This UConn Final Four run is particularly validating for Hurley and Karaban after last season’s disappointment

WASHINGTON — Two years ago this past weekend, with his UConn team steamrolling anything in its path en route to a second straight national championship, and fresh off a 30-0 run against Illinois to secure a return trip to the Final Four, Dan Hurley pulled back the veil on the road he and his staff took to get to that point.

Last season, with the Huskies having a perpetual target on their collective back as they chased history, the path meandered far more than anyone could have envisioned. Between injuries, a well-chronicled Hurley meltdown at the Maui Invitational, and a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to eventual national champion Florida, it was easy to see the frustration and disappointment that mounted up around the program.

Hurley hinted at that in the offseason, at the conclusion of his book, Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes to Be Great. In the book, Hurley admitted he was “completely cooked” by the pressure last season brought on in the pursuit of a third consecutive title, to the point where he considered taking a year off from coaching altogether. Ultimately, he decided to return to Storrs after rebuffing the Los Angeles Lakers a year prior, and shared that this particular campaign had been more refreshing even before Braylon Mullins’ iconic shot to defeat Duke in the East regional final.

“I give myself the grace,” Hurley said this past Saturday, before UConn sank the Blue Devils. “I just think this is what Geno (Auriemma) helped me a lot with…just get the most out of your team. I give the team the grace of, let’s just be the best that we could be with what we put together, have the best season we could possibly have and enjoy the journey with each team.”

“It’s taken a lot of pressure off. I think I’ve taken pressure off myself, but I think my team is looser and has played looser this year. I’m not as uptight and I’m not as big a monster, which is better for everyone except social media and the TV camera people who just keep their camera on me nonstop.”

One of Hurley’s closest confidants, despite only playing for him, yet having enough of a sense and bond with him to understand the coach’s psyche more intimately than most, concurred.

“I think he’s just having greater appreciation,” Alex Karaban said after the Duke win Sunday. “After going through last year, just realizing that we’re not entitled to anything just because we wear the UConn jersey, it doesn’t mean we’re gonna win. Both him and I were emotional after the game, super excited to be back (in the Final Four) and all the hard work paying off. I’m happy for him. Every wind you get in the storm, it gets better and better.”

Hurley agreed, finding a greater blessing in the experiences along the way while allowing some natural air to vent through his unbridled competitive drive.

“I think the biggest thing when you get to this time of year is when you coach a great team, or a team like this team that’s been a great, special team, you just start to love them,” he said from the heart. “As the year goes on, your admiration, your love for the group, the relationships you build, you just don’t want the year to end because you don’t want to not be around a group anymore. You just start savoring every video session, every practice, every shootaround, every flight, every bus ride, because the group just becomes such a special part of your heart.”