Dan Hurley on ego, Maui losses, Lakers -- and Geno Auriemma's wake-up call

UConn men's basketball manager Dan Hurley admits that his "ego had gotten -- was getting -- the better" of him pursuing a speech with legendary women's basketball caput manager Geno Auriemma past season, helium writes successful a forthcoming book.

In Hurley's "Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes To Be Great," helium writes that aft UConn's 0-3 travel to the Maui Invitational past November successful which Hurley was assessed an ill-timed method foul successful overtime against Memphis and railed against the officiating each week, helium needed to instrumentality banal of his cognition and behaviour -- particularly aft his wife, Andrea, told him helium crossed a line.

Hurley reached retired to Chicago Bulls manager Billy Donovan, ESPN's Seth Greenberg and lastly, Auriemma.

He made maine truly see. My ego had gotten-was getting-the amended of me.

I admitted helium was right. I told him that I was spiraling. I told him that I was convinced we were going to decorativeness beneath .500.

'Listen,' helium said, 'if the lone gratification and the lone portion of coaching that excites you is winning the nationalist championship, past you've mislaid your way, buddy! Where's the joyousness successful the things that you've ever been astir arsenic a manager earlier you went connected the title run, similar relationships with your players, similar helping radical get better. Like making your squad the champion it tin be.

'Be a coach, man. This is erstwhile you truly request to beryllium a leader. This squad isn't arsenic bully arsenic past year's, truthful what the hellhole are you going to bash astir it? Are you going home? Are you going to fto this happening unravel?'" Hurley writes successful "Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes To Be Great"

In a caller interrogation with ESPN, Hurley said his conversations with Auriemma helped him close the vessel connected a idiosyncratic level.

"The publication lays retired some aspects of things. I've handled nonaccomplishment successful my beingness beauteous well, I've battled, I've kept going, I've kept trying to enactment connected myself, kept trying to improve, my career, my idiosyncratic life. But past there's besides times wherever you don't grip occurrence arsenic good arsenic you'd like," Hurley told ESPN.

In the book, helium describes the jolt of that stretch: After winning back-to-back titles and adjacent fielding an connection from the Los Angeles Lakers, it felt similar an 18-20 period tally wherever everything broke his way. Then came Maui -- 3 consecutive losses -- and the glow vanished.

"I unraveled immoderate retired there, emotionally and with starring the team. But that infinitesimal with Geno, that was a bully infinitesimal for me, it was similar a three-week Band-Aid. It cured wherever my caput was at. Once you recognize you don't person a nationalist title team, that hits you, that Band-Aid of conversations that I had with him, it stabilized me," Hurley said successful the interview.

Hurley besides writes successful the publication that helium considered resigning arsenic UConn's caput manager and taking a twelvemonth off, a improvement archetypal reported earlier this period by The Athletic.

Days aft the Huskies' season-ending NCAA tourney nonaccomplishment to Florida -- aft which determination was different viral infinitesimal of Hurley complaining astir the officiating -- Hurley says helium was worn down by the past fewer years and the wide authorities of assemblage basketball.

He expanded connected those thoughts to ESPN -- and besides explained wherefore helium yet decided to stay.

"I deliberation immoderate of it was being a atrocious loser. I was intelligibly a atrocious loser astatine the extremity of that game," Hurley said. "We were playing the longest imaginable seasons, having highly engaged offseasons. There are antithetic responsibilities you person arsenic the apical programme successful the sport, work to bash everything, beforehand assemblage basketball, adhd that up with each the changes with NIL and the portal and what your squad looks similar the time aft your season's over. You don't consciousness similar beauteous overmuch anybody is connected your team. Even if they're not successful the portal, each kid has an agent, and that cause is buying you around. All those things, the offseasons that were abbreviated and packed and the agelong seasons and unthinkable ascendant occurrence successful that tournament, being fatigued, being a sore loser, those things for a mates days enactment maine successful that spot.

"But successful the end, <...