KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

Wish I knew how to transfer the article to here but there is a GREAT article on the New York Post. A must read for any Rhody fan.

Just absolutely love this guy!!!!!!!!!

MrRamsDen76 wrote:https://nypost.com/2018/01/27/danny-hur ... neficiary/

Very interesting comments within the article about the future

Good article. Nice find.

I don' t like talking about Hurley's future when we are on such a high but after reading this article here are my thoughts obviously not knowing the man personnaly. I get that he wants to win. Obviously at a Duke, N C, Kentucky, etc he would be set up for final fours and 4 & 5 star recruits. My question is how would his constant intensity including tough practices fly with these coddled superstars including the one and dones. He strikes me as a person that wants to mold these kids for 4 years....prides himself on no transfers.. I know college coaches are intense..Does he have the mentality to deal with the superstar that is going to tune him out. He seems to thrive on recruiting good kids that have a lot of talent that he molds into a "family" unit..Not sure he does that at the big boy school.. End of my worrying about him leaving. He has every right to go where he wants. I just know I am enjoying URi hoops as much as I did when I switched allegiances from the bad guys as a baby freshman in 1976.
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ram1980 wrote:I don' t like talking about Hurley's future when we are on such a high but after reading this article here are my thoughts obviously not knowing the man personnaly. I get that he wants to win. Obviously at a Duke, N C, Kentucky, etc he would be set up for final fours and 4 & 5 star recruits. My question is how would his constant intensity including tough practices fly with these coddled superstars including the one and dones. He strikes me as a person that wants to mold these kids for 4 years....prides himself on no transfers.. I know college coaches are intense..Does he have the mentality to deal with the superstar that is going to tune him out. He seems to thrive on recruiting good kids that have a lot of talent that he molds into a "family" unit..Not sure he does that at the big boy school.. End of my worrying about him leaving. He has every right to go where he wants. I just know I am enjoying URi hoops as much as I did when I switched allegiances from the bad guys as a baby freshman in 1976.
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I think this is a valid point. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. If URI can continue to improve facilities, perception, etc, he could be recruiting top 40 thru 150 players at URI year in and year out. Does he want to leave and start over somewhere where the pressure can be unrealistically high? I guess we’ll see but realistically, you would have to think he wouldn’t leave for anything other than a top 10-15 job in America. Those type of positions don’t come open very often so we’ll see.

It’s like a rite of passage for the new guys each season, when they go their coach and ask him about the talk of him leaving. It’s earlier this season than others but still the same...

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After a recent win over Dayton, freshman Fatts Russell asked Hurley about it, after hearing from fans during the game his coach would be leaving.

Hurley reassured Russell: At the moment, he doesn’t think much about the rumors.

“I don’t have any thought on it, because I love where I’m at, with what we have coming in, and what we’re doing recruiting,” said Hurley, who is under contract through the 2023-24 season. “We’re in a position to be able to sustain this.”

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Yep.

Love this-

“That’s why nobody transfers, and that’s why they allow me to keep them on the edge,” Hurley said. “They know it’s coming from love.”

Last February in Jim Baron 2.0 many posters were very critical of Hurley, several saying he was on the ropes here and Thor and Dooley were reviewing. Several saying how much they would prefer Cooley over Hurley. Less than a year ago - just go read the first few pages of the infamous thread. Many long term posters were very down on him. A month ago posters were saying Fordham and Duquesne should be dropped from the A10. Now they mention just Fordham. An example of how quickly things can and do change in College Basketball. It can be like the New England weather.

I agree, fantastic article. Very well written. Excellent quotes from other writers and from players.
My favorites in addition to those others have already posted here.....................

“Everybody’s taking notice now, that last year wasn’t a fluke,” Berry said.

“We had a bus driver who didn’t want to be around us anymore, because he thought Coach Hurley was treating us bad, because of all the cursing he was hearing, all the name-calling,” said Robinson, a senior guard. “But we’re so close to Coach Hurley, it doesn’t affect us in a negative way. If anything, it gets us better, and makes us push more.”

“He finds the little things and blows it up, and makes it a big deal,” Robinson said. “It gets on your nerves, but it gets on your nerves so much, you’re like I want to shut this man up.”

Hurley doesn’t just demand all-out effort. He gives it, too.

The logical question, of course, is why is this intense, sometimes over-the-top coach able to get so much out of players? Hurley attributed it to the bond they develop, starting with recruiting. He has players over his home frequently. They will hang out off the court and go bowling. He brings in a non-denominational pastor. Robinson credits Hurley with sticking by him when he was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and simple assault, charges that were later dropped.

They don’t rate drills by baskets scored, but by stops.

Love rating drills by stops. While the average fan looks at points scored in the box score as how well a player performs this HC looks at the number of stops a player makes in practice and of course in games.

Which Bus Driver was Stan referring to? ______________

On Dan's Coaching Resume I would think an AD and School President would be looking at:

- Longest winning streak in 72 years
- No Academic issues
- No players transferring
- Players will go through walls for their Coach
- Coaching tree of Bobby to Buffalo/ASU, Murray to Xavier, ARD to Clemson, Murphy to BC/Creighton (what tree did his predecessor have)
- Has taken URI to not just Top 3 in Conference but to Top 1
- Sell out crowds
- #4 Nationally ranked OOC Schedule where he went 8-3 and 2 of the losses without last years A10 Championship MVP
- No disruption or attitudes with players despite some losing their starting positions and playing 9-10 deep
- Top 25 Ranked Recruiting Class for next season
- No Recruiting Violations - not even a hint of one
- Able to have P5 Transfers like Iverson and Robinson come in and turnaround their careers
- Top Tournaments and Game Scheduling
- Two consecutive years in NCAA Tournament - not done since Jim Harrick and not even CLOSE to being done since Harrick

Hurley should not settle for anything less than high P5. No AAC schools. He should be at a school that gets 15,000 attendance per game. Positions like Duke, UNC, UCLA, Florida, Arizona, Ohio State - those levels of schools. He has put URI in the same discussion as Gonzaga, St Mary's, Wichita State, Nevada - all schools also in the Top 25 Rankings.

His Market Value is high and going higher with every game.

If he is to ever leave, the end of this season might be the highest value. 5 Seniors Berry, Mathews, Terrell, Robinson, Garrett departing so he has to start over to some extent. If he is going to leave I think it's this season, but then I don't think he leaves anyway since he and his family love it here and he loves his players and incoming recruits.

It is the fervent hope of all friar fans that Hurley leave as soon as possible.....if he stays he will be the most important coach in the University's history....he has a national profile with his coaching ability and the famous last name....

Did the actions of the Dayton students prompt Fatts' question to Hurley:

Doesn't the article say exactly that?

That element of creating a legacy, going where no man has gone before at URI, is our #1 selling point over obvious powerhouses. Keeping up with, and ahead of his ambitions, is our challenge. Hoping we can make it impossible to leave because these last 2 seasons have been a lot of fun.

I have no factual basis to support this but something tells me that Notre Dame is the school we should be most worried about. The good news is that Bray is only 58 and is well liked so an opening is not likely very soon. Syracuse is another possibility. Boeheim is 73 but I just don’t see it as a really good fit.

.......maybe the article will give Reynolds some material.....

TruePoint wrote:Doesn't the article say exactly that?

Yes it does

That is a "TruePoint"

A crazy thought ..... Bobby goes back to coach Duke and Dan gets hired by North Carolina. Bob Sr. dies of a stroke.

I don’t see Dan on Tobacco Road. Not his element.

Fear any school that can offer him >$2.5M per year.....we cannot compete with that increase in salary....in my opinion...

We have 2 NCAA credits from last year at about $400k. If we make the Sweet 16, that would be 3 credits at $600k. That is $1 million over 5 years that we would not have had.

Add another $200k to $300k in increased attendance (this year over the best of the last several) and we are starting to close the gap.

Ramulous wrote:Fear any school that can offer him >$2.5M per year.....we cannot compete with that increase in salary....in my opinion...

Money alone isn't enough, unless it's one of the handful of final destinations he envisions with his coaching career. As long as staying at Rhode Island continues to support an eventual move to one of these choice destinations, he will stay here until that opening is available.

That's why I disagree that "any school that can offer him >$2.5M" is a threat. It is most certainly not "any school" -- it must be the right school and the right opportunity.

KevanBoyles wrote:Add another $200k to $300k in increased attendance (this year over the best of the last several) and we are starting to close the gap.

Dan's compensation is all set through the end of his contract and I don't see that as the priority in any way. Where there is doubt are the programmatic improvements which must be consistently delivered. More program level enhancements are needed like assistant coach salary pool, charter flights, recruiting budget, functional plan to deliver some kind of basketball-dedicated practice facility.

Worst case scenario is UCONN. Let's hope they get sanctioned for their misdeeds and lose some scholarships. Dan going to UCONN would be the equivalent of your wife leaving you and she moves with her new husband into another house in your cul-de-sac.

Good points ATP but the devil may be in the detail of how the new money is allocated. No easy answer but giving Dan some of the control (if possible) to make the decisions maybe a good solution.

uconn is a dumpster fire. At this point I wouldn't even want to play them.

Why even mention UCONN, URI is the Top Team in New England, Top 10 in RPI, UCONN is looking more and more like a Lateral Move
He would be a candidate for Top Programs in the Top Conferences. Who would be better? He has done want he said he would at URI and then some, I would not fear UCONN at all, not even in the picture. He is very, very marketable and stock continues to increase.

As said last year, relax and enjoy the ride, it's a great one

ramster wrote:Why even mention UCONN, URI is the Top Team in New England, Top 10 in RPI, UCONN is looking more and more like a Lateral Move
He would be a candidate for Top Programs in the Top Conferences. Who would be better? He has done want he said he would at URI and then some, I would not fear UCONN at all, not even in the picture. He is very, very marketable and stock continues to increase.

As said last year, relax and enjoy the ride, it's a great one

You are right Ramster the UCONN fan base is in for a rude awakening if they fire Ollie. That job is no way near as desirable as it once was the only way I see it possibly affecting URI is if they end up with Pikell and the Rutgers job opens.

ramster wrote:Last February in Jim Baron 2.0 many posters were very critical of Hurley, several saying he was on the ropes here and Thor and Dooley were reviewing. Several saying how much they would prefer Cooley over Hurley. Less than a year ago - just go read the first few pages of the infamous thread.

And this is why Da Process Survivor is an idiot and his hot takes should be ignored.

KevanBoyles wrote:Good points ATP but the devil may be in the detail of how the new money is allocated. No easy answer but giving Dan some of the control (if possible) to make the decisions maybe a good solution.

Dan is heavily involved in every major decision made regarding the program. A season like this proves the concept of great university benefit from consecutive NCAA runs and it should help push some of the trickier line items along.

Great article. Thanks for posting.

UCONN has the ability with the right coach to turn it around overnight. They still have a national reputation, a conference that receives football bowl money and Hartford and Western Mass is still a fertile recruiting area. Donors are in place ready to commit if they see a quick turn around and the facilities are first class. Calhoun forced Ollie on them but that will not happen again.

Great article indeed

We just have to take things on a year to year basis as jobs always come open

My best guess is we get another few years and then hopefully he turns down the top P5 jobs but you just never know

Enjoy him while we got him

Dan isn't rebuilding again, unless it is the bluest of blue bloods (Indiana like). UConn with pending sanctions gets nobody but a coach looking for a second chance (crean?). Right now just enjoying the ride, the quality, and the fun of big time college sports in Kingston.

Cameron_Dollar wrote:UCONN has the ability with the right coach to turn it around overnight. They still have a national reputation, a conference that receives football bowl money and Hartford and Western Mass is still a fertile recruiting area. Donors are in place ready to commit if they see a quick turn around and the facilities are first class. Calhoun forced Ollie on them but that will not happen again.

The UCONN brand is a thing of the past and whatever prestige or reputation it once had will be gone following this season. They also play in a conference that is only marginally better (if even) than the A10 which means they are no longer the clear cut choice of kids who play in New England. The UCONN job is the furthest thing from an overnight build regardless of who the next hire is. The current roster is devoid of talent and with the inevitable departure of Ollie you can be sure incoming recruits will be impacted. The state is strapped for cash and it remains to be seen how much of Ollie's contract they will have to eat. All of this is a good thing for URI, the UCONN job would be a lateral move and not one Dan will likely consider.

Cameron_Dollar wrote:UCONN has the ability with the right coach to turn it around overnight. They still have a national reputation, a conference that receives football bowl money and Hartford and Western Mass is still a fertile recruiting area. Donors are in place ready to commit if they see a quick turn around and the facilities are first class. Calhoun forced Ollie on them but that will not happen again.

Name the top recruits from Haartford and Western Mass that have played for UCONN during their great years.

Why the hell would the Rutgers job matter if it opened up again? THIRD time?! URI's on court success is moving way past what Rutgers could offer. If URI makes a Sweet Sixteen this year, will he jump ship to Rutgers to coach a team that would be proud to be .500 in conference? !?! !

WHAT??

Anyone who thinks a school like Rutgers is in scope for future Hurley employment, following the past 2 years especially, isn't paying attention or listening to people who have insights into Dan's philosophy on the subject.

Almost any job in the P5 conferences, or the big east also, would most likely be a monumental rebuild...those coaches are not being fired because the program is in good shape...

...some of those jobs might open due to long-standing coaches wanting to retire...and there may be coaching tree candidates to continue the success of those programs...Dan would be considered along with a host of other candidates....

...we saw first hand what Dan looks like during a rebuild which usually has three years of more losses than wins.......does he want to bite at that apple again?

Dan can stay here and become the most important coach in the history of the University of Rhode Island.....

Dan isn’t going anywhere that a coach was fired after years of losing.

He is going to go for a plum, turnkey job - or - we wise up and get charter flights for all our away games, recruiting visits, and build a practice facility.

He doesn’t want this for the glitz and glamour of having it, there are legitimate competitive reasons to have those things.

He doesn’t want his players to want to go and shoot around...but have to check the schedule and see if the court is down, if someone else is using it...etc.

He doesn’t need an 80 million dollar facility to wow recruits...he needs a space the basketball team owns and can use whenever.

There isn’t a monumental gap between keeping Dan and losing him...invest in the right things and he will stay.

Yeah definitely not concerned if Rutgers opens up

There are a couple jobs that if come up could be a problem Syracuse comes to mind if Jimmy B retires

reef wrote:Yeah definitely not concerned if Rutgers opens up

There are a couple jobs that if come up could be a problem Syracuse comes to mind if Jimmy B retires

You don't want to be the guy after the guy.

Blue Man wrote:

reef wrote:Yeah definitely not concerned if Rutgers opens up

There are a couple jobs that if come up could be a problem Syracuse comes to mind if Jimmy B retires

You don't want to be the guy after the guy.

I don't think it would be that bad coming in after Boeheim. A lot of Cuse fans are looking forward to when Boeheim is gone, I know some who wish Hopkins had taken over several years ago. Also Boeheim's son is coming in next year so that job probably won't open up for at least four more years, who knows what will happen between now and then.

Blue Man wrote:Dan isn’t going anywhere that a coach was fired after years of losing.

He is going to go for a plum, turnkey job - or - we wise up and get charter flights for all our away games, recruiting visits, and build a practice facility.

He doesn’t want this for the glitz and glamour of having it, there are legitimate competitive reasons to have those things.

He doesn’t want his players to want to go and shoot around...but have to check the schedule and see if the court is down, if someone else is using it...etc.

He doesn’t need an 80 million dollar facility to wow recruits...he needs a space the basketball team owns and can use whenever.

There isn’t a monumental gap between keeping Dan and losing him...invest in the right things and he will stay.

Do you know this first hand or just a guess? Curious if anybody really knows what he’s thinking.

Coach's Shows are fun!

Here’s a thing I think people are missing... not people here, but the people on twitter or other social media or wherever else coach talk happens- winning so far this year and last makes it more likely Dan stays at URI (not forever but a while longer), not less likely. The popular talk is he’ll win and then bounce- to UConn or Pitt or Rutgers or Memphis or St. John’s or any other place that’s struggling.

But, he’s been able to be successful here, both with the team’s record and in growing the program (attendance, recruiting, national attention/ranking), with the current resources and with the continued push to improve them (this is the key!). If he’d given it his all and only part of that was achieved (wins but still really struggling for attendance and resources, for example), maybe he chalks it up to an only slightly upgraded Wagner situation and goes.

Making the tournament last year provided some legitimacy to this whole thing and gave everyone some room to breathe and believe. The above talk about the practice facility is accurate. He’s realistic and knows the broad limits of what the school can provide- a reasonable return on what he’s given to the program would be fair.

same way his dad bolted from the HS ranks for the greener grass, right......?

other fanbases and national guys dont realize that comfort and situation matters a lot to Dan

I will choose to leave any type of speculation as to Dan leaving on the back burner for now. Let those on social media and who are not Rams fans speculate if they want. I rather just enjoy the ride we are on right now and hope it continues a couple weeks into March. At the end of the season it is inevitable that there will be quite a few rumors about his potential departure. I will address it then or start to worry at that time. But for now I am going with this enjoy the season we are having with the very special group of players and enjoy Dan leading the them.

FWIW, some of these jobs that open up at P5 lower level programs would have to be fairly major or total rebuilds and also jobs like Pitt for instance, has to compete year in and year out vs the Dukes and UNCs of the world. Rutgers you have to compete against Mich St, Ohio St and Mich. Any thing is possible as far as turning a program around, but the odds of sustained success vs the true blue blood schools are not very high. There have been many coaches over the years to jump into these jobs and did not last long. Dan is a very intelligent guy and I believe he will pick his spot if he does choose to leave at some point.

Da_Process_Survivor wrote:same way his dad bolted from the HS ranks for the greener grass, right......?

other fanbases and national guys dont realize that comfort and situation matters a lot to Dan

Bob Hurley 2.0!!

Yeah I think we are fine most likely for a few more years

Also if we dance every year and continue to get top recruits and be ranked every year DH may stay longer than most think ???

More NCAA money this season and exposure worth possibly millions, should go a long way toward satisfying the cost of the programs improvements that are still needed....Dooley and Thorr see the big picture and realize that Dan isn't long for here if those things aren't done or are in the process of getting done.