Whether it’s fair or unfair, UConn basketball coach Dan Hurley has been portrayed as a bit of a hot head after several instances this season alone where he openly showed his emotions against officials. But on Wednesday, he fired back against the media’s portrayal of him without even being prompted to do so.
Trailing late in the second half of Wednesday’s game against UConn, Georgetown tried their best to speed up UConn’s offense by showing them a full-court press on defense. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as UConn’s offense was up for the task, putting up 51 second-half points to come away with a 93-79 victory.
Hurley wasn’t involved in any highly discussed drama throughout the game as he has been throughout much of the season. But after misunderstanding a question from a reporter after the game, he certainly created some controversy of his own when he inadvertently shared his feelings towards media members.
In his postgame press conference, Hurley was asked by a reporter whether he believed that his team was handling the press defense better down the stretch of the season than they did in the early portions of the season.
Hurley seemingly interpreted this question as whether he himself has handled the press, aka media members, better throughout the season. This resulted in Hurley outlining how he believes the press has been an “asshole” to him all year long before quickly realizing that he heard the question wrong.
“I think the press has been an asshole to me all year,” said Hurley. “Oh wait, you mean the… I thought you meant… There are people acting far worse than me. What was that? I didn’t know what you meant, I am sorry. They have been fair at times.”
Hurley would then go on to actually discuss his opinion on how UConn has handled press defenses as of late.
“Listen, we have seen it so much now. In the end, it’s basic things. Like you have to know how to get open. You can change alignments. We have tried so many different alignments versus pressure. In the end, you have to have the confidence as a guard or a perimeter player. And as an inbounder to know how to pass it to a tightly guarded player away from his body.”
Dan Hurley asked if he “thinks you’re handling the press better now”
“I think the press has been assholes to me all year… oh, you meant— you meant on the court” 😂😂
pic.twitter.com/T0mbfWBOfH— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 27, 2025
Whether Hurley meant to or not, he certainly showed his hand in regards to how he feels about all of the buzz around his sideline antics this season, which certainly won’t make him any more allies in the media down the stretch of the regular season.