Hurley swerved, I tweeted, many have responded
The tweet drew criticism. When one unnamed account calls you a “clickbait (part of the anatomy),” it is easy to dismiss. When the coach’s adult son tweets, “Dumbest tweet I’ve seen in a while, congrats Jeff,” it is a little harder.
I didn’t snap back. Beyond saying I appreciate his loyalty to his dad and that I hope he appreciates my perspective, I let it be.
UConn coach Dan Hurley was asked a question by Erik Dobratz of WTNH during a Tuesday Zoom call: “You hear Geno tested positive. Can you talk about this delicate process of all these hoops you have to go through? How stressful is this for you?”
Hurley answered, “It’s been like this the whole year. Basically you wait for it every day. That’s why I have so much respect for everyone in college basketball. All the coaches, all the players that have soldiered on ...”
Agree 100 percent. Something that has been said many times.
“I don’t think people on the outside, who haven’t experienced it, have any idea what it’s been like for the coaches and the players to complete a season. Never mind be at your best. No one will ever forget this year. I just give so much credit to all the programs.
Whether you made the NCAA tournament or had a disappointing year.
“People don’t have any clue how hard this has been for the players and coaches. Especially people that sit in their den or living room and pick coaches and players apart.”
In my tweet, I quoted the last paragraph and added, “Taps Dan on shoulder. 500K COVID dead. Millions lost jobs. Some lost their dens & living rooms.”
Many liked the tweet. Many came after me on Twitter, in DMs and texts. Including Dan Hurley who texted, “Very unprofessional and a very cheap shot by you Jeff … I am surprised.”
An hour earlier, I had been lambasted by a UConn official. This is what I texted back to Hurley: “At the end of a legit answer you swerved into caustic words for people who would criticize coaches and players at COVID time. I wanted to remind you and everyone there are much more important things at hand. That coupled with repeating that people have no idea what players are going through led me to the tweet. Coaches and players have talked about it for months.
“People do have an idea. And the thousands of kids who didn’t get a chance to play would trade places with those in a heartbeat. Wasn’t unprofessional. Wasn’t a cheap shot. I’m sorry if you feel it was. I think it was closer to perspective, but that is my opinion.”
Do you know how many questions reporters who cover the UConn basketball program have asked Hurley about COVID, the logistics, the sacrifices, the resiliency since preseason? Hundreds. Same across the country. There has been much in-depth stuff written. People do have an idea. Sports fans have a very good idea. The overwhelming majority, including me, have been sympathetic.
UConn elected not to play football. UConn elected to play basketball. No one forced the Huskies to play. They made a choice. You don’t think the Yale basketball team, which didn’t have a chance to play this season, wouldn’t jump on a plane for the NCAA Tournament? You don’t think the millions in high school and lower divisions of college, who were deprived in various sports, wouldn’t get out there in a heartbeat if their tournaments were played? They deserve even more sympathy.
Those were some of the things that were going through my mind when I tweeted. And if people want to respond, “Well, you ought to expect blowback from UConn fans.” — they are right. No problem.
I only want to give more texture to the tweet. And if you think that is weakkneed, you’re thinking wrong. I feel stronger about the tweet now than when I sent it.
Hartford’s John Gallagher is a different man in a different situation, but when you watch and listen to him in recent days, it is uplifting. He has reminded us why we love sports. Hurley’s Zoom calls have grown rather joyless and occasionally roll-his-eyes defensive. UConn got into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 and the calls can be like trips to the dentist, highlighted by a couple minutes post-game with players and a pat on the head if you’ve been a good boy or girl.
Hurley finished off Georgetown in the regularseason finale, the analysts were falling all over themselves to pick red-hot UConn for the Big East tournament final. James Bouknight was back. The team had congealed again, gotten to the place where it should have been, with the opportunity to surpass that over the final month. The fan base was stoked. Media stories out of Gampel were mucho positive.
And Hurley seemed to be looking for a fight that wasn’t there:
“We have to have good preparation and not drink the Kool-Aid, because now we’ve gone from this is a bubble team to all of a sudden a Final Four sleeper.
“We have a chip on our shoulder. People haven’t praised a lot of our season. We’ve had a lot of detractors. And I love that. We’re going to have a chip on our shoulder and a real edge to us the next couple of weeks. That’s our mentality. All of a sudden we’re a sexy pick to make a big run here in March, where no one thought we were any good not too long ago.”
If “a lot of detractors” were social media comments during a game when something went wrong, good grief, that’s every game, every team, every sport, every place. For the life of me, I can’t find any sustained media criticism.
Certainly not about Hurley’s path of rebuilding the program. He is getting the job done. That path has been met with hosannas. OK, the ball didn’t move at Providence. But no one thought the Huskies were any good? Am I living on another planet?
After the tournament loss to Creighton, Mike Mavredakis, UConn ’22 who is writing for The UConn Blog, asked: “We haven’t seen Akok Akok in a little while. Is everything good with him?” Hurley answered, “His health is getting better. He’ll be fully recovered.” As he got up, Hurley said sarcastically, “That was a great last question.”
Akok’s return has been an enigma. (My request to interview Akok last month was turned down.) If Hurley thought he would help, he’d play him. Yet he’s also “a game-time decision.” It’s up to reporters to get as clear an update as possible. Not assumptions. I was going to tweet: “Taps on Dan shoulder. Legit question from a young journalist.” I’m sorry, Mike, that I didn’t.
It was made clear to me last month that some criticism during the season — I don’t know precisely what — has bothered him. Thinskinned? Overly defensive? Maybe, but that’s the path Hurley was taking us with that final paragraph of his answer to Dobratz.
You get paid $3 million to coach, people are going to criticize. COVID or not. No, players don’t deserve to get crushed like pros, but they have played big-time basketball since an early age. They understand the big stage. The faulty premise that no one — especially those who criticize coaches and players this season — has any idea what they’ve been through makes anyone who criticizes appear heartless.
Hurley had a barb out. I had a tap on the shoulder and a reminder tweet.
It wasn’t an attack. It wasn’t a cheap shot. It wasn’t unprofessional. No one said he didn’t care about people affected by COVID. And good grief, those people who think what he said and what I tweeted were apples and oranges? They couldn’t identify a Delicious from a Navel. The question was about dealing with his job in a COVID world. Wake up, they are interrelated.
Not untypical for a coach during the season, he had his blinders on, perfect for 20-20 tunnel vision. And a self-proclaimed chip on his team’s shoulder. That chip got tangled a little with reality. The tweet was only a gentle reminder of what is out there.