"November s**ked for us": Dan Hurley gets blunt on "rough" Maui Invitational experience

Dan Hurley and his UConn Huskies endured a tough stretch last month in Hawaii when they lost three consecutive games at The Maui Invitational. For a team looking for a three-peat, this run brought much criticism, with many writing off the team.

However, the Huskies bounced back with a six-game winning stretch. In an interview with CT Insider, Dan Hurley recalled the week in the aftermath of the loss.

“November sucked for us,” Hurley said. “It was tough. That was a rough, long trip. But, maybe it was Maui. Maybe it was just the circumstances of the games, the fact that the games are on top of each other so quickly. The fact that it was so jarring to lose the first game there, our psyche.”

“I think criticism of me, based on how hard I push from a competitive standpoint, I think some of it was warranted. But, the people that took shots and were waiting years for their opportunity, I guess my mistake was giving them the opening by losing three in a row.”

With the goal of defending their 2024 national championship win, Dan Hurley believes that his team is not quite there yet. They lost four of the starting five to the NBA draft earlier this year and are still trying to figure out a working combination.

“We’re nowhere near where we’re going to be,” Hurley said. “But, while we’re trying to figure ourselves out, we’ve got to find a way to win games and execute and have poise down the stretch.”

Dan Hurley praises his 2023-24 roster, calling it 'the best'

Last year's championship-winning roster was led by Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton. The team was heavily talked about with freshman Stephon Castle, also joining in.

Dan Hurley reminisced on the team and his players in a video posted by the official UConn Huskies channel.

"Last year's team was just well put together personality-wise. We just complemented each other in every way. Played such a level of bullet-proof basketball. No weaknesses."

"I think it was the best college team of all time and just to do what we did in the tournament and just how dominant we were," he said.

Dan Hurley achieved his back-to-back championship wins with completely new teams and doing it a third time is not out of reach. However, only time will tell if the Huskies can get on the same page as their coach and create history in March.