"It caused a lot of pain": UConn HC Dan Hurley gets real on "failing" to live up to his family name as a player

UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley has become one of the best college basketball coaches in recent history with back-to-back NCAA championship wins. In the 2024-2025 season, his team is aiming for a three-peat, last achieved by John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, who won it seven straight years (1967-1973).

However, it hasn't always fared well for the 52-year-old, as he didn't have the same success he is having now as a tactician when he was still a player at the collegiate level. In his interview with 60 Minutes posted on YouTube on Sunday, Hurley talked about how he was widely regarded as the "third Hurley" after his father, Bob, and older brother, Bobby.

"Just how I failed to play up to, to live up to, to succeed up to the Hurley standard in basketball, it caused a lot of pain," he said (6:00). "It gets to the point where you're a shell of yourself.

"You're not shooting the ball the way you've had your whole life. You have a hard time catching the ball, or even dribbling the ball. You got the yips in the way."

Bob Hurley Sr. was a storied coach at the now-closed St. Anthony High School, winning 26 state titles. Meanwhile, Bobby Hurley had a four-year stint with the Duke Blue Devils where he won two national championships.

When Dan Hurley's tenure with the Seton Hall Pirates ended, he found solace and success when he turned to coaching. Nowadays, it's all about reaching the pinnacle as a coach that he never did as a player.

"I got to make up for what I didn't achieve as a player, and I got to make up for that right now as a coach 'cause my career eats away at me still," he said. "It bothers me. If I see a picture of myself with a Seton Hall uniform or a clip, there's an embarrassment about how that went."

Hurley and the rest of the Huskies are currently heading into this year's postseason play with a 14-6 conference record, 22-9 overall, as the third seed in the Big East.

Dan Hurley comments on his current goal

Later on in the interview, Dan Hurley was asked if he now feels that he has lived up to the Hurley standard with his recent strings of success with his program.

"It's not me versus my dad as a coach or what I've accomplished relative to Bob in basketball now," Hurley said. "It's just this bucket that we're all just going to contribute to and we'll see if we're one of the best basketball families of all time.

"For me, that's been the shift, and it probably didn't happen for me until I had my moment."

Perhaps Dan Hurley could further propel the status and resume of both himself and his family if the UConn Huskies are able to clutch up and pull out all of the stops for a national title three-peat starting March 18.