The Headbutt showed it all

[Jaydumo20]

This has been brought up and few times but the lesson needs to be encapsulated. Some mentioned he did it with Jalen Adams famously, now we have the Aidan head butt. Either way, here is the moral.

There is no coach in the country who has the ability to do that. He just lit that kid up. We treated him horribly, some of us still will, but he's a young dude who jumped at the chance to play for the best program in the country. Our coach loves these kids in a way that only Bobby sr.'s son can.
This is the real reason why he's the best coach in the country and why he belongs in college not the pros.
Aidan knew the fan base was ripping him. He knew he wasn't playing well. But now..."this is why I came here. This is what I want"
You can't X and O that

 

[husky429]

Aiden will be successful if we don't force a square peg into a round hole. Let him be Joey California and earn his minutes based on matchups and he will be a serious asset.

If we want him to be a starting PG, it ain't gonna work. Needs another off-season in the program.

 

[Huskybass]

No doubt in my mind that Hurley is the most passionate, driven coach in the game. He doesn't hold back. Last night could be a huge turning point for both Johnson and Mahaney. Hurley believed in them. Perhaps we will all follow suit?

 

[temery]

This has been brought up and few times but the lesson needs to be encapsulated. Some mentioned he did it with Jalen Adams famously, now we have the Aidan head butt. Either way, here is the moral.

There is no coach in the country who has the ability to do that. He just lit that kid up. We treated him horribly, some of us still will, but he's a young dude who jumped at the chance to play for the best program in the country. Our coach loves these kids in a way that only Bobby sr.'s son can.
This is the real reason why he's the best coach in the country and why he belongs in college not the pros.
Aidan knew the fan base was ripping him. He knew he wasn't playing well. But now..."this is why I came here. This is what I want"
You can't X and O that

I agree with everything except "There is no coach in the country who has the ability to do that."

There are hundreds of coaches who have a great relationship with their players, and many very successful coaches who don't.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Aiden had some great quotes post game.

"I don't think I've been faced with enough adversity and that's a big reason why I wanted to get out of St. Mary's"..."That's why I came here; to be thrown in the fire and thrown in the smoke and come out the other end"

Really admirable by him and a healthy mindset towards getting better

 

[InKembaITrust]

Huge JAdams vibes. My favorite part of the game by far.

 

[Jaydumo20]

I agree with everything except "There is no coach in the country who has the ability to do that."

There are hundreds of coaches who have a great relationship with their players, and many very successful coaches who don't.

Yeah but this is getting headbutted by the biggest coach in the entire sport.
It's like the difference between being blessed by The Pope and being blessed by Mark Pope.

 

[temery]

Yeah but this is getting headbutted by the biggest coach in the entire sport.
It's like the difference between being blessed by The Pope and being blessed by Mark Pope.

He's the most successful coach over the past two years. He's no pope. He's the flavor of the month (ok, 16 months +/-).

I love your enthusiasm, but seriously - It was a nice moment between coach and players. That's about it.

 

[temery]

Aiden had some great quotes post game.

"I don't think I've been faced with enough adversity and that's a big reason why I wanted to get out of St. Mary's"..."That's why I came here; to be thrown in the fire and thrown in the smoke and come out the other end"

Really admirable by him and a healthy mindset towards getting better

'That's a great quote.

 

[Jaydumo20]

Aiden will be successful if we don't force a square peg into a round hole. Let him be Joey California and earn his minutes based on matchups and he will be a serious asset.

If we want him to be a starting PG, it ain't gonna work. Needs another off-season in the program.

Agree 100

 

[willie99]

There is no doubt in my mind that we're going to love Aiden

1) He's already established at St Mary's

2) Dan and the staff love him

3) That's good enough for me

People often times need a little time to find their grove. We all should know this. From our own life experiences to watching all the kids who we've watch grow

 

[Hamms30]

I've had the same gripes as others, I think one thing that hasn't been mentioned though, is he does very well with the ball in his hands. Very few turnovers from him. He's not blowing by anyone so far, but he's also protecting the ball and not giving up unnecessary turnovers and points that go with it.

 

[August_West]

Anyone catch that ultra sarcastic bird flapping wings with short arms gesture Hurley was doing when Aidan hit his stride? He did it a couple times.

 

[Umami Zen]

Aidan could easily morph into this team's Microwave as he gets comfortable in our system. Can fill it up in his spots and hit open threes. Definitely a game to build on and re-establish his confidence. He had to feel the crowd was in his corner last night.

 

[Jaydumo20]

'That's a great quote.

I hadn't see that. That should be the quote for all recruits.

 

[Jaydumo20]

He's the most successful coach over the past two years. He's no pope. He's the flavor of the month (ok, 16 months +/-).

I love your enthusiasm, but seriously - It was a nice moment between coach and players. That's about it.

Maybe for you but not for Aidan. Come on Tom, show a little imagination.

 

[Hamms30]

Anyone catch that ultra sarcastic bird flapping wings with short arms gesture Hurley was doing when Aidan hit his stride? He did it a couple times.

he'd mentioned it int he post game as a phoenix from the ashes ... and followed it up with.. is that what a phoenix does?

 

[J187Money]

Anyone catch that ultra sarcastic bird flapping wings with short arms gesture Hurley was doing when Aidan hit his stride? He did it a couple times.

Phoenix - rising from the ashes. They all know it - he needed that last night.

 

[UCan3]

Aidan could easily morph into this team's Microwave as he gets comfortable in our system. Can fill it up in his spots and hit open threes. Definitely a game to build on and re-establish his confidence. He had to feel the crowd was in his corner last nigh

I was defending Aidan a week or so ago… He needs time to adjust but we will need him in March… badly… He played some good D last night too.

There was no reason to pile on him for play - as our whole team was struggling.

Mark my words, this kid - his development this year, will be a deciding factor in whatever kind of run we make in the NCAA Tourney.

 

[Spaceman213J]

It wasn't like Aidan was putting up airball after airball. He had a bunch that were just a hair off and his reputation as a shooter bodes well for him in the long run. Shooters are going to slump every once in a while. I believe Karaban had slumps early on last year and the year before.
As far as the headbutt goes, yes other coaches care about their players and could perform some of the 'antics' that Hurley does, but with Hurley it is true and real to his nature. It's not for show. Most of us are our own worst critic and as far as the Aidan bashing by some on this board went, he probably has been even harder on himself personally. Hurley genuinely cares about these kids and Hurley to a man will tell you that a kid who feels like he's failing the team if more of a failure for him than a blowout loss in a game by his team. The headbutt is Hurley just being Hurley and being excited for a kid in his charge. I think the point some are trying to make is that if Cal, Scheyer, Izzo or almost any other coach did that, it wouldn't ring as 'true' with those who saw it. It's why some love Hurley and I bet you there are a few players who think 'that's not for me'.

 

[jostar1]

Anyone catch that ultra sarcastic bird flapping wings with short arms gesture Hurley was doing when Aidan hit his stride? He did it a couple times.

Hurley wasn't being ultra sarcastic. That was Hurley's symbol for a phoenix rising from the ashes. Hurley has been using that symbolism with Aidan to encourage him.

 

[JerseyAlum]

It was not a head butt but putting their heads together for a quick word from Hurley - it happened very fast and all the vibe was positive. Hearing about a coach headbutting his players brings back Coach Knight at Indiana.

 

[boog204]

Yeah but this is getting headbutted by the biggest coach in the entire sport.
It's like the difference between being blessed by The Pope and being blessed by Mark Pope.

Are you saying you don't want to get "blessed" by this, Dumo?

 

[Kolumbo]

Aidan Moraga! tryin too hard . . .

Campolindo High School and St Mary's College of California are only 2 miles apart. And now he's in Storrs, 3,000 miles away.

 

[HCCForever]

It was not a head butt but putting their heads together for a quick word from Hurley - it happened very fast and all the vibe was positive. Hearing about a coach headbutting his players brings back Coach Knight at Indiana.

And also headbutting not a good idea since AK was sitting this one out due to hitting his head in Maui.

And besides that, headbutting hurts. I headbutted a co-worker once after a few and soon regretted it.