Paul ❌

UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley credits a Catholic nun with saving his life: “When I met Sister Catherine Waters, I really didn't feel like I had a whole lot of places to turn. I was in my most, you know, vulnerable state. I felt like my life was unraveling. I didn't have much direction. And I didn't have anyone in my life that I thought could help me. “But from that first session that we had together, when I was able to find the strength and the courage to open up and to talk about how I was feeling mentally and emotionally with another human being — and get some things out in the open and off my chest, where I could kind of rebuild myself as a human being, create a new identity for myself. “Not just a basketball player that was struggling, but as a human being, as a man of faith in Christianity, as a friend, as a brother, as a son, as a college student that valued his education. I needed to just rebuild my identity. “Her handing me the book The Winning Within by Pat Riley was really what triggered my love of reading — and reading and learning having such a huge impact on my life.”

Some say kids don’t value education anymore. @silas_demaryjr different. Hours before the Final Four, he was finishing a 14-page essay, now he’s headed to the Championship game. Still focused. Still disciplined. Still handling business. A winner on and off the court.

We talked music with UCONN Head Coach @dhurley15 and Coach knows his music.

😂😂😂 Dan Hurley made his wife leave the Final Four game against Illinois to get his lucky beads from his hotel room.

Dan Hurley has talked often of his days as a HS history teacher. A couple years ago I reached out to his former students to see what he was like. When informed of this, Hurley said two words: “Oh, God.” ⤵️ nytimes.com/athletic/58977… via @NYTimes

"I had to leave the arena last night, run in the rain, get the beads... and then I got a police escort back with the holy beads." Andrea Hurley drops a story about bringing her husband's holy beads to the Final Four on Saturday night 😅

Dan Hurley: “I get much more of a bad reaction from people on social media than when I meet regular people. Because anytime I meet regular people, they look at me and start laughing… ‘Oh, you’re the guy from the video. You look a little crazy, but I think you’re a good egg.”

The line in front of Notre Dame's Basilica of the Sacred Heart before the Easter Vigil, ~5:30 PM. Definitely smaller than usual, but not b/c of a lack of fervor. Instead, with a record number of ND students being received into the Church this evening, there isn't much space.

“So whether it’s good times or bad times, it’s your faith in Jesus Christ that’s going to be a rock.” - Dan Hurley (Via @willdawsonTV 🎥)

Dan Hurley told me the first thing he did after he got off the court was to go into a bathroom stall and pray. “The first person I need to talk to was God.”

“We have this culture of playing incredibly hard. We never lose because of lack of effort,” -Dan Hurley The standard is simple: compete the right way, play with relentless effort, and never let quitting become part of your culture.

Dan Hurley is a national treasure

“Our culture is just…RELENTLESS. We really live that. That’s not like a band on our wrist or some crap on a wall. We’re pushing it hard, we’re getting after it. The standards of how hard we’re going to play, how competitive we’re going to be and be about winning,”Dan Hurley Winners aren’t afraid to do what winning requires.

I asked Dan Hurley about how his Catholic faith shapes him as a coach. "My faith, in tough times, gives me the strength to endure the difficulties, the challenges that life presents... it gives me a humility to not celebrate these great successes and to live with humility."

“Think about growing up with your parents and you got to do whatever the hell you wanted to do instead of them telling you things. Would you be sitting here? I know I wouldn’t." What you want isn’t always what is right for you. Let the right people keep you accountable.

I asked Dan Hurley the same question I asked Tom Izzo: why does the media have a problem with coaches coaching players hard? Hurley: "Society has gotten soft in a lot of ways... The real world is tough and cruel... I'm preparing my players for life."

4th graders and board games, what a great way to end Friday! 👏🃏🎲 #GoBlackcats @Looneys_Leopard @MrsAlauraWhite @CarlaHu47395037 @DittmannTori

NBA Legend Charles Barkley went on an EPIC rant talking about spanking/discipline “I think if you don’t spank your kids, and discipline them, they turn into some of these brats we got today.” 🔥 Spanking is Biblical: Spare the rod. Spoil the child. (🎥: @dpshow)

Very sad to hear of the passing of St Louis 🏀 coaching legend Marvin Neals today. Won state titles at Soldan and Cardinal Ritter. A great coach and dear friend. He wrote the foreword for my book “The PHL in the STL” on the Public High League. RIP 💔

"Your job as a coach is to coach your players. If their parents and their friends are getting mad because you're getting yelled at, get better parents and better friends." Coaches aren't calling you out. They're calling you up! Build connections so they hear the corrections.