The only man that could hold Michael Jordan under 20 points was Dean Smith.

[Palatine]

Jordan did everything his coach, Dean Smith, wanted him to do. Like pass the ball a lot. Move it around! Teamwork! Why drive-and-dunk when you can be a passing sensation? It explains why "Dean Smith" is the punch line to the famous sports joke, "Who was the last person to hold Michael Jordan to under 20 points in a game?"

And while I am clearly guilty of hyperbole, I think that something like this will play out between Dan Hurley and Stephon Castle. Watching Castle seemingly be everywhere on the court at once has an almost surreal quality to it. Hurley has a player that can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. But what he will do this year, is what Dan Hurley wants.

I know two games against low level competition is a meaningless sample size. But my eyes are seeing a player who makes space when there is no space. A player who plays ahead of the game. The only question in his game is what does Danny want? Whatever it is, this promises to be a very warm winter in Storrs, Connecticut.

 

[TheHorde]

Dean Smith was a wise coach. Mid 1980s MJ wasn’t advancing far in the playoffs even while scoring 63 against the Celtics. Involving teammates like Pippen, Paxton, and Kerr to help make daggers is the stuff championship teams are made of.

 

[husky429]

I'm not sure Castle has the shooting to be a 20ppg guy right now, with or without Hurley. He has a pretty diverse mid-range skillset, but is working on expanding that to the 3-point line.

He'd probably be even more highly rated 20 years ago, but NBA teams (and UConn) are focused on 3s and layups right now.

 

[Waquoit]

Dean Smith was a wise coach.

I suppose. But he only won that first title because Jordan made a play. And he won fewer titles than JC did although he had tons more talent over more years. He invented the 4-corner "offense". Holding back players is so old school. Hurley is a modern coach. I can't see him holding Castle back a la MJ. I see Dan incorporating whatever Castle's expanding game shows into the offense.

 

[TheHorde]

I suppose. But he only won that first title because Jordan made a play. And he won fewer titles than JC did although he had tons more talent over more years. He invented the 4-corner "offense". Holding back players is so old school. Hurley is a modern coach. I can't see him holding Castle back a la MJ. I see Dan incorporating whatever Castle's expanding game shows into the offense.

Some very good points. I wouldn’t trade Calhoun for very many guys. A player is most dangerous I feel when they have the whole repertoire, can play within the offense, make teammates better and show confidence in them, but also be an alpha to take over a game when it’s needed and the defense isn’t taking the ball out of their hands.