UConn HC Opens Up About Player Development

UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley spoke with the ESPN show “Unsportsmanlike with Evan, Canty and Michelle,” about his forthcoming novel with Ian O’Connor, “Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes to Be Great.” He spoke on the pressures of coaching the UConn Huskies, and his strategies as a leader when it comes to developing young talent.

“It wasn’t as big a challenge a couple of years ago, pre-NIL, you know, but when you do have players making, you know, a couple million dollars and they’re 20 years old, there’s this false sense of security of ‘Hey, I’ve made it,’ you know?” Hurley said.

The interview with Hurley and the Unsportsmanlike crew followed a number of topics dealing with Hurley’s mental health, growing up in his family’s shadow and everything in between.

One of the overriding topics was around Hurley’s coaching style and how he has dealt with the changes NIL has made to collegiate basketball. 

“So I just think as coaches right now, you know, obviously, we’re giving young athletes a lot of fish, but we’ve still got to teach them how to fish,” Hurley said.

“Like these guys still have got to develop the work ethic, the accountability, the discipline, the self-sacrifice, the drive, getting smarter, like, your brain is actually a muscle. Like, you could actually learn and grow your mind and continue to get smarter, especially because life and sports, it’s all decision-making s***. So, yeah, I mean, I’d say, like, there’s a sense with these kids coming in now. They’re ranked 12th in the country, right?"

The Huskies tallied what 247Sports labeled as the 9th overall class in the 2025 cycle, five-star Braylon Mullins leading the pack as the nation’s No.12 recruit.

“They’re making millions of dollars as a college athlete, you know, but you still have 50 or 60 years of life. And this money that you’re making in NIL, if you don’t continue to get better, increase your value, you’re gonna hate yourself in your 30s, 40s, 50s.”