UConn Basketball HC Dan Hurley talks Arizona postgame
UConn Basketball Head Coach Dan Hurley met with the media following the Huskies 71-67 loss to Arizona in the team’s fifth game of the 2025-26 season.
FULL DAN HURLEY TRANSCRIPT
Hey, listen, I mean two things could be true. Number one, I’ll credit, you know, that team.
I think, you know, they’ve got just so much physicality and so much front court strength. You know, just with what they bring to the table at center and with Pete, you know, that’s obviously big time. And then, you know, Jaden Bradley, just an experience, I think one of the top point guards in the country.
You know, so multiple things could be true. You know, brutal loss just because we fought so hard, you know, to get a lead down the stretch. And then, you know, obviously they have that bad miss, you know, up one bad miss at the rim.
Just got to secure that defensive rebound, come down, execute, maybe get a, you know, get a three-point lead, four-point lead. They pick it up off the ground, turn and score, take a one-point lead. So, you know, really tough, you know, tough loss because we could have stole it.
I mean, literally stole it. We were out-rebounded, obviously, by 20. And, you know, versus a high-level opponent, you’re not going to have many nights where you could steal one versus a top-five team when you get out-rebounded by 20.
So, yeah, I mean, probably the night is frustrating and is lack of sleep as it’ll be for all of us tonight where there was one we could have stole that would have been an incredible win for us. But you probably walk away from it saying we just got to get whole and healthy. And I think we have a good feel for the quality of the group that we have.
As far as Tarris goes, when did you know that, did he hurt himself at the end of the BYU game? And what’s the severity, you know, what’s it looking like right now?
DAN HURLEY: “Yeah, I mean, we didn’t really, it was pretty quiet on Sunday and then Sunday night into Monday we kind of didn’t really think much of it because he was, you know, kind of walking around, you know, in the postgame and he wasn’t in a boot or anything like that. So, you know, we, I think we kind of thought he’d be available and then, you know, just the medical, got a look at him and just going to, you know, he’s going to be game to game from this point, you know, with the, you know, with an ankle sprain. We’ve become, I still believe, I believe we are the basketball capital of the world, but we’re also becoming the ankle sprain capital of the world and the muscle pull capital of the world.
So, you know, we’ve got to, you know, we’ve got to get this team on the court, you know, we’ve got to get all of our weapons on the court. Obviously, we’ve got to get him and Braylon on the court. So, you know.
Out of that time out with 13 seconds left, Silas drives and dishes it off to Eric. It was almost the perfect, you know, three-point play there. Was that the plan? And two, what did you just think of the way that he was able to play and fight in that role today?
DAN HURLEY: “Yeah, I mean, we wanted a quicker two. We were hoping that, you know, we kind of, we were hoping that, you know, we could chip Alex and Silas could get downhill quicker for a two or maybe get AK on a pop. But no, the design was not to dump it off late to Eric and then those guys almost bail us out for the three-point play. But I certainly would have taken it from Tommy and those guys.
But yeah, we wanted to try to get a quicker two or like kind of a ghost AK to try to get a three. You know, but it actually, I mean, it worked out. It just, the ball at home, that ball should go in.
And what did you think of just the way that he was able to step into that role? I mean, that was, I mean, again, it sucks, you know, and Tyrus being out that like we should have been minus 10 on the glass today. I mean, we got, we got punked. We punked out.
It’s going to be a bad film session coming out of here where there were people, there’s a street fight going on in the paint and, you know, men can’t watch fights, you know, you can’t stand on the outside, you know, when your, when your buddies are in a fight, you know, you get in the fight, you don’t stand on the periphery of the fight. And I think we see a lot of, a lot of clips where guys were not in the fight with their teammates. And so, you know, again, Tyrus is one of the best rebounders in the country.
There’s a lot of things that, that, that would not have went on in the game, paint defense, defensive rebounding, offensive rebounding. But I’ll say this, I don’t think I could be prouder of big Eric. I mean, Eric’s going to be an awesome player.
And obviously the development moment for him tonight is going to do so much for his confidence. And then the different look that we’re going to be able to give people at center with him being able to pick and stay with the three point shooting. And tonight’s going to do a lot for, for his confidence.
And when Tyrus gets back, you know, we’re going to have that two tandem center. That’s going to potentially be as good as we had it in the championship years.”
Alex only getting five shots today. Is that more credit to Arizona’s defense or just not in the rhythm?
DAN HURLEY: “I mean, let’s say we had a final four crew national championship crew out there tonight. I mean, that’s as good as you’re going to get it. I just think one of the things that we deal with which I think, and again, it’s not a, this is something that’s a kind of a game to game thing for us is, you know, for us off ball movement, you know, off ball movement and screening and different types of actions with movement.
You know, it’s like dribble drives for opponents, you know, like them decking it, driving it. And you know, we just, you know, I thought Alex was getting held a lot, you know, there’s you could top block, but top blocking screens and grabbing and holding, you know, like I think just, you know, that that’s a little that that had a little bit to do with it. I thought he had some threes down the stretch, you know, that that I think, you know, I think he shot faked a couple times.
We had the space, especially after he made that huge three. But I think they did a great job guarding them. You know, I think they had a good game plan.
I think they think we might have missed them a couple times. But yeah, I think they guarded them well. And I think we’ve got to figure out when we’re getting held, you know, how to be able to play our offense.”
Dan with Tarris out and also experiencing early foul trouble with Alex and Silas. Did you feel, you know, good about the way Jalen also stepped up off the bench to provide a boost for the team?
DAN HURLEY: “Seemed like it was a really crucial moment for you guys at that point in the game. Yeah, I mean, Jalen’s biggest thing is cardio.
I mean, he he he was awesome to start the game, you know, but he gets he gets tired, you know, and I think he’s just his the next step for him is be able to sustain that like that should have been a 15 point game for him, you know, and should have been a game that he played in the 30s minutes. But, you know, I think he’s got like his cardio has got to get better and he’s got to be able to sustain it because he’s he’s such a talented, he’s such a talented player and he saved us in the first half because, you know, we had all types of foul trouble. I mean, I was shocked.
We were down two at halftime just with all the people on the bench with two fouls.”
Dan, two questions, if I may. You were seen having a conversation with Koa at the end of the game there.What is it you were saying to him and what do you see out of him? What did you see in the scout for him?
DAN HURLEY: “Just amazing respect for the family, the pedigree, you know, my, you know, my brother Bob recruited him and he just, you know, and he knows the family and he just talks about just the classiness of the family, the pedigree of the family, the, you know, all the crazy level athletes amongst the siblings. And, you know, just just the way he carries himself on the court. That guy has got like, you know, he plays like a like a 10 year NBA vet.
He’s got it. He knows his identity. You know, he’s all over the glass. It’s just a classy, classy player. And he’s going to be a great NBA player.”
Second, free throws have seemed like a slow and steady decline over the past couple of games. You were 85 percent against New Haven, 77 percent against UMass Lowell, Columbia and BYU were about the same at 66 percent. And then tonight, 50 percent. Is there something that you think you can fix with this? Or is it just a matter of the bounces not falling?
DAN HURLEY: “Yeah, I think, you know, uncharacteristic of Alex in the first half, but he was just he missed the front end that he missed. He missed the second. So, you know, he he, you know, he scored one of a possible four in the first half. And then I just think, you know, Eric and Dwayne are not the free throw shooters that we need them to be right now.
I think, you know, those two guys were, you know, they were three for ten. And obviously that, you know, that hurt there. But, you know, I think if we if some of our better free throw shooters got to the line more, you know, we would have shot a higher percentage.
I think Eric eventually is going to be a real, real good free throw shooter. I think part of it was nerves and, you know, just being a freshman in a big spot. But yeah, I think we’ll be a really good free throw shooting team. Confident in that.”
Dan, how do you kind of square like five game sample size where the defensive efficiency numbers are pretty good, but the fouls per game committed are maybe a little bit higher than you want? How do you sort of feel about the defense when those two things contrast a little bit?
DAN HURLEY: “Yeah, I think it’s so much different. You know, this year compared to last, I just think it’s, you know, it’s discipline, it’s experience.
You know, just I think we’re going to get better as a team defensively as the year goes. I thought we just did a horrible job of following the, you know, the game plan tonight of being in gaps and keeping the ball in front of us. You know, it’s no secret that they’re 350 or in the 340s and three point shooting or efficiency or getting their points from that line.
So it’s really hard to come to grips with the fact that we allowed 42 pain points to a team that doesn’t really score it from three. That’s the biggest frustration that we were hugging and weren’t able to, as the game got going, have the discipline to stay in the gaps. But we’ve got to clean up the fouling and some of it, you know, it’s just I got to do a better job coaching these guys and being more technical.
When the ball gets driven, our wall up sucked. We’re not in a stance and our ball screen defense tonight at times was just fucking bad.”
Coach, it seems like every time you guys started to get a little momentum, Bradley had an answer for you guys. What did you think of his performance tonight?
DAN HURLEY: “I mean, top, you know, top point guard, top couple point guards, I mean, going to play in the NBA, just made himself an NBA player. You know, it’s got good size, made a really hard middie against Eric, against the seven footer, got, I thought, a good contest on him. But just, yeah, I mean, two way player.
You know, one of the best point guards in the country and he’s going to play in the NBA. I mean, listen, they’ve got, you know, Crevice is an NBA player. Cole Pete’s an NBA player. Jayden Bradley’s an NBA player. Barry’s is an NBA player. I actually think Del Orso is going to make an NBA team just because he’s got size and he shoots it with the way the new NBA plays.
I know he wasn’t good tonight, but that guy is maybe the best bench player in the country. So, I mean, they’ve got, I think, a lot of talent around him. I think these guys are, you know, legit contenders like we are.
I mean, like I said when I’m up sometime around 2am, 3am, 4.30 a.m., you know, I’m going to wake up and I’m going to think it was just a nightmare. And then finally when I’m up and just kind of starting to move around, but I’m feeling half dead at around 7.30, 8:00, I’m going to realize, yeah, that we just fucking blew a chance to beat one of the best teams down two studs in a game that we were down 13 and wobbling. You know, in a game where AK didn’t have it, Solo didn’t have it, you know, your backup freshman center emerges as a guy that now when Tarris gets back, you’re going to have some special things there.
It’s like, you know, we got four more of these monsters in the non-conference. We got a game on Sunday that we need to take to court with a very high level of rage and pissed off with how we show up for that. But, you know, our people got to get our guys healthy and on the court so that we could be the team that we’re all really high on.
It just tonight sucked to lose like that.”
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