Tracy Wolfson appeared confused. The CBS Sports activities sideline reporter seen Connecticut males’s basketball coach Dan Hurley was perturbed for some cause. The Huskies, thoughts you, had been main Stetson by 33 factors at intermission of a primary spherical NCAA match recreation on March 22.
Nonetheless, Hurley seen errors late within the half.
“Coach, you’re shaking your head,” Wolfson stated. “What’s unsuitable?”
“Every little thing must be computerized this time of yr,” Hurley stated. “Defensively, it’s human nature, I suppose, simply to throttle down like that late. That’s not championship degree. On this match, if you happen to don’t maintain all the pieces on the absolute highest degree, like computerized each possession, issues go unhealthy for you on this match.”
Issues haven’t gone unhealthy for UConn. It’s truly the alternative.
The Huskies had a dominant run to the NCAA championship final season, profitable every of their six video games by a minimum of 13 factors. They’ve been even higher this yr and greater than lived as much as their No. 1 general seed. They’ve gained their first three video games by a mean of 28.7 factors per recreation, together with an 82-52 victory over No. 5 seed San Diego State in Thursday evening’s Candy 16 in Boston. On Saturday, UConn faces No. 3 seed Illinois within the Elite Eight.
Even Hurley acknowledged after Thursday’s win he was “thrilled with the efficiency” because the Huskies outscored San Diego State 42-21 within the second half, tied a season-high with 50 rebounds and had 4 gamers with double digit factors.
UConn is the primary reigning nationwide champion since Florida in 2007 to advance to a regional closing. That Gators workforce gained back-to-back nationwide titles, one thing UConn is favored to do, which might be a uncommon achievement. How uncommon? Over the previous 50 years, Duke (1991 and 1992) and Florida are the one males’s groups to win consecutive NCAA championships.
Nonetheless, Hurley isn’t one to contemplate wins as inevitable. As a substitute, he’s all the time pushing his gamers and isn’t afraid to lambast them in the event that they don’t meet his excessive expectations.
Whereas recruiting excessive schoolers or transfers, Hurley and his assistants search for guys who can match into UConn’s “tradition” of togetherness, toughness and accountability. A whole lot of coaches have comparable philosophies, however it’s simpler stated than carried out.
The best way UConn has performed the previous two years, this system has not had many misses on the subject of bringing in gamers who match its system. The Huskies’ coaches credit score a few of their success to attending to know folks near their gamers, particularly their dad and mom, earlier than providing scholarships.
“The sort of old fashioned folks, there’s sufficient on the market nonetheless that need to be in a program that holds their sons accountable for the very best degree work ethic,” Hurley stated earlier this month at Madison Sq. Backyard after UConn gained the Large East match title. “They’re the kind of folks when issues are going unhealthy, I’m not getting textual content messages blaming me. They’re textual content messaging their sons or me saying they’ve acquired to get higher. These are the kind of folks we appeal to as a result of our tradition is simply totally different. It’s a Jay Wright tradition. It’s a bunch functioning as one.”
Two years in the past, when Wright retired as Villanova’s coach, Hurley referred to Wright as “the mannequin by way of constructing a program and having the most effective tradition in school basketball.”
Again then, Hurley was distant from Wright by way of resume. Wright’s Villanova groups gained nationwide titles in 2016 and 2018 and made the Closing 4 in 2022. In addition they gained seven Large East common season titles and 6 convention match titles because the league break up into two within the 2013-14 season. Hurley, in the meantime, had by no means gained an NCAA match recreation since arriving at UConn in 2018.
Now, although, UConn has changed Villanova because the Large East’s premier program and a workforce others emulate. The Huskies have adopted in Wright’s philosophy of recruiting gamers who match into their system versus signing essentially the most proficient guys.
“Their workforce embodies all the pieces coach Hurley’s about – toughness, profitable, enjoying arduous,” stated former UMass coach Matt McCall, who’s now an analyst with the Subject of 68, NBC Sports activities and SiriusXM. “After which throw in expertise and the steadiness they’ve on the offensive finish of the ground, that is a recipe to win numerous basketball video games…. I don’t see a greater slot in your entire nation while you discuss program and coach than coach Hurley and UConn.”
In the course of the previous two seasons, UConn has had no scarcity of expertise. The Huskies had a primary spherical (Jordan Hawkins) and second spherical (Andre Jackson Jr.) decide in final yr’s NBA draft and one other participant (Adama Sanogo) who signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls. This season, they’ve two gamers (freshman guard Stephon Citadel and sophomore middle Donovan Clingan) who’re projected NBA lottery picks plus two first workforce All Large East alternatives in fifth-year guards Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer. All have embraced Hurley’s strategies.
“Since day one once I noticed how coach Hurley coached, I noticed he was tremendous passionate, he cared in regards to the recreation quite a bit, he was tremendous sensible,” Citadel stated. “That was one thing that I sort of wished, a coach that’ll push you, not allow you to off on any sort of slack. He brings it each single day.”
Stated Clingan: “We got here right here to be pushed to the very best degree. Coach Hurley’s by no means going to take it simple on us. He’s going to get all the pieces he can out of us. That’s why he’s the most effective coach within the nation.”
Clingan had no scarcity of faculty suitors throughout his highschool days in Bristol, Conn. He had gives from Syracuse, Georgetown, Michigan and plenty of different applications, however he selected UConn largely because of the bond he shaped with Hurley.
“You’ve acquired to be a particular sort of participant to play for Hurley – you actually do,” stated Invoice Clingan, Donovan’s father. “He calls for numerous character. He’s doing precisely what I’d need him to do. He’s turning him right into a younger man.”
After Thursday’s victory, wherein Citadel had 16 factors and 11 rebounds, Hurley referred to as him a “humble child” who has “nice dad and mom.” He additionally credited veterans comparable to Newton, Spencer, Clingan and ahead Alex Karaban for serving to Citadel and never being jealous of his standing as a future lottery decide.
“We don’t have that petty (expletive) in our program,” Hurley stated.
That’s by design, as Hurley and his assistants do as a lot due diligence as attainable earlier than developing the roster. It’s a philosophy that has helped put UConn three victories away from profitable the sixth nationwide title in program historical past and a spot alongside among the most dominant groups in males’s school basketball historical past.
“We weed out folks which might be about attempting to get to the NBA as shortly as attainable, desirous to have their asses kissed, wanting a sure man or babysitter for six months, two years, three years,” Hurley stated after profitable the Large East title. “They see instantly that’s not what our program is constructed on. It’s an old-fashioned program. Me and my employees, we follow arduous, we push our gamers and we’re brutally sincere. I feel that’s why we’ve acquired a singular program proper now.”