NY Post Feature | NJ.Com Feature | CT Insider Feature
Houston, TX – Former Wagner head men's basketball coach Dan Hurley will coach in this weekend's Final Four in Houston, TX. Hurley's UConn Huskies will take on Miami on Saturday, April 1, with the winner advancing to Monday's national championship game.
In preparation for this week's games, Hurley's journey from Wagner to the Final Four was documented by
The New York Post, NJ.Com, and the
CT Insider, featuring interviews with Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Walt Hameline.
In two seasons at Wagner, Hurley posted a 38-23 record. Upon his arrival, Hurley helped the Seahawks to a nation-best eight-win improvement among first-year coaches in 2010-2011, leading the Green & White to 13 wins and a sixth-place finish in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while surpassing many predictions.
Hurley's Seahawks nearly doubled that total to a 25-6 mark in 2011-12, which set a school record for wins. His overall record in the Northeast Conference was 24-12.
Hurley went on to coach six seasons at Rhode Island, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice, before taking over at UConn in 2018.
Prior to coaching at Wagner, Hurley built St. Benedict's Prep of Newark, NJ into one of the nation's top high school programs.
During his nine-year tenure at St. Benedict's (2001-2010), Hurley led the Grey Bees to a 223-21 record, coached four McDonald's All-Americans and developed four teams that were ranked in the top-five in the nation.
Hurley is a 1991 graduate of St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, NJ where he played for his father Bob Hurley, a legendary coach who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. At St. Anthony, Hurley was a member of a National Championship team in 1989 and a member of a team ranked No. 2 in the nation in 1991.
Following a successful prep career, Hurley headed to Seton Hall where he graduated in 1996. While with the Pirates, he played under former Wagner head coach P.J. Carlesimo. For his career, Hurley scored 1,070 points while helping the Pirates to three NCAA Tournament appearances and one berth in the NIT.
Hurley got into coaching following graduation and spent the 1996-1997 season as an assistant coach at St. Anthony before latching on at Rutgers from 1997-2001 where he helped lead the Scarlet Knights to a pair of NIT appearances.
