Dan Hurley sheds light on “toughest time of the year” ahead of UConn’s first game of season

UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley is on a quest to get a three-peat for his team and believes the program has the pieces to do it. Obviously, he's one of them.

But no matter how talented they are, the path to getting any kind of success at the collegiate level is a grueling marathon. That's especially true when new players come in. The Huskies lost four players to the 2024 NBA draft: Stephon Castle (No. 4, San Antonio Spurs), Donovan Clingan (No. 7, Portland Trail Blazers), Tristan Newton (No. 49, Indiana Pacers) and Cam Spencer (No. 53, Memphis Grizzlies).

As a result, there are a lot of new players on the team that need to mesh together. For Hurley, that's where the journey begins.

"You don't know your team," Hurley said on Tuesday. "You think you know your team. You play exhibitions. You play cold scrimmages. But you really don't know. So, I think it's probably the worst, or the toughest time of year for most of us coaches."

Rebuilding excellence, again

UConn coach Dan Hurley has a consistent, demanding system that gets the most out of all the players he brings in. Despite the continuity, every team is different. Even just one new major piece can change the entire makeup of how a starting five can operate on the floor.

But as long as the players are talented enough, any group can work together to represent the Huskies the way they have over the past few years.

"You don't know how your team is going to function," Hurley said. "Because they're all different."

Third-ranked UConn, which began its season on Wednesday by hosting Sacred Heart, will be utilizing high-level freshmen to reload and repeat. Their most recent class is highlighted by five-star recruit Liam McNeely, ranked 10th on 247sports' prospect board. He attended Montverde Academy in Florida, which sports several high-profile NBA alumni. They also added two four-star recruits in Ahmad Nowell and Isaiah Abraham.

Junior Alex Karaban, who explored options in the NBA during the offseason, is back with the team to try to secure a third consecutive title.