
UConn's Dan Hurley doesn't just yell -- now he reads, listens and coaches differently
Beyond the in-game theatrics, the transformation of the hard-edged Hurley is rooted in self-improvement. Oh, and his players love his sideline antics.

Beyond the in-game theatrics, the transformation of the hard-edged Dan Hurley is rooted in self-improvement. Oh, and his players love his sideline antics.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Borzello
ESPN Staff Writer
STORRS, Connecticut -- Dan Hurley leans forward in a chair inside his office overlooking UConn's men's basketball practice court and smiles.
"I'm not the victim," he said with a laugh.
In recent weeks, the fifth-year UConn head coach was shown on camera calling one official a "f---ing clown" in a win over Villanova and was given a technical foul late in a tight game against Xavier.
None of this is a new development for Hurley, one of the more fiery sideline personalities in college basketball. He has been ejected from games, reprimanded by the Big East and called out by local media to stop getting technical fouls at inopportune times.
But there's another side of Hurley, one he's constantly battling. There's a dichotomy between the on-court Hurley and off-court Hurley, between the practice version of Hurley and the game version of Hurley. The new Dan Hurley and the old Dan Hurley.
The consistent ref-targeted anger is what everyone sees. It's a trait that runs in the Hurley family, starting with his father, Bob, one of the greatest high school coaches of all time at St. Anthony in New Jersey, and moving to Dan and his brother, Bobby, a former top-10 NBA draft pick out of Duke who has been the head coach at Arizona State since 2015.
"My father is one of the greatest coaches of his generation at any level," Hurley said. "I model how I coach after my dad."
Hurley doesn't hide from his sideline behavior, noting that he has brought most of the unwanted attention onto himself. But he also thinks his reputation leads to him receiving more technicals from officials -- and camera time -- than other coaches with similar behavior.
"Obviously, I'm the boy who cried wolf when it comes to any type of referee interactions because of my history and I'm judged because of that history," he said. "In any situations that go badly, I've created that for myself. "
Within the UConn program, there's no concern about Hurley's in-game outbursts. The outside criticism doesn't bother the players; in fact, they feed off their coach's sideline energy.
"That's what I want from my coach," guard Joey Calcaterra said.
"I just wish that people understood what we thought about him," Calcaterra continued. "We love his energy, his intensity, the emotion he shows. He cares, and he wants the best for us, and he just wants to win. Seeing him do that, we love him for it."
'Certain type of edge'
HURLEY ALSO BELIEVES the UConn men's basketball head coach needs to have an edge as a job requirement. Despite the four national championships in a 15-year run from 1999 to 2014, it's not exactly a historical blue-blood program. It didn't have a practice facility until the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center opened before the 2014-15 season. The campus is off the beaten path, 30 miles east of Hartford.And then there are the expectations. The men's program has four titles in the past 25 years. But the women's team has 10 championships in the same time frame. The men's practice gym has an impressive wall filled with all the NBA draft lottery picks from the program. But when you take the short walk across the practice facility to the women's side, you'll see an entire wall of Olympic gold medalists -- some with multiple appearances. Yes, an entire wall of Olympians.
In Hurley's view, it takes an attitude to coach at UConn -- some of which stems from the program's best-ever coach being Jim Calhoun, known for his national titles, news conference rants and sideline eruptions.
"Certain styles of coach or certain styles of personality are not going to make it here," Hurley said. "UConn could only be UConn again if they get an elite head-coaching performance with a certain type of edge to them. .... Coach Calhoun instilled a toughness in his teams. That started with him on the sideline."
Hurley certainly conveys the message during practice, yelling at his guards to "Go score like a UConn guard!" during one drill. It's hard not to think back to the Kemba Walkers and Ben Gordons of the Huskies' glory days.
With Hurley in place, the UConn brand is still strong.
"That goes all the way back to the Jim Calhoun days," guard Jordan Hawkins said. "Just having those tough guards that play hard. They can score, they can defend, they can make plays. That's the UConn way."
The UConn edge doesn't come as a surprise to the players when they arrive on campus. During the recruiting process, Hurley makes it clear how intense their time at UConn will be.
"People love to watch my teams because of the passion," he said. "You don't play with that type of passion if you are sitting on the bench like you're in a board meeting. You could either fight or could coach with fright. And I go with fight."
Hurley rarely yells at players during games. Sure, a barrage of choice words will fly during practice, but it's rare to see him lose it on a player from the bench.
"It's all about extreme confidence on game night. If I'm yelling at my players on game night, I suck as a coach," he said. "These players are in a tough enough spot. ... We become more like the cornerman in boxing who is trying to pump up their fighter."