UConn’s Hurley: From Champion’s Parade to Promising Reload for Another Title Run

Just a year ago, he got off the double-decker bus and onto the stage where the first week of celebrations came to an end, wearing sunglasses and a national championship hat turned backward. Governor Ned Lamont summoned him to the platform at Hartford’s XL Center as the “champion of champions.”

As he strolled over, he raised both index fingers like a rock star and bobbled his head to the rhythm of the audience screaming his surname: “HUR-LEY! HUR-LEY! HUR-LEY!”

Dan Hurley peered out at a sea of over 45,000 people dressed in Huskies gear – shirts, hats, flags, sunglasses, temporary facial tattoos – clutching signs and toy animals like Jonathan, the mascot. He reminded the audience that Storrs is the “Basketball Capital of the World” and called the 31-8 season, which ended in the program’s fifth national championship, as “magical.”

“All we thought about the whole year was we’ve got to strive for five, get that fifth national championship, and now we want to get our minds to making sure that we’re back in the mix to get number six!” that’s what he said at the time.

It was a “mic drop” moment that delivered exactly what it was supposed to. Hurley raised six fingers as he walked away from the podium, and the audience exploded. Jordan Hawkins, to his right, counted up to six with his fingers. Andre Jackson Jr. and Adama Sanogo, both hushed in the back, exchanged smiles. All three would hear chants of “ONE MORE YEAR” before their chance to speak.

“At the time, knowing how much we were losing, I think that was probably more bravado and just something that the fans needed to hear that day to fire everybody up,” Hurley admitted Monday night, after fulfilling the promise with a second national championship the following year.

The Reload

Donovan Clingan captioned an Instagram post confirming his return for a sophomore season with the line just a few hours after departing downtown Hartford. That post quickly inspired admirers to believe that it may happen again. Visions of the hometown kid taking on a larger role and leading the Huskies back up the mountain were not a pipe dream.

“It’s crazy,” he muttered Monday night, rocking back into his locker, straining his eyes, and exhaling through trilling lips. “I don’t even know, I ran out of words.” The subsequent exits made the run even more insane.

“To me, it is more impressive than what Florida and Duke did because they brought back their entire teams,” Hurley said after winning the ’24 championship. “We lost some major players.”

Hawkins appeared on ESPN’s NBA Today the day before the parade, with the championship trophy propped up on a table between him and Hurley in the network’s studio, and announced his intention to join the NBA Draft live on the air. It was not surprising, given that it was part of the plan laid out before he arrived in Storrs and received his lottery forecast, but it was unclear who else would follow.

Five days after the parade, on April 13, Sanogo declared for the draft in a social media message that, despite his continued eligibility, read like a goodbye to UConn. “I will always cherish my time at UConn and will always be my home away from home,” he said. “21 out.”

Those ideas of Clingan taking control became sharper.

The same day, Nahiem Alleyne chose to use the transfer site. He became the second bench guard to leave, following Joey Calcaterra’s graduation, and joined Rick Pitino at St. John’s three days later.

Jackson, whose decision was the least clear, waited until April 18 before ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed his decision to enter the draft and keep his eligibility. Tristen Newton made the same decision two days later.

Then came May 31, the NCAA’s early entry deadline, when all three had to decide whether to stay in the draft or withdraw and keep their collegiate eligibility. Both Sanogo and Jackson, who took part in the NBA Draft Combine, elected to stay.

Newton, who was invited to the G League Elite Camp but was not one of the eight players chosen to attend the Combine, spoke with Hurley and the UConn coaches for hours. Hurley persuaded him that if he returned, he’d have a bigger role with the ball in his hands, an opportunity to compete for another national title and improve his draft status in the process.

“He told me the truth,” Newton stated at his locker as a two-time champion, Final Four Most Valuable Player, Bob Cousy Award winner, and consensus first-team All-American.

Newton would join Clingan and forward Alex Karaban, who started 38 out of 39 games during the inaugural championship season. Hassan Diarra would improve his game and become the sixth man, while Samson Johnson would return to center and bolster the athleticism of the Huskies’ two-headed monster at the five, backing up Clingan. Stephon Castle, a five-star freshman, would join him in the backcourt, as would some other developing rookies.

The freshman arrived on campus shortly after Newton decided to return, around the time Cam Spencer, a transfer portal recruit, paid a visit.

UConn began courting Towson transfer Nicolas Timberlake immediately after returning from the Final Four in Houston, hoping to acquire a shooter who could help replace Hawkins’ output. Timberlake selected Kansas on April 18, so the Huskies had to keep exploring.

Spencer visited UConn in early June after entering the gateway on May 19. They both realized it was a wonderful match as soon as they spoke with Hurley and shared their similar competitive histories and dispositions.

“We told Cam Spencer, ‘Hey Cam, if you don’t join us, we’re a top 10, top 15 team.'” Assuming you join us, we can go back-to-back, and the route would be Brooklyn to Boston to Phoenix assuming we both keep our half of the agreement,” Hurley added.

“When we saw how good (Spencer and Castle were) when they got on campus for summer workouts I think we started to have a belief that we would be in the mix for six.”

Stairway to Seven?

Hurley was asked outside the UConn locker room, which was emblazoned with a new gold “National Champions” decal if he had come up with a new line for No. 7 in this parade. He had not. “Seven’s gonna be heaven?” He suggested. “No, that’s like saying you’re going to do it, so maybe not.” But that’s a possibility.”

It’s difficult to guarantee a third consecutive victory. With the possibility of losing the entire starting five, “Stairway to Seven” – which was promoted on social media – seemed more appropriate. Because it would be quite a climb.

Newton and Spencer, the Huskies’ top two scorers with 29.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game, are the only ones whose eligibility has expired. Castle (11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists) and Clingan (13 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.5 blocks) are in a similar situation as Hawkins, with selection forecasts in the lottery making their return impossible to predict.

Karaban, dubbed “the brain center” of the team, is the most consistent player and performs the little things to make Hurley’s intricate system work. His likely return for a junior season might give the Huskies a good start up the stairs. But his situation is comparable to Jackson’s. He has mentioned chasing Breanna Stewart’s four titles in four years with the women’s program, as well as being a potential second-round draft pick.

“I know things are going to be busy over the next ten days. Unfortunately, we will now enter the portal alongside everyone else. Hurley stated, “I’d been dreading this moment, but now we’re here.”

The Huskies will most likely want to recruit a few shooters and a big man from the gateway to team up with Johnson.

Diarra might return if he chooses to use his fifth year after graduation, joining incoming freshmen Ahmad Nowell and Isaiah Abraham. Jaylin Stewart and Solo Ball, rising sophomores, gained experience this year and could be ready for bigger roles. Their classmate, Jayden Ross, can earn some time with additional improvement during the summer.

“We will enjoy this for a few days. On the flight home, we’ll start discussing the roster. We graduate some players. We’re going to lose a handful of players to the NBA’s early entrance. We’re going to go in and put together a roster that can play basketball at the same level that you’ve seen the last two years,” Hurley said. “I already know what our thinking will be. We’re going to concentrate on putting together a three-year run, not just a two-year run.”