UConn embodies Danny Hurley’s relentlessness

The Connecticut Huskies person seized the personality, and the passion, of their coach. They travel aft you. They get aft you. They bushed you up inside. They deterioration you down outside. They pb you by a mates of points and you figure: we’ll beryllium fine.

A fewer minutes later, you’re down 10.

A fewer minutes aft that, you’re down 15.

And earlier you cognize it, Danny Hurley and his Huskies are conscionable steamrolling implicit you. There person been a batch of bully stories scattered each astir the brackets astatine this NCAA Tournament. Right present determination is 1 steamroller. There is 1 beast. It is headquartered successful Storrs, Conn., and is bound for Houston adjacent week.

“We conscionable benignant of got backmost to the squad we were aboriginal successful the season,” Hurley said successful the jubilant aftermath of a 82-54 Elite Eight evisceration of Gonzaga that capped a merry circuit done the West Region successful which UConn took a blowtorch to 4 opponents, winning by an mean of 22 ½ points per game.

“The Big East is the champion league successful the state and we went done immoderate struggles,” Hurley said. “But erstwhile we got retired of that league and started playing nonconference teams again, we were OK.”

It is simply a instrumentality to splendor for UConn, which has won 4 NCAA Tournaments since 1999, but had stumbled upon hard times erstwhile it spent a fewer unhappy years successful exile successful the AAC successful the second days of the Kevin Ollie era. Now UConn is backmost arsenic a foundational subordinate of the Big East, and a Final Four entrant, and the single-hottest hoops squad connected the planet.

UConn manager Dan Hurley celebrates aft their 82-54 triumph implicit Gonzaga to clinch a berth successful the Final Four.Getty Images

“I can’t hold to ascent that ladder,” Hurley said of the nets beckoning to beryllium cut.

If you retrieve Hurley arsenic a player, this is each acquainted to you. He was ever a bulldog, ever led with his heart. It wasn’t capable that helium was Bobby Hurley’s kid brother, helium was besides Bob Hurley Sr.’s younger son.

The Hurleys of Jersey City person agelong been 1 of basketball’s royal families, but they person ever been acold much salt-of-the-earth than to-the-manor-born. None much truthful than Danny, who ran the amusement for P.J. Carlesimo backmost astatine Seton Hall, who spent 10 years mastering the trade of coaching astatine Newark’s St. Benedict’s Prep earlier hitting the crushed moving arsenic a caput manager astatine Wagner, and past astatine Rhode Island.

Now helium volition manager successful the Final Four. Son of a legend. Sonofagun.

“One happening cipher volition ever beryllium capable to impeach Danny of,” his begetter told maine past year, “is that helium ever rode my coattails, oregon rode Bobby’s coattails.”

The aged antheral laughed astatine that.

“Actually,” helium said, “I’d similar to spot idiosyncratic try.”

UConn manager celebrates with his squad aft their Elite Eight triumph implicit Gonzaga.Getty Images

Fifty-three weeks earlier, the Huskies had crashed and burned successful Buffalo, first-round upset losers against New Mexico State successful the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Bob was determination watching his son, and felt sick for him. But not arsenic sick arsenic Danny did.

“It’s hard,” he’d said that night. “[We had] a truly bully year, but we played poorly successful the NCAA Tournament.”

The seeds were sown that day. They bloomed successful Albany, with blowout wins implicit Iona and St. Mary’s, and blossomed successful Las Vegas, with annihilations of Arkansas and Gonzaga. The 2nd fractional Saturday was a 20-minute joyride, the UConn contingent astatine T-Mobile Arena giddy with joy, the walk-ons getting plentifulness of run. Danny and Bobby embraced astatine the end.

So did Danny and Bob Sr. So overmuch to celebrate, truthful overmuch to anticipate.

And wherefore not? No hoops squad anyplace connected the satellite is playing amended close now. They can’t get to Houston soon enough.