UConn Coach Dan Hurley on overcoming adversity, the transfer portal

Last updated: 2023/04/06 at 8:59 PM

BigP Published April 6, 2023

UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley is in celebration mode after his Huskies defeated San Diego State on Monday to win the program’s fifth national championship and first since 2014.

But for Hurley, it’s been nothing short of a trek to get to this point.

After starting the season on a 14-game winning streak, the Huskies hit a rough patch at the top of the year that continued throughout January, losing six of eight games in less than a month.

On the latest episode of “The Carton Show,” Hurley discussed this past season’s highs and lows with Craig Carton, particularly that tough stretch of games that left UConn 16-6 on the year after starting 14-0.

“It was a hard part of our conference schedule,” Hurley said. “A bunch of tough road games. I was melting down on the officials, I was distracted … but in the end, I thought it gave us everything we needed.

“I’m more proud of our road to get here (to the title game) than actually winning it.”

Along with his lucky game-day underwear, Hurley gave a lion’s share of the credit to his players for hanging another banner championship banner, highlighting the Huskies’ ability to overcome adversity early on in the season.

“[Adversity] gives your locker room and leaders a chance to develop team character,” Hurley said.

Despite UConn’s latest title win, Hurley questioned how well blue blood and traditional top programs will continue to maintain their dominance amid the college basketball transfer portal. This year’s March Madness featured newfound success from programs such as Florida Atlantic and SDSU, while programs like Kansas and Duke unexpectedly fell early on.

“The blue bloods, the top flight programs — they can’t stockpile top flight talent and have it sitting on their bench anymore,” Hurley said. “That gave those big time places a big advantage. Now those players are transferring to programs that will potentially come back to haunt them.

“Sometimes you have players who, rather than staying at a place and addressing areas of development, you are putting guys in a position where they run from themselves.”