To anyone criticizing Hurley:

[JimHurley]

Please relax. He did not recruit this team. This team doesn’t fit the style of play he likes to play with. These are Ollie’s guys, the same team that went 14-18 last season. Once Hurley’s recruits come in, things will take a turn for the better. And fast. He went 21-38 in his first seasons at Wagner and URI. Both of those jobs worked out well for him. It’s not easy to coach when the players you have aren’t guys you brought in. Dan Hurley is the man for this job. We just don’t have the personnel to win right now. Rebuilding is a process, please be patient Husky Nation.

 

[KOFanClub]

This is a false narrative. Will Dan Hurley's teams improve as he gets his preferred personnel? Likely so. But he is not infallible for the woes of this season. Has he made any great in game moves this year like a substitution/lineup change or strategy adjustment that has yielded noticeable dividends? We cannot run any semblance of a quality offense against a quality defense and are not generating quality shots. One could argue the players are just screwing up his scheme, but it definitely a part of his job to get them do so.

also the username is a parody. I am not critiquing Hurley to stan for KO. I am just saying is fair to say he may be underachieving right now. Good coaches make adjustments. Coach K ran a zone last year because of defensive ineptitude.

 

[BackAftaThis]

THANK YOU.

I don’t know what others expected.

This is basketball. Just because guys were ranked a certain star coming out of HS means nothing.

He runs a certain system that this personnel doesn’t fit.

Holtmann had 17 wins in his first season at OSU. Barnes had one sub 500 season followed by 500 at Tennessee.

This is a rebuild. It takes time. If he wasn’t recruiting well there’d be more reason for concern. This season and next should be judged by recruiting and development.

Simply getting players like Jalen to graduate and improving the culture and mindset will do wonders as well.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This is basketball. Just because guys were ranked a certain star coming out of HS means nothing.

Counterpoint: it means more than nothing.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

This is a false narrative. Will Dan Hurley's teams improve as he gets his preferred personnel? Likely so. But he is not infallible for the woes of this season. Has he made any great in game moves this year like a substitution/lineup change or strategy adjustment that has yielded noticeable dividends? We cannot run any semblance of a quality offense against a quality defense and are not generating quality shots. One could argue the players are just screwing up his scheme, but it definitely a part of his job to get them do so.

also the username is a parody. I am not critiquing Hurley to stan for KO. I am just saying is fair to say he may be underachieving right now. Good coaches make adjustments. Coach K ran a zone last year because of defensive ineptitude.

How is he supposed to make substitution/line up changes or strategy changes with this roster?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

How is he supposed to make substitution/line up changes or strategy changes with this roster?

He's nicely compensated to figure stuff like that out.

 

[Hurleyman216]

We looked like a bunch of long distance runners out there playing against a football team. The lack of physicality on our team is astounding. UCF was also allowed to play ver physical on defense while we got called for a million hand check calls. Not sure why we have gotten such a bad whistle the past few games but it certainly is frustrating. Not blaming the refs for our lack of ability to score, just feel like sometimes we’re playing 5 on 8 out there and our players get frustrated and quit.

 

[whaler11]

So should I just expect to lose every game the rest of the season? Is that the official stance of the he didn’t recruit these kids posse?

Not that I expect much after the last three weeks - but we should expect nothing?

 

[KOFanClub]

How is he supposed to make substitution/line up changes or strategy changes with this roster?

He refuses to go two bigs. Didn't even experiment with it against the low-majors. Don't know what ya got if you don't try. T Smith giving you virtually nothing right now. Couldn't try bumping Wilson or Polley to the 3 and one at the 4? Why is Carlton still starting over Eric Cobb? USF ripped our on ball defense to shreds. No consideration of a 2-3 against a mediocre 3 point shooting team?

 

[Phoenixhusky]

500 winning percentage was my goal this year and I’ll stick to it. Give Hurley a couple years to bring in his own players and change the culture. I still have massive confidence in him.

 

[temery]

How is he supposed to make substitution/line up changes or strategy changes with this roster?

I think he tells the player to go to that table between the benches and tell them who he's going in for. When the time is right they honk some horn and the swap gets made.

I don't know much about basketball, but I think that's how a coach makes substitutions.

 

[mrl2016]

He refuses to go two bigs. Didn't even experiment with it against the low-majors. Don't know what ya got if you don't try. T Smith giving you virtually nothing right now. Couldn't try bumping Wilson or Polley to the 3 and one at the 4? Why is Carlton still starting over Eric Cobb? USF ripped our on ball defense to shreds. No consideration of a 2-3 against a mediocre 3 point shooting team?

You really want to take out our most effective guard the past few games in CV to instead play Wilson or polley? That’s really your first solution? Take out our only offensive production for one of our two disappointing 4’s?

EDIT: as for your 2nd and third points Cobb played more minutes than Carlton today and as demonstrated we can only score in transition so the team needs to play man to man. Hurley only has so many options. He's playing the hand he was dealt.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

So should I just expect to lose every game the rest of the season? Is that the official stance of the he didn’t recruit these kids posse?

Not that I expect much after the last three weeks - but we should expect nothing?

This is how I feel.

If the Year One improvement under Hurley is going to be that they ran the November cupcakes out of the gym, then so be it. But besides Cincinnati - who is going to humiliate this group - I don't see many teams in this conference that they shouldn't beat. They certainly shouldn't be getting dominated by consecutive directional Florida schools. And I know this is going to be followed by a cavalcade of posts about how it's all Ollie's fault and Hurley is absolutely helpless until every single player who ever had a conversation with Kevin Ollie is years removed from the program, but I don't think it's too much to expect more than what we've seen the last two games.

 

[Huskymagic]

500 winning percentage was my goal this year and I’ll stick to it. Give Hurley a couple years to bring in his own players and change the culture. I still have massive confidence in him.

Couple of years: NO. Hurley has next year to show progress and an NCAA berth or else its going to be a problem. Every team in the AAC is getting better. Memphis is back to recruiting like the Calimari days. We can't afford to wait several more years. Right now we are playing catch-up to Houston, Cincinnati, Wichita, Memphis, and UCF moving forward. That's a problem.

We can't run with the players and team we have. They have no discipline or toughness or will to win. We need to slow the pace down and play more methodical, and opportunistically run.

We also need to play bigger with both Polley and Sid playing at the same time with a big man instead of 3 guards all the time.

 

[FatElvis]

There's probably a 100 college teams with more balanced talent than us, I think that's what hurts most. It's being addressed, doesn't change the fact that the reality of the rebuild is hard to accept. Turns out losing is just as contagious as winning in Storrs, CT.

 

[JimHurley]

So should I just expect to lose every game the rest of the season? Is that the official stance of the he didn’t recruit these kids posse?

Not that I expect much after the last three weeks - but we should expect nothing?

No, you should not expect to lose every game the rest of the season. But keep expectations in check. Hiring Hurley didn’t magically transform the program. It will take a year or two for us to see his effect. It’s realistic for this team to go 10-8 in the conference which would be 19-12 overall.

 

[Scrutineer]

THANK YOU.

I don’t know what others expected.

This is basketball. Just because guys were ranked a certain star coming out of HS means nothing.

He runs a certain system that this personnel doesn’t fit.

Holtmann had 17 wins in his first season at OSU. Barnes had one sub 500 season followed by 500 at Tennessee.

This is a rebuild. It takes time. If he wasn’t recruiting well there’d be more reason for concern. This season and next should be judged by recruiting and development.

Simply getting players like Jalen to graduate and improving the culture and mindset will do wonders as well.

Hopefully you're right about recruiting and changing the culture, but Hurley's roster is better than last year's and has more experience. AND,
Chris Holtman took the 17-15 team he was left and went 25-9 his first year.

 

[whaler11]

This is how I feel.

If the Year One improvement under Hurley is going to be that they ran the November cupcakes out of the gym, then so be it. But besides Cincinnati - who is going to humiliate this group - I don't see many teams in this conference that they shouldn't beat. They certainly shouldn't be getting dominated by consecutive directional Florida schools. And I know this is going to be followed by a cavalcade of posts about how it's all Ollie's fault and Hurley is absolutely helpless until every single player who ever had a conversation with Kevin Ollie is years removed from the program, but I don't think it's too much to expect more than what we've seen the last two games.

Their second best win is against #249 in KenPom.

This is with Wilson and Gilbert...

No, you should not expect to lose every game the rest of the season. But keep expectations in check. Hiring Hurley didn’t magically transform the program. It will take a year or two for us to see his effect. It’s realistic for this team to go 10-8 in the conference which would be 19-12 overall.

THEY LOST TO SOUTH FLORIDA.

At home against Central Florida there was not a single second where you thought they would win.

I get all of it - and I know how to set realistic expectations. 10-8 ain’t happening.

 

[mauconnfan]

This is how I feel.

If the Year One improvement under Hurley is going to be that they ran the November cupcakes out of the gym, then so be it. But besides Cincinnati - who is going to humiliate this group - I don't see many teams in this conference that they shouldn't beat. They certainly shouldn't be getting dominated by consecutive directional Florida schools. And I know this is going to be followed by a cavalcade of posts about how it's all Ollie's fault and Hurley is absolutely helpless until every single player who ever had a conversation with Kevin Ollie is years removed from the program, but I don't think it's too much to expect more than what we've seen the last two games.

You and whaler are thinking right along my lines too. I know one thing, 14-18 is not acceptable again no matters whose recruits are playing. Awful 2nd halves 3 games in a row have me a little concerned I admit.

 

[Stainmaster]

Hopefully you're right about recruiting and changing the culture, but Hurley's roster is better than last year's and has more experience. AND,
Chris Holtman took the 17-15 team he was left and went 25-9 his first year.

Just because Chris Holtmann did it doesn't mean you should expect that every time a new coach comes in.

 

[AntG168]

Chill Out

 

[JimHurley]

He's nicely compensated to figure stuff like that out.

Agree, that’s his job. But there’s only so much you can do as a coach when you don’t have the personnel to beat teams like we played today. This roster does not have the talent to be a top 3 AAC team or to make noise in the NCAAs.

 

[BackAftaThis]

Hopefully you're right about recruiting and changing the culture, but Hurley's roster is better than last year's and has more experience. AND,
Chris Holtman took the 17-15 team he was left and went 25-9 his first year.

Ahhh you’re right. I definitely misread something about him then.

Well then let’s hope we end up like Tennessee lol

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Agree, that’s his job. But there’s only so much you can do as a coach when you don’t have the personnel to beat teams like we played today. This roster does not have the talent to be a top 3 AAC team or to make noise in the NCAAs.

Nobody's talking about "making noise in the NCAAs," c'mon. And it's exactly the "there's only so much you can do" stuff that's getting played out. They got their ______ pushed in by USF the other day. It's not like they're playing Carolina.

 

[JimHurley]

Their second best win is against #249 in KenPom.

This is with Wilson and Gilbert...


THEY LOST TO SOUTH FLORIDA.

At home against Central Florida there was not a single second where you thought they would win.

I get all of it - and I know how to set realistic expectations. 10-8 ain’t happening.

I know they should’ve won the USF game. Every team has bad losses. USF is probably the best it’s been in years but we still should’ve won that one. A bad loss does not define a coach’s abilities. Hurley is the guy to get this program back on track, I can assure you. He did it at Wagner and URI. He will do it again here.