Top-ranked UConn men’s basketball team pays rewarding visit to Connecticut Children’s Cancer Center
Hassan Diarra threw on a pair of teal, star-shaped glasses, grabbed a purple inflatable guitar and began rocking out to Quad City DJ’s song “Space Jam” with the kids at the Connecticut Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Hartford on Wednesday.
The senior UConn guard continued strumming his guitar, teaching dance moves, and by the time Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” started playing, it turned into a party. Three or four children got in on the fun as did freshman Youssouf Singare, Director of Player Development Mamadou Diarra and Associate Head Coach Kimani Young. Andrew Hurley joined in with a pink blow-up saxophone as his mother, Andrea, stood off to the side preparing glow-stick necklaces with pride beaming from her eyes.
“I can’t even describe it,” Andrea said. “It’s like my two favorite worlds colliding.”
Andrea began volunteering to help people affected by cancer shortly after her husband, head coach Dan Hurley, accepted the head coaching job at Rhode Island. She was invited to join the Connecticut Children’s Foundation board of directors in 2023 and started volunteering her Tuesdays – and sometimes Thursdays – to playing with kids dealing with cancer and blood disorders.
Her relationship with the hospital is what led to Wednesday’s visit. Every player, and just about every staff member, from the No. 1-ranked, reigning national champion UConn men’s basketball team filled the unit.
“It’s a great feeling to put some joy in these kids’ lives,” Diarra said, still rocking the glasses. “Coming here just humbles you always. To have this opportunity is a blessing and I’m grateful to come here and bring joy to these kids. We had a concert just now and it was amazing.”
The Huskies stayed about an hour longer than originally scheduled to chat with kids, sign autographs and color pictures.
“It’s emotional. I think you certainly leave here feeling like a different person in terms of just the impact it has,” Hurley said. “We can’t do enough for these kids and their families and the people that take care of them. You hope to make an impact today and then you just hope that more people get involved to provide more for the hospital and for these kids.”
Donovan Clingan met Liam Kelley, a 6-foot-1, 13-year-old from Brookfield who’s battling leukemia, in the room across the hall that attracted a number of players with its mini hoop. After getting a couple of shots up, Kelley walked out with Clingan’s signature on the back of his No. 32 jersey.
“It was awesome, I didn’t expect this to ever happen,” Kelley said. “I wish I could be as tall as him, that’d be nice. Maybe I’ll be in college basketball like them someday.”
The timing lined up perfectly for UConn, which is in the middle of a week between Big East games.
“For them to come here in the middle of the day on their day off – they don’t get many, and this is like the height of the season – it just means so much to me,” said Andrea Hurley. “It just shows what kind of kids we have. Love ’em. I love these kids.”
The Huskies beat Villanova on the road Saturday and ran a basketball clinic for over 100 kids at East Catholic High on Sunday afternoon with the Bleeding Blue for Good NIL group. Wednesday’s visit, not an NIL event, was a lead-up to Sunday’s annual Coaches vs. Cancer game at the XL Center against Xavier.
“We’re Connecticut’s team, UConn basketball,” Dan Hurley said. “It’s a responsibility I think that we all feel to try to brighten up the day for some incredible kids and incredible families and the staff here. And for us there’s a huge benefit for our players. Perspective and the inspiration, and just more people for us to fight for on the court when we take the floor.”
