UConn men took a punch in the mouth Big East style, but the key is what happens now

[HooperScooper]

Article from Dom Amore. Hurley talks a lot here about not having the same leadership as last season.

“I don’t know that we’ve seen that yet and that’s probably a little bit of a concern,” Hurley said. “Who’s going to be that emotional leader of this team? Who wants that responsibility? That was one of the question marks coming into the season, the depth and the leadership. It was clear that it wasn’t there the other night. It’s easy to lead when you’re playing great and you look like the best team in the country. It’s hard to lead when the wheels come off and you’re in full meltdown mode.

“Whether it’s Tristen’s personality or not, whether it’s Alex’s personality or not, whether it’s Donovan’s personality or not, these guys have got to step up and lead this team the way Andre, Adama (Sanogo) and Jordan (Hawkins) did.”

Dom Amore: Sure the UConn men took a punch in the mouth Big East style, but the key is what happens now

The Big East will provide challenges, knock the Huskies down and force them to get back and heal. It’s the experience that made them champs last year.

www.courant.com

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Sure the UConn men took a punch in the mouth Big East style, but the key is what happens now​

 

[Hurleyman216]

Maybe the big east should treat officials like they would in the NCAA tournament. If you don’t set a certain standard you lose control. Not saying the officials lost us that game at Seton Hall, but allowing one team to play so physical and calling touch fouls on the other side seems to be more and more of an in-league trend. You can guarantee that the Big 12 officials wouldn’t treat Kansas the way we get treated by our league. I think a good analogy for our league officiating is it’s like we’re an elite soccer team, but we’re playing every game with only 10 players and we’re playing on a muddy field in the pouring rain. The poor officiating basically levels the playing field for teams that shouldn’t even be in the hunt for a Big East title. Anyway, maybe it was just some home cooking and it will even out, but I’m glad Hurley publicly commented on it in this article.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

There are a lot of parallels to last year with the evolution of the team, so far. I'm talking team dynamic. On top of the world early on, looking unstoppable, and then brought down to earth quickly.

Last year's team worked through some things during the January swoon. The greatness in March was surely forged through those trials and tribulations. It's a real question- who will be the Ajax-type leader this year?

I am thinking Karaban is best suited for that role.He's clearly going through his own struggles on offense and defense now, similar to Ajax. It is not and will not be an easy period but Hurley is right. This team is not repeating without real leadership.

The fact that our major pieces went through these challenges this year gives me extra hope. Of course Clingan's injury gives me extra worry too

 

[HooperScooper]

Maybe the big east should treat officials like they would in the NCAA tournament. If you don’t set a certain standard you lose control. Not saying the officials lost us that game at Seton Hall, but allowing one team to play so physical and calling touch fouls on the other side seems to be more and more of an in-league trend. You can guarantee that the Big 12 officials wouldn’t treat Kansas the way we get treated by our league. I think a good analogy for our league officiating is it’s like we’re an elite soccer team, but we’re playing every game with only 10 players and we’re playing on a muddy field in the pouring rain. The poor officiating basically levels the playing field for teams that shouldn’t even be in the hunt for a Big East title. Anyway, maybe it was just some home cooking and it will even out, but I’m glad Hurley publicly commented on it in this article.

If you haven't read the article here is the quote from Hurley that @Hurleyman216 is talking about.

“It’s a different experience,” Hurley said. “If a first-round NCAA Tournament game gets refereed in that same way, I don’t know if anyone from that crew is going to do the next game. This is what happens in conference play. There is extra physicality that’s allowed, and it’s a different type of game that we were not ready for. We got punched in the mouth and we should have learned our lesson as a staff from last year and had the players better prepared for that.”

 

[HCCForever]

There are a lot of parallels to last year with the evolution of the team, so far. I'm talking team dynamic. On top of the world early on, looking unstoppable, and then brought down to earth quickly.

Last year's team worked through some things during the January swoon. The greatness in March was surely forged through those trials and tribulations. It's a real question- who will be the Ajax-type leader this year?

I am thinking Karaban is best suited for that role.He's clearly going through his own struggles on offense and defense now, similar to Ajax. It is not and will not be an easy period but Hurley is right. This team is not repeating without real leadership.

The fact that our major pieces went through these challenges this year gives me extra hope. Of course Clingan's injury gives me extra worry too

IMO, Cam could be helpful as well as a leader along with Newton. Cam seems to be an on-court coach and is extremely competitive.

The team needs to get more physical going from out of conference to Big East games which was shown against Seton Hall. Other games like today's Butler/Providence game show the need to be more physical which will be an adjustment for UConn as it was last year.

 

[Hi-Low]

If want to wn the BE regular season can only likely have 3 or 4 BE losses. We've had either 6 or 7 BE losses since returning to the BE. We're not really a physical team and rely heavily on freedom of movement on the offensive side...doesn't exactly happen in BE. Do we have any physical players on this team like Sanogo or Tyrese on recent teams?

That said, I'd rather be a great NCAA Tourney / Non-Conf team than a great BE team as long as can hold our own in BE.

 

[Scoe]

We’re not winning a BE regular season or Tournament we’re not capable it’s not in is.

 

[Punkbo]

Purely a motivational tactic by Hurley to light a fire under CAT (Cam, Alex, Tristen). These are three of the best leaders we’ve ever had on the floor together at one time. We’ll be fine, but they need to be much better than they were against Seton Hall.

 

[Kitaman]

Even without Clingan we still have the arsenal to kick ass in the BE. I'm not giving up, as I have seen many teams (in different sports) overcome even bigger losses (no pun). If I was younger I could remember some examples, I know they exist.

As for leadership, Diarra is the leader from what I've seen. Doesn't have to be a starter, just someone that knows what the coach wants and helps his teammates to stay focus and execute Hurley's game plan. That can be done from the bench or on the floor.

Its up to the team, the BE was already gunning for us, now they smell blood.

 

[Improviser]

It starts with keeping your man in front of you, unlike the SH game.

Hopefully, that lesson will resonate.

 

[AllHusky]

How can folks constantly use the words give up and worried in relation to this program at this level. It is a war, some nights you got it, some nights you don't. The same thing happens every time. After the game, Coaches(and You) analyze tape, talk about what went Good Bad and Ugly, provide a practice framework to work on immediate concerns and long term improvement both as individuals and as a team. Get ready for the next war. If you don't do your job it's either next man up or you better figure it out!