To anyone criticizing Hurley:

[Hoophound]

I agree. I like Hurley and I’m confident in him. However, no way are we so bad from a personnel standpoint that we can’t win games like these. He’s got to come up with some different rotations and gimmicks to mask our deficiencies. He’s also got to decide if he wants to win now and if he does, maybe Jalen should be back at PG and we can see if it helps him get his game in order. Jalen just seems like a lost soul without the ball.

 

[selles]

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.

I expect Hurley to turn the program around over the next couple years. That's what I expect and that's the standard I'll hold him to.

Games in early January 2019 with this roster are minuscule in that grand scheme. So if people want to self-flagellate or keep it real or whatever on a game by game basis this year, that's fine. But I think they're missing the forest for the trees.

For me this year is about observing, not expecting.

 

[AntG168]

They shouldn’t have lost to USF even though I think many here are vastly overrating the talent gap between the two teams.

This game today was one where UCF was clearly just the better team. Hurley knows what he’s doing. Chill Out and trust the process. It’ll get better

 

[JimHurley]

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.

No denying that was a bad loss. All teams have bad losses. The personnel is not there for us. Hurley can’t go out there and play himself. It will take time.

 

[LIuconn]

Definitely giving Hurley a couple years. I think we gotta cut the rot out of the locker room and get more high IQ players asap

 

[TJT]

Hurley did not get URI to the NCAA Tounramnet until Year 5. Probably a similar build at UConn where he will need several seasons as it takes time to get his guys in place and play his style of ball. Need time to also get all the old deadwood he inherited out of the program.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Games in early January 2019 with this roster are minuscule in that grand scheme. So if people want to self-flagellate or keep it real or whatever on a game by game basis this year, that's fine. But I think they're missing the forest for the trees.

It's possible to be cognizant of both things.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

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

I don't think there is anyone on that bench that is going to make a difference.

 

[AntG168]

Hurley did not get URI to the NCAA Tounramnet until Year 5. Probably a similar build at UConn where he will need several seasons as it takes time to get his guys in place and play his style of ball. Need time to also get all the old deadwood he inherited out of the program.

It won’t take 5 yrs

 

[auror]

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.

Bates Diop played 9 games in the 17 win season due to two injuries and was conference player of the year upon healthy season season return.

Jalen just went 1-9 from 2pt range in a home game against a non-P5 football school.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

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?

Polley hasn't showed me much outside of some 3s against Cuse. he'd be a deep bench player on a decent team

 

[AdamaNation]

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.

Adjust your system.

 

[polycom]

Adjust your system.

To what? What do people want Hurley to do. His “best” player forgot how to play basketball and he has zero big men. What options does Hurley have?

 

[AdamaNation]

I expect Hurley to turn the program around over the next couple years. That's what I expect and that's the standard I'll hold him to.

Games in early January 2019 with this roster are minuscule in that grand scheme. So if people want to self-flagellate or keep it real or whatever on a game by game basis this year, that's fine. But I think they're missing the forest for the trees.

For me this year is about observing, not expecting.

The observation is bleak.

 

[superjohn]

I agree. I like Hurley and I’m confident in him. However, no way are we so bad from a personnel standpoint that we can’t win games like these. He’s got to come up with some different rotations and gimmicks to mask our deficiencies. He’s also got to decide if he wants to win now and if he does, maybe Jalen should be back at PG and we can see if it helps him get his game in order. Jalen just seems like a lost soul without the ball.

We wouldn't look as bad from a personnel standpoint if Jalen didn't just entirely hit the wall as an athlete. We knew Alterique wouldn't be ready yet and the rest of the roster outside of Vital and Sid are pretty terrible and soft for this level. If Jalen made a major jump instead of regressing terribly a lot of the flaws could have been covered up a bit this season but it would still pretty much be a teardown.

All we should care about now is Alterique figuring out the point guard position and recruiting.

 

[AdamaNation]

To what? What do people want Hurley to do. His “best” player forgot how to play basketball and he has zero big men. What options does Hurley have?

Make them play in one foot. Anything.

 

[auror]

Polley hasn't showed me much outside of some 3s against Cuse. he'd be a deep bench player on a decent team

I've seen flashes from Polley. His handle isn't atrocious for a bigger wing. He's made a couple plays driving to the rim on the season that have me convinced he can add that to his game the next 2 years. He doesn't turn the ball over much, especially compared to every other player on the roster. His stroke mechanically looks good enough. He can't rebound a lick, but we're playing him at the 4 out of necessity.

His confidence is just shattered at the moment. That's honestly what I think Hurley's top priority for right now should be. Rebuilding Polley's confidence. I think it's key for both the future and any likelihood of winning games this year.

If we don't land Precious, Polley should start at the 3 next year. If he takes a step, AG takes a step, Akok transforms our D, and we land a big who can rebound, I think we'll be significantly better next year despite being significantly younger.

 

[djct1999]

Adjust your system.

Lets be clear. How do you adjust to a team without a D1 caliber front court? Ah, yes, you play small and maybe go with 5 guards. Problem for Hurley is he only has 3. This roster lacks so much talent that there is little Hurley can do. He is a great coach, not a magician. He can make adjustments but when the kids don't have the ability to execute it looks like, well, we are seeing what it looks like. Hurley isn't to blame, he is our savior. Without him rebuilding our brand and with football where it is, UConn athletics has little chance of survival. Not only is he the right man for this job, he is the only man for this job. If you need further evidence of rebuilds, look at Pitt and Georgia.

 

[Walker11]

Every coach has strengths and weakness. According to DH's reputation, his strengths are player development, ability to inspire players to play hard and ability the teach man2man defense. His main weakness was an inability to run a high level offense.

It's too early to critique player development, the team plays noticeably harder, the defense has been worse than expected and the offense has been as expected.

I am optimistic about the future because of how recruiting looks, especially if we land Kofi. But Hurley has confirmed he is no John Beilein.

 

[selles]

It's possible to be cognizant of both things.

Agreed, but it's about perspective.

Dan Hurley is not Jim Calhoun, no one is. But I think he has a very similar style, both on court and in his overall approach to building a program. And I think it's important to keep in mind that Jim Calhoun went 9-19 his first year, including losses to UHar and Yale while Cliff Robinson and Phil Gamble were still eligible.

At the end of the day, losses in early January 2019 to USF and UCF are not going to be very relevant to the story of Dan Hurley at UConn, whatever that may end up being. So why fret as much as this message board has over the past week? It's exhausting.

 

[Excalibur]

The general trend on this board is that those most willing to fault Hurley were least willing to bail on Ollie.

 

[FatElvis]

We wouldn't look as bad from a personnel standpoint if Jalen didn't just entirely hit the wall as an athlete. We knew Alterique wouldn't be ready yet and the rest of the roster outside of Vital and Sid are pretty terrible and soft for this level. If Jalen made a major jump instead of regressing terribly a lot of the flaws could have been covered up a bit this season but it would still pretty much be a teardown.

All we should care about now is Alterique figuring out the point guard position and recruiting.

Nailed it. Losing sucks. Admitting your faults is the first step towards progress.

 

[whaler11]

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.

Thanks for the intel about Wagner and URI.

Sure I saw him coach Wagner a bunch of times in person and know that league in and out - but please keep telling me to ignore what I’m watching based of your confidence.

 

[whaler11]

The general trend on this board is that those most willing to fault Hurley were least willing to bail on Ollie.

That’s actually just want you want to be true. It’s actually some of the opposite. The ones who stuck with Ollie on blind faith ignoring what was unfolding in front of them are some that are loudest on ignoring how pathetic this team is right now.

 

[JimHurley]

Thanks for the intel about Wagner and URI.

Sure I saw him coach Wagner a bunch of times in person and know that league in and out - but please keep telling me to ignore what I’m watching based of your confidence.

What you’re watching is Hurley trying to coach players who aren’t good enough to be UConn caliber. I know the past few years have been frustrating but you can’t tell me you expected Hurley to turn this program around in year 1. Let him bring in his guys and infuse his culture into the program. That won’t happen overnight