Michael Hurt's Potential

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Bad Gopher said:
Hurt has enough size, mobility and skill to be a player at this level. I personally think he's an asset out there. Not sure what his plus/minus is, but it can't be bad.

Edit: it was +8 against Rutgers...
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Agree, Hurt doesn't need to be a star for the team he just needs to not be a liability. Come in and give some quality minutes while the key guys rest. He could probably shoot a little more but that will come with time and confidence. His younger brother has the look of a future star, for Michael all he needs to be is a solid roll player. Good teams need those guys as well to be successful.
 

In his interview with the Post-Bulletin posted here a couple weeks ago, he said that what the coach needs in him is a guy who can guard and move the ball. For the most part he has done well. I've been pleased with his display of aggressiveness in taking the ball to the basket a few times. I don't find myself thinking, "Uh-oh" when he goes into the game like I do with our back-up center. I think Michael is doing what he is being asked to do. Guys like that are valuable even if we think he should be shooting more.
 

Holy Man said:
In his interview with the Post-Bulletin posted here a couple weeks ago, he said that what the coach needs in him is a guy who can guard and move the ball. For the most part he has done well. I've been pleased with his display of aggressiveness in taking the ball to the basket a few times. I don't find myself thinking, "Uh-oh" when he goes into the game like I do with our back-up center. I think Michael is doing what he is being asked to do. Guys like that are valuable even if we think he should be shooting more.
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Agree. I'm genuinely surprised at the hand wringing over Hurt.
 

Holy Man said:
In his interview with the Post-Bulletin posted here a couple weeks ago, he said that what the coach needs in him is a guy who can guard and move the ball. For the most part he has done well. I've been pleased with his display of aggressiveness in taking the ball to the basket a few times. I don't find myself thinking, "Uh-oh" when he goes into the game like I do with our back-up center. I think Michael is doing what he is being asked to do. Guys like that are valuable even if we think he should be shooting more.
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+1 He's hustling, not turning it over, and giving starters a breather. Fine with that and, hopefully, he can become somewhat of a 3-point threat.
 

Hurt isn't a great B1G player. He probably never will be. However, he is a helpful and valuable piece right now.

Yesterday his stat line looked pretty meh. But he is in the right spot defensively, he doesn't have stupid turnovers and seems to really like being on this team. His attitude is always good and he is, if nothing else, a break-even level player. With the starters being as good as they are, a bench of break-even level players would put us in the Elite 8
 


I don't understand the negative comments about Hurt. Couple comments:

-In high school, he was a scorer and someone who did carry his team, though he played in the Big 9 which is nowhere near the level of competition as the lake conference... Did a little of everything, wasn't a pure shooter, though he was a good shooter.

-On this team, this year, he doesn't need to be a scorer. He needs to come in and play the 3 or 4, play good team defense, help move the ball on offense, and not commit turnovers or take poor shots.

-We move the ball well when he is in the game, and he's a very smart defender and not a liability on the glass. I guess his downside is not being quick enough to guard very athletic small forwards.

He is filling his role on the team this year very well, plus he is also a good teammate (positive attitude, works hard in practice).
 

dex8425 said:
I don't understand the negative comments about Hurt. Couple comments:

-In high school, he was a scorer and someone who did carry his team, though he played in the Big 9 which is nowhere near the level of competition as the lake conference... Did a little of everything, wasn't a pure shooter, though he was a good shooter.

-On this team, this year, he doesn't need to be a scorer. He needs to come in and play the 3 or 4, play good team defense, help move the ball on offense, and not commit turnovers or take poor shots.

-We move the ball well when he is in the game, and he's a very smart defender and not a liability on the glass. I guess his downside is not being quick enough to guard very athletic small forwards.

He is filling his role on the team this year very well, plus he is also a good teammate (positive attitude, works hard in practice).
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This.

Go Gophers!!
 

Agreed. He was simply put into a spot in the Miami game that he could not compete in with having to defend a quick wing. There are going to be a few times this season where he gets exposed with similar matchups unless Harris can come along enough to replace him at those times. It's telling that even when overmatched, Pitino still trusts him enough to play him. Like you said, I think it's because he plays smart and moves the ball on offense. As long as Dupree stays healthy, it shouldn't be a big issue unless there is guard foul trouble.

It would be nice to have the depth to play matchups, but we don't. Have to go with headiness of Hurt and hope for the best vs smaller teams.
 

The Culprit said:
Agreed. He was simply put into a spot in the Miami game that he could not compete in with having to defend a quick wing. There are going to be a few times this season where he gets exposed with similar matchups unless Harris can come along enough to replace him at those times. It's telling that even when overmatched, Pitino still trusts him enough to play him. Like you said, I think it's because he plays smart and moves the ball on offense. As long as Dupree stays healthy, it shouldn't be a big issue unless there is guard foul trouble.
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In the future (This season) it would be interesting to see a line-up of Mason, Coffey, Hurt, Murphy and Lynch play a 2-3 zone in those instances with Mason in the corner putting Hurt and Coffey with all their length at the top.
 



Tim1406 said:
In the future (This season) it would be interesting to see a line-up of Mason, Coffey, Hurt, Murphy and Lynch play a 2-3 zone in those instances with Mason in the corner putting Hurt and Coffey with all their length at the top.
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I agree. That lineup would cause issues for a lot of teams if they played a 2-3 zone. Would like to see occasional zones from Richard
 

The pass this kid gets on this board (for reasons unbeknownst to me) is comical. Amazing how some are praised (or excuses are made) for mediocrity, while others are ripped.
 

mnhoopboy said:
The pass this kid gets on this board (for reasons unbeknownst to me) is comical. Amazing how some are praised (or excuses are made) for mediocrity, while others are ripped.
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Oh come on, he gets a pass because he is not a guy that was recruited to be a star player. Much like Harris, guys like this are recruited to be role players and he is doing just that. We are not in a position to fill our classes with potential superstars (though we are getting much closer to being there with the most recent class).

He is only a sophomore and is clearly getting better. It is not about giving him a pass it is far more about not setting unreasonable expectations for the type of player he is going to be.

Expectations will be much higher for someone like Washington or in the case of Hurt's class, Coffey, because they much more highly rated and expected to develop into star players.
 

mnhoopboy said:
The pass this kid gets on this board (for reasons unbeknownst to me) is comical. Amazing how some are praised (or excuses are made) for mediocrity, while others are ripped.
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Fans' praise/frustration for players is based on how the player's production compares to expectations. Pretty simple.
 



mnhoopboy said:
The pass this kid gets on this board (for reasons unbeknownst to me) is comical. Amazing how some are praised (or excuses are made) for mediocrity, while others are ripped.
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I don't consider +8 against a Big Ten opponent to be mediocre. I'll take that any day.
 

Keyser Söze said:
Fans' praise/frustration for players is based on how the player's production compares to expectations. Pretty simple.
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This.

If Mason or Murphy had Hurt’s line from last night, we’d all be disappointed. If he plays the same way he did last night all season (perhaps with a few more buckets at times) the Gophers will be much better for it
 

mnhoopboy said:
The pass this kid gets on this board (for reasons unbeknownst to me) is comical. Amazing how some are praised (or excuses are made) for mediocrity, while others are ripped.
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So a realistic acceptance of where he's at as a sophomore is praise? Ya, a true fan would bitch constantly about a Gopher player bringing up the same things over and over.
 


I had much higher expectations for Fitzgerald, thinking he would fill Curry's minutes, and so far I have been exceedingly disappointed. The Rutgers game for Fitz was an absolute trainwreck.
 

dex8425 said:
I had much higher expectations for Fitzgerald, thinking he would fill Curry's minutes, and so far I have been exceedingly disappointed. The Rutgers game for Fitz was an absolute trainwreck.
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Oof. Yeah, not good. That should be it’s own thread thougg
 

0 Shots taken by Hurt? C'mon mayyyneeee.

Konate and Fitzgerald combined for 5 shots in the same amount of minutes each.
 

I don't have alot of faith in Hurt. He's slow, not strong and a non-factor on offense. Generally anyone with any kind of speed goes right around him also. Hope he can step it up some and I will agree he is much better than last year, but I don't see him as ever being more than an 8th-9th type guy.
 

Go Gophs said:
I don't have alot of faith in Hurt. He's slow, not strong and a non-factor on offense. Generally anyone with any kind of speed goes right around him also. Hope he can step it up some and I will agree he is much better than last year, but I don't see him as ever being more than an 8th-9th type guy.
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The only way he doesn't finish out his career as an 8-9th guy or less is by becoming a spot up three point machine. Figure it out mentally and in the gym. He is not, and will never be a slasher/playmaker/defender. That's what I'd say if I were Richard during Hurt's 1/3 season mark player meeting.
 

And yet, while he hasn't been quick to launch 3s, he has gone by rotating defenders to get lay ups a number of times already. He's not the quickest defender, but let's not forget that our "quick guys" are routinely getting beat off the bounce, as well. He's a much improved team defender and he's not a black hole on offense. At this point he's the most improved player on the team and has been a most pleasant surprise.
 

goldenboy said:
And yet, while he hasn't been quick to launch 3s, he has gone by rotating defenders to get lay ups a number of times already. He's not the quickest defender, but let's not forget that our "quick guys" are routinely getting beat off the bounce, as well. He's a much improved team defender and he's not a black hole on offense. At this point he's the most improved player on the team and has been a most pleasant surprise.
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You are either a relative of his, or have not watched one second of this year's team. He might be the slowest player in the BIG, and certainly has not made a "number of layups". He's simply a liability every time he steps onto the court. It is what it is. Right now, we are 5 deep.
 

Gopherboner said:
You are either a relative of his, or have not watched one second of this year's team. He might be the slowest player in the BIG, and certainly has not made a "number of layups". He's simply a liability every time he steps onto the court. It is what it is. Right now, we are 5 deep.
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You are severely exaggerating. Hurt will never be a go to player for us, nor will he ever be a starter, but he isn't a liability every time he steps onto the court. Last year, sure, but this year he has been an adequate rotational player. I think he will be a pretty solid glue guy by his junior or senior year.
 

He's a poor man's Chris Mullin. Just give it time.
 

Keyser Söze said:
You are severely exaggerating. Hurt will never be a go to player for us, nor will he ever be a starter, but he isn't a liability every time he steps onto the court. Last year, sure, but this year he has been an adequate rotational player. I think he will be a pretty solid glue guy by his junior or senior year.
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Agree, it would be nice if he was doing a more offensively but he has not looked like a liability when he is on the court for the most part. Obviously they have to be careful who he gets matched up on but as long as he isn't on a speed guy he can be effective on defense and as a passer.
 

Hurt isn't a liability as he doesn't really do much wrong, he just kind of takes up space. If anyone was familiar with Mark Titus' Club Tril blog back in the day, Hurt is a definite trillion candidate most times he's out there.

I think his defensive game has improved but it is nowhere near what some think it is. Yes, we went on a really nice run when he came in during the Providence game but a nice 5-10 minute run doesn't mean he's suddenly a serious player on that end. Offensively, let's call a spade a spade: he's scared to shoot. I think he is a good shooter but we'll never know if he doesn't shoot it. Whether he's been told to let others shoot or he just doesn't have the confidence (probably a bit of both), he simply is just a guy out there and it impacts spacing because no one feels they have to take him seriously.
 

Keyser Söze said:
You are severely exaggerating. Hurt will never be a go to player for us, nor will he ever be a starter, but he isn't a liability every time he steps onto the court. Last year, sure, but this year he has been an adequate rotational player. I think he will be a pretty solid glue guy by his junior or senior year.
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I wouldn't be surprised if he starts this year. Not because I think he's a stud or something, but I do think Pitino is going to tinker with this rotations after the Arkansas game and the Coffey to the 2 and Dupree and Washington off the bench might space out our rotation a bit in the first half.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
I wouldn't be surprised if he starts this year. Not because I think he's a stud or something, but I do think Pitino is going to tinker with this rotations after the Arkansas game and the Coffey to the 2 and Dupree and Washington off the bench might space out our rotation a bit in the first half.
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Fair enough I guess. Maybe I should have said he will never be one of our top 5 players, which is fine.
 

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