Dan Hurley explains how he stays calm, collected ahead of first Final Four appearance

For the first time, head coach Dan Hurley has led UConn to the Final Four. There, he knows he’s going to need to stay calm and collected.

The problem is that Hurley is known for being one of the most animated coaches in all of college basketball, prone to scream and yell. So, he knows that it can be difficult, though he argues the time of year changes things.

“It’s automatic this time of year,” Dan Hurley said. “Every player knows what to do. They understand your style of play. They understand your tactics on offense and defense. Obviously you’re tailoring it to your opponent and how you want to attack them at both ends of the court. Everyone knows their role.”

For Dan Hurley, the most important thing for his team at this point is to find a balance.

“So everything kind of this time of year is automatic. You know as a coach how you’re going to call the game. For me, it’s just I’m trying to keep these guys in that balance between like the edge that you need to have as a team so that you don’t get complacent but not making them uptight and nervous keeping that confidence,” Hurley said.

“That’s like that balance that all these great coaches have kind of talked to me about. Don’t allow your team to be happy to be here but they deserve to feel good about it because it’s really hard to get here.”

UConn plays Miami in the Final Four on Saturday. The winner is going to move on to play either FAU or San Diego State for the national championship.

Will Hurley be overwhelmed?

While Dan Hurley is a well-respected coach, this is still his first appearance in the Final Four. The moment could easily be too much for Hurley. However, he thinks that his mentors are going to be important for him to lean on.

“All my mentors tried to get me ready for this, Coach [Jim] Calhoun and Geno [Auriemma] and Tom Izzo and Coach K and Jay Wright, like I was smart enough to try to get great advice from people of what to expect,” Dan Hurley said. “You don’t expect a lot of the media demands, and just the feeling of exhilaration and just how big this is. I think I’ve said to Kimani and Luke and Tom, like, hey, this is kind of a big deal, huh? It’s different than you expect.”

If sleep is any indicator, Dan Hurley thinks he’s in good shape moving into the Final Four.

“I’m just happy that I kind of changed my sleep schedule. I got to bed earlier. Got myself up super early so I could consume the 10 to 12 of the Miami games I needed to consume so that I have my team ready to play on Saturday night, because it’s a lot.”