After a disappointing start to the season, the defending champion Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball program has rebounded in a big way.
The Huskies have now rattled off three straight wins against marquee programs starting with Baylor earlier this month, then a convincing win over the Texas Longhorns before continuing the run with a top-10 win over Gonzaga on Saturday.
The December games have definitely quieted some doubters after a surprise three-game losing streak in the Maui Invitational last month that led to head coach Dan Hurley swearing off those types of early season tournaments in the future.
Following Hurley’s big win over Gonzaga on Saturday, college basketball commentator John Fanta — who now holds down roles for Fox, NBC, and The Field of 68 — caught up with the UConn coach.
Never expected to dive into my brief CYO basketball coaching career, but that’s where things went last night. Dan Hurley’s closing thoughts at MSG are worth your time: pic.twitter.com/jKlHhaf7eL
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) December 15, 2024
“When you’ve won back-to-back national championships, you kind of earn the right to figure things out through the last two weeks like you have,” Fanta prompted Hurley, alluding to some in the media who were quick to criticize the program earlier this season.
“Yeah, I didn’t hear all the takes but you could hear the external noise. You know, some of the ones I heard were, I thought were overreactions or, you know, what they call that engagement farming or whatever it is,” Hurley said before taking direct aim at his critics.
“I think people like me, I think people like me are really good for sports. I don’t think- I wasn’t embarrassed by it. I was frustrated by it, I was disappointed in myself. I don’t think you want people that approach winning and losing — players and coaches like me that fight their ass off to win games — I think that’s what makes sports great. And I don’t think we want to dial down the intensity in sports because I think in some sports, we aren’t getting enough of it,” the Huskies coach said.
Hurley is right. Figures like him are the needle movers in college basketball. The sport has a long history of hot heads from Bob Knight to Coach K to Tom Izzo and beyond, all of whom were/are the face of the sport. The fact that the two-time defending national champion head coach is also animated on the sideline and willing to take up college basketball’s villain label is great for the game.
In just the last few years college basketball has lost legendary head coaches like Coach K, Jim Boeheim, and Roy Williams who were the standard bearers of the sport for decades. Hurley being self aware enough to realize he is partly responsible for filling those shoes is a good thing.
College basketball needs characters like Dan Hurley. And luckily the Huskies coach is willing to oblige.
[X/@John_Fanta]
