he would start this season if he remained with the team. Given that the team has played even or got off to good starts when Samson started (his biggest problem earlier in the season was getting removed from quick fouls), given Liam was able to develop quickly as a good rebounder to augment how Samson was being utilized on defense, there was no need to change. In spite of what many members of this forum would prefer to see. The coaching staff believe that Mahaney has a similar potential to Tristen so he got the start in that role this season. His struggles were not dissimilar to what Tristen went through two seasons ago. So they kept him in that role for quite a while. They probably had conversations with Hassan as part of their decision and got the impression he was fine with the sixth man role. But Mahaney's defense was such a liability, especially playing alongside Solo's bad defense, and his offense got off to a bad start they started Hassan as a necessity. This allowed Mahaney to break into this team with less pressure. If you noticed in this Georgetown game he was running the point when Hassan got in foul trouble. Not only has his defense continued to progress but he's showing signs he can be a point guard. Singare is the player who got pushed out of the picture. But he's a sophomore while this will be the last season Samson and Hassan will be putting on the UConn jersey. I believe our coaching staff goes the extra mile in trying to make as many things possible to keep our program as one of the best, if not the best program in the country, for both the short and long term. We really hit the lottery with them. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach