UConn’s winning culture continues to be secret sauce as Huskies converge on Sweet 16

On doorstep on Sweet 16, UConn’s championship culture has taken center stage in national championship defense. (Photo by UConn’s Men’s Basketball)

NEW YORK — When Dan Hurley took the reins at the University of Connecticut six years ago, he did so with the same objectives and mentality that carried him through the high school ranks at St. Benedict’s Prep and mid-major stepping stones at Wagner and Rhode Island.

As the son of Bob Hurley, Dan's rough-hewn intensity and trademark toughness was hereditary. The method of building a winning culture, where each of his players sacrifices something in his respective skill set to better serve the collective machine, was developed over time.

The progressive outpouring of energy over the past half-dozen years has now evolved into the behemoth that descends upon Boston this weekend, when UConn embarks on the next chapter in its quest to repeat as national champions, starting Thursday in the East Regional semifinals against San Diego State in a rematch of last year’s title game, which the Huskies won convincingly to ascend the sport’s summit a fifth time.

In some ways, the build to this season began a year ago with the transfer portal additions of Nahiem Alleyne and Hassan Diarra to a core anchored by Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo. Those three have since moved on to the professional world, with Alleyne opting to use his final year of eligibility at St. John’s, but Diarra stayed to shepherd a new crop of hungry Huskies to the promised land. The Texas A&M transfer was rewarded for his contributions with recognition as the Big East’s Sixth Man of the Year, but for Hurley, his imprint on the team has been indispensable for both his junkyard dog mentality and his role in maintaining UConn’s trademark depth.

“I just think it takes a special guy to play or coach at UConn, because there’s pressure all the time,” Hurley reiterated. “We knew we had a guy with the stomach for it. You could see what the starters looked like, that wasn’t too hard to project. But the unknown would be the depth part. Could we get to eight-deep, nine-deep, with quality to keep us bulletproof?”

“We wouldn’t be where we are now without how (Diarra has) played for us, without Samson Johnson, without the emergence of (Jaylin) Stewart and what Solo Ball has done for us throughout the year. To be able to go eight or nine-deep with quality, you’re able to survive a bad night from some of your better players because of that depth.”

UConn’s most recent outing, Sunday’s win over Northwestern, was indicative of the aforementioned bad night Hurley referenced. The Huskies missed 19 of 22 attempts from the 3-point line as a team, but still managed to win comfortably, in large part due to the efficiency of point guard Tristen Newton. In his two NCAA Tournament games last weekend, Newton was a team-best plus-58, meaning UConn was 58 points better than its opposition when Newton was on the floor, a stat that elicited a combination of pride and surprise from Hurley, the latter most likely attributed to the sheer stature of the figure.

“When you look at most efficient players in the country, I think Tristen ends up somewhere (in the) top five in a lot of things in terms of his impact,” the coach said of Newton. “A lot of teams value him a lot more than these mock drafts do. He’s a first team all-American, he’s a guy that obviously was up for Big East Player of the Year and didn’t get it, but he’s 6’5, he rebounds, he facilitates and shoots NBA threes with pretty good efficiency. And he’s a champion. I think he’s going to play in the NBA for 12-15 years.”

“Everybody knows their role and everybody knows what each other is capable of,” said Newton, highlighting the Huskies’ unselfish tendencies. “Nobody’s going to go out there and try to score 30. They’re going to stick to the script and play defense, get rebounds and move the ball. Nobody’s selfish. Everybody just does what they can do to win the game.”

UConn’s obsession with winning was one of the most appealing factors to Stephon Castle when the freshman from Georgia opted to attend college in Storrs, the self-proclaimed basketball capital of the world according to the UConn program and its rabid fan base. Hurley has been effusive in his praise of Castle and how he has adapted from high school to one of the elite Division I programs in the sport in a short amount of time, calling him the “anti-entitled” five-star prospect. The feeling is mutual for Castle toward his coach, to whom he credits an endless trust in him to produce in helping expedite his emergence.

“It’s had a big impact on my confidence,” Castle said. “Just knowing that (Hurley) believes in me to make an impact for our team. I feel like, as a freshman, that’s big-time, and it gives you a lot of confidence going into games like this.”

“He’s just such a unique player in the way that he guards,” Donovan Clingan echoed with regard to Castle. “And on the offensive end, he’s setting ball screens, coming off ball screens, getting to the rim, finishing strong. He’s just an all-around team player. He’s just willing to make multiple efforts and he’s a really big part to this team.”

Hurley has mentioned the basketball campaign among what he refers to as “we season” for the need to stress team goals ahead of individual accolades and personal matters. The mantra has played itself out on the court just as meticulously, with its intrinsic and external effects noticeable to almost anyone at first blush.

“You can kind of sense the culture,” Castle admitted. “It’s not really a selfish culture, so it really wasn’t for me to come in and really think about my own stats, or think about how well I played. It was just doing whatever I can to come in and help the team win, and I feel like everybody else had the same kind of approach.”

“If you stand out and try to be selfish, you’ll stand out for the wrong reason.”