Extended interview: UConn head coach Dan Hurley

it's been 17 years since we've had a repeat National Champion yeah I mean what would that mean this is even I think a obviously even greater Challenge and um in this new era of basketball and and with the way that those teams Florida and Duke you know especially Duke I could speak to they had a guy named Bobby Hurley returning to that team with Christian lner and and Grant Hill whereas you know we lost um some significant components the team so this is more like even back back before uh I don't think there's ever been a team that lost so much that's been at this at this point of contention where you know maybe we're we're the favorite right now to do it uh According to some people but ever maybe no team has done what you're trying to do maybe no team is is trying to accomplish what we've done which I think it's dangerous um for the people that that we play cuz I we're not playing like a like a group that uh feels a lot of pressure uh we we take the court with a lot of swagger and then we also take the court like uh like a group of people that have never won anything so um we've got a chance to make history I think uh getting the championship last year has taken a lot of pressure off of off of this team off of me as a coach where we could just kind of you know get out there and and just kind of you know let it rip and go for it you asked three players to the NBA three players three of amazing players that that really led the charge for us and um you know most programs take a big step back but you would say this team right now is playing at a higher level than your National Championship team last year yeah no doubt what does that mean that is this a better team uh potentially um that story is going to get written because you've got to deliver but I'm really proud of the fact that Human Nature has Inc uh creeped into our program in terms of being satisfied and complacent uh and celebrating too much we didn't do any of those things we uh you know we've played this season like we've accomplished absolutely nothing and uh I think that's because uh we have so much uh love and admiration for each other in the program because there are people on this team that have not experienced that success there's some Champions uh still remaining in the program but we want it for everyone that hasn't experienced it yet is that also um partly because how you were able to find kids who buy into to that mentality buy into that team first aspect who Embrace and love the grind and love basketball like you think about the landscape now and the challenges I mean it's always been a challenge no one's repeated in 17 years but now nil transfer portal I mean you've got a new landscape now in college basketball how are you continuing to get kids who buy into that yeah I think you there's measurable talents you have to have right the the height the speed the skill set um but we spent a lot of time really focusing on on the parents the parents yeah on the parents are they are they going to be fans while they're on campus of of their son or are they going to be or are they going to be parents are they going to um you know hold them accountable um have an expectation that when something goes wrong um that it's not the the coach's fault that it's uh their son's got to work Carter he's got to do more he's got to earn his role uh we've got a real old school culture here of accountability um I'm an old school coach in terms of the tone I take with my players in practice the expectations with effort um the focus on on on winning and we over me like what does that mean have they played on seven different travel teams have they transferred to four or five different high schools um when you talk to the parents in the recruiting process are they constantly complaining about the coaches after a bad game or are they you know sending you a text or you having a conversation uh you know where where their son is has got to do more he's got to play harder um you know he's he's got to work on his skills you they they tell on themselves they drop hints and um you know you you've got the wrong type of kind of you know people in that inner circle around your players uh they'll syn your program they'll syn your program one player yeah the the locker room is so important the personalities uh you know in that room you know what they're saying in that room after a tough loss uh after are they pointing fingers yeah are they are they beginning to create you know divisiveness inside the locker room and um you know becoming coach killers and and program killers and culture Killers um our our ability to avoid those type of players and and to pass pass on some neon Talent uh to to get a more of a winning player um pass on neon Talent you mean you're passing up players who are playing at the top of the game because you're just not confident oh yeah you see players that you know um with the way we do things uh as well as the focus that we put on on winning here those five National Championship banners uh and the 11 on the women's side you you prioritize winning here as a head coach or you won't be coaching here very long um and we've passed on you know players with Incredible measurable height and athleticism off the charts um to to bring somebody in here that is going to give us a better chance to win and and somebody that if the losing does start um is going to help you be able to uh to respond well you know we talked to Tristan earlier and he said we we were talking about after the kraton game and he said when he had has a bad game he feels bad cuz he's let his team down you know cuz he said they have dreams and I don't want to mess that up I mean I was like that's kind of what you're saying yeah um and it wasn't it it takes a couple years to to to kind of build that um that foundation and that feeling the first couple of years here when we weren't competing at a very high level um you were hoping to feel that way that you had such a connected group um such a uh hardworking group uh such a a high achieving group that now when we do lose games there's a sadness there's a uh there's a dark cloud um a dark cloud there's a dark cloud and it it's the best feeling in the world because uh the best feeling it's an incredible feeling uh why because the feeling of no one giving a crap um or being selfish and being more concerned about how the game went for them um is is the worst feeling that you could have being a selfish player it only syns the group and it doesn't get you closer to your goals so that that feeling of somber like somebody somebody died here after a loss and that is that feeling here that is the feeling that every coach in the country wishes their program had um because that means you're winning a lot and then that means that everyone is is focused on one thing winning you know people love March Madness because it shows that passion you know and that intensity and in this time where you've got the portal you've got nil you've got social media you know is that still there I mean have the players changed have you seen that or is it still a lot like when you were playing no the game has changed uh enormously the um the game I mean it's still the same I mean obviously you got a three-point line but culture the culture culture of basketball is uh you has changed at the professional level at at the college level um you know and and there's great opportunity I I think uh a lot of the decisions that have been made are obviously um you know to give players opportunities nil the freedom in uh to transfer with the portal I mean there's such a a great focus on on player uh player Power Player empowerment that um you just hope it's not a situation where um we we don't kind of just give give young people fish instead of teaching them how to fish um you know I don't know that the players that grow up in this generation if we're not careful um and if we don't put some some rules in place and and some parameters uh that they won't develop true toughness true competitiveness an ability to look themselves in the mirror and fix things about themselves uh when they're struggling an ability to make a commitment uh to an organization and seeing it through um I think a lot of it is is obviously really really good A lot of the players that are benefiting from nil are coming from from situations where uh they don't have a whole lot you know so they've got money in their pocket their families can travel and see them play um there's an ability to transfer if you're in a bad situation um but maybe some guard rails need to be put in place here uh or else the game will be unrecognizable what kind of guard rails I think contracts for these players I think uh you when we get to that point you know when you see a player out of high school and you know you believe that they're going to be a two-year player or a three-year player I think there's got to be a commitment that that gets made there I'm not sure how we get there from where we are um but then also in terms of the the transfer portal you know we shouldn't be playing our season and uh in the N Sub tournament and the portals open and we're dealing with trying to coach a roster to win you know maybe the toughest Championship that there is in all of sports a single elimination tournament versus six different teams all different styles of play on neutral sites um while people are actively recruiting players off of your team um and they can transfer as many times as they want throughout their career we want players here 100 times out of a 100 that are picking us because they want to play for me they they want to play in a program with the tradition like this um and they love what our culture stands for and they want to pursue championships we don't want to have a player want to come to Yukon because they believe it's the best nil opportunity we've seen a number of those teams that you know had some of the biggest budgets this year or or salary caps in nil have had a have had a really tough year just watching your practice you know you get out there you know you're like out there like a kid yourself like out there in the in the middle you worked up you literally had sweat through your shirt 30 minutes into the practice Yeah but you know I mean people's your players say that that you're real and you're going to be straight with them yeah and like I wonder if that's something you think about because now it seems like so much is not real you got social media you got I mean I wonder if that's something that kids see in you that makes them really do want to that's another intangible you have yeah I think um just just kind of being around basketball your entire life it's the most comfortable place that I um um that I find myself uh I'm much much more comfortable and at ease around 178 20 year olds on a basketball court than I am uh at the white house or at the stock exchange to ring the bell um all of which you've done well all of which I've done but it's some of those events uh that that the guys weren't at I started to kind of freak out a little bit it was just you none other the players when the players anything that the guys weren't involved with celebrations or different functions I either want to know why they're not there uh and then they'll be there the next time um but yeah I I try to imagine like at different points when I played you know I when I played I try to be the coach um that like I that I wish I had in in every single way you know both the coach that pushed me to be at my best as a student as a player you know holistic um whole approach to it a better man uh somebody that's going to prepare me for success in my 40s 50s 60s and Beyond um but then also somebody that could be funny at times somebody that um you just brings a different type of energy because this is monotonous work you know this is a five and a half six Monon season uh what's your daily schedule like I mean how many how much sleep do you get a night during basketball season um it varies I guess on how it varies uh the Sleep varies on how the season's going you when it's not going well you you you don't sleep coming off a loss it's uh you know that's pretty tough I watch my dad model for me and my brother uh losing a basketball game as as a high school coach a shame um you know feeling shame and and take it that personally yeah yeah yeah like it's a personal loss too yeah cuz it's um you know the program is a reflection on us we lead the program you we're at the college level we're we're the face of the program um and and there's a shame that comes with it for us hurleys when we when we fail um or when we lose that you I can't I I couldn't get out of bed I as a high school coach into my early years at Wagner um I I I couldn't move my wife Andrew would literally have to kick me out of bed um I was just Frozen in in a in in a very dark State and after a loss after a loss just from like despair Despair and um and it's jarring when you lose because your your your culture your tactics everything that you've built um just just took a real shot and you you start questioning yourself start thinking you might not you might not win again you may okay now we're going to lose two in a row and then once we lose two it could turn into three now we may miss the NCAA tournament you just spin that spin that you spiral you spiral and I did that for years and um you know I've got a great what networker coaches Billy Donovan helped me in a major way to come up with a morning routine that gets you up and out of bed um and then I've you have a pretty straight routine in the morning yeah and that's what gets you meditation oh yeah yeah what is your routine that alarm clock goes off um you know at 6:00 a.m. and I am up and I am in my Bible and in my prayer and in my uh and in my scripture reading for the first half hour what did Billy Donovan say to you though what was his advice he just it was very Frank and honest with me um just about about not having a routine to to fall back on that will kind of you know get you up in moving and then he also spent a lot of time to me talking about like how grateful you should be for the position that you're in you're just some like kind of dirty you know dirty little kid from Jersey City that just kind of loved basketball and your your your life has turned into you're the head coach at Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 you are fired at Ruckers not too long as an as an assistant coach down to high school you know you're living the dream man like what do you you don't deserve to have some uh some attitude of uh that that uh you're entitled to more success than you're having in life buddy check yourself like you're you're you don't deserve to feel that despondent you should never that's not why you got into coaching you got into coaching um to change lives because you love being part of teams with a mission uh you you love that feeling of being in the Huddle um and now you want to kind of pay back players that the way your dad did for you the way PJ PJ carisimo did for me the way Coach George blay did for me um and it's not about like all these accomplishments we're all competitors your dad's a Hall of Fame coach your brother is a two-time NCA champion who was a firstr draft pick and you were a good basketball player you know playing at a high level and you felt like a failure mhm like how what was that pressure like and how did you work through that in college I mean College until almost April of last year you know that's that really so you you've gone so it was really only so when you said it the wing foot Awards you can sit at the the table now that was that was more than just a joke yeah that was I mean that was that was not you know I'm not very good in those settings um no but I mean that's very because you know I think thinking about when you went like you were in a really dark place when you were playing in college and you took that leave of absence yeah and would get dark at at at different points you know beyond the player um you know the the buildup to last April the different stops along the way um you know being fired at Ruckers you know being a high school coach that was really really great but not not Bob Senior uh a level coach not having you know that incredible Championship Elite moment um and spending my entire life in the sport uh you know my mechanisms and and you know my mental toughness and all those things you know my wife and my family my whole support system for dealing with those anxieties those comparisons that all human beings you know struggle with in their lives that stuff uh you know for me has been persistent my entire life and you know really the only thing that's really alleviated that for me was was having that moment uh in April in Houston it was only when you cut down that net that you felt like okay I've done something too and not even in that moment it was probably two months later at the Jersey Shore you know with you know with my beach badge on just sitting in a chair talking to my wife and just saying like I kind of feel free um not that night you know you get back to the hotel and it's it's it's Euphoria it's it's you you know the the love that you feel for your group and you know that pinch me type of moment it takes so much time to to process it and um That didn't dawn upon me for for a while this this this weight that had been lifted off of me that I I'll never feel that weight ever again and it's freed me up I think to be you know a better Coach um how so that that pressure I'm I'm not afraid to lose anymore um I I always carried this fear of losing because it it opened me up to that that not measuring up you know to the family Legacy dad your brother yeah that narrative that you know that ex external noise um that that had always been so persistent and um I just think now um you know internally I'm I'm so I'm so proud of of how long I've stayed in this game and fought to have that breakthrough moment that there's not anything that somebody could write or say or some idiot fan could chant or or put on social that that will ever uh put that weight back on me how is it affected you as a father and the coach of your son you know when you talk about pressure you know he he's he's got a famous grandfather and a famous uncle and now you know a really successful father yeah get out it don't um find uh find the passion that you have in life and you know pursue it but I mean you think Andrew how does that like how do you yeah yeah no it's I mean it's um you know it it's a cycle that that they've got to break and that they can't find themselves in you know this comparison this trying to live up to this family Legacy thing there's nothing but but sadness and brutality there I I've lived it I'm going to look back you know at my life and say that I spent 40 Years of it up till when I was 50 years old struggling with some level of suffering relative to external comparisons to the accomplishments of other people and I just pray and I've had enough conversations and enough things that I've sprinkled in about trying to break that cycle finding your passion uh pursuing the things in life the successes and and uh and and and and building your own family and and uh but but it not being about achievement um for me I I had a very unique situation um and I quite honestly I I didn't have you know a lot of guidance in terms of like um the messaging that I was getting along the way I think uh different generation of parents different gener ation of uh of of I think uh today I think my message is like become the best well-rounded human being that you can would you want Andrew to go into coaching what would your message be today to your kids pursue things the way that you see your father pursue the things that you're passionate about not necessarily basketball not necessarily basketball and not necessarily banners and trophies um but pushing yourself to the Max uh for your family um and for the things that you love to do and have an incredible work ethic and drive and determination um and pushing yourself to the max I think those are all great human qualities um but I also too you know I've got an Incredible family that I love and um and a very simple life simple simple but beautiful that's nice simple but beautiful but you know you got a Hall of Fame coach for a dad and a brother who's a firstr draft pick that's right who won two national titles the Duke yes so you know you come here to try to rebuild this storyed program and you get knocked out in the first round I mean couple times yeah what was that a moment of of low I mean did you start to doubt yourself then the the New Mexico State game was um you're losing in the co tournament it was our first time back and and there there are many excuses you can make for your performance in that one but um you that loss in Buffalo uh was was as was as bad a place as I had been in you know really since uh since early in my college career when when I took that leave for you know for serious depression issues and and I got to the point where I just the the thought of thought of basketball um you know took me to places that that uh you would never want to go to I took probably you know two days to wallow in that in in a very very bad way the worst way I had been in in almost 30 years and then yeah and then just uh you know my family my wife Andrea my two sons Danny and Andrew um you know the the love that they poured into me and and uh and the coaching staff here to uh kind of pull me back to work that Monday and take a long look in the mirror um as a coach at where I was coming up short um and there were there were issues in terms of I wasn't coaching at an elite level there were holes in my game as a coach that I needed to address like what um overly emotional and I haven't solved that puzzle all the way yet it's scary you get older and you see your your sons um when they have your qualities whether it's personality mannerisms uh the way they look at the world um that's a scary moment because you're you're hoping that there there'd be maybe uh that would stop at one you know in this hurly family line here the of men we're producing um but I'm comp stop what would you hope would stop the obsessiveness about about your work which I see with my oldest son um you know the the that you have in yourself that I have in myself uh my oldest son Danny and the way he obsesses over history and and public policy as he's entered the political world um my youngest son the way he just over analyzes things and and beats himself up when he when he makes a mistake or isn't measuring up and then the quirks I am one of the quirkiest people that you will ever meet once I find my way into some type of a strange Superstition um only some type of Epic total failure will remove that Superstition whether it's the underwear the socks they have was it dragons what was was it the red what was the underwear last year the Red Dragons yeah the Red Dragons any Superstition this year yeah I mean I'm dealing with the underwear and um I'm dealing with the underwear right now and um it's going to put me in a bad spot going into the NCAA tournament this year why they're wearing out well the dragons started the year and they got off to a really good start and um and then we lost to Kansas so now it's a three underwear rotation so now I went to the the great white shark underwear which had a decent little run there until we lost that seat in hall and then the Wolves went 14 straight conference games without a loss so when I look at the analytics behind which underwear do I go with going back into March Madness this year do I play the hot hand which looks like it's going to be the wolves or though I go with the the dragons which were the champions last year I mean repeat the underwe I care more about that than my seating and where I get put in a bracket right now is there a favorite you think it might be the Red Dragons I mean you're trying to repeat I know it it it's going to it's it's and last year was beyond the Dr it's going to be the dragons and it's going to be the same suit I saying it now it's going to be the dragons it's going to be the dragons and it's going to be the same suit that I wore all six games the same dress shirt the same belt the same socks the shoes are beat up but they've been sent to The Cobbler just for some little improvements and it'll be the whole costume that I had on last year as well as um a bunch of other things which we don't have time for are you surprised you're such a good coach like when you think back at your life what your dad's accomplished do you ever think dang I won national championship and look at me I'm I'm I can do this stuff no I think it was The Perfect Storm I think um that this coach here was uh was created or uh or or was built um as the son of uh one of the greatest coaches of his generation taught me tactics taught me leadership taught me psychology uh you know taught me a holistic approach to developing their players um taught me how to pour absolute everything that you have into the job of coaching to impact lives and to create winners and championship teams and my failures of as a player have have made me the coach that I am if if you're a great player and all you've experienced is is is is Great Moments and championships and you've been the best you can't relate to the whole roster I can relate to my uh my whole roster I could handle any storms that come up in the year because I've failed before and I've stared it down I've walked through it and I've climbed a mountain there's that great picture where you basically are saying to Andrew thanks for being oh man my therapist I mean what do you mean by that well I have a I've got a um I've got quite a uh uh an army behind me here you know I just the experience with Andrew just uh you having him there with me um after a tough loss to come sit next to me on the plane or or in the way to the game sending me a text message we got these guys tonight coach or um during the anthem to walk by me and Pat me on on my butt um just that support and to go through the highs and lows the the the roller coaster ride that this thing is you know with with somebody that you you love more than anything in the world that is like your your best friend um and then to have like you know your your wife Andrea and you know your son Danny and you know my brother that I talk to every day during the season and my dad and that I could call and and talk to when things are tough I've got a tremendous support system behind me I think the moment in uh on the floor in Las Vegas you know as we're going to the final four being there that that moment that that group hug um you know w w with the home team my wife Andrea and my two boys and and then I had a moment with my dad there um you know where just uh you know he's getting older and um how old is he he's in his mid 70s to late 70s right now I don't want to1 51 yeah um yeah but he's getting older you don't know how much time yeah you don't and I think I uh you know I mentioned to my parents there and and that moment with uh with Andrea and my kids and and and my parents and my brother and and uh being able to say to your dad who put the ball in your hands and pushed you to such levels in basketball that instilled the the love for the game and and the toughness to climb a mountain like that uh be able to say to him Dad I'm taking you to the final four and him looking at me and saying like maybe this is the version of me if I ever got to college this would be what I would look like in the college game that meant a lot did he say that he's a man of not a lot of few words I think getting the uh getting those I love yous out of him uh at this point of Our Lives is uh is really rewarding did he say he was proud of you he did he did and you don't get that you don't always you know it's tough to get out of uh at of Bob Senior anyone that's ever played for him or coached with him will tell you uh what did he when did he tell you he was proud of you I think they're on the court right there um they're in the court in Houston you know and I think uh you know you you chase that you're 50 years old and you know I've never shared that moment with him maybe a little bit at Rhode Island but it never really got to that moment where you're like top of sport best in the world at what you do and uh and you finally feel measured up stop

Channel: CBS Mornings

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Keywords: dan hurley uconn, uconn basketball, dan hurley, march madness, ncaa tournament, uconn huskies, dan hurley interview, 2024 ncaa tournament, college basketball, uconn mens basketball, mens college basketball, uconn dan hurley, 2024 march madness, uconn basketball mens, ncaa tournament 2024

Id: DqgPh6rnFsc

Length: 32min 1sec (1921 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 05 2024