UConn coach Dan Hurley expressed some regret for comments he made “in the heat of the moment” following the Huskies’ second-round loss to Florida in the NCAA Tournament. While Hurley owned his tendency to push too far, he isn’t willing to sand all the edges of his coaching personality.
As he was walking off the court on Sunday afternoon, Hurley was caught on camera criticizing the officials. “I hope they don’t f— you like they f—ed us. I hope they don’t do that to you, Baylor,” Hurley shouted.
On Wednesday, Hurley spoke with reporters in Connecticut and explained the incident. While the Huskies coach did admit it was an emotional outburst — and that Florida deserved the win — he also claimed that that area of the arena is no place for media.
“We missed the shots, and they made the shots,” Hurley said. “Those are three great officials on that game. I said something in the heat of the moment in an area of the arena that pretty much every game I’ve ever coached in college has been media-free.
“Past the tunnel by the locker rooms where the coaches go. That’s for the combatants. That’s for the competitors. That’s not for cameraphones. Just relative to that, those are three great refs, and Florida earned it.”
The journalist who recorded the video, Joey Ellis of Queen City News, claimed that UConn men’s basketball director of communications Bobby Mullens told him to delete the video and made threatening comments. Ellis said Mullens has since apologized, and Hurley addressed Mullens’ part in the incident.
“Bobby regrets, just like I regret the moments I’ve had,” Hurley said. “Obviously, it’s all my fault that he got pulled into it. I set the whole thing in motion. I feel horrible. He could have handled the media person with the phone who took the video, he could have obviously just let it go. He should have been better trained for a situation like this. We’ve been in them all year.
“Bobby’s a soldier. We all fight like that for each other and our program, and sometimes we go a little too far.”
Ultimately, Hurley said he won’t be changing how he coaches or his “competitive fire.” The UConn coach, who led the team to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, said he hasn’t ever tried to hide that side of him.
“This is what UConn knew they were getting,” Hurley said. “This is how I’ve coached my entire career, and I’m not bragging about that. I’m just surprised that people just discovered that if they’re college basketball experts. They could have been breaking me down five years ago, or even just the last couple years.”
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