Dan Hurley, UConn Praised By Gonzaga's Mark Few: 'Heart Of A Champion'

Saturday’s epic clash at Madison Square Garden between the UConn Huskies and Gonzaga Bulldogs was, among other things, a matchup between two future Hall of Fame head coaches.

One half of that coaching equation, Gonzaga’s legendary Mark Few, compared the game to a prize fight during the postgame presser.

“We knew it was going to be a physical fist fight basically,” Few said.

UConn landed the first punch of the game, going up 13-2 and electrifying the Garden crowd.

Gonzaga soon quelled the storm and made it a back-and-forth game until the final minutes. Ultimately, the Bulldogs missed too many contested layups to combat a strong offensive performance from UConn’s stud freshman Liam McNeeley, whom Few praised postgame.

“He was great tonight,” Few said of McNeeley. “He really, really was. … He did a great job on the glass, he did a great job going downhill, and he’s a big guard who can finish.”

Few also had some meaningful words for Dan Hurley and the UConn program.

“And listen, UConn,” Few said. “They just have the heart of a champion. Danny kind of brings that out of them.”

The respect between Hurley and Few is mutual. Hurley cited Few’s future Hall of Fame status during UConn’s presser and called Gonzaga a top-five program in the country year after year.

It sounds like both coaches and their respective programs are interested in keeping the matchup going in the years to come, which would be a huge win for college basketball.

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