NEW YORK — Dan Hurley is building something special in Storrs, Connecticut.
The defending national champions sealed their first Big East Tournament title since Kemba Walker’s 2011 UConn basketball team with a win over the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday night and were announced as the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
As Hurley described in his postgame press conference after the victory, his Huskies are building something special.
“We stand for how hard we work, how we're about winning, the personal development as men,” Hurley said. “We run an old-school program with a real culture, and you can see it by how unselfish this group is in a game on a night where we didn't shoot the ball that great, especially in the first half. Another 21-assist night on a team filled with NBA prospects speaks to just that we've got great people.”
UConn stars love Dan Hurley
It’s easy to see why Dan Hurley’s players have bought into the UConn basketball culture.
And now, they are certainly reaping the benefits of that.
“He’s the best coach in the country,” sophomore center Donovan Clingan explained. “And I mean that with everything.”
After winning the national championship and being selected for the Big East All-Freshman Team last season, Clingan will play a pivotal role in UConn’s goals of defending as champions.
In the victory over Marquette, Clingan tied Patrick Ewing (1984) and Michael Smith's (1994) record with 16 rebounds in the 2024 Big East Tournament title game.
He couldn’t be more grateful for everything his coach has done for him.
“[Coach Hurley] pushes me and every single player on this team to their max… he always tells us the truth. He loves us.”
Senior guard Cam Spencer, who spent three years at Loyola Maryland and last season with Rutgers, praised his coach for the opportunity to be part of the culture at UConn.
Spencer will finally get the chance to experience the NCAA Tournament, something he has yet to be part of thus far in his college career.
As their second-leading scorer (14.5 PPG), second in assists (3.6), and tied for third in rebounds (4.5), the senior guard from Davidsonville, Maryland, has fit in perfectly with the Huskies.
“I'd go to war for that guy any day of the week,” Spencer explained to me about Dan Hurley in the locker room at MSG. “I'd run through a wall for him.”
Freshman guard Jaylin Stewart, playing in his first March Madness experience, agrees.
“The energy he brings every game,” Stewart said. “It runs through the entire program. You have no choice but not to lose.”
With the conference title on the line, Stewart had his second-highest scoring output of the season with nine points, shooting 75% from three-point range (3/4).
UConn a powerhouse once again
It didn't happen overnight for Dan Hurley, who missed the NCAA Tournament his first two years and fell in the first round in both 2021 and 2022 before cutting down the nets in Houston last year.
Anything can happen in March, but what isn’t a question is what Hurley is building and how his players have completely bought in. Over the past 25 seasons, UConn has the most national championships and is tied for the most Final Fours. They also have 11 national championships on the women's side.
From when Hurley arrived in Storrs in 2018 to now, he has completely transformed the way UConn is viewed again.
Sixth blue blood?
Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Norh Carolina, UCLA … and UConn?
Another trophy this year from Dan Hurley's squad and it's going to become harder and harder to deny it any longer.
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