<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Just before practice begins at the University of Connecticut, coach Dan Hurley likes to take multiple half-court shots to try to make at least one of them. Once he hits one, he immediately lines up for another, exalting himself by saying, “Who’s the king of tic-tac-toe?” to which the attendees respond “You are” before he inevitably fails.
If Hurley making two half-court shots in a row is improbable, then winning two national championships in a row must be unfathomable: the basketball equivalent of Absolute Zero. No one has done this since Florida in 2007 and in this era of NIL, keeping kids around to accomplish such a feat never happens.
But as improbable, unfathomable and absolutely zero as it may be, Dan Hurley, the king of noughts and crosses, now laughs at all those probabilities. Because that’s what he is now, the first man since his mentor Billy Donovan to win back-to-back national titles.
He did it with ruthless scheming, efficiency, tough practices and the acceptance of a group of players he kept together out of fear of being poached by other coaches and by acquiring a transfer portal that embodies his energy perfectly. Eastern Conference, losing just two games en route to a regular season title and a conference tournament title.
And now he has the Great One again. Hurley’s Huskies did it in Phoenix, beating Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers in an all-ages national title game that ended with UConn winning its sixth crown in 25 years to tie North Carolina for third place with largest amount of all time.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. MORE TO FOLLOW.