There's been no slowing down for the Huskies, who still have a chip on their shoulder as they eye history and go for a third straight championship.
The ultimate guide to the men's college basketball season: Final Four picks, Player of the Year predictions and top storylinesDan Hurley isn't a stranger to winning, and is now chasing John Wooden for a historic third consecutive title. It's hard to blame Apple for its read of the situation: that one emotional reaction to a mistake on the court might be something necessitating a 911 call. Hurley's ability to switch himself into practice mode is jarring for the uninitiated.
And he's doing it with the same no-BS, us-against-them mentality that has helped the Huskies hoist trophies each of the past two seasons. "That's really all he's been talking about the entire summer," Karaban said."We got to get to the level that is expected of us, to put another one up there."added."We want to make history and it starts with him and his energy and his intensity each and every day. He wants to make sure everybody's aware of it."
That obsession with winning, with sustained success, with dynasty and a place in history, it's not necessarily new for Hurley. As the son of one of the most successful high school coaches of all time and the brother of a two-time national champion, he had seen it up close. And now it's his -- and he wants more of it.
Whose fault is it? In Hurley's eyes, it's not the players shooting the free throws, but the team's leader: Karaban. Hurley goes over to Karaban and tells him that two of the players aren't doing the proper drill. All offseason, he's been pushing the redshirt junior to become more vocal and take ownership of the team after the NBA departures of his four fellow starters from last season.
"They just started recruiting me really hard after I decommitted," he said."And then when I took, like, a really close look at it, it just made perfect sense to come here. It was like two worlds meeting perfectly." While McNeeley and Mahaney will have a say in the Huskies' success, their ceiling could ultimately be determined by the growth of Ball, Stewart and Ross, and whether Diarra and Johnson can take the step from impact player off the bench to every-game starter.
"I feel the pressure of being the next great UConn player," he continued."It's something I think about every day. It's something that's pushing me every day. I've seen guys like Adama step up and take us to the natty. I've seen guys like Andre develop, Jordan , all these guys developed. I just know it's my turn and I have to step up."
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