"Really sad to hear of his passing...he'll be missed by a lot of people": Dan Hurley sends heartfelt condolences as 47yo ex-Nets coach Mike Babul dies

UConn coach Dan Hurley expressed his condolences regarding the passing of Mike Babul, a former assistant coach for the Long Island Nets. Babul passed away on Monday, Dec. 30 at the age of 47 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

On Tuesday, in a call with media before UConn's New Year's contest vs. DePaul, Hurley took a moment to reflect on Babul’s life and career.

"I wanted to send out my deepest, heartfelt condolences to the Babul family," Hurley said. "Mike, who everyone in basketball knows, was part of a great basketball family and a great New England family."

"It's really, really sad to hear of his passing. He was an awesome guy, a great basketball person, and he'll be missed by a lot of people."

Mike Babul had a decorated college basketball career, starring for UMass from 1996-2000. He began coaching immediately after college and rose through the ranks to join the Brooklyn Nets' G-League affiliate in Long Island.

Prior to that, Babul served as an associate coach at Wagner University. He arrived at Wagner the same season Dan Hurley left to take over at Rhode Island. Babul was working as the head coach at Thayer Academy at the time of his death.

Dan Hurley calls for stronger defense to compete nationally

Dan Hurley's UConn have won six straight games following a horrendous Maui Invitational tournament, where they went 0-3. The No. 11 Huskies defeated Butler 78-74 on the road in their last game, but the coach was not satisfied with the defensive effort.

Ahead of the conference game against DePaul on Wednesday, Hurley made it clear that the team needs to work on limiting opponents' scoring.

"Right now, we're a national championship contender and a Big East championship contender offensively, but defensively, we're not contenders. We're defending like pretenders," he said (3:26).

Dan Hurley made a similar statement following the team's win over the Bulldogs, where UConn allowed them to shoot 42.6%.

"If we don’t start defending at a much higher level, we’re not gonna be in contention for the championships," Hurley told NJ.com. "We’ve got the No. 2 offense in the country, but our defense has not been where it needs to be."

The Huskies (10-3) have conceded 70 points or more in four of their last five games. Overall, they are giving up 67.5 points per game this season, which ranks 92nd nationally. But during their previous five games, that average has jumped to 74.2 ppg.