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UConn secured its fifth NCAA championship, all since 1999, by taking down San Diego State 76-59 to conclude this year's tournament on Monday night.
The Huskies (31-8) were led by coach Dan Hurley, who has been at the program since the 2018-19 season. During his tenure, UConn has gone 104-55 and made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons.
This year's run was among the most dominant as the Huskies won each of their six NCAA Tournament games by an average margin of victory of 20 points en route to cutting down the nets.
While Dan Hurley is well on his way to a legendary coaching career, he also had an impressive playing career during his younger days.
Dan Hurley's playing career
Basketball is in the blood of Dan Hurley as his father, Bob Hurley, is a legendary coach at the high school level. The Hall of Famer coached St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey for 39 years, collecting 26 state championships and becoming just the 10th coach in high school history to win over 1,000 games.
Dan Hurley played for his father at St. Anthony's and helped lead the program to a 31-1 record and became the No. 2 team in the nation during his senior year. Hurley then committed to play at Seton Hall under coach P.J. Carlesimo.
The 6-foot-2 guard spent five seasons at Seton Hall, producing 1,070 points and 437 assists. He played just two games during the 1993-94 season before taking a leave of absence due to personal issues. Hurley struggled to fill the massive expectations left by his brother, Bobby, who is currently the coach at Arizona State, as he was a star player for Duke.
Bobby Hurley, the No. 7 pick in the 1993 NBA draft, helped Duke to the first two of five titles under Mike Krzyzewski. His No. 11 is retired by the school.
Dan Hurley overcame the pressure and returned to play at Seton Hall for the final two years. During his final season, he averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He helped lead Seton Hall to three NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT berth.
While Bobby Hurley spent some time playing in the NBA following his college career, Dan Hurley elected to go right into coaching. He started off coaching alongside his father at the high school level before getting an assistant coaching opportunity at Rutgers.
He climbed his way up the coaching ranks, getting his first head coaching opportunity at Division III Wagner College. Dan Hurley may not have had as much success as a player as his brother, but securing the first NCAA championship in the family is a massive accomplishment. His legacy is far from done being written, and he may very well end up as an all-time great coach.
