Well

[Mr. French]

We’re moving on offense. We just don’t have a guy who can beat his guy off the dribble. Were too 3 ball dependent

I really see a bunch of guys unsure when to make the right attacks, whereas we saw a group REALLY in tune last year with making the right play off our actions.

I’m seeing a lot of indecision and lack of knowing when are the right times to attack…AND I agree that some of our guys aren’t as adept as last year. The combination has led to a lot of settling.

Ball, Mahaney, Ross at minimum fit this description. And they’re 3 of our most important playmakers.

 

[Husky Alien]

Yes, I don't recall a UConn squad this bad at defending. The teams at the end of Coach Ollie's era was less talented and still didn't give up 50%+ from the field to everyone. I stand by that belief.

It's not everyone and for the season. Just in Maui. Yes, I know the other were cupcakes, got it. Regardless of Ollie years or not, I agree with you that we suck right now on D, but we have a talented squad and whole season to improve on, Dan Hurley too. Stats so far for this season.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Only one of them starts. And he starts in front of the guy who he got from the portal.

He didn’t bet his season on the sophomores at all.

To expand on this thought more,

Hurley made every move this offseason to hedge his bets on the sophomores. These were our offseason moves (and I’m not saying these were the wrong moves).

Offseason Moves
- Brought in Aiden Mahaney as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Solo Ball.

- Recruited Liam McNeeley in April as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Had Alex Karaban come back after receiving a 2nd round grade when in the year prior he pushed Andre to stay in the draft with the same draft position to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Brought in Tarris Reed to take playing time away from Singare.

This is completely different from when he brought in transfers/recruits to compliment Hawkins, Jackson, and Sanogo in 2023. He did everything to hedge his bets with the sophomore class.

Saying Hurley bet the season on them is just objectively false and not fair to those guys at all. It also speaks to how going into the season, 2023 had clear roles that this group does not have.

 

[Huskyforlife]

To expand on this thought more,

Hurley made every move this offseason to hedge his bets on the sophomores. These were our offseason moves (and I’m not saying these were the wrong moves).

Offseason Moves
- Brought in Aiden Mahaney as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Solo Ball.

- Recruited Liam McNeeley in April as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Had Alex Karaban come back after receiving a 2nd round grade when in the year prior he pushed Andre to stay in the draft with the same draft position to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Brought in Tarris Reed to take playing time away from Singare.

This is completely different from when he brought in transfers/recruits to compliment Hawkins, Jackson, and Sanogo in 2023. He did everything to hedge his bets with the sophomore class.

Saying Hurley bet the season on them is just objectively false and not fair to those guys at all. It also speaks to how going into the season, 2023 had clear roles that this group does not have.

Mahaney was brought in as a PG.

Dan always pushes players to go when he thinks they're at their apex as a prospect. Alex was probably not at that apex last off season.

We'd be in a way worse situation had we not taken McNeeley. Even with him all 3 sophomores were given a chance to earn a starting spot and major bench role. Solo took the most advantage, and Ross/Stewart look like they don't deserve starting spots on a top 25 team right now. How does starting them fix any of their issues as players?

Reed is our best center, our other centers stink. We shoulda recruited over them twice.

 

[RuffRuff]

I’m putting a lot of emphasis on Solo’s development throughout the season. He will be a permanent fixture in this starting lineup and a key cog for this team to correct.

I tend to think the 5 spot will figure itself out with Reed and Nowell will slowly blend into the PG spot. Solo needs to become bedrock and to show more and play a brand of defense that you can count on, not worry about.

 

[HooperScooper]

To expand on this thought more,

Hurley made every move this offseason to hedge his bets on the sophomores. These were our offseason moves (and I’m not saying these were the wrong moves).

Offseason Moves
- Brought in Aiden Mahaney as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Solo Ball.

- Recruited Liam McNeeley in April as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Had Alex Karaban come back after receiving a 2nd round grade when in the year prior he pushed Andre to stay in the draft with the same draft position to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Brought in Tarris Reed to take playing time away from Singare.

This is completely different from when he brought in transfers/recruits to compliment Hawkins, Jackson, and Sanogo in 2023. He did everything to hedge his bets with the sophomore class.

Saying Hurley bet the season on them is just objectively false and not fair to those guys at all. It also speaks to how going into the season, 2023 had clear roles that this group does not have.

So basically Hurley brought in more talent to compete for playing time with the players who were already here, none of which had a definite starting role secured besides Karaban? Makes sense to me.

 

[Mr. French]

So basically Hurley brought in more talent to compete for playing time with the players who were already here, none of which had a definite starting role secured besides Karaban? Makes sense to me.

Yeah, his whole point is he didn’t just sit on the sophomore class and put everything on them…as though everyone wouldn’t have (rightly) lost their minds if he didn’t upgrade the talent and roster with specific needs.

I’m failing to see where the sophomores, who are also on this team and not living up to expectations, are skating any culpability in his universe.

I guess because Hurley brought in transfers that have underperformed? Should be easy to outperform then.

 

[Deleted at users request]

(and I’m not saying these were the wrong moves).

nobody read this apparently

 

[Deleted at users request]

So basically Hurley brought in more talent to compete for playing time with the players who were already here, none of which had a definite starting role secured besides Karaban? Makes sense to me.

The point was, he did not bet his season on the sophomores. He did the opposite.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Also, competing for playing time sounds good in theory. But believe it or not, guys actually improve a lot more when they have a clear role and know what the expectations are.

You prepare a lot differently for a season when you know you’re the guy compared to when you’re trying to be the guy.

You can’t prepare to be the guy if you don’t know if you’re going to be the guy.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I’m putting a lot of emphasis on Solo’s development throughout the season. He will be a permanent fixture in this starting lineup and a key cog for this team to correct.

I tend to think the 5 spot will figure itself out with Reed and Nowell will slowly blend into the PG spot. Solo needs to become bedrock and to show more and play a brand of defense that you can count on, not worry about.

If any coaching staff reads this board, please make Solo start every summer workout doing dribbling drills juggling tennis balls.

There’s no way his handle doesn’t improve after a summer of doing that. It’s just impossible.

Some of these skills guys lack are so fixable I don’t understand how they are issues in the first place.

 

[willie99]

December 1, 2024

I just can't

 

[Mr. French]

If any coaching staff reads this board, please make Solo start every summer workout doing dribbling drills juggling tennis balls.

There’s no way his handle doesn’t improve after a summer of doing that. It’s just impossible.

Some of these skills guys lack are so fixable I don’t understand how they are issues in the first place.

I gotta imagine this is a bit. But please keep telling the coaching staff basic things about coaching and training, they REALLY appreciate it.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I gotta imagine this is a bit. But please keep telling the coaching staff basic things about coaching and training, they REALLY appreciate it.

When I see people who seem to be insiders write off players because they lack skills that are teachable, like dribbling, then yeah I assume the staff may not know how to develop that developable skill.

Lamb improved his handle after one summer. Yet we knew Solo’s problem last year and it’s still a problem this year.

 

[scdono]

I love the irrational analysis. The season is early. Let’s see where we are in January and February. This team has plenty of talent. I hate the losses but the future is bright. Let’s see if they come together and learn to play UConn defense

 

[bfs3]

I held out hope that a 3 peat could result in a special Nike Dunk release to add to my collection like Michigan got after winning a forgettable CFB championship. I’ll have to wait a bit before putting the huskies decal on my Porsche so I can match. Life is hard.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Aside from the offense - which is awful - and the defense - which is worse - and the roster construction - which is abysmal - I think we’re doing pretty well.

I am kind of puzzled as to which team Danny Hurley was watching when he got offended that we were not the preseason #1. The team he’s brought to Hawaii was the eighth-best team there and currently looks like an NIT hopeful.

What a debacle. Maybe more complaints about not getting calls at the post-game presser will fix things.

There is a universe where you can read this post as a great omen.

The last Fishy basketball post I remember was him ripping the talent level, roster construction and coaching staff two years ago, right before this team won back to back national championships. If I recall specifically his biggest gripe was that the staff committed malpractice by failing to bring in a point guard, and then the point guard became a first team all-american, NPOY finalist, and MVP of the Final Four. Whoops!!

So if you believe in the whole "past is prologue" thing a third consecutive natty might officially be in play. Although I suspect this time he might be more in the ballpark of correct, rather than comically, almost historically wrong.

 

[pj]

To expand on this thought more,

Hurley made every move this offseason to hedge his bets on the sophomores. These were our offseason moves (and I’m not saying these were the wrong moves).

Offseason Moves
- Brought in Aiden Mahaney as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Solo Ball.

- Recruited Liam McNeeley in April as a guy who had a chance to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Had Alex Karaban come back after receiving a 2nd round grade when in the year prior he pushed Andre to stay in the draft with the same draft position to start over and take playing time away from Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross.

- Brought in Tarris Reed to take playing time away from Singare.

This is completely different from when he brought in transfers/recruits to compliment Hawkins, Jackson, and Sanogo in 2023. He did everything to hedge his bets with the sophomore class.

Saying Hurley bet the season on them is just objectively false and not fair to those guys at all. It also speaks to how going into the season, 2023 had clear roles that this group does not have.

Fair enough, but if his self-evaluation was that the returning players needed to be recruited over, why be so aggressive saying we aim to 3-peat, and should be rated #1 preseason?

 

[RuffRuff]

There is a universe where you can read this post as a great omen.

The last Fishy basketball post I remember was him ripping the talent level, roster construction and coaching staff two years ago, right before this team won back to back national championships. If I recall specifically his biggest gripe was that the staff committed malpractice by failing to bring in a point guard, and then the point guard became a first team all-american, NPOY finalist, and MVP of the Final Four. Whoops!!

So if you believe in the whole "past is prologue" thing a third consecutive natty might officially be in play. Although I suspect this time he might be more in the ballpark of correct, rather than comically, almost historically wrong.

Maybe just maybe Fishy understands the power of his intentionally timed posts and the cosmic reverse psychology that it brings. Might it be strategic? The smell of bad fish extends widely with a pungent power that can not be underestimated.

Biggest question right now is whether the clear deficiencies in core players can be corrected. I’ve been putting emphasis on Solo because he seems like a kid that has the physical talents to be a good defender (length and strength). He had a year of practicing with a historic team, which makes you think some osmosis would have kicked in. Liam needs to be better too. We just can’t have multiple guys at 1-3 that are turnstiles and can’t close out as it puts way too much pressure on the front court guys and leads to a confused mess of over-fouling and giving up easy points.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Fair enough, but if his self-evaluation was that the returning players needed to be recruited over, why be so aggressive saying we aim to 3-peat, and should be rated #1 preseason?

I’m honestly not sure. My theory is just that Hurley says a lot of things for marketing purposes. But who really knows.

It’s just objectively false to say he bet his season on guys he actively recruited over during the offseason or had compete for roles.

 

[uconnever]

It’s this. This is what I’m seeing. It’s gotta be Nowell now in Mahaneys spot and take the lumps that will be coming while a frosh PG gets his feet under him. It won’t be perfect in the immediate ( but we suck anyway so take it) but we will be much better off in 2 months. Give Mahaney some off ball rotation time . Let him and Ross fight for minutes, as Ross isn’t there yet either. The other is Reed has to be a starter. Samson Johnson is a change of pace bench guy. Like he’s always been.

This is it. This is exactly what needs to be done it seems. Unless Aidan just needs time to understand what we like to do and how to find his role, I wouldn’t wait for him, but that may be a possibility. These guys have never played together, they all need time. Think about it, how much did Ball,Stewart, Ross play last year and then think about how much anyone on this team has played together. They need time to learn each other and figure out how to play in our system. We definitely will get better no matter what.

 

[lateralous]

Fair enough, but if his self-evaluation was that the returning players needed to be recruited over, why be so aggressive saying we aim to 3-peat, and should be rated #1 preseason?

I can't explain the second part of your post other than it might be ego but the fact that he targeted 2 year transfers suggests to me that he believes in the sophomores but knew they needed time to develop and had a longer term plan.

 

[Mr. French]

When I see people who seem to be insiders write off players because they lack skills that are teachable, like dribbling, then yeah I assume the staff may not know how to develop that developable skill.

Lamb improved his handle after one summer. Yet we knew Solo’s problem last year and it’s still a problem this year.

Buddy, if your magic trick of dribbling and juggling tennis balls simultaneously was as elite as you make It sound, everyone in America would be Pistol Pete.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Buddy, if your magic trick of dribbling and juggling tennis balls simultaneously was as elite as you make It sound, everyone in America would be Pistol Pete.

It just depends on what skills guys want to focus on. There’s plenty examples of guys who were terrible dribblers who have pretty good handle now. Jaylen Brown being a prime example.

I also know how effective the drill is from first hand experience. It’s why I get confused when people talk as if dribbling isn’t a very fixable skill.

In Solo’s case it’s clear all he does is work on his 3 point shooting. Or at least that’s the big priority for him. Same as Andre, Hawkins, etc.

 

[KingAG]

It just depends on what skills guys want to focus on. There’s plenty examples of guys who were terrible dribblers who have pretty good handle now. Jaylen Brown being a prime example.

I also know how effective the drill is from first hand experience. It’s why I get confused when people talk as if dribbling isn’t a very fixable skill.

In Solo’s case it’s clear all he does is work on his 3 point shooting. Or at least that’s the big priority for him. Same as Andre, Hawkins, etc.

You are oversimplifying the process of developing a skill enough to use at a high major level. You have no idea if they've had him working on it

 

[Deepster]

There is a universe where you can read this post as a great omen.

The last Fishy basketball post I remember was him ripping the talent level, roster construction and coaching staff two years ago, right before this team won back to back national championships. If I recall specifically his biggest gripe was that the staff committed malpractice by failing to bring in a point guard, and then the point guard became a first team all-american, NPOY finalist, and MVP of the Final Four. Whoops!!

So if you believe in the whole "past is prologue" thing a third consecutive natty might officially be in play. Although I suspect this time he might be more in the ballpark of correct, rather than comically, almost historically wrong.

You're reading way too much into Fishy's posting. He probably got upset that some bicyclist finished 3rd in some Tour De' EuroTrash or a relative asked him if the stuffing was gluten free Thursday.

 

[Inyatkin]

Do you really think fishy hadn‘t posted in 2 years?

He was all over the place when we were down. He's been extremely quiet since. Now he's back with an "I told you so" post. In the interim, we won two titles. If you can't see the pattern, that's on you.

 

[nomar]

I'm oddly at ease about this team, despite the three game skid. Hurley and his staff are top notch and there is real talent on the roster. I expect the team to be considerably better by mid January. There's plenty of cause for optimism. A team with Karaban, Reed, Ball, Stewart, McNeeley, Diarra, Nowell and Mahaney should be good, there's just too much talent to continue to suck. It'll get better, much better.

I think the people who thought Hurley was literally a magician who could conjure a 3-peat through bravado and plays from the Turkish league are the ones crying the loudest right now.

This team has a lot of depth and I think the staff can and will figure out how to maximize the players' skills but you can't lose Clingan, Castle, Cam and Newton and expect no drop-off because "we're UConn."

The 2022-23 team hit the skids and the staff righted the ship. There's a lot of time between now and March. Then again, we can't dig a hole too deep, so the improvement needs to start sooner rather than later.

But we have too much talent to crash out.

As for Danny's antics, you have to take the bad with the good. His passion makes him great. It also leads to bad Ts. Old dogs, new tricks, etc.

 

[KingAG]

I think the people who thought Hurley was literally a magician who could conjure a 3-peat through bravado and plays from the Turkish league are the ones crying the loudest right now.

This team has a lot of depth and I think the staff can and will figure out how to maximize the players' skills but you can't lose Clingan, Castle, Cam and Newton and expect no drop-off because "we're UConn."

The 2022-23 team hit the skids and the staff righted the ship. There's a lot of time between now and March. Then again, we can't dig a hole too deep, so the improvement needs to start sooner rather than later.

But we have too much talent to crash out.

As for Danny's antics, you have to take the bad with the good. His passion makes him great. It also leads to bad Ts. Old dogs, new tricks, etc.

This and we overestimated some players abilities from the jump(Mahaney, Ball, Ross, Hass, Johnson). We expected that group to be significantly better. Maybe not 3 peat better. But better. After a back 2 back I think a second weekend is an acceptable expectation.

 

[superjohn]

I think the people who thought Hurley was literally a magician who could conjure a 3-peat through bravado and plays from the Turkish league are the ones crying the loudest right now.

You just described Hurley.