Hurley details how Geno Auriemma refocused him in new book

[HooperScooper]

Article on ESPN.com. The book comes out tomorrow.

"I think some of it was being a bad loser. I was clearly a bad loser at the end of that game," Hurley said. "We were playing the longest possible seasons, having extremely busy offseasons. There are different responsibilities you have as the top program in the sport, responsibility to do everything, promote college basketball, add that up with all the changes with NIL and the portal and what your team looks like the day after your season's over. You don't feel like pretty much anybody is on your team. Even if they're not in the portal, every kid has an agent, and that agent is shopping you around. All those things, the offseasons that were short and packed and the long seasons and incredible dominant success in that tournament, being fatigued, being a sore loser, those things for a couple days put me in that spot.

"But in the end, Jaylin Stewart and Solo Ball were like -- within a day or two, those guys coming in and saying, 'We're staying, we're not even trying to negotiate, whatever you want to give me, I'm here.' That's what kind of snapped me out of it. Along with thinking, I'm never going to be the coach at UConn again and being the coach at UConn changed my life."

'Be a coach': Dan Hurley on ego, Maui losses, Lakers -- and Geno Auriemma's wake-up call

In Hurley's "Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes To Be Great," he writes that he reached out to Auriemma after UConn's 0-3 trip to the Maui Invitational last November.

www.espn.com

 

[NJHusky]

Wow. Impactful quote.
I'm never going to be the coach at UConn again and being the coach at UConn changed my life."


And what about Solo and Stew
We're staying, we're not even trying to negotiate, whatever you want to give me, I'm here.

Really hope they both kill it this season then get drafted!

 

[Dove]

Solo and and Stew. Man, oh man!!!

 

[Huskybass]

I got to celebrate #6 with Coach Hurley at Gampel 24 hours later. He is the coolest guy in person since he genuinely is loving the experience. But he goes so hard, he is prone to crash. Thrilled I got to meet him and thank him. We are absolutely blessed to have him, and the whole staff.

 

[temery]

What's it supposed to mean?

"I'm never going to be the coach at UConn again and being the coach at UConn changed my life."

 

[tennmike]

Not to take anything away from Solo, he knew he was to be featured in the 2025-2026 offense. But Stewart. I'm sure there would have been tons of schools saying, "you're our man!" My compliments that young man and his family.

I do think that Solo is going to have a huge leap foward this year. Even though he looked jacked, he played light last year. Bounced off of everyone. If his 9 pounds of muscle means something to him, I'm in.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

What's it supposed to mean?

"I'm never going to be the coach at UConn again and being the coach at UConn changed my life."

Like when us average joes say we’re gonna quit then go back every time (but the opposite)

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

What's it supposed to mean?

"I'm never going to be the coach at UConn again and being the coach at UConn changed my life."

The context is If he decided to quit coaching here, he'd never get back the thing that changed his life. Seeing the commitment Solo and Jaylin had snapped him out of his funk.

 

[navery12]

What's it supposed to mean?

"I'm never going to be the coach at UConn again and being the coach at UConn changed my life."

That quote was in reference to the possibility of him leaving UConn for the NBA

 

[EricLA]

I thought the Geno quote was truly impressive. Clearly Dan has a lot of respect for Geno:

"He didn't say anything the others hadn't. But he delivered the message in a certain way. With force. With gravitas.

He made me really see. My ego had gotten-was getting-the better of me.

I admitted he was right. I told him that I was spiraling. I told him that I was convinced we were going to finish below .500.

'Listen,' he said, 'if the only gratification and the only part of coaching that excites you is winning the national championship, then you've lost your way, buddy! Where's the joy in the things that you've always been about as a coach before you went on the championship run, like relationships with your players, like helping people get better. Like making your team the best it can be.

'Be a coach, man. This is when you really need to be a leader. This team isn't as good as last year's, so what the hell are you going to do about it? Are you going home? Are you going to let this thing unravel?'"

 

[blkknight1]

Just watched his first take interview on YouTube some very illuminating things in there. Saying that he coached angry last year because he knew quite early that it wasn't a championship team. He wasn't angry at the players but more so himself.

 

[jostar1]

What struck me from that article was "Once you realize you don't have a national championship team...", which he knew after Maui.