UConn basketball head coach Dan Hurley isn't afraid to dish out honesty, even with himself. That includes Hurley blaming himself for the Huskies' play. But Hurley admits Cooper Flagg going off to Duke became a notable recruiting snub for him.

And missing on Flagg reminded Hurley of another massive miss from him, as he prepares for his next March Madness game.

Hurley shared the rare recruiting story with reporters Saturday. The back-to-back national title winner revealed missing out on Flagg reminded him of one other Duke legend he tried recruiting: Kyrie Irving.

Except Hurley is jokingly sad he didn't recruit Irving to play for his high school team at St. Benedict's Prep. Hurley cracked up that he regrets the day he didn't land Irving — who starred for rival school St. Patrick's High in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

“That's just kind of human nature and part of it, when you see other players got to other places do well, you imagine what that would've been like to coach. And at different times, obsess over it,” Hurley shared.

Flagg was considered a notable backyard talent for Hurley and the Storrs, Connecticut university.

Was Cooper Flagg pursued by Dan Hurley, UConn before Duke decision? 

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Flagg rose to basketball fame out of Newport, Maine. He grew up four hours and 22 minutes northeast of the Huskies.

The then 6-foot-9 Flagg skyrocketed on the recruiting trail in starring for Montverde Academy in Florida. Flagg ascended to five-star prospect and the state of Florida's No. 1 ranked talent for the 2024 class. He also became the nation's top-ranked power forward prospect by 247Sports for his high school graduating class.

UConn was indeed aggressively pursuing Flagg on the recruiting trail. Hurley and top assistant Luke Murray ran point on Flagg's recruitment to the Huskies. Meanwhile, UConn faced competition from other blue blood programs ranging from Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, and Texas.

But Duke sent head coach Jon Scheyer and top recruiter Jai Lucas to win over Flagg. He chose Duke over UConn before Halloween 2023. Flagg is now the top talent in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Hurley has the Huskies riding a notable March Madness streak. UConn, though, awaits the No. 1 seed out in the West regional Florida on Sunday.