The Captivating Saga of Dan Hurley Continues - Kevin Stacom

The Captivating Saga of Dan Hurley Continues - Kevin Stacom

“I don’t have any words...” a justifiably shaken Duke Basketball Coach Jon Scheyer said in the opening of his post-UConn/Duke post-game press conference last Sunday night.

Longtime college TV game color analyst, Billy Raftery, never one lost for words, in this instance, was.

He was literally stunned into momentary silence with a shocked look on his face, looking side to side, searching for verification that what he just saw was real and had what looked to be the inevitable result of a go-ahead game-winning basket.

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When it finally sunk in that his eyes did, in fact, see freshman Braylon Mullins just step into, and with perfect unstrained form, nail a 35’ jumper with less than a 1/2 second remaining, Raftery rose to the occasion with:
 

“The deflection.. the reaction.. and the major engines from Indiana (referring to Mullins’ Indiana roots)…" said Raftery.
     

Grant Hill, as one of Duke’s all-time great players, could hardly hide the severe gut punch of this sudden, devastating reversal of fortune as he emitted, “The freshman Braylon Mullins! Oh, what a play….” Expressing his extreme disappointment with Duke snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by lamenting “…. All he had to do was hold on to the ball there!” 

To which Raftery, now back to form, quickly responded, “Absolutely! Onions!!”
          

By now, every college basketball fan has either seen or heard the basic outline of this historically dramatic comeback from a 19 point 1st half deficit. 

If you were rooting for fellow Big East member, UConn, as I was, even after a dominating 1st half performance by Duke, there was, at the very end of the halftime show and commentary, Charles Barkley giving his characteristic unfiltered assessment, “I don’t think UConn has enough firepower to get back in this game.” 
       

I usually enjoy listening to Barkley’s honesty and sense of humor, but I also know he can often play the role of “Mush” in the classic movie,  "The Bronx Tale,” when he courageously sticks his neck out with many of his predictions. The character Mush was played by himself, Eddie “Mush” Montanaro in DeNiro’s 1993 film. He was the neighborhood jinx. When everyone found out what or who Mush was betting on, they immediately went the other way. 
           

So at that point, after listening to Charles’ comments, I thought there was still hope. 
         

As Duke began suffering what looked to be an increasing lack of nerve, passing up open shots, overpenetrating into traffic, and UConn magically overcoming at one point 1- 18 from 3-point land, it was in the process of whittling down the lead to single digits.

 
Who could have foreseen UConn catching fire from that distance and going 4/5 in the closing 2 minutes- 2 from Silas Demary from each corner, a big one from Alex Karaban (1/6 from 3 for the game), to get them within striking distance, and the game winner from Mullin - his only made 3 for the night.
            

As it was unfolding, I thought, is Duke on its way to be the victims, as Providence College was this past Jan 7 at the AMP, of a totally deflating, disastrous collapse? 
     

(We remember being almost euphorically ahead 86-75 with 3:12 to go before it all went bad.)
    

Former longtime Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley assistant and current UConn GM, Tom Moore, explained to me that, with 10 seconds left, they were seeking to not foul right away with the initial inbounds pass, but see first if they could maybe get a steal, but if not, foul shortly thereafter. 

 

Well, they didn’t get a steal right away, and then there was a 2nd pass before the 3rd got to Cayden Boozer. They doubled him instead of fouling, resulting in Demary deflecting the pass, resulting in the steal by Mullins, who passed it to Karaban, and seeing the 6’9” Cameron Boozeer coming at him with hands extended, had the presence of mind to pass it back to Mullins for what has already become a legendary made 35’ 3 pointer with .04 seconds left.

Moore has said many times that he’s constantly amazed at how Hurley consistently brings so much energy every day and how people focus way too much on his style rather than how fundamentally great he is as a coach 
 

Those players reacting the way they did in such a pressure situation was not possible without a firm foundation of certain principles consistently and constantly emphasized 
 

Now Dan Hurley is poised to return to the Final Four for the third time in four years. There hasn’t been this consistent elite coaching success since Coach K brought Duke to the Final Four—four out of five years between 1990 and 1994. 
 

Just as a lot of Providence College fans have maintained interest in Rick Pitino’s successful coaching career through all these years, so also have a lot of URI fans felt invested in Dan Hurley’s success, remembering his 6 very good years from 2012-13 till 2017-18, the last 2 of which brought URI to the NCAA Tournament with records of 25-10, and 26-8 respectively.

It’s a selfless attachment you form during their formative years as they develop their craft, even though you’re aware that the success you cheer is what most likely will lead to their inevitable departure. 

 

I have also enjoyed observing the development and success of Dan Hurley’s coaching career and understand that his current stature is not the result of a meteoric ascent. Similar to the newly ordained Coach at PC, Bryan Hodgson, Coach Hurley has always been willing to share the stories of his foundational past struggles, not to draw attention to himself, but in the spirit of possibility, encouraging others, especially young people, who might feel isolated going through similar situations 
           

He’s been honest about that after four years as a Rutgers assistant, he left struggling with a depression fueled by not measuring up to the success of his older brother Bobby, who was the dynamo point guard on two National Championship teams at Duke before becoming and NBA lottery pick, and the high standards set by a future HOF high school coach - his father.
              

He proceeded to gather himself and embark on a successful high school coaching career for 9 years at St Benedict’s in New Jersey, before securing his first Division I coaching job at Wagner College in Staten Island in 2010, where he coached for two years before URI had the good sense to hire him away in 2012.

What makes someone like me identify and admire what Dan Hurley has accomplished is that even though St.Anthony’s in Jersey City is across the River from NYC, I’m sure it’s the same ethos of tough love style coaching that benefited hundreds of guys like me that was prevalent in our day in the New York City Catholic High School league. I’m sure our Coach O’Meara at Holy Cross in Queens, would have gotten along famously with Dan’s father.

 
It wasn’t easy at times, having a large adult grab the front of your jersey at times and pounding your chest to the point of puncture when you did something that aggravated him but you also knew he would do anything in the world to help you in the end
        

Dan Hurley has proven to be the successful inheritor of that tradition, and it’s nothing but inspiring to see, in this day and age, how he’s been able to adapt that approach into his own version of winning at the highest level of college coaching.
              

There is an authenticity to his personality that will translate to any generation of players. The intense, demanding, tough-love coaching style doesn’t work unless it is backed by a real, commensurate, sincere relationship and concern for the players under your tutelage. 
          

I’ve mentioned before how one of Red Auerbach’s acid tests for evaluating a prospect’s character is to determine if he remained the same person after he achieved a certain level of success  
I believe Coach Hurley has passed that test with flying colors and works hard to stay grounded and true, which enables his players to so willingly buy into what he tells them.
  

Even though Duke certainly did their part in opening up the door, you can’t take advantage of that slim opportunity to win that game unless you and your coach have paid the price of intense physical and mental preparation 
            

That’s why on Saturday, I’ll be rooting for one-time Rhode Islander Coach Hurley and his UConn team