Last night UConn men’s basketball played the first game of the Dan Hurley Era against Morehead State. After two years of watching a team that played soulless, sad basketball, it was a huge change of pace (literally) to see UConn playing a game with tempo and – dare I say it? – an actual offense. Oh, and they scored 80 points and won the game, so that was cool.
And here are some thoughts from last night’s game.
Basketball is fun
So, like, I actually enjoyed watching this game? It was very unfamiliar, so it took me a minute to figure out what I was feeling, but yes, it was definitely enjoyment. The tempo was tremendous. To put this in perspective, last year UConn’s adjusted tempo according to KenPom was 67 possessions, below the D-1 average of 68.3. Last night they had 72 possessions. UConn was trying to run on nearly every possession last night, and the bigs were immediately looking to make an outlet pass when they got a rebound. And with Hurley playing three guards for most of the night, there was nearly always someone streaking up the floor to catch that pass. Even after a Morehead make, UConn was pushing the ball up the floor and getting into transition quickly. The Huskies had 21 fast break points last night. It was fun as hell.
Guards on guards on guards
The back court is: good. Jalen Adams was doing circus shit in the air, Christian Vital was looking even quicker than he did last year and Alterique Gilbert did not appear to be mashed potatoes. But on top of that, Tarin Smith looked like an effective, competent guard and Brendan Adams (who we had been calling BAdams, but he is not bad he is good, so he is now Goodams) can actually shoot. Both looked far more athletic than I expected and bring some good size to the backcourt. Smith, in particular, was really impressive. Maybe it’s just my Antoine Anderson hangover, but Smith played solid defense, made some great passes, went strong to the basket while getting contact and then made his free throws at the line. It is 100 percent perfectly clear to me why Danny Hurley immediately wanted to bring Smith in. He played heads up, error-free ball, and will be a real asset to the team. This surfeit of ball handlers really improves the offense, taking pressure off of Adams and giving them lots more options.
Two point shots are good
UConn had 45 points in the paint last night. They haven’t score that many points down low since Boat was suiting up for UConn. The guards were looking quick and they managed to get lots of penetration resulting in lay ups, including some wild contortionist ones from Jalen Adams. Josh Carlton also got in on the action (we call this a segue, see the next bullet).
Carlton’s got moves you’ve never seen
Yo, Josh Carlton has some post move. His footwork looks hugely improved, his hands look actually functional (a thing I vaguely remember being true of past UConn bigs but I dunno it’s been awhile), and I swear to Jonathan, Carlton looked like a legitimate college big man. His athleticism is still not a thing, dude will never be jumping out of the gym, but the improvement just in the off season really bodes well for the future.
Gampel was lit
Gampel Pavilion hasn’t been that much fun the last few years, but hoo boy, last night they were partying like it’s 1999. The student section was packed and loud as hell and god I love you kids so much keep it up. But seriously, recruit Akok Akok was in the house for that one, and I’m so glad he got to see the amazing, batshit crazy Gampel I know and love.
Hurley is a maniac and I love it
Dan Hurley is a mad man, but in the good way not in the Diaco way. When Carlton went flying out of bounds trying to get a rebound, Jalen Adams was the first to reach his teammate, but right behind him Dan Hurley was sprinting – literally sprinting – from the bench to get to his player. There’s really something to be said about knowing your coach has your back, and the wry smile Adams gave his coach along with the rump pat showed that Hurley’s already established a strong bond with his players. But the man was screaming and yelling and gesticulating in a positively Calhounian way, and I am extremely here for anyone who celebrates their first win by pairing a full-body fist pump with a shout of “MOTHER FUCKER.”
Rebounding remains a problem
Yeah, it’s not great, and Morehead State isn’t exactly a rebounding powerhouse so that’s going to be a problem.
Defense is ehhhhhhh
There were moments when the defense looked good and there were other moments when the defense looked very, very bad. They’re obviously still adjusting to Hurley’s pressure defense style. Carlton was looking better at times, but it’s an area he needs to work on. Isaiah Whaley leaving early with a sprained ankle didn’t help, because he was making a difference with help side defense and shot blocking. Hope to see more from him soon. The three point defense still needs to improve, and there were a few missed switches that I noticed, but the intensity was much higher than it was at any point during last year, and I’m sure Hurley can get the defensive rotation worked out. It was nice to see them throw some full-court press at Morehead toward the end of the game, because they do have the guard personnel for that pressure defense and also it is hella fun to watch.
Hello Hurley
Look, it was cute as a welcome to our new coach on his first game day, but yelling “Hello Hurley” like we’re greeting our kindergarten teacher is seriously cringe-worthy and please do not continue that. Also #HelloHurley is a weird as hell hashtag. The flag thing, however, was dope, and that is definitely a thing we should do again and also get some student-created tifos into the mix.
Improvement is real
I don’t want to get too excited (yes I do) but if the level of improvement just from the end of last season to the first game of this season is indicative of the kind of improvement we can see over the course of the season, then I am feeling much, much more positive than I was a week ago. I’m not sure we’ll be dancing this year, but if the team continues to progress under Hurley, it’s more of a possibility than we might have thought.
