HARTFORD, Conn. _ As we continue to learn about UConn's new men's basketball coach, one facet of Dan Hurley's personality is emerging.
There is no sugar-coating. Don't expect to hear every practice "went great."
"Like yesterday, we didn't have a good practice," Hurley said Thursday, as he dropped by the Connecticut Convention Center to speak at a YMCA fundraising event, "because we weren't emotionally ready to put the work in at a high level. So we kind of threw that day away. These guys were great today, but we're not good enough to give any days away. We're not good enough to give away a segment of practice."
Hurley is implementing his defensive system, which features man-to-man, ball pressure and a lot of science.
"There are very strict rules on where you want the ball to go," he said, "where you want to funnel the ball and certain passes you don't want to allow so you can keep pressure on the opponent. There is a lot more science to it, understanding where you need to be in relation to the ball and your man, knowing how to guard every time of screening action."
"On the flip side, once you learn it, it's an exciting way to play, it's an attacking style, it's an aggressive style that creates turnovers, creates blocked shots and (gets players) out in the open court where they can use their athletic ability. It's a demanding style but once you learn it, there's no other way you're going to want to play."
So Hurley was a bit exasperated on Wednesday. At Rhode Island, where he finished 8-21 his first season, it took several years to get the players conditioned to his way of practicing, and playing. But the Rams reached the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and '18.
"(We need) the ability, every single day, to practice at an urgent level," he said, "to practice at a level that a program with championship aspirations needs to practice at. When you've been at a place that practices and works all year round at a championship level, you kind of take that for granted. So for us, they're giving it to me pretty frequently, but we're not good enough to give (a day) away."
Hurley joked, "things really turned negative, huh?" He was in Hartford to help a cause very close to his heart, a reminder of his days playing basketball at YMCA gyms near his home in Bayonne, N.J. A friend from Jersey, and Jim Calhoun, encouraged him to come to the event.
"I spent a good part of my life playing at YMCAs all over the tri-state area," he said, "it's had a big impact on my life."
Kassoum Yakwe, grad transfer from St. John's, was back on the court practicing for UConn Thursday. He had been out several weeks with a foot injury.
