And a Jersey boy with a short fuse who works the refs the way most college basketball coaches work.
Hurley’s mind was in place long before his No. 2 Conn Huskies flew to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, telling reporters last week that he was well aware that their lowest-ranked opponents were getting to the line above them despite the obvious size and talent disparity.
UConn received a foul whistle in its Monday opener against Memphis. But Hurley has to do a better job of containing his temper in close-game situations. Because of Hurley’s technical foul in overtime, UConn’s 99-97 loss is on him.
Let’s set the scene: A great back-and-forth game between the Huskies and Tigers that UConn’s Solo Ball sent into overtime with a last-second triple. The Huskies would soon have a three-point lead erased by Colby Rogers’ 3-pointer, and on UConn’s next drive, Liam McNeeley was called for a foul on the fullback as he reached for the offensive rebound – never mind that McNeeley had five inches. to the fellow of Memphis.
Hurley blows a gasket at a nearby officer. Fellow coach Kimani Young has to play the role of returning coach, but Hurley falls to the floor at one point and says it’s enough to wake T’d up. What would have been two Memphis free throws are now four, and PJ Carter sinks them all.
Although UConn lost twice, Hurley told CBS Sports that it wasn’t his technique that made the difference.
“I think it was a—-y calls,” he said, adding, “I would have expected to play at the event, and I don’t know many back-to-back bands that get that. kind of whistle.”
He didn’t hold back on the postgame stage, saying the Memphis player “made an attempt to rebound the basketball and Liam McNeeley re-pointed it.”
About falling down: “I don’t know what happened. I may have lost my balance because of the stupidity of the phone,” said Hurley, “or I may have tripped.”
Here’s the thing: I agree you’re right about the phone! Most reasonable people on basketball Twitter (or Bluesky) do. But Hurley, of course, was letting the umpires get it on the jump, convinced that his blueblood Huskies were getting disrespected. A technician was called to the UConn bench early in the game, though Hurley later said his mild-mannered medical coach “must have said something under his breath.” Yes, Jan.
Call me a pearl-clutcher what you want, but after giving Hurley a long stretch the entire game, the refs had every right and reason to wake him up after overtime when he appeared to be yelling obscenities at them.
I don’t know anyone who likes a game when the players don’t do well. It’s no different in college basketball, however, and I’m 100% for holding bad refs and umpires more accountable. But from a coach who will go down as one of the greats of modern times, I would like to see more accountability from him as well, if only after the fact.
If you’re known as the guy who’s always angry, you won’t be taken seriously when the worst thing happens to you.
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