Well

[HuskyWarrior611]

Exactly if people actually listened to the entire interview without any Hurley bias or anti Hurley bias it come across with honesty, talking to the media is Hurley's job.

If you take short quotes and you listen to it with anti Hurley bias then it comes across as whinery. Hurley already said this year would be it prior to to Maui but of course anyone trying to sell click bait isnt gonna bring that up.

Does Hurley mention any of that in this interview?

 

[bfs3]

A straw man argument is when an individual falsely attributes an easily refutable position to their opponent in a debate. In this particular case, the term was used accurately. It is an attempt to draw the other person into the weeds and is one of the reasons threads get derailed.

There are a few posters who routinely use straw man arguments on the board. It is unfortunate because it clutters up the board with nonsense. Calling out those false arguments for what they are, rather than getting sucked into that vortex is, in my opinion, the most efficient way to keep the thread on track.

I did say he was correct. I still hate the term. I don’t hate it as much as I do “gas lighting “ but it’s up there.

 

[my2cents]

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.

Spoken like a true Duke fan, well done.

 

[ctchamps]

Broken clock is right twice a day.

23 Hawkins, Andre, and Sanogo were unquestionably the guys and core of the team going into the year and offseason.

24 the starting lineup was pretty much settled. The only guy “competing” for a starting spot was Castle. And he had a very specific role because everyone else was very engrained in theirs.

Having clear and defined roles are very important. Competition does not help that.

Odd take from someone who criticized Hurley ad nauseum about not playing Ball and Stuart more in 24.

 

[CL82]

I did say he was correct. I still hate the term. I don’t hate it as much as I do “gas lighting “ but it’s up there.

Gaslighting is often misused on the board. Often by the same people who resort to straw man arguments.

The boneyard is better than the bulk of the internet. It is typically fairly civil.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Odd take from someone who criticized Hurley ad nauseum about not playing Ball and Stuart more in 24.

I talked about starters. You’re talking about bench players. Defined, consistent bench roles probably would’ve helped Ball and Stewart prepare for this year. Which is part of the reason I talked about it so much.

It wasn’t about winning at that time. It was about preparing them for when it’s their turn.

 

[JerseyAlum]

I like this but can Stew bring the ball up and be a guard? His size at guard solves a lot of problems but is he quick enough to guard other #2 guards?

Nowell can as the point and best handler...Stew could inbound to him and screen him free to dribble and pass over mid court to Karaban who is a great point forward and decision maker.

I can see Stew as lil' Andre but I think his ceiling is higher. Good things tend to happen when Stew is in the game.

 

[AntG168]

Just because we’re fanatics don’t mean we have to be stupid.

If you’re a back to back national championship winning head coach and you spend all summer talking about how you’re going for a three peat and how you have a championship culture.

Just to lose the first 3 games against real competition and then talk about how you won’t do said tournament again (I’m not sure if he talked about the money situation in context) how do you expect unbiased, rationale people to react?

You must be missing it. He said these exact same things BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT. It had nothing to do with the results of the tournament. AD David Benedict made similar comments earlier this off season. If you're reading this as Hurley whining then you either lack information out of ignorance or pure bias. I would hope your reason is ignorance and that you're just falling for the anti Hurley narrative of the last week. It's sad that this has to be explained to UConn fans. Just do a little research. Like not much. This amount of research simply takes a google search or just reading the boneyard. Let the masses hate. As a UConn fan, be better. Don't engage in clickbait that is aimed at negatively framing the program you support. Facts still matter.

 

[ctchamps]

I talked about starters. You’re talking about bench players. Defined, consistent bench roles probably would’ve helped Ball and Stewart prepare for this year. Which is part of the reason I talked about it so much.

It wasn’t about winning at that time. It was about preparing them for when it’s their turn.

The point is you don't mess with things when they are working. The 24 starting line up was probably the best oiled machine in college basketball history. Every player knew what every other player on the team was doing for almost the entire game every game. It's why the 24 team will be considered one of the best in history. Did it have negative repercussions. Yes. The downside is lack of experience to key players for this season. I got the impression most fans understood your preference and didn't agree with you. Certainly Hurley, Kimani, and Luke didn't. They probably remembered the loss to UCLA by the 94-95 Ray Allen team. A team which an argument can be made is the best UConn team of all time. It's extremely hard to win NCs which is why I value Hurley making last years team bulletproof.

This season there are a lot of very good players who have weaknesses that last years five did not. Finding the right combination(s) of players that optimize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses is a process that could take all season. We've seen this under JC especially after a NC. I wasn't fooled by last seasons success into believing the coaching staff could get the same degree of success every season even with talented players. Last year was a positive aberration. Anybody who has been watching UConn basketball for more than a decade knows that preseason expectations should be taken with a grain of salt. The UMES game was about working in different combinations. I observed at least five that got significant playing time together. The staff still is trying to figure out what works.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

In this thread, it is just breathtaking the sheer quantity of absolute bullcrap being flung at the wall hoping something sticks.

So many absolute ridiculous takes from consistently ridiculous posters.

People...

When has Hurley NOT recruited or allotted PT based on meritocracy? It's been his MO since the day he took the job. It's been discussed and published in articles, embedded in recruits' commitment statements ad nauseum. They come here because they want to be challenged and work for things. Nothing is guaranteed to them. As it should be. BUT, they are given a plan/roadmap, how they need to improve, what they need to do to contribute, etc.

Guardrails and a path get set. It's up to the players to commit to the work and the plan. This whole "players will perform better if they know that they are going to be the starter (or 6th man, etc.)" is just trash.

 

[prankster]

I stand by my previous remarks!

 

[JerseyAlum]

I stand by my previous remarks!

If you think the offense is dead - scored 97 vs Memphis in a 2 pt loss, 72 vs Colorado in a 1 pt loss, then 67 on Dayton who got more free throws than Bob's discount stores have ads - and we had the roughly the same FG and 3pt FG vs them.

Defense is the entire issue - not offense. In any of the game in Maui if we committed 10 less fouls we would have won at least 2.

 

[prankster]

I stand by my previous remarks!

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

You must be missing it. He said these exact same things BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT. It had nothing to do with the results of the tournament. AD David Benedict made similar comments earlier this off season. If you're reading this as Hurley whining then you either lack information out of ignorance or pure bias. I would hope your reason is ignorance and that you're just falling for the anti Hurley narrative of the last week. It's sad that this has to be explained to UConn fans. Just do a little research. Like not much. This amount of research simply takes a google search or just reading the boneyard. Let the masses hate. As a UConn fan, be better. Don't engage in clickbait that is aimed at negatively framing the program you support. Facts still matter.

wrong. I’m just saying it’s unreasonable to expect casual observers and non-team reporters to know about these things and Hurley should know better and how this makes him look if he doesn’t provide that context.

The point is you don't mess with things when they are working. The 24 starting line up was probably the best oiled machine in college basketball history. Every player knew what every other player on the team was doing for almost the entire game every game. It's why the 24 team will be considered one of the best in history. Did it have negative repercussions. Yes. The downside is lack of experience to key players for this season. I got the impression most fans understood your preference and didn't agree with you. Certainly Hurley, Kimani, and Luke didn't. They probably remembered the loss to UCLA by the 94-95 Ray Allen team. A team which an argument can be made is the best UConn team of all time. It's extremely hard to win NCs which is why I value Hurley making last years team bulletproof.

This season there are a lot of very good players who have weaknesses that last years five did not. Finding the right combination(s) of players that optimize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses is a process that could take all season. We've seen this under JC especially after a NC. I wasn't fooled by last seasons success into believing the coaching staff could get the same degree of success every season even with talented players. Last year was a positive aberration. Anybody who has been watching UConn basketball for more than a decade knows that preseason expectations should be taken with a grain of salt. The UMES game was about working in different combinations. I observed at least five that got significant playing time together. The staff still is trying to figure out what works.

I’m not sure why winning and development is assumed to be mutually exclusive. I’m sure we could’ve won just as well while carving out roles and playing time to get our futures feet wet with consistent bench roles in the many many blowouts we had.

 

[uconnfan68]

I honestly want the starters to be:

Nowell and Stewart at guard
Reed, Jr. at center
Karaban and McNeeley at wings

Why?

Best players to start, Stewart as most athletic player and has some drive and pull up shots. Reed > Johnson in almost every aspect per minute. Nowell is a point guard who will get better as the season flows.

Bench is Diarra, Ball, Ross, Johnson, Mahaney.

I also think collectively this can be the best defensive group long term.

I think that unit would get torched playing man. Not all of them, but a majority.

 

[SportsFan88]

This thread and these comments are CRAZY… damn we are an entitled, spoiled fan base LOL

 

[RuffRuff]

I think that unit would get torched playing man. Not all of them, but a majority.

Not the solution, at all. Playing a 4 at the 2 when you lack a ball handling creator doesn’t solve a thing. Smaller guards would roast Stew.

 

[ctchamps]

I’m not sure why winning and development is assumed to be mutually exclusive. I’m sure we could’ve won just as well while carving out roles and playing time to get our futures feet wet with consistent bench roles in the many many blowouts we had.

Since you can’t prove it to me we’ll have to agree to disagree.

 

[superjohn]

I’m not sure why winning and development is assumed to be mutually exclusive. I’m sure we could’ve won just as well while carving out roles and playing time to get our futures feet wet with consistent bench roles in the many many blowouts we had.

Galaxy-brain take.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Looking for positives. Maybe with AK out Hurley will try some new rotations and possibly hit on one that clicks. Also look to get Nowell more playing time. Losing AK means Stew has to start at the 4. But coach will probably shy away from playing Liam, Nowell and Abraham together.

Again small sample size but Abraham brings more athleticism with him when he is playing. Oh if he only 6’8” instead of 6’5” or 6’6”. Another tweener. May not be quick enough to guard the 3 and too small to guard the 4.

We just have to find ways to take advantage more on offense when we are smaller and quicker or bigger. Liam should be able to post up most 3’s we play.

Reed will be key we need 27 productive minutes 15 pts and 12 or more rebounds.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Casual observers don’t care. And a reporter of any kind should be doing research…..or they’re not a good reporter. What’s your excuse? Stop parroting bs.

Awkward that was suppose to definitely say “you’re not wrong”.

I’m just saying we can’t be upset people take it a certain way and Hurley should understand that’s how people would take it. He has to have some accountability

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Galaxy-brain take.

Do yall honestly think freshman Solo and Stew were so bad that it’d make a 20 point difference?

Because that’s the stance you’re taking.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Do yall honestly think freshman Solo and Stew were so bad that it’d make a 20 point difference?

Because that’s the stance you’re taking.

Hurley runs a tight meritocracy 24/7. I'm sure based on how they were practicing last year, their roles and potential game minutes were clearly deliniated and carved out for them. They knew what to expect and did their best for improving as the year went on. Thus the increased minutes for Stew towards the end of the season. Solo improved, but not enough to take the place of Castle. Meritocracy dude. Not Idiocracy.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Don't ask me why, but I went back and re-watched the UMES game last night. Was in 201 during the game so it's tough to see everything.

Of course we completely out-talented UMES, but I mainly watched our offensive flow and defensive fundamentals & rotations. Also payed close attention to our perimeter guarding for plays where dribblers blew by our defense.

Observations for offense:
-Anyone who is saying we're not getting movement, cutting, and dribble penetration is just not paying attention. There was a TON of great off-ball player movement, ball reversals, finding the open man, and just tons of wide-open looks from 3. Liam was ice-cold or else he would have had 9-12 more points. Just keep shooting, son.
-There was much more dribble penetration than I remembered. Solo had a bunch of nice downhill takes (some of which he should have finished stronger at the hoop), JStew was a plus addition to the rotation, and even Abraham had a couple nice moves.
-We still need to get better at the PnR lob game and PnR pass game. There were at least 3 plays where the window of opportunity was missed for Samson, and a couple of missed deliveries for Big Hoss. Other than Hass ,the delivery needs to be better, too...it's either too flat of a lob, or too much arc. In-game reps should improve it.
-I was really encouraged by Mahaney. He looked MUCH more in sync with the offensive flow, made some really nice decisions on dribble penetration.

Observations for Defense:
-With one exception, every time Samson hedged, it was effective (ball poked out twice with no foul, led to a TO once). Also, the rotations to guard the cutter were handled well, and re-switching once Samson recovered worked.
-When Solo & Ross allowed their guards to get by them on the perimeter, it was almost always due to either (1) overplaying the passing lane and trying to get a hand on the cross-court pass to their player, or (2) over-reacting to a ball/body fake in one direction and not recovering in time for the dribble in the other direction. These should be quite fixable technique changes.
-Refs really called a ton of ticky-tack fouls in the lane. I really hope that's not the whistle that gets called in big games and Big East games...each team will be in the double-bonus in 5 minutes.
-I really liked Abraham's overall defense. He got a terrible whistle...even for a rookie getting his first "real" game minutes

Even though this was a throw-away game, I'd like to think I saw some progress on defensive fundamentals. We'll see in about 11 hours...

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Hurley runs a tight meritocracy 24/7. I'm sure based on how they were practicing last year, their roles and potential game minutes were clearly deliniated and carved out for them. They knew what to expect and did their best for improving as the year went on. Thus the increased minutes for Stew towards the end of the season. Solo improved, but not enough to take the place of Castle. Meritocracy dude. Not Idiocracy.

Nobody said anybody should take anyone’s place.

But let’s just keep on making excuses on why it’s impossible to both develop young talent and win at the same time I guess. Let’s see how this goes without having a 7’2 guy to make every decision you make right.

I’m sure if Clingan was still here and we were winning Manahey is probably still starting instead of forcing us to give Nowell a try too.