Dan Hurley is who he is.
Dan Hurley is good for college basketball.
Dan Hurley is one of the best coaches — if not the best — in the sport.
But does that mean he gets carte blanche to do whatever he wants? That’s the question College GameDay tackled on Saturday as they examined the UConn Huskies’ head coach’s recent antics. Hurley’s fiery behavior has put him back in the headlines, with longtime college basketball insider Jeff Goodman labeling his actions as “disgusting.”
That’s one way to interpret Hurley berating officials during UConn’s 80-78 overtime win over Butler on Tuesday. The other perspective? Hurley views it as an attempt to unfairly paint the head coach of a back-to-back National Championship-winning program in a negative light while letting other Big East coaches off the hook for similar sideline antics.
But do those other Big East coaches say, “Don’t you big-time me. I’m the best coach in the f*cking sport”?
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“I mean, that’s who I know Dan Hurley to be,” said Williams. “I’m not saying that’s the right thing to do, but that’s who Dan Hurley is. And I think sometimes in today’s society, we want everything to be so much morality… It feels — I hate to use the word — but it feels a little bit soft at times about how we treat players. Look, this is a competitive game.
“And once again, if you’re as competitive as Dan Hurley is, or I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some pretty competitive people in life, [Michael Jordan], Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Joe Mazzulla. All these guys lose their minds sometimes in the competitive juices. And, you know, they’re competitive pricks — that’s what I call them. And sometimes, when you’re that competitive, you say things that maybe aren’t right.
“But, you tell me where the lie is. Dan Hurley is the best coach in the country; he doesn’t want somebody to walk away from him. He’s won back-to-back National Championships. Until somebody dethrones him, you can make the argument that maybe… but I don’t see what’s wrong with it.”
“I think sometimes in today’s society, we want everything to be so much morality… It feels — I hate to use the word — but it feels a little bit soft at times about how we treat players.” – Jay Williams. https://t.co/xhbGcGE0nx pic.twitter.com/wJTEFQmMKh
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Jay Bilas does.
He sees what’s wrong with it.
For the former Duke star, it’s not as black-and-white as Williams frames it.
“‘That’s who he is.’ ‘Be authentic.’ ‘And he’s competitive.’ Take Dan Hurley out — if you say that about any coach, I just think it’s an excuse for bad behavior,” said Bilas. “And my thing is more about the competitive advantage that is perceived by what they call ‘working officials,’ or trying to influence officials. It’s not that they just cross the line once and lose their minds to get a technical and all that stuff — the referees can handle that.
“It’s the constant berating of officials throughout the game that fans think are influencing calls. So, if it influences call, then that’s a competitive advantage, and we need to deal with it. If it doesn’t influence calls, then it’s really bad optics, and people have the perception that it does. I think we need to deal with it. Generally, I think college coaches behave poorly, relative to NBA coaches. And I don’t think that’s a very good look.
“It’s not a crisis. Nobody’s suggesting it’s a crisis. But I will tell you, I do not buy this. So, [Iowa State head coach] T.J. Otzelberger is not as passionate or competitive as Dan Hurley or some of these others? That’s nonsense…”
“It’s just an excuse for bad behavior.” Jay Bilas weighs in on Dan Hurley’s sideline antics. pic.twitter.com/7PLecnaiMt
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“Dan Hurley, he can show his personality in ways that don’t include belittling and berating the referee,” said Andraya Carter.
Bingo.
We can debate whether Hurley’s sideline antics deserve this much scrutiny or if that scrutiny belongs to coaches with real skeletons in their closets. But what’s undeniable is that Hurley doesn’t just live in the spotlight — he thrives in it. Love him or hate him, college basketball is louder, more intense and undeniably more entertaining because of him
But that doesn’t mean Hurley’s antics — and behavior — shouldn’t come with limits.
As Bilas pointed out, there’s a fine line between fiery passion and crossing a line so often it starts to feel calculated. Then again, maybe Hurley is perfectly fine being remembered as a “competitive prick,” as Jay Williams so bluntly put it.