UConn lands Brendan Adams, Tarin Smith in whirlwind recruiting weekend

[YoungFree]

im not worried about this year. Next year is when we need to make an impact but im not thinking 5*s like everyone else. Just improvement ever year. This is a 2-4 project to get to where we were. Winning cures all

Agreed. Of the 4 scholarships next year I would be super happy with 2 4*s and 2 HIGH 3*s would be successful.

 

[ctchamps]

"Hurley apologistas" is a misnomer. Hurley has nothing to apologize for this year.

"KO bashers" have a better argument given track record. KO's last 4 years are in stone. The state of the program is in stone. With KO, it's not a matter of statistics, it's a matter of fact.

What people disagree with is how quick the turnaround should and will be.

Nor would I say Hurley has repeated what KO did. He didn't have multiple years to get ready for this class. He's been trying to fix KO's mistakes. There are only a handful of really good players out there, and every school wants them. Whereas KO had the entire country to choose from. Hurley may end up in a similar spot to KO coming in, but he started out needing a run to tie with 2 outs in the 9th.

I think "trust the process" at this point can be translated to "give Hurley time". Which everyone should.

Last year’s class bolted same time as this year’s class. KO and Hurley both had to scramble. Hurley gets similar last second players as KO and the attacker’s of KO who criticized him for not having a plan say Hurley has a strategy and the players were a great get considering the time frame. They are both band aid classes at least at this stage. If this class does better the Hurley supporters will state it’s proof and the KO supporters will argue it’s KO’s players that this happened and so on. Same bs as arguments over the 2014 team only reversed positions.

A person’s idea of apologista and making excuses depends on where we fall on KO.

The need to deride things that bother us is the issue. As I pointed out many times there was a large chorus of posters who agreed with Chief that Dyson was a bad player because he never won an NCAA postseason game. It was just as ludicrous then as it is now. Over time that sour grapes position ended with most posters. The predominant position became we never would have lost to Syracuse in 6 OT and had a better chance of beating MS with a healthy Dyson. But that sentiment took a good three years to take hold because people blamed Dyson for the way his senior season played out.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Last year’s class bolted same time as this year’s class. KO and Hurley both had to scramble. Hurley gets similar last second players as KO and the attacker’s of KO who criticized him for not having a plan say Hurley has a strategy and the players were a great get considering the time frame. They are both band aid classes at least at this stage. If this class does better the Hurley supporters will state it’s proof and the KO supporters will argue it’s KO’s players that this happened and so on. Same bs as arguments over the 2014 team only reversed positions.

A person’s idea of apologista and making excuses depends on where we fall on KO.

The need to deride things that bother us is the issue. As I pointed out many times there was a large chorus of posters who agreed with Chief that Dyson was a bad player because he never won an NCAA postseason game. It was just as ludicrous then as it is now. Over time that sour grapes position ended with most posters. The predominant position became we never would have lost to Syracuse in 6 OT and had a better chance of beating MS with a healthy Dyson. But that sentiment took a good three years to take hold because people blamed Dyson for the way his senior season played out.

KO had this issue almost every year with no player development. Hurley has been here for what, a month and people expect to scoop all these kids that aren't left? I won't even be upset if we don't get a top 20 class next year. We just need to win.

 

[The Funster]

Last year’s class bolted same time as this year’s class. KO and Hurley both had to scramble. Hurley gets similar last second players as KO and the attacker’s of KO who criticized him for not having a plan say Hurley has a strategy and the players were a great get considering the time frame. They are both band aid classes at least at this stage. If this class does better the Hurley supporters will state it’s proof and the KO supporters will argue it’s KO’s players that this happened and so on. Same bs as arguments over the 2014 team only reversed positions.

A person’s idea of apologista and making excuses depends on where we fall on KO.

The need to deride things that bother us is the issue. As I pointed out many times there was a large chorus of posters who agreed with Chief that Dyson was a bad player because he never won an NCAA postseason game. It was just as ludicrous then as it is now. Over time that sour grapes position ended with most posters. The predominant position became we never would have lost to Syracuse in 6 OT and had a better chance of beating MS with a healthy Dyson. But that sentiment took a good three years to take hold because people blamed Dyson for the way his senior season played out.

Ollie was the incumbent coach, though. He lost HIS players. Hurley lost guys he never recruited. In addition, most of recruiting insiders are noting a noticable uptick in recruiting intensity from Hurley. That perception is likely coloring Hurley's players versus the ones Ollie had to get for this past season. But yeah, it is about perception, Ollie's, by last year end, were largely negative.

 

[UConnDan97]

I'm pretty sure Hans, UConnDan 97 and I were joking about Dan's usual preseason prediction that the football team will go undefeated. However, your point is well taken.

And you also meant "a Husky rising from the ashes". Full points will still be awarded...

 

[GHSWolverines]

KO had this issue almost every year with no player development. Hurley has been here for what, a month and people expect to scoop all these kids that aren't left? I won't even be upset if we don't get a top 20 class next year. We just need to win.

first of all I am pumped. I just got approved as a new member of the boneyarders. I am a uconn alum and uconn basketball enthusiasts. I have been reading the threads for a few years and welcome the different points of view.
Be patient and let's see what Hurley does. I've seen the ugly, the good, and back to the bad in my lifetime. I believe the pendulum is swinging back to the good.

 

[GHSWolverines]

hello bomeyarders. I have been reading these threads for a couple of years now. Just been accepted into this fraternity! i enjoy reading and seeing the different views. Be patient. As a UCONN alum and basketball enthusiasts I have witnessed the ugly, the good , and now back the bad. I believe in Hurley and this team. The pendulum is back on a positive upswing grasshopper.

 

[YoungFree]

Wins.....**SIGH***....i miss wins

 

[ctchamps]

KO had this issue almost every year with no player development. Hurley has been here for what, a month and people expect to scoop all these kids that aren't left? I won't even be upset if we don't get a top 20 class next year. We just need to win.

KO's classes were quite varied. The 2016 class was on paper a great class that didn't end up fulfilling the rankings. If we hate KO it's because he can't develop players. To fit that narrative we have to say that KO had nothing to do with the success of the 2014 season.
I'm happy to move on from the KO era and I'm happy Hurley is on board. I just don't need to exaggerate the problems of the previous coach.

Ollie was the incumbent coach, though. He lost HIS players. Hurley lost guys he never recruited. In addition, most of recruiting insiders are noting a noticable uptick in recruiting intensity from Hurley. That perception is likely coloring Hurley's players versus the ones Ollie had to get for this past season. But yeah, it is about perception, Ollie's, by last year end, were largely negative.

Of course it's not pure apples to apples.

How do you measure intensity if the measurers are people. And this last statement does not mean I think they are wrong. It implies they could be wrong. I'm hopeful they are not wrong.

 

[Danzz]

Agree with pretty much all of this. "Give Hurley time" = the 2019 class is potentially make or break for this program. That's where he needs to nail it.

Smith is a bandaid. Adams is depth at a position where we have zero over the last 2 recruiting classes. Those are fine.

As long as we're not signing too many low-ceiling 4-year guys who deprive scholarships from potential 2019 studs, there's no problem with what Hurley is doing.

Smith and Adams will help with depth at G where we have a team need. Neither of them are likely to be program changers but both will get the opportunity to play. Smith is all he will ever be at this point and Adams will get the chance to develop. If Adams does develop we could have a very good player.

 

[KingAG]

Smith and Adams will help with depth at G where we have a team need. Neither of them are likely to be program changers but both will get the opportunity to play. Smith is all he will ever be at this point and Adams will get the chance to develop. If Adams does develop we could have a very good player.

The good thing is UConn doesn’t need a program changer. We’re already established. We just need players that meet our already established standards

 

[intlzncster]

hello bomeyarders. I have been reading these threads for a couple of years now. Just been accepted into this fraternity! i enjoy reading and seeing the different views. Be patient. As a UCONN alum and basketball enthusiasts I have witnessed the ugly, the good , and now back the bad. I believe in Hurley and this team. The pendulum is back on a positive upswing grasshopper.

Welcome. Dropped your intro right in the middle of a pissing match. ha ha

 

[champs99and04]

Lecque being here next year was always the longest of longshots, and I haven't heard from anyone who knows anything who thinks it's realistic. Hurley took these guys because he has a limited timeframe and they're both good enough to be rotation guys for us. Anyone who thinks this indicates anything about Jalen Adams or anyone else is mistaken.

There's no question both are good enough to contribute here. I'm not second guessing the signings so much as I wonder if it caps the ceiling of next year's team. Perhaps it was unrealistic to expect better, but I also think it's OK to acknowledge that this wasn't the best possible outcome. Better to do that now than in two years when half the board wants Hurley gone because his three star sophomores aren't all-Americans yet. It wouldn't be beyond precedent for a coach to take a new job and immediately flip the country upside down. That's not expectation, it's just an honest appraisal of the situation. I don't think you're going to get that from everyone else because they're too emotional.

 

[navery12]

There's no question both are good enough to contribute here. I'm not second guessing the signings so much as I wonder if it caps the ceiling of next year's team. Perhaps it was unrealistic to expect better, but I also think it's OK to acknowledge that this wasn't the best possible outcome. Better to do that now than in two years when half the board wants Hurley gone because his three star sophomores aren't all-Americans yet. It wouldn't be beyond precedent for a coach to take a new job and immediately flip the country upside down. That's not expectation, it's just an honest appraisal of the situation. I don't think you're going to get that from everyone else because they're too emotional.

I don't think it's necessarily unrealistic to expect more per se, but who did you want us getting this year that would have helped more? Realistically

 

[intlzncster]

I'm not second guessing the signings so much as I wonder if it caps the ceiling of next year's team. Perhaps it was unrealistic to expect better, but I also think it's OK to acknowledge that this wasn't the best possible outcome. Better to do that now than in two years when half the board wants Hurley gone because his three star sophomores aren't all-Americans yet.

What would have been the optimal outcome (NB: we aren't done yet)? Given what's out there in the market. I think we can assume Lecque reclass was a total pipe dream not based in reality.

Next year's sophomore class currently looks like:

Sid Wilson
Brendan Adams
and if he wants to apply for another year, Alterique Gilbert

It wouldn't be beyond precedent for a coach to take a new job and immediately flip the country upside down. That's not expectation, it's just an honest appraisal of the situation. I don't think you're going to get that from everyone else because they're too emotional.

What does that mean?

 

[champs99and04]

You're expectations for Hurley right now are ridiculous. Im glad you are not my father in law.

To me its pretty obvious what his strategy is. Make short term depth moves so the upcoming season isnt a complete disaster and go all in on 2019 and beyond.

He is trying to build a program. He is making sure he has plenty of schollies for 2019, and that class will be the core of the culture he is implementing.

You can't describe my expectations for Hurley as too high until you actually know what my expectations are. I think that, in the long run, you'll be surprised to discover that my expectations for him are amongst the lowest on the board. That's not because I think he's a bad coach, it's because I know hard this is. He's going to need every break he can get, and if that means walking into a team that is much better than expected in year one, I'm certainly going to hold out hope for that outcome.

Hurley does not need to build a program. It's already been built for him. He'll inherit a team consisting of two extremely talented freshman (Gilbert and Wilson), a couple top 150 sophomores (Polley/Diarra/Carlton), a top 150 junior (Vital), and a five star senior point guard (Adams). Throw in yesterday's additions, plus anything we'll get from scholarship #13, and there's no reason we shouldn't be good right away. Keep in mind that "good" is subjective and a long way from the final four, but Ollie got fired for a reason: he took a group of players that was supposed to be in the mix and led them to abject hopelessness. It might take Hurley a while to build this program into a powerhouse, but it should not take him long to have us competing for AAC titles. Any notion to the contrary is to give him a benefit of the doubt that was never extended to Ollie.

 

[champs99and04]

What would have been the optimal outcome (NB: we aren't done yet)? Given what's out there in the market. I think we can assume Lecque reclass was a total pipe dream not based in reality.

Next year's sophomore class currently looks like:

Sid Wilson
Brendan Adams
and if he wants to apply for another year, Alterique Gilbert



What does that mean?

The optimal outcome - and this ties into the question at the end of your post - would have been for Hurley to convince Jermaine Harris to follow him here. A similar outcome would have been to sign somebody like Tariq Owens (St. John's kid who can protect the rim, guard virtually every position, and shoot free throws) or any number of other grad transfers that were available.

These aren't things I hold against him, but it isn't as if those things never happen. There are a ton of coaches who take a new job and bring their players along - I think Cal brought Cousins from Memphis to UK, Mack followed Smart to Texas, I think Butler had a kid or two follow Holtman to Ohio State, etc.

 

[MattMang23]

hello bomeyarders. I have been reading these threads for a couple of years now. Just been accepted into this fraternity! i enjoy reading and seeing the different views. Be patient. As a UCONN alum and basketball enthusiasts I have witnessed the ugly, the good , and now back the bad. I believe in Hurley and this team. The pendulum is back on a positive upswing grasshopper.

Get out while you still can. There is still hope for you, but you must move quickly. Be gone with you.

 

[Huskymagic]

Not impressed with this haul. I like Brendan Adams who should give us depth. We really needed 1 more impact player and Jermaine Harris is the type of recruit we needed.

2019 Recruiting is big obviously. We have enough talent to contend for the AAC title next year.

I have faith in Hurley as a sound tactician and basketball mind.

 

[intlzncster]

The optimal outcome - and this ties into the question at the end of your post - would have been for Hurley to convince Jermaine Harris to follow him here. A similar outcome would have been to sign somebody like Tariq Owens (St. John's kid who can protect the rim, guard virtually every position, and shoot free throws) or any number of other grad transfers that were available.

These aren't things I hold against him, but it isn't as if those things never happen. There are a ton of coaches who take a new job and bring their players along - I think Cal brought Cousins from Memphis to UK, Mack followed Smart to Texas, I think Butler had a kid or two follow Holtman to Ohio State, etc.

Ah, I see. The complicating factor here is that one of the main guys that recruited Harris, is now the HC at URI. And Hurley's good friend. Tough one there.

 

[freescooter]

Last year’s class bolted same time as this year’s class. KO and Hurley both had to scramble. Hurley gets similar last second players as KO and the attacker’s of KO who criticized him for not having a plan say Hurley has a strategy and the players were a great get considering the time frame. They are both band aid classes at least at this stage. If this class does better the Hurley supporters will state it’s proof and the KO supporters will argue it’s KO’s players that this happened and so on. Same bs as arguments over the 2014 team only reversed positions.

A person’s idea of apologista and making excuses depends on where we fall on KO.

The need to deride things that bother us is the issue. As I pointed out many times there was a large chorus of posters who agreed with Chief that Dyson was a bad player because he never won an NCAA postseason game. It was just as ludicrous then as it is now. Over time that sour grapes position ended with most posters. The predominant position became we never would have lost to Syracuse in 6 OT and had a better chance of beating MS with a healthy Dyson. But that sentiment took a good three years to take hold because people blamed Dyson for the way his senior season played out.

Really, you can leave your cave. It’s over. You ignore the HUGE difference between Ollie and Hurley at this point in the recruiting season. Ollie had guys leave and lost his top recruit. Hurley came into a mess and needs to go forward trying his o fix it. To say their strategies are the same is simply bizzare

 

[YoungFree]

Not impressed with this haul. I like Brendan Adams who should give us depth. We really needed 1 more impact player and Jermaine Harris is the type of recruit we needed.

2019 Recruiting is big obviously. We have enough talent to contend for the AAC title next year.

I have faith in Hurley as a sound tactician and basketball mind.

But I am pretty sure Harris was recruited by Cox and that is where the relationship was...recruits build relationships with coaches and that has a lot to do with where they play.

 

[gtcam]

Really, you can leave your cave. It’s over. You ignore the HUGE difference between Ollie and Hurley at this point in the recruiting season. Ollie had guys leave and lost his top recruit. Hurley came into a mess and needs to go forward trying his o fix it. To say their strategies are the same is simply bizzare

The cave snark is great

Someone pointed this out: Hurley does not need to build a program. It's already been built for him. He'll inherit a team consisting of two extremely talented freshman (Gilbert and Wilson), a couple top 150 sophomores (Polley/Diarra/Carlton), a top 150 junior (Vital), and a five star senior point guard (Adams).

Ollie had guys leave, yes - we've been through this 1000 times but if it sounds like a good argument without stating the reasons - fine
KO also inherited a real mess when he took the helm, as I remember, 1st year and on probation - a walk in the park but followed with a NC.

I really don't remember reading into anything Fleuds commented on centering on strategy, and by the way, wouldn't the strategy be for both to get the players that could best fill in holes and help with the upcoming year? Both got grad guards and KO tried to get front court help and Dan Hurley got some guard help.
He was drawing parallels between what KO faced after the malcontents left and when Dan Hurley had all the 3 KO recruits leave - the time frame of when it happened and timeframe needed/availability of getting replacements. What the reasons of cause for the situation was not his point - it was time frame reference
Perhaps your feelings toward KO are getting in the way
As you said - It's over
We have a new coach and a new outlook

No more need to throw anyone under the bus. That bus has long passed Time to get people in the seats and winning games