Analyzing how Dan Hurley has transformed UConn into a perennial national contender

The Connecticut Huskies are headed to the Elite Eight, following a win over the San Diego State Aztecs in Thursday evening.

During the latest episode of Andy Staples On3, On3’s Bracketologist James Fletcher III joined the show to discuss why Dan Hurley has elevated the reigning champions to being the prominent program in college basketball, and Andy Staples couldn’t agree more.

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“Dan Hurley is such an interesting guy. They crush everybody. And you think, ‘Oh, these guys are boring.’ No. Like, Dan Hurley is endlessly interesting. … I just love watching him,” Staples prefaced the segment.

Continuing, Fletcher III believes Hurley has already taken the Huskies to the top of the mountain, and it’s time for Connecticut to ensure he’ll be there for a long, long time, as they could have a dynasty on their hands.

“Dan Hurley is one of the up and coming stars in the coaching business. I don’t even know if we can say up and coming anymore. He has kind of reached the top there. It’s just about sustaining it, and kind of building up the brand over the course of the rest of his career,” Fletcher III added. “And so, if you’re UConn, you probably want to try to work out some kind of long, long term extension, with some big buyout, to keep him there, and make sure that the dynasty that he builds over the next 10, 20, 30 years is with you, and nobody is able to touch him.”

In response, Staples had an interesting comparison, likening Hurley’s success at Connecticut to the success we’ve seen various coaches have with LSU football in the past.

“That’s the thing, with Dan Hurley, is he could do this anywhere. UConn though, you can make this your thing. They’re independent in football now. They’ve accepted it. They went independent football to move back to the Big East so they can say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna be good at basketball again. We’re going to make sure we take care of what has brought us here, and the sport that has always been great for us, on both sides. Mens and Womens.’ And yeah, it’s interesting to me, because UConn is such — it’s very much like LSU in football, where multiple coaches have won national titles,” Staples elaborated. “Is Kevin Ollie your Ed Orgeron comparison there? I guess. But Jim Calhoun is definitely like, the Nick Saban, who sort of unlocked how this works. And Dan Hurley is now continuing.

“Once you get the right mix of players in there, you can win there and win huge. Like, there’s no reason to leave if you’re him and they take care of you. You can keep doing this forever at UConn.”

That’d be music to the ears of Huskies’ fans around the world, but Fletcher III also believes it’s a good thing for college basketball as a whole.

“That’s what UConn fans are hoping,” he added. “I think it’s good for college basketball. At least in my lifetime, when UConn is at its peak, it feels like college basketball is really going, and feels like it can take it to a whole nother level.

“So I’m all for UConn sustaining this, and building for years and years with Hurley and all the pieces that he’s going to bring in there. Because he has he has embraced modern college basketball, and it has paid off big time for him.”

As for the way the Huskies have played over the course of Hurley’s tenure, Staples is of the belief that they provide a perfect mix of skill and toughness to win at this level.

“It’s a mix, I feel like. He has embraced modern college basketball. Like they play a very eye pleasing style. They play a style that looks more similar to the NBA game,” Staples stated. “But there is that old school edge and toughness that used to say, ‘Well, they’re tournament,’ you talk about a team and you say, ‘They’re not tournament tough.’ That’s what we were saying about Alabama going into to the tournament.

“You don’t say it about UConn. Like they’re going to punch you in the mouth, but in an aesthetically pleasing way.”

In the end, Fletcher III thinks the Huskies have hit that perfect balance, and moving forward, they’re the team to beat in college basketball.

“I think that’s what we’ve we’ve kind of found out, is the medium there that you have to hit. You’ve got to be able to do both. And modern college basketball, it does describe kind of the aesthetics of it, when we talk about spacing the floor. Getting up and down the court. That side of the game, which they do in a big way. But like you said, they can also punch you in the mouth,” Fletcher III stated. “They can they can kind of grind when they need to, especially on defense.

“That’s what we’ve seen from these teams, these coaches. The ones that have a mentality of defense first, but when we’re on offense, it’s going to look beautiful. Those are the ones that we’re seeing have the biggest success lately in college basketball.”

The Huskies will be facing Illinois in the Elite Eight on Saturday. We’ll see if their run of success continues moving forward.