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Dan Hurley/ Uconn news

the Blades

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Jan 20, 2003
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UConn basketball: Dan Hurley on Huskies' rebuild, Jim Calhoun | SI.com

Great read on selling recruits with the Uconn brand and the Hurley brand, how he expects to play style wise with 10 or 11 deep ( "This year it just so happens we have depth ") and his 1st year expectations.

"In 2012 he took over a Rhode Island program coming off a 7–24 season and gradually built them into a team that sent home Creighton and Oklahoma in consecutive Marches. “I’ve been through this,” said Hurley, who was also pursued aggressively by Pittsburgh. “It’s almost like I have a manual.” With that in mind, Hurley sat down with SI.com to discuss what sorts of things that manual might entail, what he’s learned from Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun "
 
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UConn basketball: Dan Hurley on Huskies' rebuild, Jim Calhoun | SI.com

Great read on selling recruits with the Uconn brand and the Hurley brand, how he expects to play style wise with 10 or 11 deep ( "This year it just so happens we have depth ") and his 1st year expectations.

"In 2012 he took over a Rhode Island program coming off a 7–24 season and gradually built them into a team that sent home Creighton and Oklahoma in consecutive Marches. “I’ve been through this,” said Hurley, who was also pursued aggressively by Pittsburgh. “It’s almost like I have a manual.” With that in mind, Hurley sat down with SI.com to discuss what sorts of things that manual might entail, what he’s learned from Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun "
Man, I love this coach!
 
Although I cannot put too much stock into video clips from practice, Josh Carlton has some good moments in those highlights.
 
What do you guys think of a starting lineup of Adams, Gilbert, and Vital manning 3 guard positions, and Yakwe and Carlton up front?

Or for more size, Wilson, Yakwe and Carlton up front, and Adams and Gilbert at guard?

What do you think?
 
I'll play.....though Hurley was playing 3 guards at URI......my guess is:
Jalen Adams........... 6-3/195.......PG....SR
Christian Vital...........6-2/180......SG.....JR (is Rique healthy ?)
Josh Carlton... .......6-10/235.... C..... SO
Kassoum Yakwe.... 6-7/212....... F..... SR
Tyler Polley..............6-8/200........ F.......SO

and a NBA style 10 deep rotation off the bench
Alterique Gilbert........ 6-0/171.... PG..... RS SO
Tarin Smith.................6-3/185..... G...... SR
Eric Cobb.................. 6-9/250...... C..... SR
Isaiah Whaley............6-8/210........ F.......SO
Sid Wilson..................6-7/180........F..... RS FR
 
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CBS's Rothstein is at Uconn today, regarding a starting 5:






Yuck, so they can get killed on the boards and manhandled vs. legitimate bigs again ?
 
Unfortunately, unless the bigs step up, the small ball matchups may be the best use of the personnel they have which is simply better at the guard positions. Hopefully Carlton, Yakwe, and Cobb can be workmanlike on the boards. At least they all have some experience.
 
Good read in CT magazine by Borges. From his HS days when he was in the stands watching the Tate George and Christian Laettner shots to playing for Coach Blaney to " At one point they were going to stay at URI. Then, no, it’s UConn. Then he called his agent: “I’m not going to UConn anymore.” ....“Monday through Wednesday was a blur,” she says. “For something that should have been so exciting, it was awful. He second-guessed himself 27 times" Finally, the decision was made. “This is what I do,” he told (his wife Andrea) “I build programs.”

 
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After initially receiving the news that Hurley was UConn’s top coaching target I was less than thrilled, but he has gradually won me over with various things that he has said and done since becoming UConn coach. I have been impressed with his media press conferences and was very impressed that the guys on last year’s team didn’t bail on him. However the greatest reservation I had about him was that I remember his playing career at Seton Hall and I never thought there was an adequate explanation for how and why he quit the Seton Hall team. The CT Magazine article, however, provides a much better analysis of that whole situation than I ever read before. I had totally forgotten that Bobby Hurley’s car accident was only a week later which served to essentially completely derail his professional career. It must have been hard for Danny Hurley to follow his brother because being merely good was never going to be enough, but he did become a pretty solid player for the Hall. He seems to have really learned from and grown because of that experience. Anyway I am really looking forward to watching his leadership of the UConn team. He has appropriately been low key in his assessment of the team but I think he can do more sooner than anyone anticipated.
 
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