UConn Basketball HC Dan Hurley previews Michigan State game
UConn Basketball Head Coach Dan Hurley met with the media on Thursday afternoon to preview his upcoming NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen matchup against Michigan State on Friday night.
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UConn Basketball HC Dan Hurley Transcript
Opening statement from you coach then we’ll take some questions. Yeah, great to wake up here today in DC.
The beautiful weather and you know just excited about the matchup obviously to be in this region. There’s a lot of buzz, a lot of electricity around this around DC this week so just can’t wait for our partner tomorrow night. If you have a question for Coach Hurley, raise your hand.
We’re gonna go to the center. There’s our first one. Kyle Tucker, 24-7 Sports.
Rick was in here earlier. There’s been a lot of talk about it today. He said there’s no such thing as a blue blood anymore.
That sort of the current climate is sort of equalized things. Where do you stand on that? And you’re kind of an interesting one to ask because the debate was whether UConn became a blue blood in the last several years. Yeah.
No, I think coach is right. I think nowadays I think you know tradition, history, it doesn’t mean you know as much as it did you know to to recruits whether they’re portal or high school players. I think I think first and foremost right now it’s about overall commitment that you’re gonna make whether that’s NIL, the way you travel, you know the quality of your facilities.
You know it’s you can’t get by on your brand anymore and players dreaming of having played there one day. Like no one, none of these kids care about that anymore and none of the people close to them care about it because a majority of people that are advising the kids now are agents who are looking at it from a business perspective or families that are not sentimental about any of this. So you know if anything it’s maybe a negative because fans don’t understand it, media doesn’t understand it.
You have as good a chance to win at a non blue blood maybe even a better chance because you don’t have the pressure and the expectations or the burden of the jersey or the logo. Center of the room, Dana. Left side microphone.
I don’t think I did that. Dana O’Neal with CNN Sports. I asked some of the other coaches this and I say it without like accusing you.
Did somebody just turn the lights off? It wasn’t me, Dan. I feel like a puppet up here. Would you like to? I will do something else.
Watching you and some other coaches obviously there are times that this game does not look to be pleasurable. It’s torturous sometimes to watch you guys when you coach. Why do you, I mean you look a little frustrated sometimes.
What is the joy? Everyone talks about I love coaching. What is it that you actually truly love about it if you can identify that? I think you love the day-to-day, the grind. I think you just love the work.
You love the people that you do the work with. Yeah, I mean that’s it. How close you get to your staff, your players when you’re striving for things together and it’s incredibly difficult to do and you sacrifice and you commit and you care so much.
I mean like when you’re with another group of people that care so much about each other and what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s an addictive feeling. That’s why I think it’s when I see these coaches like Coach Izzo coaching through their 70s, Rick Patino, I’m like that’s why they can’t walk away. It’s not the money.
These guys got enough money. It’s that. It’s that connection.
And the season, it just alternates between relief and suffering. And then I think what is, I think the joy that you get is from a sense of you did a good job at the end of the year when it’s all over and you could look back and say I got the most out of my team or the team got the most out of itself and I could look back on that with some level of satisfaction and say it was a job well done based on the team we had. We got as far and as much out of the season as we could.
Up front on the right, Detroit. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press. Dan, I wonder, looking back at the October exhibition game, I know Terrace didn’t play in that game, but both of your teams got off to really hot starts to the season.
I’m wondering how much did that maybe play a factor, kind of the iron on iron, if you will, to get each team prepared for the season? Yeah, doing the exhibition, there’s no greater test than playing Michigan State or a Tom Izzo coached team or this group of just incredible players they got, the men they have on the team. We were very intentional about trying to schedule them for that game right before the opener so we could really identify our vulnerabilities and they were on full display in that game. They exposed us.
I think we gave up six or seven free-throw rebounds in that game. Our transition defense was a joke. We got assaulted on the glass.
There was a lot there in that game that we were able to show the guys this week when we got manhandled. So, yeah, we’re a much different team. They’re a much different team, but there’s certainly, it helped us both get ready for November and December because we’re obviously two of the best teams in the country.
Midway back on the right, CBS. Adam Pest, that over one. Thank you.
Zach, for the CBS Sports. Dan, when you talk to Tom Izzo about what he has built, something that’s lasted over several decades, and your dad as well, does it inspire you to want to build something similar at UConn in terms of being able to do it for a long, long time, even in an era where it can be a little bit more difficult and things are kind of constantly changing? Yeah, I mean, listen, I wanted a gap year last year. I don’t know how he does it.
I mean, I don’t know how Coach Izzo’s done it. It’s obviously the fortitude, the passion that he has, just to be so consistent. I mean, when you look at the number of sweet 16s and making it almost 30 straight years of qualifying for this tournament, like this tournament, with each year it gets harder to qualify for.
But what gets Coach Izzo up every single day, it’s the impact he has on his players. It’s how much he loves being a builder of teams, being a developer of men. I don’t think he chases, I mean, there’s part of him, I’m sure, that chases the external achievements, but the guy’s just an authentic coach that loves being a coach of men.
And yeah, I mean, I hope I’m looked upon when my career’s over. I don’t know that I’ll have his longevity. I just could only hope that people look at me as a coach the way they look at him and the way I look at him.
Coach, same part of the room, Adam. Adam Zagora, I’m the designated St. Benedict’s prep beat writer in this room. You talked about the… I’m a pro frisbee.
Yeah, that too. You talked about the commitment to NIL, to NIL from schools. You’ve said many times that Kamani and Luke are ready to be head coaches.
When these guys go into interview, is there, do you feel they need like a minimum commitment of NIL money from schools that they talk to? And just in general, you know, it seems like a lot of mid-major other coaches moving up, is the number one priority the NIL number they’re going to get from the new school? Yeah, I mean, I don’t think it’s just NIL, you know, whether it’s Kamani or Luke or any coach right now. It’s like, am I going to be able to hire, you know, an excellent staff around me? You know, like, you know, am I going to be on a, I’m playing high major games. Am I going to be on a, you know, Southwest flight C38, you know, with my seven foot center, you know, the next day as opposed to being on a charter? You know, it’s, if you’re not all in on a full commitment, you can’t win, you know, and that goes for mid-majors too.
I mean, you got to have one of the best jobs in, you know, in your league, if possible. And if you’re not, and if you’re going to take a job that’s not at the top of the league, you better get assurances in your contract that you’re going to have this much to spend on a roster and this much for staff and, and, and that you’re going to charter every flight and that you’re going to nutrition and practice facility. I mean, you got to have everything in place.
If you shortcut anything in today’s college basketball, you’re, you’re trying to get by on nostalgia. You got no shot. Left side, second row, Christy.
Christy Winters-Scott. You’re not allowed to ask me a question. Are kids like great player on the other team? I think this is illegal.
No, I’ll let you do it. I’ve been watching a lot of film. Christy’s game is outstanding.
I know, I know, I know. Anyway, I had to recalibrate myself after that. No, going back to that game in October, what have you learned most about your team since then? And also about Michigan State’s team since then and about yourself as a coach? Yeah.
Well, I’ll start with Michigan State. I just, their improvement across the board as a team. Cause they, I, you know, coach, I remember leaving me a message after the scrimmage.
And I think we spoke maybe a couple of days later about our teams, but like he was really disappointed in how they showed up for that. And so they, I mean, their improvement, their development across the board, just how much better they’ve gotten individually, the perimeter players, the three-point shooting, you know, Fears’ development as the point guard, you know, Cooper, I mean, Cooper making threes, lob, scoring in the post, you know, Kohler doing the same things minus the lob dunks, you know, the wing shooting, your son, amongst the issues that we’ve got to deal with on the perimeter. So, you know, for us, we weren’t healthy in that one, you know, but we both, I think, have had a very similar year.
We both have had a great, we both have had great seasons. We both, I thought, crushed a non-conference. We played at the top of our league in conference play.
And now we’re, you know, both in the second weekend. So, you know, I’m just excited to, I feel like it’s a honorable game to be able to, you know, for UConn, Michigan State, it’s a crazy sweet 16 game and excited to be in it. Coach, we’re going to head down for one more question, but we’re going to do it in 17 seconds as soon as this clock expires.
All right. Not sure why you’re doing that, but. I’ll tell you why momentarily.
And go ahead. Coach Dan Saksha, please. I’ll explain to everybody.
Our satellite time just ended and I didn’t want to start a question and then not get to the answer. And I want to be responsibly moderating. It’s the only thing I do in moderation.
Dan Saksha has the outkick. I asked Coach Izzo earlier today about how people in the media often criticize him for, you know, quote, unquote, hard coaching. He actually brought you up and I’ll read what he said.
Who did? Izzo. Oh, OK. I’ll read what he said.
Who brought me up? I love Danny Hurley, not because it’s a love fest, not because he says the right things. He’s not afraid of saying what he has to to the players he has. And he’s even better than me.
He takes it to the officials. I love that about him. I really do.
He’s working the reps already, man. He set me up. But my question to you is, what do you think, first of all, your response to what Coach Izzo said, and then what do you think it says about the culture that people see, you know, yelling or hard coaching and somehow think that’s a problem? Yeah, I just think that’s, you know, society.
You know, we’ve gotten soft in a lot of ways, I think, with, you know, trying to develop young people. I think young people, the teachers and coaches that impact their lives the most are not the teachers and coaches that, like, gave them a grade they didn’t deserve. I mean, you remember the teachers and coaches that pushed you to your maximum, you know, that pushed you beyond your comfort level, that got the most out of you, that English teacher that, you know, made you do the work and the tests were hard and you had to study hard.
And I just think the same thing applies to coaching. You know, I feel like I’ve got a responsibility. You know, I coach 18-, 19-, 20-year-old men.
There’s a lot that I’ve got to instill in them. There’s a lot of discipline. There’s a lot of accountability.
There’s a lot of commitment that I’ve got to instill in them to prepare them for the real world. The real world is tough. It’s cruel.
You’ve got to be equipped. So on the flip side of how I’m driving them and pushing them to be the best that they can be and prepare them for life, I’ve also got a very close bond with my players. I love them.
They know I love them. And a lot of our relationship that the media doesn’t see or times that we spend, you know, together laughing, joking, making fun of each other, you know, you don’t see that part of me. You unfortunately just sometimes see the monster.
Thank you, Coach. Thanks for your time. And the bonus question.
Oh, shit. I thought the satellite was back. All right, brother.
Yeah, I didn’t want to cut you off on the… Great to meet you. Appreciate you, my friend.
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