“People at UConn deserve life or death desperation”: Dan Hurley gets 100% real on his dedication as Huskies head coach
UConn men's basketball didn't live up to expectations this season. The Huskies, who entered as back-to-back national champions, went to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed and fell in the Round of 32.
Head coach Dan Hurley sat down for an interview with Esquire for the 2025 'Mavericks of Sports' edition. He reflected on his dedication to winning at UConn.
“If you don’t have that mindset, if you’re not that type of competitor when the game starts, then you’re probably in the wrong business,” Hurley said. “My shareholders here — the fans, the people at UConn — deserve life-or-death desperation from their head basketball coach, for the amount of money they’re paying me."
"I’m going to do everything humanly possible to win every single game for them, bordering on making myself look like an ass at times — that’s a risk I’m willing to take,” he added.
Hurley is known for his intensity, sometimes vocalizing his frustration about officiating or using profanity in game situations. The head coach has his fair share of critics, and his interview with Esqurie makes it clear that he knows he sometimes looks "like an ass" due to his antics.
However, he will have it no other way. And that's why he has been so successful in the NCAA circuit.
Dan Hurley and his UConn squad's rocky 2024-25 season
After repeating the Championship last year, Hurley's Huskies were No. 3. By Week 5, they were in the bottom spot of the AP Top 25. UConn had an up-and-down start, picking up four wins to kick off the season but immediately following it with three consecutive losses.
Conference play also wasn't as kind to the Huskies as it had been in the preceding season. UConn finished third in the Big East with a 14-6 conference record and fell to Creighton in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
Hurley said that his squad "earned the 8-seed" in March Madness after a difficult season and that the lack of expectations took away pressure for the Huskies in the postseason.
"I feel like, in a weird way, it's a little pressure off of us going into the tournament where we could just go out and let it rip right now," Hurley said. "We don't have this huge pressure of expectations. A lot of people don't think we're going to win the first game."
Hurley was unable to replicate the excellence that led UConn to back-to-back national championships in the past two seasons. After a rocky year for the Huskies, he will look to return his squad to being a top competitor next season.