What's the point?

[AdamaNation]

You fight and scrap for 36 minutes every game and then give it to AG and CV to go 1 on 5. Same script every single game for years. What's the point of all that wasted energy when you give them the same keys to crash the car every single time. You will never ever get a different result.

Wonder what Ollie would have done.

 

[alphasigko]

Just damn depressing....

 

[JB75]

Thanks for a combination of light & serious response. I think we are what we are: almost good, more worth watching than all but one year since 2014, a group of guys I can pull for, who are thus far incapable of shutting down the opposition at the end of the game.

We already know that we don't have a winning scorer by experience, disposition, or demonstrated overarching talent. Once the numbers flip, this team is prone to ugly errors that come with the territory. But they simply do not warrant the attacks they get here. Calhoun's evident theme is what's needed during the last 4 minutes: a 'make other guys lose' mentality.

If you're pushing me to offer a 'disappointment' scenario, it'd be that they don't have the hardo quality that would have made Temple a 30-point win, a 'step on them and keep it there' vibe that makes sure they don't let up. Soft or telegraphed passes, inconsistent free throw form, Dan Hurley still too slow to stop the opponent's run with a timeout, all contribute to small margins that combine to compromise the refusal posture at closing time. Have the game in hand, but don't slack off in garbage time. Every ending has to be tough. That's hard. And it's uncommon. They don't have enough talent to do it any other way this year.

Even with better talent, Sweet 16 and better requires this quality to advance further. This is just the current Rx to be Tournament worthy.

Agreed. All good. But isnt it crazy that if I told u after the Charleston weekend that.... Carlton wud have regressed to senior in high school levels, my boy AG wudda Been in such a bad mental state on how his season is going that Hurley had to give him a “personal day” to miss a game, bouk wud hit prolly three jumpers total in the months of December and January combined, polley(Who was really starting to turn the corner as a sharpshooter) would be out for the year with an injury- in practice ! , whalley wud be really starting to play his ass off, and Gaffney pretty much a no show - u guys wud of banished me to the UConn volleyball thread!!!! Oh and wait -oh yeah add- in about six losses out of seven where we had the lead in the last 3/four minutes all against teams pretty much in the top 30/40!!! Really crazy when you think about how this year is gone so far. But that’s pretty much been par for the course the last five years

 

[Excalibur]

Wonder what Ollie would have done.

Been down by 25 . . .

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

We just have to accept that if they’re not up by a bunch at the end, expect pain.

This, or close to it.

I accept that the final 4 minutes in close games will more than likely look as they do, so it doesn't really register as pain.

If one day (soon, I hope), I am surprised, I'll be very happy. In the meantime, I plan to watch the games, and do so with attention, and something that's at least a close relative of enjoyment.

I see things that I like in every player on the team. Every one of them has flaws. Any one of them can delight me. I scream at the TV, especially today during the last 14 seconds of the first half.

I didn't like when certain fouls were and weren't called, lobs weren't on target, dunks were missed, a bounce pass into the lane was again too low, open shots were airballed, a run went from 7 to 11 with no timeout, open shots were passed up, etc.

I also accept that I'm the one who has chosen to invest time and emotions into one sport and one team, and it's a semi-pro developmental league team with players at best one-third my age who rotate every year and do things on & off the court that are as dumb as stuff I did at that age.

Agreed. All good. But isnt it crazy that if I told u after the Charleston weekend that.... Carlton wud have regressed to senior in high school levels, my boy AG wudda Been in such a bad mental state on how his season is going that Hurley had to give him a “personal day” to miss a game, bouk wud hit prolly three jumpers total in the months of December and January combined, polley(Who was really starting to turn the corner as a sharpshooter) would be out for the year with an injury- in practice ! , whalley wud be really starting to play his ass off, and Gaffney pretty much a no show - u guys wud of banished me to the UConn volleyball thread!!!! Oh and wait -oh yeah add- in about six losses out of seven where we had the lead in the last 3/four minutes all against teams pretty much in the top 30/40!!! Really crazy when you think about how this year is gone so far. But that’s pretty much been par for the course the last five years

I kinda liked the Shonn Miller year. Otherwise, this year has been notably different and way better to follow than all those others.

Remember the preseason sentiment, "This team will go as far a Gilbert and Carlton take us." I thought it meant, "Will they be good or will they be really good?" Even if it's unimaginably redefined, that statement is still true.

 

[uconnfan68]

Iagree with him. We got pounded with no calls, not touch fouls but slammed and no call, then we go down and get a moving screen?

Not sure why anyone expects anything different than biased refs and home jobs. We’re leaving, and this is their goodbye kiss.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Not sure why anyone expects anything different than biased refs and home jobs. We’re leaving, and this is their goodbye kick.

FIFY

 

[Two Sheds]

You fight and scrap for 36 minutes every game and then give it to AG and CV to go 1 on 5. Same script every single game for years. What's the point of all that wasted energy when you give them the same keys to crash the car every single time. You will never ever get a different result.

I take full responsibility for this loss. I have been doing some scientific mojo testing and I have known the since last Wednesday that if I watched this game, UCONN would lose. I will not watch another game and at least they'll have a shot at the NIT.

 

[mussels]

yes

He will be a good player. But how many assists did our "best passer" have today?

 

[tentoes4rings]

Gilbert was 4-6 with 12 points with about 8 mins to go and then imploded. He was having a nice bounce back.

The other guys need to want it too but they very obviously defer. Even Bouk does and I feel like he needs to be the most selfish one on the team.

He played like the punished kid on his best behavior until his parents trusted him again. Once he had their trust, he threw a huge bash and trashed the house again.

 

[Jbirdp5]

I get the frustration with Gilbert but today I feel it is misplaced. One bad shot in the last 4 minutes on what should have been called a foul. Gaffney on the last possession of the first half is what some people wanted to see replayed for the last possessions of the second half as well? Pretty sure hurley doesn’t want to crush the kid mentally by doing that to him.

 

[EBonz30]

You fight and scrap for 36 minutes every game and then give it to AG and CV to go 1 on 5. Same script every single game for years. What's the point of all that wasted energy when you give them the same keys to crash the car every single time. You will never ever get a different result.

As I said after the first 5 games or so that this team would go as far as Gilbert would lead us. That’s why I disagreed with pounding on the kid because we needed him to be huge piece of the puzzle to have a good year. I believe Hurley feels or felt the same way- the reality is this roster has no backup plan to have a good year if Gilbert is going to shoot 30 percent from the field & turn the ball over at the most critical moments of each game. Gaffney in no way was or is ready to make any sort of positive impact on the & this season. It is what it is, we can blame Hurley & Gilbert & whoever else, but non development over the years of our juniors & seniors is the primary cause of this sub .500 year.

What’s funny is most of the people on this board were the same people hoping & wishing Jalen Adams & Christian Vital would stay with the program in where I was on the other side of letting them walk & letting Hurley start from scratch with his own regime of players.

Over the next 2 years Hurley will be held to a higher standard with a lot less excuses- Akok, Bouknight, Adams, Gaffney, Cole, Jackson, Springs, etc. all better develop at a stronger rate otherwise this will be a failed narrative.

Last point, it’s amazing how these small guards dominate the college basketball landscape- here’s a few names who have been extremely influential this season on wins for their given program;

- Kendric Davis (SMU)
- Fatts Russell (URI)
- J’Von McCormick (Auburn)
- McKinley Wright IV (Colorado)
- Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
- Jacob Gilyard (Richmond)
- Charlie Moore (DePaul)
- Remy Martin (Arizona St.)
- Chris Lykes (Miami)
- Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
- Kihei Clark (Virginia)

A couple of things with the list above- all are 6 foot tall or under- all have the same skill set as Alterique Gilbert- none were high school all Americans- all were way below in high school recruiting ranks compared to Gilbert- all have a better shooting percentage than Gilbert this season.

Each of their programs have currently a better record than UConn & each are having better seasons than Alterique Gilbert.

Is Gilbert’s lack of development on Hurley, UConn, Gilbert, injuries, or a little bit of each?

You can point to a lot of directions of why UConn hasn’t had a good year, but my number one reason is the non-development of the leader & point guard Alterique Gilbert, hopefully next year we have multiple backup plans.

 

[David 76]

Is Gilbert’s lack of development on Hurley, UConn, Gilbert, injuries, or a little bit of each?
[/QUOTE]

What about the multiple injuries and surgeries?

 

[JB75]

As I said after the first 5 games or so that this team would go as far as Gilbert would lead us. That’s why I disagreed with pounding on the kid because we needed him to be huge piece of the puzzle to have a good year. I believe Hurley feels or felt the same way- the reality is this roster has no backup plan to have a good year if Gilbert is going to shoot 30 percent from the field & turn the ball over at the most critical moments of each game. Gaffney in no way was or is ready to make any sort of positive impact on the & this season. It is what it is, we can blame Hurley & Gilbert & whoever else, but non development over the years of our juniors & seniors is the primary cause of this sub .500 year.

What’s funny is most of the people on this board were the same people hoping & wishing Jalen Adams & Christian Vital would stay with the program in where I was on the other side of letting them walk & letting Hurley start from scratch with his own regime of players.

Over the next 2 years Hurley will be held to a higher standard with a lot less excuses- Akok, Bouknight, Adams, Gaffney, Cole, Jackson, Springs, etc. all better develop at a stronger rate otherwise this will be a failed narrative.

Last point, it’s amazing how these small guards dominate the college basketball landscape- here’s a few names who have been extremely influential this season on wins for their given program;

- Kendric Davis (SMU)
- Fatts Russell (URI)
- J’Von McCormick (Auburn)
- McKinley Wright IV (Colorado)
- Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
- Jacob Gilyard (Richmond)
- Charlie Moore (DePaul)
- Remy Martin (Arizona St.)
- Chris Lykes (Miami)
- Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
- Kihei Clark (Virginia)

A couple of things with the list above- all are 6 foot tall or under- all have the same skill set as Alterique Gilbert- none were high school all Americans- all were way below in high school recruiting ranks compared to Gilbert- all have a better shooting percentage than Gilbert this season.

Each of their programs have currently a better record than UConn & each are having better seasons than Alterique Gilbert.

Is Gilbert’s lack of development on Hurley, UConn, Gilbert, injuries, or a little bit of each?

You can point to a lot of directions of why UConn hasn’t had a good year, but my number one reason is the non-development of the leader & point guard Alterique Gilbert, hopefully next year we have multiple backup plans.

Doesn’t help that Carlton has regressed badly and our best and only shooter is out for year-

 

[tentoes4rings]

Shooting is the real problem, which magnifies everything else. The Polley loss was cruel and killed this team’s chances. It’s very likely we would have won these last three losses with him and our discussions would now be entirely different, Akok, Bouk and Gaffney have to develop into at least solid shooters by next season or we’ll struggle mightily again.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Or, we could not pit two guys who are very important parts of both this year’s team and this program’s growth against each other as some sort of either/or.

Hurley did everything just mentioned to give Gaffney exposure today. When JG’s sixth shot attempt of the game was swatted back to him with six minutes left and it was abundantly clear this spot was too much for him, Hurley put a group out there that had the best chance and things played out from there.

No matter how many message board heroes want to act like they know more about handling this roster than an incredibly talented major D1 coach, it will not become true. Hurley knows this team, the talent, who can handle which situations much better than anyone else, and his decisions reflect that.

In sorry, but this logic falls apart. The moment is too big for JG, so I will go with Al because..." Not sure how you finish that sentence, especially this week.

Season is over, at least find out what a different line-up can do to close out a game. And it's not a dig on AG, he played pretty well today. But it's just not fair to him, or good coaching, to have him in at game-end at this point.

 

[billybud]

Road games are tough...

Got to break through on the road.

 

[Kemba Time]

In sorry, but this logic falls apart. The moment is too big for JG, so I will go with Al because..." Not sure how you finish that sentence, especially this week.

Because he was the far better option on the court throughout the Memphis game, his play was a big part of the reason they were in the game at the end and that’s much more indicative of who belongs on the court than some mythical idea that the final two minutes of the game are some magical wonderland that you change from what is working best in the moment.

I sure as hell want my coach trying to win close games late than playing for what may or may not help develop for some time in the future, but even if we do play along with this idea — which is better for development: Bouk and Akok getting opportunities late like they did yesterday because of AG’s ability to initiate the offense or JG being handed the ball in a situation he isn’t ready for and being completely overwhelmed? It’s not even a debate what the answer is here.

As I said above, I really don’t want to put AG and JG against each other, but Al over Jalen late in yesterday’s game was simply not a difficult decision based on everything Hurley saw leading up to it.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Because he was the far better option on the court throughout the Memphis game, his play was a big part of the reason they were in the game at the end and that’s much more indicative of who belongs on the court than some mythical idea that the final two minutes of the game are some magical wonderland that you change from what is working best in the moment.

I sure as hell want my coach trying to win close games late than playing for what may or may not help develop for some time in the future, but even if we do play along with this idea — which is better for development: Bouk and Akok getting opportunities late like they did yesterday because of AG’s ability to initiate the offense or JG being handed the ball in a situation he isn’t ready for and being completely overwhelmed? It’s not even a debate what the answer is here, man.

"Who has the best stats" is demonstrably not Dan Hurley's measure for who should be in at game-end, and cannot be anyone's measure who is defending AG should have been in (unless you want to acknowledge the multiple games the stats said AG should have been nowhere near the court).

And the best for Bouk/Akok development is definitely playing with the PG they are going to have next year, versus a PG they wont have next year.

I cant imagine what team you are w as tching to think "there is no debate". This team is 2-6 in the freaking AAC.

 

[Kemba Time]

"Who has the best stats"

I said literally nothing about stats in my post.

 

[Jbirdp5]

"Who has the best stats" is demonstrably not Dan Hurley's measure for who should be in at game-end, and cannot be anyone's measure who is defending AG should have been in (unless you want to acknowledge the multiple games the stats said AG should have been nowhere near the court).

And the best for Bouk/Akok development is definitely playing with the PG they are going to have next year, versus a PG they wont have next year.

I cant imagine what team you are w as tching to think "there is no debate". This team is 2-6 in the freaking AAC.

If you want guys playing with their point guard for next year you should have told hurley not to recruit a kid who has to sit a year......
Hurley is doing a good job he is increasing Gaffneys minutes as the season goes, when he plays well he leaves him in at the end of the game. If he’s not playing well he doesn’t. I don’t know what is so hard for people to figure out about the end of yesterday’s game, had Gaffney been lighting it up he would have been in.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I take full responsibility for this loss. I have been doing some scientific mojo testing and I have known the since last Wednesday that if I watched this game, UCONN would lose. I will not watch another game and at least they'll have a shot at the NIT.

ik,r? the old 'can't watch, must watch' schizophrenia of being a fan. and who do I complain to about my 'lucky' shorts thing not working so well lately? maybe I need to wash them with some mojo soap, since the ban on my mutts watching with us ain't working either. the problem with ending their ban is that now i'll need an extra set of eyes to make sure they don't glom up all the snacks, especially the pepperoni. sheesh, this fan stuff is complicated.

 

[Shine33]

As I said after the first 5 games or so that this team would go as far as Gilbert would lead us. That’s why I disagreed with pounding on the kid because we needed him to be huge piece of the puzzle to have a good year. I believe Hurley feels or felt the same way- the reality is this roster has no backup plan to have a good year if Gilbert is going to shoot 30 percent from the field & turn the ball over at the most critical moments of each game. Gaffney in no way was or is ready to make any sort of positive impact on the & this season. It is what it is, we can blame Hurley & Gilbert & whoever else, but non development over the years of our juniors & seniors is the primary cause of this sub .500 year.

What’s funny is most of the people on this board were the same people hoping & wishing Jalen Adams & Christian Vital would stay with the program in where I was on the other side of letting them walk & letting Hurley start from scratch with his own regime of players.

Over the next 2 years Hurley will be held to a higher standard with a lot less excuses- Akok, Bouknight, Adams, Gaffney, Cole, Jackson, Springs, etc. all better develop at a stronger rate otherwise this will be a failed narrative.

Last point, it’s amazing how these small guards dominate the college basketball landscape- here’s a few names who have been extremely influential this season on wins for their given program;

- Kendric Davis (SMU)
- Fatts Russell (URI)
- J’Von McCormick (Auburn)
- McKinley Wright IV (Colorado)
- Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
- Jacob Gilyard (Richmond)
- Charlie Moore (DePaul)
- Remy Martin (Arizona St.)
- Chris Lykes (Miami)
- Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
- Kihei Clark (Virginia)

A couple of things with the list above- all are 6 foot tall or under- all have the same skill set as Alterique Gilbert- none were high school all Americans- all were way below in high school recruiting ranks compared to Gilbert- all have a better shooting percentage than Gilbert this season.

Each of their programs have currently a better record than UConn & each are having better seasons than Alterique Gilbert.

Is Gilbert’s lack of development on Hurley, UConn, Gilbert, injuries, or a little bit of each?

You can point to a lot of directions of why UConn hasn’t had a good year, but my number one reason is the non-development of the leader & point guard Alterique Gilbert, hopefully next year we have multiple backup plans.

Fatts Russel was recruited by Dan Hurley. It’s simple, just wait till he has his own players

 

[UConnDad]

There’s a player named Remy Martin?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Our team had 20 turnovers and he had 0. That's the thing about good decisions, they're way less obvious than bad ones

This is such an awful take. He had no impact whatsoever on the game today. Matt Garry had zero turnovers too.

After Temple we had people saying he's our best passer since Marcus Williams. It is lunatic ____ over here.