Dan Hurley on Final Four: ‘We came here for rings, not watches’
BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ & ADAM ZAGORIA
INDIANAPOLIS — All four of the programs who will play in Indianapolis have had tremendous seasons worthy of celebration regardless of what happens in the Final Four. But one head coach has made it clear that they are playing with only one thing in mind; winning.
“We came here for rings, not watches,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said here Thursday. “Everyone that comes to the Final Four gets a beautiful watch, but only one group is going to get a ring.”
UConn and Illinois will face off on Saturday, April 4 at 6:09 P.M. EST. The winner will play against the winner of Arizona and Michigan for a chance to be crowned national champions.
Hurley and the Huskies know a thing or two about coming out of the Final Four as the last team standing. UConn won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2023-24 and are now playing in their third Final Four in four seasons after a thrilling game-winner from Indiana native Braylon Mullins against Duke in the Elite 8.
“So get off social media, stop injecting the dopamine into your arm and get serious about the preparation and the practice because we don’t hang banners for Final Fours at UConn,” Hurley continued. “We hang National Championship banners. If you want to hang a banner, you’ve got to get your eyes off social media, get your face out of the phone and get locked in on Illinois because Illinois is one of the best teams in the country and they’re as big a threat to winning this tournament as any of the four teams.”
Hurley, as usual, was asked about his sideline demeanor and his tendency to make faces and gestures while drawing the attention of TV cameras.
“I approach sports as a competitor the way that I do,” he said. “My responsibility is to win games and obviously do a great job for my players. Those are really the only two things I’m concerned with.
“All that other stuff, it comes with the territory, and a lot of it comes with the success. The winning back to back championships, you put yourself in a position where you’re going to be picked apart.
“Then dealing with the officials, I think I’m an intense coach. It’s not easy to work my games. But I’ve always gotten zero technical fouls in my NCAA Tournament coaching career. I just jinxed myself. Oh, my God, now I’m going to get bounced out of this thing. Oh, my God.”
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