New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Hurley miffed by mask protocols
Bump into Dan Hurley at a local restaurant or grocery store and you can bet he’ll be wearing a mask. He might even be wearing gloves, as well (he’s a bit of a germophobe).
On the sidelines this season, however, the UConn coach has often been seen with his face mask pulled down like a chin strap as he shouts instructions to players or complaints to referees. He’s hardly the only coach to do so.
Perhaps the result of a bit of being bottled up for so much of this season, with only four games played over the first six weeks, Hurley was feeling a bit salty when asked about his mask protocol this season.
“I want to have as good a mask discipline as the next guy,” Hurley said on a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday, “and I wouldn’t dare pull my mask down if I’m getting takeout at some of the local eateries, or if I go into a food store, I’m not wearing my mask as a chin strap. If you’re saying it’s safe for all of us to go on the court, and if some refs are wearing them but (others) are not ... If we’re going on the court because we’ve been tested and none of us have it, and there’s no fans, then why do I have to wear a mask? The players aren’t wearing a mask. Some refs aren’t wearing a mask.”
Hurley added that he’s getting “multiple tests a day,” and that he and his team are essentially living in a bubble.
“If it’s about the message that we’re sending that we all need to wear masks, then I will try to do better,” he said, before somewhat sarcastically adding, “Excuse me about the mask coming down. I’m sorry, I’ll try to do better.”
In fact, Hurley may have a “mask change” for Wednesday’s bout with DePaul (9 p.m., CBS Sports Network) at Gampel Pavil
ion. He won’t reveal the secret and said he’ll try to wear it during afternoon shootaround first to see if it’s viable for the game.
“It will give me a better chance not to have to tug at it,” he offered. “It would be a tone-setter, and I think it’s practical.”
More importantly,
UConn (3-1, 0-1 Big East) will look for its first Big East win in nearly eight years, following a 10-day break in game action and in only its second game in nearly a month. The Huskies dropped their Big East opener to Creighton in overtime on Dec. 20.
“We’re excited, hopefully, to go into a stretch of games where we can get some consistent practices and some consistent games on our schedule, and actually feel like we’re actually into a season,” Hurley said.
After Wednesday, UConn isn’t scheduled to play again until Jan. 5 at Marquette. That kicks off a three-game trip through the Midwest in the span of six days, and is the first of nine games the Huskies are scheduled to play in January.
Of course, don’t tell DePaul coach Dave Leitao about a crazy schedule and a lack of game action. The Blue Demons had 10 games canceled or postponed over the first month of the season before finally playing their first game on Dec. 23. DePaul (1-1, 0-1 Big East) played its first conference game Sunday, losing a double-overtime heartbreaker at Providence.
“I told my team in the locker room, ‘ There are 19 more of those coming, starting with Wednesday,’ ” Leitao said.
Indeed, any Big East coach will take any conference win in any way possible.
“Just to win one of these is tough,” Hurley said.
No masking that reality.
RIM RATTLINGS
▶ Hurley said that Akok Akok, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles injury in February, is “close.” That doesn’t mean Wednesday night, but could it mean one of those three games in the Midwest (Marquette, Butler, DePaul) from Jan. 5-11?
“I think he’s got a shot there,” the coach said. “I kind of want 2020 over with. Just want to get him away from 2020, it’s been brutal.”
Hurley added Akok has had a couple of practices out of the Huskies’ five since Christmas when the coach thought “This guy may be ready.”
“I think that’s realistic for him in January to get in the mix,” Hurley added.
Freshman forward Andre Jackson, who suffered a broken left wrist during practice on Dec. 21, will be out for a minimum of six weeks, per Hurley.
▶ Hurley revealed that he didn’t wear a Santa hat during the Huskies’ Christmas Day practice. He considered wearing a Snoop Dogg Christmas T-shirt, but his wife, Andrea, nixed that idea.