Bobby Hurley’s heart is ‘full of happiness’ over Danny’s success at UConn

When danny hurley led UConn to back-to-back NCAA championships last April in Glendale, Arizona, not only He joined an elite coaching fraternity, he matched his older brother with two championship rings.

Cop won consecutive titles as a point guard at Duke in the early 1990sand Danny now has two as a coach at UConn… and he is obsessed with trying to achieve the treble.

“It just fills my heart with happiness,” Bobby, entering his 10th season as head coach at Arizona State, told NJ Advance Media by phone before his team’s exhibition at Duke on Sunday night. “I mean, that’s all he does.

“We grew up together and have been through a lot together, we trained together for a few years (in Wagner and Rhode Island) and we are each other’s biggest cheerleaders. We both help each other immensely, just as we go through our seasons. We’ve been doing it for the last 15 years, so to see him do this is something off the charts special. Just knowing what he invests and what he puts into it and seeing him work, so that everything turns out well for him, my heart fills with happiness.”

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During Big East media day on Wednesday, Danny used the words “pathological,” “sick” and “obsessive” to describe his willingness to prepare the Huskies for this season and compete for the first three-peat in college basketball since John. UCLA with wooden body

“That’s a lot of phrases, pathological, sick, obsessive,” said Bobby, the No. 7 pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, laughing when told what his little brother said.

“Anyway, he’s always behaved like this. Obviously, what he’s been able to do the last two years, it’s not surprising that that’s his thought process right now, that’s for sure.”

The Hurleys, of course, grew up learning the game from their father, a former St. Anthony’s coach and current Naismith Hall of Famer. Bob Hurley Sr.. They learned about defense, toughness and fundamentals at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, a community center used for bingo games, dance recitals and concerts, as well as basketball practices.

“If the work you put in growing up in our environment equaled winning, then I’m not surprised (with our success) because there was an immense amount of sacrifice and work that was put into both of us as players,” Bobby said. . “And Dan has adopted the same mentality towards his training, so that doesn’t guarantee you anything, that doesn’t guarantee anything to me, but if you put in the time and do the work, then things like this have a chance of working out.” event.

“I was never there thinking it would be me, it just turned out to be me.”

With the 2024-25 college season nearly over, both Hurley brothers are getting their teams into shape.

Danny and UConn already earned an exhibition win over Rhode Island at Mohegan Sun Arena, while Bobby will return to Duke this weekend to play. Cooper Flag and the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-9 Flagg chose Duke over UConn last spring and is now in the race along with rutgers stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper to be the number one overall pick next summer.

“A player like (Flagg), who is from Maine, who had the reputation he had, the chances of getting to Arizona State were like a snowball from hell,” Bobby said. “So I didn’t spend a lot of time watching his games because I had to be realistic.

“But I’ve seen enough videos to know that he is the truth about what everyone says about him and everything he has done. Like what he could do behind those closed doors (with the US Select Team) against Team USA, that validates it even more.

“The hype is real, so we’re excited to be a part of that on Sunday.”

Bobby said the return to Duke will be “nostalgic” because of “my history with the program.”

“I wanted to do it but I didn’t want to do it in a regular season format where there’s a winner and a loser,” he said. “In this situation, yes, there will be a winner and a loser, but it is an exhibition and I think it will be a way to come back.”

On Saturday night, Bobby and former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be honored at a private dinner for donors from the state of Arizona and the people of Duke. Coach K also acts as Danny’s mentor.

“I’m looking forward to meeting with (Coach K) and putting my team in a tough situation as we prepare for the season,” Bobby said.

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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and New Jersey college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and visit their website at ZAGSBLOG.com.