Are The UConn Huskies Anti-Social (Media)? 'There's Just A Focus On Basketball'
One day soon, an elite college basketball program will prove that winning national titles and posting TikToks aren’t mutually exclusive pursuits, but that program won’t be Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies.
Social media usage doesn’t necessarily detract from on-the-court performance (see: Philadelphia 76ers Rookie of the Year candidate and TikTok star Jared McCain), but there’s still something refreshing about Hurley and his program’s old-school approach to posting online.
Hurley and his players don’t post often, which many modern “experts” on branding would say is bad for business.
It hasn’t hurt Hurley’s business. He’s got back-to-back titles and a top 2025 recruiting class to answer for that.
What’s interesting is that it might not be pure happenstance that UConn’s players aren’t big online (even if they are projected lottery picks). Hurley seems to bring in athletes who are so hyper-focused on basketball that they don’t have time to debate trolls on X. Either that, or once Hurley’s players arrive on campus, they begin to take after their old-fashioned head coach.
It’s probably a bit of both, and UConn’s apathy about social media goes hand-in-hand with the basketball-obsessed culture that surrounds Storrs, as noted recently by FOX Sports’ John Fanta while Fanta spoke about Hurley’s program on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters.
“The climate of today of social media and of all of that … Hurley goes against that," Fanta said.
"Alex Karaban, his best player, is barely existent on social media. Liam McNeeley … is this very melancholy, calm guy that comes up to you, shakes your hand, and doesn't really care about how many stars are going to be next to his name or where he's going to get drafted (even though he's going to get drafted pretty high next June). There's just a focus on basketball.”
“If you haven't spent time in Storrs, Connecticut … basketball is what they use to get them through the winters here. It is the sole focus, and winning championships is the standard when you walk into these buildings.”
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-6cddf44b9a81eadb9d1a4c19c1b3db49.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org