UConn coach Dan Hurley acknowledged there are things that “I wish I didn’t do” as he expressed regret over making profane comments about the officiating after the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament loss to Florida.
Hurley was caught on camera making those remarks as he walked off the floor and toward the locker room after UConn’s bid for a third straight national title ended with a 77-75 defeat in the tournament’s round of 32 on Sunday.
“Those are three great officials on that game, so, although I said something in the heat of the moment, in an area of the arena that in pretty much every game I’ve ever coached in college has been media-free,” Hurley told the Hartford Courant and other media outlets Wednesday. “Past the tunnel, by the locker rooms, in the hallway where the coaches go, that’s for the combatants, that’s for the competitors. That’s not for camera phones. Just relative to that, those were three great refs and Florida earned it.
“If I don’t go off the rails at the end there, after that three-year run ended in excruciating fashion. … If I don’t have that emotional outburst there, probably all people are talking about is the run we’ve had, the amazing players.”
Queen City News’ Joey Ellis posted the video. Charlotte Sports Live reported that UConn sports information director Bobby Mullen asked Ellis to remove the video and then made a threatening comment to him. Ellis later said on social media that Mullen apologized to him.
“Bobby regrets, just like I regret the moments I’ve had. Obviously it’s all my fault that Bobby got pulled into it,” Hurley told reporters. “I set the whole thing in motion and I feel horrible. Obviously he could’ve handled dealing with the media person with the phone that took the video (differently), he could’ve obviously let it go. He should’ve been better trained for a situation like this, we’ve been in them all year.
“But Bobby’s a soldier. We all fight like that for each other in our program, and sometimes we go a little too far. But Bobby’s a great guy.”
That capped a season in which Hurley had a number of other incidents, from having heated complaints with officials at the Maui Classic to taunting a fan after a victory at Creighton.
“This is what UConn knew they were getting, this is how I’ve coached obviously my entire career – and I’m not bragging about that, I’m just surprised that people just discovered it if they’re college basketball experts,” he told reporters. “It’s one of those things where, they’re mistakes, there are things I wish I didn’t do, it’s part of what you get with me. I hope to not do it again. I’m going to attempt to take measures both internally, mentally, and externally. … I wouldn’t change one aspect of how I coach a game or how hard we fight. (But) I’d like to get on and off the court without incident.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.