UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley was so emotionally drained after last season that he thought about stepping down, he wrote in a new book that is slated to be released later in Septmeber.
In excerpts, published on Wednesday by The Athletic, of the book “Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes To Be Great,” that Hurley wrote with The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor, Hurley wrote that he had “thought about leaving” and “taking a gap year.”
The UConn coach further wrote that he could feel that he was “completely cooked” after the Huskies lost in the second round to Florida.
“Just burnt. I didn’t even know how I was standing,” Hurley wrote in the excerpt from the book. “I stared at the office walls, muttering, conducting a brutal review of our season. I didn’t build a strong enough roster. I wasn’t a good leader. I let everyone down in Maui. I lost control, emotionally, at various points. I came in here some days sad and defeated, when I needed to be positive and inspiring. Then I went through the self-lacerating what-ifs: What if we’d played a little bit better in Maui? What if we hadn’t blown that game against Seton Hall?
“What if we’d been a better seed than an eight seed and hadn’t needed to face a number one in the second round? Who knows?”
Hurley, 52, later wrote that it was “unhealthy,” that he “needed to do some healing” and “not think about basketball for a few days,” but lamented that the coaching in the NIL and transfer portal era made that impossible.
“At that point, I wasn’t even sure that I would return for the 2025-26 season,” he wrote.
Hurley led UConn to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, but the program fell short during March Madness this past spring and finished 2024-25 with a 24-11 record.
The last campaign proved to be rather tough for the Huskies, as the team faced plenty of ups and downs. Hurley was caught in an emotionally charged moment when he commented about the officials after the loss to Florida as he walked through the tunnel toward the locker rooms.
“I hope they don’t f–k you like they f–ked us,” Hurley said toward Baylor players waiting to take the court for the next game.
The UConn coach later expressed regret for the situation.
Hurley will return to coach the Huskies this upcoming season as they look to make it back to the top of the college basketball world.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
