COMPLETE NCAA COVERAGE
URI's Dan Hurley leans on big brother Bobby
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Dan Hurley became a head coach, he never thought he would be in position to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. He didn’t think about it at all.
The New Jersey native planned to be a pillar of the Newark community, like his dad, Bob, is in Jersey City. Hurley spent nine years at St. Benedict’s Prep, and expected to spend many more, leading one of the best high school teams in the country, like the St. Anthony powerhouse team led by his Hall of Fame father.
But when a call came from Wagner in 2010, Hurley spoke with his older brother, Bobby, about whether he should become a college coach.
And when Hurley, who became Rhode Island’s coach in 2012, won his first NCAA Tournament game, he spoke with his more famous sibling again, remembering how easily this life might never have existed.
“My vision for my life was to follow the path of my father, and Bob pushed me a little bit,” Dan said Saturday as his No. 11 seed Rams (25-9) prepared to face thirdseeded Oregon in a Midwest Region second-round game Sunday. “It took a little convincing to take that [Wagner] job, and [we said] let’s do this together, and we reflected on that [Friday] night and how it’s changed our lives and changed the lives of our family. It was a nice moment.”
The brothers were reunited in Staten Island, where Dan made Bobby an assistant, bringing the former Duke star back to the sport for the first time since his NBA career ended more than a decade earlier.
In their first season together, they led a five-win program to the biggest turnaround in the country. In their second season, Wagner won 25 games.
When Dan was hired by Rhode Island — a team which won seven games prior to his arrival, and had last made the NCAA Tour- nament in 1999 — he again brought along Bobby, who left after one season to become the head coach at Buffalo, which he led the NCAA Tournament two years ago.
“That’s the one thing we talked about when we first started at Wagner, about how great it would be to lead a program to the NCAA Tournament and have a chance to create memories for the guys that you’re coaching,” Bobby told The Post. “I’m thrilled that Dan had that moment.
“We had a special three years working together, the best three years for me coaching, learning a lot from him, spending time with one of your best friends, and now seeing how hard he’s worked to get Rhode Island to where it is, it was exciting to see him walking out there. He’s on the biggest stage right now and his team is representing him very well. I know how good a coach he is and now the rest of the country is getting to see that.”
Now working on the opposite end of the country, Bobby’s presence during the Rams’ first-round win over Creighton was welcomed by his little brother. Though they speak every day, Dan hadn’t seen Bobby, now Arizona State’s coach, since July.
They celebrated and reflected, then got back to business, with Bobby helping Dan prepare for Sunday’s game against Oregon (30-5), which played the Sun Devils for the second time this season less than two weeks ago.
“There are tendencies there, things that we talked about going into Oregon, things that we have to do well,” Bobby said, as if he still were on staff with his brother. “I think the thing that Dan has going for him going into this game is how tough his team is. They’ve taken on his personality, the fire that he coaches with and the toughness. His kids don’t back down.
“There was some turmoil [at Rhode Island], and just rebuilding it, trying to get it to the point where they could compete with the VCU’s. It just didn’t seem like that was possible that first year. … It’s clear to me that they were playing at a different level in the [Atlantic 10] tournament and they carried it right over. They can compete with anyone.”