“Don’t turn your back on me. I’m the best coach in the fu-king sport,” Dan Hurley’s quotes covered the headlines as the Huskies beat the Butler 80-78 in overtime on 21st January. But what was the need for it? The 52-year-old came under scrutiny, which has been a theme this season. One of his most vocal critics was Mark Titus, who was once again unhappy with the 2024 Naismith Coach of the Year’s behavior. And now, after the win against Creighton, the Huskies coach had the spotlight on him and less on the player of the game.
“I want to start with Liam McNeeley because Dan Hurley has a way of overshadowing his players and um you know sometimes that’s a good thing sometimes put the focus on the coach if things aren’t going well..” On his show, Titus pointed out the UConn issues but was hopeful about their March Madness chances. “They have great individual talent like Solo Ball and Liam McNeeley are both just like pure-born scorers that can just get you buckets at any time.”
It was the five-star recruit, Liam McNeeley, who pulled up his season-high 38 points along with 10 boards. Yet, his coach Dan Hurley had the limelight because of the hostile environment of the crowd. The #24 Bluejays chanted “F— Dan Hurley,” but at the end of the game, the UConn coach had the last laugh. “Bye-bye! Two rings! Two rings!” That’s why Mark Titas was puzzled to see the coach as the headline and not the player.
Jan 21, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley watches from the sideline as they take on the Butler Bulldogs at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
“But the last like Liam McNeeley game quote unquote where he was you know showing what he can do was Gonzaga like in December…It’s been like two months since we’ve had a marquee Liam McNeeley performance.” Back in mid-December, he scored his then-career-high of 26 points.
“This was certainly it, and yet all anybody wants to talk about is Dan Hurley. And I know I’m not saying that I’m not confused as to why we only want to talk about Dan Hurley. But that kind of sucks for Liam McNeeley. Because he was so professional is how I would put it.” So, Titas is not on the coach’s side, but the freshman forward is certainly backing his coach.
Does Dan Hurley have support from McNeeley?
He has, it seems. It circles back to the player. Out since the start of the year, McNeeley missed 8 games for the team. In that period they suffered 3 losses, and ever since he is back, his coring touch seems to be back again. That’s what talents do. Make you feel their absence. Even though the team lost to St. John’s, McNeeley scored a team-high 18 points. Continuing with the form, in the recent win against Creighton, the motivation to perform was already there.
“A shot at Coach is a shot at the team. So it gets me fired up,” the 19-year-old said after the game. “I thought the gym was really quiet. They were loud when it was going well, but the crowd died down pretty fast.” It seems McNeeley is all okay with Dan Hurley being in the highlight. But wants to back the coach against the crowd and their banter. A good sign, right?
However, Titas feels, the UConn coach takes it a step too far. Especially this season, which could be a possible three-peat. But we’ve all become used to that kind of sideline behavior, and this time, he retaliated against the crowd.
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