The Connecticut Huskies have been a dominant force in March Madness over the past two seasons, cruising to back-to-back national championships. However, this year presents a new challenge with a much younger and revamped roster.
Yet, head coach Dan Hurley remains confident that his team still has a path to the title, as he stated during an interview with Sunday’s edition of “60 Minutes.” Hurley also made it clear that if the Huskies don’t win, he will still consider the season a failure.
“Once you’ve done it, anytime that you don’t do it, deep down inside you’re not gonna look at those years the same way,” Hurley said. “There’s going to be a feeling of failure that comes with that. Fail, fail, I mean it’s fail. I can live with it. It won’t be this offseason of pain and suffering…I’ll be able to live with it but it will still be a failure.
However, also in the interview, Hurley shared some major news regarding the future of his team. He disclosed that at least 50% of his current roster or more are considering entering the transfer portal when it opens on March 24.
“Fifty percent of my roster or more is at least considering going in the portal, if not already knows what school they’re going to,” he revealed. “Yeah, and in a couple of those cases, they’ve already talked to the coaching staff at their future school and have an idea of what their NIL is going to be there.”
Hurley added, “The level of volatility in college sports, this has now become a year-to-year proposition. The game has changed completely.” The transfer portal has completely changed the landscape of college sports, and for UConn, this shift will have a significant impact heading into next season.
The Huskies are bringing in a four-man recruiting class that ranks third nationally, according to 247Sports. Despite this influx of talent, UConn is expected to lose some key players.
Freshman sensation Liam McNeeley, as well as seniors Hassan Diarra, Samson Johnson, and Alex Karaban-who has played an integral role in both of the Huskies’ championship runs-are all anticipated to depart.
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