Dom Amore: After Royal treatment at Yankee Stadium, Dan Hurley looking for UConn men leaders to step up
NEW YORK — In between the ceremonial pitches, the nights at the races, the opening bells and keys to the cities, Dan Hurley and his Huskies have been grinding.
It’s up to 21 “pretty intense” workouts, as Hurley describes them, since the UConn men secured the national championship and in April, and then there is the never-ending recruiting trail. Hurley secured another Class of ’24 recruit in four-star guard Ahmad Nowell even as he was on the field in the Bronx, chatting with Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Sunday.
With the honors tour winding down at Yankee Stadium, where Hurley got a phone call and an autographed jersey from his sports hero, Hall of Famer George Brett, and threw out the first pitch with an enthusiastic reception from the Yankees’ crowd, it’s time to drill down on what the season after will look like.
“The one concern you see is the need for that verbal, vocal, galvanizing leader in terms of communication skills and ability,” Hurley said. “The talent, you love.”
Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo were the first captains Hurley ever named, and their leadership skills and big personalities complemented each other perfectly, formed a driving force for the national champions.
Now, he’s looking for sophomores Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban, and returning veteran Tristen Newton to step into that big, if intangible, void.
“Verbally, it’s got to be Donovan,” Hurley said. “Potentially, Tristen has got to take some strides that way; eventually Cam (Spencer), Alex, maybe even Hassan (Diarra), he’s got that spirit.”
At the victory parade in Hartford, Hurley said he wanted his team to be “in the mix for six,” meaning national title No. 6 for the program. The Huskies, who won their first 14, then lost six of eight, then surged to the title, winning every NCAA Tournament game by double digits, are not likely to repeat such a season, but will have to find a new voice, for a new season and challenge.
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“You look back, we were an incredible team in every month but January,” Hurley said. “I don’t know if we have to be as good as we were last year in terms of how well we played. We can afford to be just a little bit, not as good, and still be in the mix to win it, because we just blew people away. I don’t want to put the pressure on the team to be as dominant as we were. You know, let’s just find our leadership and build our identity.”
Sunday in New York was another good day for the identity Hurley established, for himself and for the program he brought back to national prominence. Before throwing out the first pitch, Hurley reconnected with Boone, who he had met in the spring at the Winged Foot banquet in May.
“Good dude, it was really neat meeting him,” Boone said “To see what he’s done with that program. Seems like he’s got that program humming now.”
Like Boone, whose grandfather Ray, father Bob and brother Bret were big-league players, his father also a manager, Hurley comes from a royal family in his sport. His father, Bob Hurley Sr., a Hall of Fame coach in Jersey City, came with him to New York, but did not come down to the field.
And like Boone, Hurley is in charge of an organization known for winning championships, with anything less perceived as failure. The Yankees have made the playoffs in each of Boone’s first five seasons, and are in contention, though struggling this season. They’ve been searching since 2009 for their 28th championship.
“These are the best jobs,” Hurley said. “The jobs that push you, that test you to see if you’re elite, if you’re championship level. You know the resources are in place, the commitment is made by the place, they’ve won there before so you know you can do it again.”
Hurley, who was with his team at Fenway Park for a first-pitch ceremony on Friday, was walking in Central Park Sunday morning when he got a call he didn’t recognize. He didn’t pick up, then realized it was a Kansas City number and he picked up the second time. Brett was calling from Cooperstown, where he is attending the Hall of Fame induction.
“He gave me some pregame inspiration,” Hurley said. “I told him, ‘You’re my sports hero, man.’ That was like the coolest thing ever, talking to your sports hero.”
When Hurley was 10, he watched Brett go ballistic on the umpires during the famous “Pine Tar Game,” which was 40 years ago Monday, and became a Brett and Royal fan ever after.
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Before throwing out the first pitch, Hurley appeared on Kansas City’s TV pregame show, and after his interview was presented with an old school, powder blue Royals road jersey from the 1980s. Brett had inscribed on his No 5, “To Dan – Go Huskies. Go Royals. – George Brett.”
As soon as the camera was turned off, an excited Hurley, characteristically, let out a curse word to express his elation in receiving such a gift. Then he put on a No. 15 Yankees jersey, that was Hurley’s number as a college player at Seton Hall, and also the number the Yankees long ago retired for Thurman Munson. He walked halfway up the mound and remembered Brett’s advice to “put something on it and don’t skip it.”
Hurley was 1-for-2, he lobbed the ball, but reached the catcher. His velocity was off, his location, once again, was spot on.
