"Too quick to grab the shovel and throw dirt on us": Dan Hurley subtly slams UConn critics after major Texas win
Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies picked up another huge win on Sunday ahead of their Big East slate beginning. They took down the Texas Longhorns 76-65 at Moody Center in Austin.
UConn's veteran player, Alex Karaban, who missed the previous two games due to a head injury, recorded a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the win.
Coach Hurley was clearly pleased with the performance of his team, as they recorded their third straight win after a disappointing 0-3 record at the Maui Invitational in late November.
On X/Twitter, David Borges, a UConn writer for CT Insider, posted a quote from Dan Hurley's postgame comments, where he seemingly took a jab at UConn's critics.
"Maybe the people with the shovels and the dirt, maybe they were too quick to grab the shovel and throw the dirt on us. Maybe, we’ll see," Hurley said.
The two-time national coach also addressed the nightmare run at Maui, where the No. 25 Huskies lost to Memphis, Colorado and Dayton.
"Everything that happened on the Hawaii trip was jarring for the program but the response since we’ve returned to the mainland speaks to the culture and the championship DNA."
UConn has defeated Maryland Eastern Shore, No. 15 Baylor and now Texas since returning from the Maui trip.
Dan Hurley hails Alex Karaban's performance after Texas win
Alex Karaban, the UConn Huskies' leading scorer this season, had another great game against Texas on Sunday after missing the previous two games due to injury. He suffered a head injury in the loss to Dayton on Nov. 27.
Karaban notched his first double-double of the campaign, scoring 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, while also grabbing 11 rebounds.
"All-American level performance and that’s what he’s going to have to do for this team this year," Dan Hurley told ESPN praising the 6-foot-8 junior forward. "He played like a star and he delivered in every way.
"He had some fresh legs today. Maybe we’ve been practicing too hard so this is something now everyone’s gonna want the days off," the coach added.
After the Longhorns game, Alex Karaban's stats read 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
The Huskies have one major test left before Big East play begins. They face the No. 7 Gongaza Bulldogs on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden as part of the Hall of Fame Series New York City. Mark Few's team (7-2) lost to No. 4 Kentucky by one point on Saturday.