Dan Hurley says he apologized to Ex-UConn star multiple times for being an "a**hole" with his coaching tactics

Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies had some special guests on Tuesday night, welcoming back former players Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, who watched their game against the Villanova Wildcats at XL Center.

A reporter asked Hurley in the postgame press conference what it meant to have Newton and Spencer in the building as the Huskies grabbed a key victory against Villanova. The UConn coach got candid with his response.

"I apologized to Tristen multiple times for just how much of an a**hole I was to him," Hurley said (Timestamp 15:54). "He was around to practice yesterday. DC's been around the last couple of days. Cam's been around multiple times."

Dan Hurley credited Newton and Spencer for boosting the morale of UConn's coaching staff after the Huskies' disappointing overtime loss to the Seton Hall Pirates on Saturday.

"I think it's really lifted the coaching staff up. You know we’re down coming out of Saturday. Obviously, coaches take losses way tougher than players take them so just to hang out with those guys the last couple of days, it lifted the spirits up of the staff and a lot of the team too."

Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer made history together with Dan Hurley in the 2023-24 NCAA season, leading the UConn Huskies to the national championship. Newton was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament after posting 20 points, seven boards and five assists in the title game against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Liam McNeeley steps up for Dan Hurley in UConn's win over Villanova

The UConn Huskies bounced back from their loss to the Seton Hall Pirates, recording a 66-59 victory over the Villanova Wildcats. Three players scored in double figures for the Huskies, who improved their overall record to 18-8.

UConn Huskies forward Liam McNeeley (30) shoots the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in the first half of their NCAA game at XL Center. Photo: Imagn

Liam McNeeley starred for UConn in the victory, scoring a game-high 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He made a living at the charity stripe, knocking down all nine of his free-throw attempts. The freshman forward also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out two assists in 39 minutes of action.

Fellow starter Solo Ball also contributed, scoring 13 points. He shot 5-for-13 from the floor, including 3-for-9 from beyond the arc. Tarris Reed Jr. provided some much-needed offense off the bench, scoring 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He also had nine rebounds and three assists.