UConn basketball coach reveals what stopped him from going to South Carolina

Dan Hurley is currently the most talked-about coach in basketball, having led UConn to consecutive national championships in April. This summer, he turned down a lucrative contract from the Los Angeles Lakers, further solidifying his status in the college basketball world. Interestingly, Hurley recently shared on ‘The Ryen Russillo Podcast’ that he almost played for South Carolina about 30 years ago.

Reflecting on his recruiting visit to South Carolina, Hurley recalled, “I visited South Carolina. They had an incredible staff back then, with George Felton as the head coach, along with Jimmy Black, Joe Dooley, and Eddie Payne. It was a big-time coaching team. My last night there coincided with a Hootie & the Blowfish concert, which left me incredibly hungover for my flight home. I realized I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the party culture at a Southern school.”

This raises an intriguing question: did Darius Rucker, the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish and a super fan of South Carolina, unknowingly prevent the Gamecocks from securing one of the best active head coaches in college basketball?

Dan Hurley, hailing from Jersey City, N.J., played college basketball at Seton Hall after an impressive high school career at St. Anthony High School, where his father, Bob Hurley, was the longtime coach. He spent five years as a player at Seton Hall. His brother, Bobby Hurley, is currently the head coach at Arizona State and is a former guard for Duke and the Sacramento Kings.

Ryen Russillo, a guest on a podcast, shared his own experiences, saying, “As someone who attended the University of Vermont and later visited the South, I just thought, ‘I don’t know how anyone managed to do that down there.’ So, we’re on the same page about that.

Dan Hurley recently signed a new six-year contract worth $50 million with UConn in July. He became the head coach of the Huskies in March 2018 after Kevin Ollie was let go following two consecutive losing seasons. Since then, Hurley has transformed the program into a successful one, leading UConn to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2021 to 2024 and securing back-to-back national championships. With a total of 141 wins, he ranks third in UConn history, and his winning percentage of .709 is the fourth highest among coaches with at least 100 games coached.