What Dan Hurley has said about UConn Huskies men's basketball

Hurley admits he made a coaching mistake by having his team play too respectfully and defensively against Duke early in the game.

“it was a coaching mistake by me to start the game. I think I just – I think we built up their personnel too much to the point where we gave them too much respect”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:44:59

Hurley says his competitive intensity comes from how he was raised and points to his mother's reaction as evidence.

“they should stop blaming me and they should blame my mother and my family and my parents and where I grew up and how I grew up and how I was parented”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:31:08

Hurley describes a pregame shrine of essential oils and mementos from winning games that he transports in a Michael Jordan case.

“I have all of my essential oils that I like to spray”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:38:32

Hurley says his wife knows very little about basketball and uses negative rather than encouraging motivation with him.

“she was like very negative and telling me, you know, Hey, you're not a very, you're not as good a coach as you think you are”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:34:34

Hurley argues society has gone soft on young people, citing the removal of dodgeball and standardized testing.

“we've gone so soft on young people that like, you don't even have to go through like the pressure and stress of like having to prepare for that test”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:53:50

Hurley says college is the last place players learn life skills because professional teams will not teach them.

“college is really the last place that these guys are going to learn anything”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:56:00

Hurley says Silas Demery will be the healthiest he has been in a long time heading into the Final Four in Indianapolis.

“a big thing for us going to Indianapolis is Silas Demery is going to be, like the healthiest he's been in a long time for us”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:41:32

Hurley says Alex Karaban weighed a projected late-first-round draft slot against NIL money and returned to chase history.

“he was slated to go somewhere from 25 to 35 in the draft”

Pardon My Take: UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley, April Fools Has Everyone On Alert, NFL League Meetings, Hot Seat/Cool Throne And Guys On Chicks (Apr 1, 2026) · Listen from 1:59:17