UConn's Season a 'Huge Success' - Dan Hurley

[BigErnMcCracken]

This whole thread board is hot garbage. He's a fiery coach that uses emotion to motivate. They clearly didn't perform how he/they wanted and they're building upon it. Let him do his job.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think you just enjoy coming on here to play Devil’s advocate. I don’t think you truly believe in half your arguments

My argument is simple: Program was struggling because of the conference affiliation, but it was not in shambles when Hurley arrived. This shouldn't be that controversial a take. The only people who are arguing it was in shambles are trying to make Hurley look good by taking Kevin Ollie down. All Ollie did was win a National Championship and stand by UConn when our conference situation was collapsing and he could have left for greener pastures. I guess that is how a lot of UConn "fans" roll.

Hurley is good or bad based on his record and achievements.

 

[husky429]

There are many ways to evaluate a coach. In my opinion, these are the essentials:



Recruitment

Player relationship

Defensive development and implementation.

Offensive development and implementation.

Player development.

Game control, adjusting as required to minimize opponents strengths, proper utilization of players and establishing opportunities for your players.

Demeanor and self-control of the coach.



Having been around this game for more than seventy years, I can tell you there are not many, in fact, very few who grade out as an A across the board.



The evaluation of Hurley from my perspective is as follows:



Recruitment - Recruitment is a solid A, especially when you consider that Uconn reputation was not good in recent years, which makes it harder to recruit. His last two recruiting classes were very good, in spite of the fat that the team had poor records an no post season play.



Player relationship - Player relationship is harder to judge and can only be surmised by what you see (game interaction with players) and what you read. This appears to be a solid A as well.



Defensive development and implementation - Even the most casual observer can see that he has developed and implemented a very good defense, again a solid A.



Offensive development and implementation. It is obvious that this team has not done well on offense. The only aspect of the offense that grades well is the out of bound plays under their own basket. Their motion offense has way too much dribbling and way too slow to pass the ball. The fact that they get called for moving screens constantly is a symptom of lack of discipline and lack of crispness, i.e., very poor implementation. It is rare they run a double screen or are able to get someone wide open. Calhoun managed this extremely well getting Hamilton, Allen, etc. Open to aid them with the double teams. Bouknight has never enjoyed that luxury. Additionally, when someone is being doubled or in cases tripled there obviously other team members open. This is clearly something coaches point out and insist players pass to open man in such a case. If this ever happen I missed it. The inability to score layups is the direct result of not developing the player. I had high school players as bad as Whaley and Martin at scoring near the basket. There are drills that they ran for hours which resulted with them becoming very proficient. This is on the coach and the player. Grade C minus.



Player development - On defense you see a lot of improvement. Offense has been poor, as stated above, this team is terrible scoring near the basket. The inability to teach veteran players how to score underneath is blatant failure of coaching. To watch players like Whaley shoot so poorly from the foul line, particularly, their form is terrible and he isn’t the only one. To watch players leave their feet and then attempt to pass is mind boggling, at this level. Grade C +.



Game Control - This, realistically, is the one the least evident in coaches in general. Calhoun was excellent but there are not many that are. I believe, in the theory, you don’t take a “hot player “ off the court unless there is a good reason, e.g. foul trouble, tired, etc. The appearance is he has a plan and sticks to it, regardless of what is happening. But this is conjecture but his moves in many cases are baffling. On more than one occasion, he has pulled two players at the same time and they are the only ones scoring or pulling a player when he is making almost all his shots. Rarely uses timeouts to break the other teams momentum. Several times they have gone done double digits and he waits way too long or not ever to call for a TO. When his team is not scoring for several trips, the appearance is there are no set plays sent in from the bench or they can’t execute but I suspect the former. The appearance there is no correction of obvious player mistakes when they leave the floor. If there is, it is not obvious. Calhoun as do many coaches let their player no when they pull a dumb play. If a coach doesn’t have game control there is only one substitute and that is a leader on the floor, e.g., Napier, Walker, with neither the team will lose the majority of close games. Grade D



Demeanor and self-control of the coach. - The impression is he is way too emotional and in my experience this is reflected by players under such a coach. This would explain, why many times, the guards are out of control. Yes, Calhoun did blow up many times, by a bad call or a player doing something ridiculous and yes he was intense but wasn’t emotional without cause. Hurley makes too many excuses, e.g., we are a young team, however they are not, when you start a senior, a red shirt junior, a junior and a sophomore and your sixth man is a senior it is definitely not a young team. We lost are point guard and that is why we lost. This is self indictment in that he didn’t know how to adjust. When the coach makes excuses, guess what the players will do? Allowing Cole to take the blame for loss because he missed two foul shots, to me was horrible for a coach to do. Saying Cole was mature to take responsibility was good but should have been followed by we lost as a team. With 20 seconds to go in a game and a four point lead and to allow the game be tied is a coach’s failure. Bouknight was making everything that game, the out of bounds play should have been designed to get him the ball. Yes this goes back to game control, but you have to wonder if his emotions cloud his judgement. Grade - D

Recruiting: A

Player Relationships: A

Defense: A- The only reason it isn't an A is because we're a little rigid with not ever playing a zone and only using the hard hedge instead of other coverages. Regardless, our defense was good.

Offense: C We've been over it. He needs to get better.

Game control: B- but trending up. If he is willing to play our recruits next year early when they deserve it, I think he should be an A- or better. He did better after the SJU game that he 100% lost for this team. Seemed to miss less obvious TOs and substitutions made more sense later on. Way, way too slow to bench BA. Recently he improved a lot.

Demeanor: Don't care. I agree I'm not wow'd by his press conferences though. Blames the players too much for my tastes.

 

[GotNets?]

Guys it’s really hard to win a championship. This season was a success. We made the tourney for the first time in half a decade, we stepped into a tougher league and finished top 3. We produced an NBA lottery pick. Better teams than us lost to worst teams than Maryland. We had an off night, it happens. I know it sounds good, but just because it’s March it doesn’t mean things are going to automatically go our way. Even after the last 5 years our fan base is still spoiled. Enjoy the ride. We’re relevant again, and if the trajectory continues on its current path next year will be very fun. There are going to be a ****load of transfers to choose from, we will improve. Jackson will be a sophomore with a true offseason to get better, we will improve. Sanogo will be better and more consistent, we will improve. We have a top 15 recruiting class, we will improve. Gaffney, Martin, Cole all now know what to expect, they can now say they’ve been there, we will improve. Sit back relax, and let’s bring in some reinforcements. Let Go Huskies!

I love the attitude and I’m with you.... the fashion in which we lost is what concerns me. I could not call the season a success with that exclamation point

The optics of that loss were terrible - utterly atrocious - and there’s a psychological effect called the “peak-end rule” that dictates people remember things based on the peak and the end. Some may disagree, but the thousands of people watching, including recruits and future players, will not look at UConn and say, “wow they’re back after a long hard climb!”

they’ll say something worse after that.

This is a message board and that’s my opinion. Good season but that loss mars a lot of hard work.

(B-)

 

[BlueDogs]

There are many ways to evaluate a coach. In my opinion, these are the essentials:



Recruitment

Player relationship

Defensive development and implementation.

Offensive development and implementation.

Player development.

Game control, adjusting as required to minimize opponents strengths, proper utilization of players and establishing opportunities for your players.

Demeanor and self-control of the coach.



Having been around this game for more than seventy years, I can tell you there are not many, in fact, very few who grade out as an A across the board.



The evaluation of Hurley from my perspective is as follows:



Recruitment - Recruitment is a solid A, especially when you consider that Uconn reputation was not good in recent years, which makes it harder to recruit. His last two recruiting classes were very good, in spite of the fat that the team had poor records an no post season play.



Player relationship - Player relationship is harder to judge and can only be surmised by what you see (game interaction with players) and what you read. This appears to be a solid A as well.



Defensive development and implementation - Even the most casual observer can see that he has developed and implemented a very good defense, again a solid A.



Offensive development and implementation. It is obvious that this team has not done well on offense. The only aspect of the offense that grades well is the out of bound plays under their own basket. Their motion offense has way too much dribbling and way too slow to pass the ball. The fact that they get called for moving screens constantly is a symptom of lack of discipline and lack of crispness, i.e., very poor implementation. It is rare they run a double screen or are able to get someone wide open. Calhoun managed this extremely well getting Hamilton, Allen, etc. Open to aid them with the double teams. Bouknight has never enjoyed that luxury. Additionally, when someone is being doubled or in cases tripled there obviously other team members open. This is clearly something coaches point out and insist players pass to open man in such a case. If this ever happen I missed it. The inability to score layups is the direct result of not developing the player. I had high school players as bad as Whaley and Martin at scoring near the basket. There are drills that they ran for hours which resulted with them becoming very proficient. This is on the coach and the player. Grade C minus.



Player development - On defense you see a lot of improvement. Offense has been poor, as stated above, this team is terrible scoring near the basket. The inability to teach veteran players how to score underneath is blatant failure of coaching. To watch players like Whaley shoot so poorly from the foul line, particularly, their form is terrible and he isn’t the only one. To watch players leave their feet and then attempt to pass is mind boggling, at this level. Grade C +.



Game Control - This, realistically, is the one the least evident in coaches in general. Calhoun was excellent but there are not many that are. I believe, in the theory, you don’t take a “hot player “ off the court unless there is a good reason, e.g. foul trouble, tired, etc. The appearance is he has a plan and sticks to it, regardless of what is happening. But this is conjecture but his moves in many cases are baffling. On more than one occasion, he has pulled two players at the same time and they are the only ones scoring or pulling a player when he is making almost all his shots. Rarely uses timeouts to break the other teams momentum. Several times they have gone done double digits and he waits way too long or not ever to call for a TO. When his team is not scoring for several trips, the appearance is there are no set plays sent in from the bench or they can’t execute but I suspect the former. The appearance there is no correction of obvious player mistakes when they leave the floor. If there is, it is not obvious. Calhoun as do many coaches let their player no when they pull a dumb play. If a coach doesn’t have game control there is only one substitute and that is a leader on the floor, e.g., Napier, Walker, with neither the team will lose the majority of close games. Grade D



Demeanor and self-control of the coach. - The impression is he is way too emotional and in my experience this is reflected by players under such a coach. This would explain, why many times, the guards are out of control. Yes, Calhoun did blow up many times, by a bad call or a player doing something ridiculous and yes he was intense but wasn’t emotional without cause. Hurley makes too many excuses, e.g., we are a young team, however they are not, when you start a senior, a red shirt junior, a junior and a sophomore and your sixth man is a senior it is definitely not a young team. We lost are point guard and that is why we lost. This is self indictment in that he didn’t know how to adjust. When the coach makes excuses, guess what the players will do? Allowing Cole to take the blame for loss because he missed two foul shots, to me was horrible for a coach to do. Saying Cole was mature to take responsibility was good but should have been followed by we lost as a team. With 20 seconds to go in a game and a four point lead and to allow the game be tied is a coach’s failure. Bouknight was making everything that game, the out of bounds play should have been designed to get him the ball. Yes this goes back to game control, but you have to wonder if his emotions cloud his judgement. Grade - D

Thank you. Thank you. You are right on the money. I just wish more folks were as savvy. I don’t want a Hurley replacement. I want a better Hurley and he needs to start looking in the mirror and start recognizing he has some areas for major improvement.

 

[Huskymagic]

But I want an Elite Eight run NOW!

We’Re UcOnN!!

So does Oral Roberts University. They're almost there.

 

[kemba]

My argument is simple: Program was struggling because of the conference affiliation, but it was not in shambles when Hurley arrived. This shouldn't be that controversial a take. The only people who are arguing it was in shambles are trying to make Hurley look good by taking Kevin Ollie down. All Ollie did was win a National Championship and stand by UConn when our conference situation was collapsing and he could have left for greener pastures. I guess that is how a lot of UConn "fans" roll.

Hurley is good or bad based on his record and achievements.

No it was in shambles and the only people arguing that are everyone who watched the games and paid attention. There literally has never been a less controversial take posted here than the program was in shambles at the time of Ollie's firing.

 

[Kolumbo]

I was thinking that given the roster and the season, 2 wins in each post season tournament would have been a very good season. Didn't say that before the post season for obvious reasons. UConn finished behind Cincy, Houston, Tulsa and Wichita State in 2020 who all had at least 20 wins. Being new to the NBE Conference added additional challenges but I don't think finishing 3rd was a huge accomplishment. It was about as expected, UConn was predicted to finish 4th. Maybe if they played great in the post season and lost it would be different, but they flat out stunk.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

We had a lottery pick and won Zilch. I’ll call that a tremendous failure.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

No it was in shambles and the only people arguing that are everyone who watched the games and paid attention. There literally has never been a less controversial take posted here than the program was in shambles at the time of Ollie's firing.

You should start a "Hurley" board. This is a UConn board.

 

[UCfor3]

There is always a following for the disgruntled. Send this thread to Davey Jones locker.

 

[Deepster]

We had a lottery pick and won Zilch. I’ll call that a tremendous failure.

What did we win with Ray Allen?

 

[Kolumbo]

What did we win with Ray Allen?

squeeze me?

3 Regular Season Big East Championships, 1 Big East Tournament Championship. 7 NCAA tournament games.

 

[krinklecut]

I wanted Ollie fired, but that doesn’t mean the program was in shambles. Adams, Vital, Polley, Carlton, Gilbert, and Whaley is not a program in shambles.

That’s not a good basketball team.

 

[krinklecut]

We had a lottery pick and won Zilch. I’ll call that a tremendous failure.

You sound like a crybaby

 

[TheChamps990411]

This season gave me back my hope for the future. Ill take it.

 

[uconngb]

My argument is simple: Program was struggling because of the conference affiliation, but it was not in shambles when Hurley arrived. This shouldn't be that controversial a take. The only people who are arguing it was in shambles are trying to make Hurley look good by taking Kevin Ollie down. All Ollie did was win a National Championship and stand by UConn when our conference situation was collapsing and he could have left for greener pastures. I guess that is how a lot of UConn "fans" roll.

Hurley is good or bad based on his record and achievements.

Can’t think of a poster who has ever had more bad takes than you. Everyone knows KO literally stopped doing his job. It’s not even remotely controversial.

 

[uconngb]

squeeze me?

3 Regular Season Big East Championships, 1 Big East Tournament Championship. 7 NCAA tournament games.

We were 49-5 in the Big East in Ray’s three years here. Think about that.

 

[Dean Wormer]

What did we win with Ray Allen?

 

[WestHartHusk]

My argument is simple: Program was struggling because of the conference affiliation, but it was not in shambles when Hurley arrived. This shouldn't be that controversial a take. The only people who are arguing it was in shambles are trying to make Hurley look good by taking Kevin Ollie down. All Ollie did was win a National Championship and stand by UConn when our conference situation was collapsing and he could have left for greener pastures. I guess that is how a lot of UConn "fans" roll.

Hurley is good or bad based on his record and achievements.

Kenpom was like 180 amd we were consistently getting run out of the gym. Not sure how that is not shambles.

And I am not a KO hater, but let's not act like his staying here was altruism. He lept to the head of the line becoming head coach based on Calhoun's strong-arm and used NBA "rumors" generated by his agent to nearly triple his pay.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Kenpom was like 180 amd we were consistently getting run out of the gym. Not sure how that is not shambles.

And I am not a KO hater, but let's not act like his staying here was altruism. He lept to the head of the line becoming head coach based on Calhoun's strong-arm and used NBA "rumors" generated by his agent to nearly triple his pay.

He used a National Championship, which he won, to triple his pay. He was stupid to stay.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

And I am not a KO hater, but let's not act like his staying here was altruism. He lept to the head of the line becoming head coach based on Calhoun's strong-arm and used NBA "rumors" generated by his agent to nearly triple his pay.

I'm not going to sit here and act like Ollie shouldn't have been fired, but here's some news for you: there are very few D1 college coaches who would coach for free, and every single one of them uses interest in them to leverage more compensation. , anyone in any line of work does that. As far as criticisms of Ollie go, that's about the weakest one I can imagine.

Kevin Ollie has as many national championships as Bill Self, Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim, and John Calipari. No matter how his tenure ended, he would be deified by 99% of the fan bases in college basketball for that alone. People need to really put this ____ to bed.

 

[Deepster]

Ray didn’t win a title. Neither did Bouk. Caron Butler didn’t either. If that’s what you want to use to gauge someone’s 2-3-4 years here? Have at it.

Oh and Ray’s sophomore year he had Donny, Ollie, Brian Fair, Sheffer, Travis Knight and Kirk King on his team.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Thank you. Thank you. You are right on the money. I just wish more folks were as savvy. I don’t want a Hurley replacement. I want a better Hurley and he needs to start looking in the mirror and start recognizing he has some areas for major improvement.

I'm laughing imagining Hurley reading this comment. "Oh, ____, am I supposed to improve over time? No one told me! Thank god this BlueDogs character is here to hold me accountable." What a fanbase. From the toilet to the top 25 and the tournament in the blink of an eye and still this.

 

[3RingsCT]

I'm laughing imagining Hurley reading this comment. "Oh, ____, am I supposed to improve over time? No one told me! Thank god this BlueDogs character is here to hold me accountable." What a fanbase. From the toilet to the top 25 and the tournament in the blink of an eye and still this.

That’s what happens when you’re spoiled by one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. There’s that expectation that the current coach has to be that.

Hurley isn’t Calhoun and never will be. Neither will the guy after Hurley nor the guy after that.

Imagine what Dookies will be saying when Coach K retires....