Memphis Commercial Appeal: If UConn and Memphis Are Ready To Be Rivals, Dan Hurley Makes Perfect Villain | The Boneyard

Memphis Commercial Appeal: If UConn and Memphis Are Ready To Be Rivals, Dan Hurley Makes Perfect Villain

Drew

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If Memphis and UConn are finally ready to be rivals, Dan Hurley makes the perfect villain

Connecticut coach Dan Hurley left the sideline, hands digging holes into the pockets of his sport coat, and began walking. He walked past one side of the 3-point arc, past the Huskies’ huddle, past the Memphis dance team, and didn’t stop until he was clear across the other side of the court Sunday afternoon to protest a foul call.

After a game in which his sideline antics stole the show, from profanity-laced tirades to mood swings that spanned seconds, this was the final flourish from the newest villain Memphis basketball fans are going to love to hate.

As Hurley completed this jaunt to the courtside seats at FedExForum during the final media timeout of the Tigers’ 78-71 win, he stared menacingly at one fan pointing at him to go back to where he came from. And Hurley shouted right back.

“Sit down!” he said, and there might have been another expletive in there depending on who you asked.

But Memphis didn't sit down, and Hurley didn't stop screaming. It's exactly what you should want.

Because as Memphis snapped a three-game losing skid Sunday in a game coach Penny Hardaway deemed a “must-win,” perhaps the more important development was that these two slumbering college basketball powerhouses gave us a preview of what might be once they become powerhouses again.

Forget Rick Barnes and Tennessee: Hurley, and his over-the-top hi-jinks, is actually the perfect foil for Hardaway.

Because the success of one program will help the other.
 

Drew

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I actually thought this was a nice quote about UConn at the end of the article

Although it was concerning to watch the Tigers nearly give away a 16-point second half lead, to watch them get pounded on the glass late, they never completely wilted. They always had a response.

When senior Raynere Thornton soared through the air for a putback dunk with 43 seconds remaining to provide just enough cushion, the crowd roared because holding off a team with the tradition of Connecticut still means something.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

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#141414@="whaler11, post: 3034471, member: 676"]oh god an article talking up uconn and memphis state as rivals. and some people are going to be excited about this.[/QUOTE]
@ASweet3781, to be precise.
 
C

Chief00

Chief is much more positive about the conference than most UConn fans but admits realignment can always cherry pick the top teams. It’s on UConn to get better in both major sports in the conference and to invest its money wisely in football and basketball.
UConn has old fan base demographics and they don’t understand where the future is. A decade ago CT lost one congressional seat and going forward we are at greater risk to lose a seat than add one. Going from 6 congressional seats to 4 is a huge story if it ever occurs since it illustrates relative population trends. The AAC is in the growing population centers of the Carolina’s, Florida and TX. It is where the future is.
 
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Chief is much more positive about the conference than most UConn fans but admit realignment can always cherry pick the top teams. It’s on UConn to get better in both sports in the conference and to invest its money wisely in football and basketball.
UConn has old fan base demographics and they don’t understand where the future is. A decade ago CT lost one congressional seat and going forward we are at greater risk to lose a seat than add one. Going from 6 congressional seats to 4 is a huge story if it ever occurs since it illustrates relative population trends. The AAC is in the growing population centers of the Carolina’s, Florida and TX. It is where the future is.

And some of us more "seasoned" fans can remember people questioning leaving the Yankee Conference.
 
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Right now the AAC is looking at 3 teams in the tourney and the C7 league is looking at 4. The gap has never been narrower. Next year (when UCONN and Memphis return to form) there will be no gap.
 
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oh god an article talking up uconn and memphis state as rivals. and some people are going to be excited about this.
Nothing wrong with that. Memphis has some history as UConn certainly does. Add strong
programs like Houston and Cincy and you
have a good nucleus. As long as we keep our OOC games with some local rivals, it’s the best we can do at this point.
 
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Chief is much more positive about the conference than most UConn fans but admits realignment can always cherry pick the top teams. It’s on UConn to get better in both major sports in the conference and to invest its money wisely in football and basketball.
UConn has old fan base demographics and they don’t understand where the future is. A decade ago CT lost one congressional seat and going forward we are at greater risk to lose a seat than add one. Going from 6 congressional seats to 4 is a huge story if it ever occurs since it illustrates relative population trends. The AAC is in the growing population centers of the Carolina’s, Florida and TX. It is where the future is.
Chief, any advice on whether the Yard should invest in some real estate in those growth areas?
 

Friendship

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Memphis potential rival? We are in the darkest timeline
 
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Right now the AAC is looking at 3 teams in the tourney and the C7 league is looking at 4. The gap has never been narrower. Next year (when UCONN and Memphis return to form) there will be no gap.

I'm hopeful things will even out by 2021-2022 when kids like Zion and RJ can go straight to NBA.
 
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Chief is much more positive about the conference than most UConn fans but admits realignment can always cherry pick the top teams. It’s on UConn to get better in both major sports in the conference and to invest its money wisely in football and basketball.
UConn has old fan base demographics and they don’t understand where the future is. A decade ago CT lost one congressional seat and going forward we are at greater risk to lose a seat than add one. Going from 6 congressional seats to 4 is a huge story if it ever occurs since it illustrates relative population trends. The AAC is in the growing population centers of the Carolina’s, Florida and TX. It is where the future is.
Didn’t chief here? We are dropping football and joining the ACC in all other sports. No worries.
 
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Hurley: “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. I can do those things because I’m not a hero... I’m whatever UConn needs me to be.”

He’s our dark knight.

6C89D848-D4DD-4917-852F-C84776C1043D.jpeg
 

Dream Jobbed 2.0

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Good thing they have us, because guess what. Tennessee and Barnes, I’m sure, don’t give two poops about Memphis.
 

Drew

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"What the duck* are you doing?" Watching Dan Hurley as he...

This season has proven to be a revival for the Memphis basketball program. Season tickets have nearly tripled year-over-year. Though the results have been inconsistent (the Tigers entered Sunday’s game against UConn on a three-game losing streak), more than 17,000 fans filled FedExForum to watch the matinee against the Huskies. (Compare that to an announced attendance of 2,417 that watched the matchup last year.)

And yet once the game tipped, one voice drowned out all the rest: that of first-year UConn coach Dan Hurley. What served as a preview for what may end up being the next great American Athletic Conference rivalry quickly took a back seat to a sideline performance from Hurley that even the executives at the nearby Orpheum Theatre would appreciate.

Depending on which way a call went, Hurley was equal parts maniacal, exasperated, infuriated and electrified. He rode the officials virtually every other possession in a losing effort; Memphis won, 78-71. He let F-bombs fly as freely as Tyler Harris did 3-pointers. The coach’s box, for Hurley, might as well have been a coach’s ranch. In other words, Hurley is the antithesis of his first-year counterpart at Memphis, Penny Hardaway, who is mute in comparison.
 
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We're stuck in this sh^thole, UConn and Memphis are the teams out of the conference who have the best chance to do major damage going forward.

Our recent performance is one reason the conference is not as strong as we would like. Yet Houston and Cinncy are top 25 in b-ball. Until we improve, I don’t think we should complain.
 
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anyone remember this game from a few years ago, where memphis laid down and died on its home floor in the second half? how far they have come...




i love hurley's antics, and am good with any potential rivalry here. they are gonna have a top-5 prospect next year!
 

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