For many, March is a month of basketball madness where anything can happen. I mean Virginia did lose to a school no one heard of until a month ago in UMBC. However, this time around I’m not talking about the insanity on the court. Not every team has the luxury of playing in March and even if they do it might not be for long. When a team’s season ends, they need to take time and seriously evaluate their situations, as well as, decide what needs to change so they can become a tourney team. In most cases, this involves a coaching change. Recent history shows us that smaller schools who experience success tend to lose their coaches to more renowned universities. The result: We’ve got college basketball coaches changing schools more often than Lane Kiffin at USC. I mean Alabama. Or was it FAU? You get the point.
With all that being said, former URI head coach, Dan Hurley, added himself into the March news mix with his announcement that he’d be on the Huskies bench next season. Following an abysmal season, Kevin Ollie (pictured below) was fired from his role as head coach at UConn.
What does this mean for the Huskies?
It’s safe to say that with a tournament birth last season and a Natty in 2014, the Huskies underachieved this time around. They closed out the year with a 14-18 record and just 2 wins coming from away contests. Now for a lot of teams this would be considered a down year but nothing too extreme. However if you’re UConn, you aren’t pleased in the least. This university has shown time and time again that they are one of the elites of college basketball. A efficient and consistent women’s team has stolen the show at UConn in recent years.
However, there seems to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel of terror. Just when Husky fans think all hope is lost, a Dan with a plan swoops in to save the day! Dan Hurley has shown his coaching ability with not only this year’s Rams squad, but the last several. In his last four seasons at URI, the Rams held a respectable 91-43 record. Hurley has also shown an ability to recruit and build talent over time. In his first season at URI, the Rams finished tied for 14th in the A-10. Now this past season, the Rams sat atop their conference and made a splash in post-season play. UConn fans should be thrilled to have Dan Hurley on board. He is a wealth of energy and motivation for his players. His able to inspire his guys to rally around him and represent their university with pride isn’t something any coach can do. I, personally, really like where the Huskies are taking their program with this hire. Hopefully, this is a sign for the return to greatness. Only time will tell…