Current:Home > InvestConnecticut coach Dan Hurley on competing with NBA teams: 'That's crazy talk'-LoTradeCoin
Connecticut coach Dan Hurley on competing with NBA teams: 'That's crazy talk'
View Date:2025-01-14 04:45:34
No. 1 Connecticut has steamrolled through the regular season and the first two games of the NCAA men’s tournament, making the Huskies the unquestioned team to beat as the program looks to become the eighth Division I program to claim back-to-back national championships.
With eight wins in a row by double digits in tournament play, the Huskies are still waiting for a real test in the march toward college basketball history.
But the idea that UConn can compete in the NBA is ridiculous, coach Dan Hurley said.
"I know somebody on ESPN said we could beat an NBA team or something bizarre," he said. "That's crazy talk."
This was the theory offered on Monday by ESPN host Mike Greenberg, who said UConn "would make the playoffs in the NBA’s Eastern Conference."
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
The Huskies are "an NBA team," he said.
“They execute like one," ESPN analyst Jay Williams said in response, "but their talent level I would not say would be able to make the play-in.”
"We do have several players on this team that are going to play in the NBA, are going to be drafted in the NBA, are going to be drafted in the lottery in the NBA," Hurley said. "You can't deny when you watch this team play that it's a fun team to watch because the ball moves, and we share it, and we play for each other. You can see the culture. You can see the energy. You can see the commitment to defense. You can see the personalities up and down the organization.
"It's been a great team. It's just been a fun team. I think we've got ... we finally have kind of figured out the formula."
Greenberg reversed his remarks on Tuesday during his syndicated radio program, saying that he was just joking.
"I’m more than willing to admit that I’ve said more than a million stupid things,” he said. “It just bothered me yesterday because I knew I was kidding. Look, I grant, if it wasn’t obvious enough that I was kidding, that’s on me, that’s not on anybody else. For what it was worth, if I need to say this out loud, I do not believe that UConn would make the playoffs in the NBA.”
In fact, he said, "They would probably go 0-82, yeah."
The Huskies have won two tournament games, against No. 16 Stetson and No. 9 Northwestern, by a combined 56 points. The 33-point halftime lead against Stetson was the largest in the program's tournament history and the second-largest in the past 20 tournaments. UConn plays on Thursday against No. 5 San Diego State in a rematch of last year's national championship game.
veryGood! (91947)
Related
- Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early
- Shooting at Ohio Walmart leaves 4 wounded and gunman dead, police say
- Federal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic
- 'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler
- Jana Duggar Reveals She's Adjusting to City Life Amid Move Away From Farm
- 22 additional patients accuse Massachusetts pediatrician of sexual abuse. Prosecutors say cases 'could keep growing'
- Trump said the border wall was unclimbable. But hospitals are full of those who've tried.
- Latest peace talks between Ethiopia’s government and Oromo militants break up without an agreement
- Reds honor Pete Rose with a 14-hour visitation at Great American Ball Park
- Tom Schwartz Reveals Katie Maloney’s Reaction to Winter House Romance With Katie Flood
Ranking
- Pennsylvania House Republicans pick new floor leader after failing to regain majority
- J Balvin Reveals What Happened at Dinner With Britney Spears
- After the dollar-loving Milei wins the presidency, Argentines anxiously watch the exchange rate
- A$AP Rocky case headed to trial after he allegedly fired a gun at a former friend
- The USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?
- Dog sniffs out 354 pounds of meth hidden in pickup truck at U.S. border
- A Northern California man has been convicted of murder in the beheading of his girlfriend last year
- Who won 'Love Island Games' 2023? This couple took home the $100,000 prize
Recommendation
-
U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
-
Rain helps ease wildfires in North Carolina, but reprieve may be short
-
Hit-Boy speaks on being part of NFL's 50th anniversary of hip-hop celebration
-
Woman sentenced to 25 years after pleading guilty in case of boy found dead in suitcase in Indiana
-
Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym After 3 Days
-
'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage
-
How a massive all-granite, hand-carved Hindu temple ended up on Hawaii’s lush Kauai Island
-
Millions could benefit from a new way out of student loan default