Dan Hurley's UConn Compared To John Wooden's UCLA By Prominent Analyst
The UConn Huskies men’s basketball program over the last 25 years is untouchable.
No other program in the nation can claim six national titles during that span. Legendary head coach Jim Calhoun built UConn into a powerhouse, and current head coach Dan Hurley has re-constructed UConn as the most dominant force in modern college basketball.
While UConn’s dominance of late has been downplayed by the press, there are exceptions. One of the most respected analysts in the basketball universe, ESPN’s Jay Bilas, recently praised UConn during a guest appearance on the “How Bout Them Huskies” podcast.
According to Bilas, no program outside of John Wooden’s UCLA compares to what UConn has accomplished in the last quarter-century. Bilas also pointed out the current Hurley era, in particular, as being a historical outlier.
“It’s kind of honestly hard to wrap your head around how dominant they’ve been,” Bilas said. “You have to go back a long way to find a comparable (team) … to go 12 straight games in the postseason over two years without a single-digit challenge … nobody does that.”
“This is historic what’s going on. … I heard an interview where Danny Hurley kind of sounded like he was saying, “We’re getting a little disrespected here. There should be more talk about this.” And I think he’s actually right.”
“The 25-year run they’ve had now with six national championships in 25 years … it’s them and UCLA, and that’s it. There’s nobody else that’s done that. It’s been remarkable.”
Bilas also gave credit to Hurley’s coaching staff: Kimani Young, Tom Moore, and Luke Murray.
“His staff is unbelievable. … They’ve recruited personalities that can take the relentless pursuit of excellence and not be deterred by it.”
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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