It is a far cry, no doubt, from what they were saying about their coach in January, back when a 14-0 start unraveled amid six losses in eight games, and a team meeting after an ugly loss at Seton Hall. Plenty questioned Hurley’s game calling, decision making and above all else, his intensity, wondering if he was making it impossible for UConn to realize its full potential. Internally, no one shared that concern.
The thing is, fans might find Hurley’s histrionics to be performative; his players do not. They, in fact, feed off of it.
Tristen Newton, who says he comes from a family of “yellers,’’ was hardly fazed by Hurley, and in fact welcomed the criticism. “It energizes me,’’ the senior guard says. “I needed that. I knew I did.’’
More to the point, UConn needed the injection. As wildly talented as these Huskies are, they are a combo of new parts (Newton,
Alex Karaban,
Donovan Clingan,
Joey Calcaterra,
Nahiem Alleyne) and old parts in new, bigger roles (
Andre Jackson Jr.,
Jordan Hawkins,
Adama Sanogo). They needed to figure it out, and the black hole they seemed to be headed for was, in fact, a team doing the figuring, not unraveling. “We experienced so much in the month of January,’’ Hurley says. “It’s a battle-tested team, and I’m comfortable enough with things and with the guys that I know we’re able to manage the situation.’’
By the time Selection Sunday rolled around, UConn had won six of its final seven, and stood on such sure footing, Hurley felt comfortable enough to dial it back. “He definitely has loosened up, I think, in this tournament,’’ says Karaban, who walked out of the national semifinal with eight points, nine rebounds and two assists. “You can just tell he’s more comfortable with us. We earned his trust.’’
