Hey Danny, Stop Whining, Start Coaching, and This URI Team Might Matter
Analysis
Hey Danny, Stop Whining, Start Coaching, and This URI Team Might Matter
This weekend’s URI Men’s Basketball performance was not as impressive as one would have liked — in fact, the team lost 2 places in the rankings, dropping from #21 to #23.
After seeing 80 minutes of play this weekend, a few things stood out.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis URI team is loaded. It is not often that you see a historically mediocre mid-major team that can match-up physically, and have greater depth, than the #1 Duke Blue Devils. But, the Rams did.
The main problem is Danny Hurley wants to whine at the referees more than coach during the game. No doubt the guy can recruit and the players seem to like him, but if Hurley wants to win this year and be that big time coach, he should stop the eye rolling, arm crossing theatrics and focus on the fundamentals.
Sorry, it is old. The refs are tired of it, it doesn’t work, and your team can’t execute in game. Give it up and start coaching.
Here are three in game deficiencies tied directly to coaching:
1) In the two games this weekend at Mohegan Sun, coming off time-outs with possession, URI was inept at scoring. Most of the time the plays looked like they got drawn up by a guy yelling “I got it” while playing a pick-up game on Smith Street. Rams might have been scoreless on ten or so of those plays.
2) Inbound plays are a horror. Forget smart, strategic plays to get easy hoops and force bad match-ups. The Rams' inbounds are a “little shop of horrors” that usually involves a dangerous, nail bitting backcourt deep throw.
3) After four years, can we please teach Hassan Martin to set a pick —any kind of pick — a backside, a blind side, a side pick. Please just not a moving pick. He has the moving offensive foul pick down. He is good at the moving offensive pick.
So lets try some other options. This team will have another lovely trip to the NIT if Martin stays in perpetual foul trouble generated en masse with offensive illegal picks.
Here is the reality. This is the most talented URI team ever assembled and it is going to play in the NIT at best if it can’t execute some fundamentals in each and every game.
Post Script: Duke was actually so unimpressive in Sunday's double-digit win over the Rams that they lost the #1 ranking despite just playing a rotation of five players and two bench players who combined for 12 minutes. Duke fell to #6.