UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, 'The Competitor'
There’s going to be one heck of a game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Connecticut Huskies at the NCAA Final Four.
There’s also a unique basketball personality lining up across from the Canes and head coach Jim Larrañaga. It’s one that not only Miami fans should know about, but college basketball fans in general.
For people that know the Dan Hurley background because they’re old enough to remember him playing at Seton Hall, the following will probably be no surprise.
A young man that grew up playing hoops for his famous father Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, N.J., hoops ran through the Hurley family blood.
His father won an amazing 26 state championships at the now defunct private school in the Garden State. Yes, 26 titles. All of those titles in 39 years.
Think that Dan might have been given some coaching advice along the way as he’s climbed the coaching ladder?
It’s been a unique journey that began as an assistant at his prep alma mater (1996-1997) and then Rutgers (1997-2001), plus while being the head coach for St. Benedict’s Prep (2001-2010), Wagner (2010-2012), Rhode Island (2012-2018) and Connecticut (2018-present).
During his college head coaching career, Hurley has amassed a 253-160 record (61.3%). Those numbers do not tell the entire story.
It’s not just that he’s helped build a program like Rhode Island – that was 7-24 the year prior to Hurley taking over – into a team that won 51 games and went to the field of 32 in the NCAA Tournament during his last two seasons at the helm.
It’s also notable that Hurley helped to resurrect a UConn team that had gone from 30-35 during the two prior seasons before his arrival and now sit at 29-8 and will be playing the Miami Hurricanes in the Final Four either.
It’s how Hurley helped those turnarounds take place.
He was an in-your-face point guard that competed as hard as he could. Hurley often looked pissed-off, quite frankly, while on the court, during his playing days.
Now, as the leader of UConn, he’s injected that mentality into a squad that’s as tough as nails.
Of course part of that was taking on the personality of his father. Additionally, those skirmishes in the driveway when he used to play one-on-one with his brother Bobby Hurley, that helped to make Dan tougher as well.
Yes, brother Bobby was the famed Duke Blue Devils point guard that won back-to-back championships for Mike Krzyzewski in 1991 and 1992, before going on to a career in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings (1993-1998).
Not surprisingly either, Bobby has been coaching and doing well. He’s now at Arizona State (2015-current) after working as an assistant for Dan at Wagner (2010-2012) and Rhode Island (2012-2013), with a stop as the head coach at Buffalo (2013-2015) before heading to the Valley of the Sun.
Back to Dan, his basketball family – and their penchant for being mentally tough in clutch moments – has been instilled in this UConn team.
For instance, up 39-32 heading into the second half versus Gonzaga, the Huskies wasted no time in punching the Zags in the mouth to blow the game wide-open.
Joey Calcaterra’s 3-point make brought UConn’s lead to 26 points, as the score went to 70-44 at exactly the 10-minute mark of the second half. The Huskies had outscored the Zags 31-12 during that timespan.
No waiting, no playing not to lose. Stick the dagger in. That’s been Dan’s style – and his family’s – for decades.
When the Canes and Huskies get ready for the opening tip, it will be a contest in which Hurley once again will be attempting to compete as hard as possible and lead his squad. As it’s always been and should continue to be.
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