Bob Hurley Sr. said it’s been 33 years since he and his two sons, Bobby and Danny, made their first trip to the Final Four, in Denver.
Bobby was a freshman point guard for Duke, at the start of what would prove to be a memorable college career. Danny, then a high-school junior, was there to help his dad hawk Strength Shoes – the uniquely ’90s trainers with a round platform beneath the toe box to elevate the heel.
“Strength Shoes brought us to the Final Four, because we were using (them) in practices,” recalled Bob Sr., the legendary former coach of St. Anthony High School.
“Danny and I were working during the day outside, and he was demonstrating how to use the shoes, doing drills.”
He laughed. It was a different era.
“Here we are now in 2023 and he’s coaching in the Final Four,” Bob Sr. said.
Since that first Final Four trip in 1990, the youngest Hurley has traded “Danny” for “Dan” and emerged as one of the most dynamic coaches in college basketball – leading Rhode Island and now Connecticut to five men’s NCAA Tournament appearances in seven years. His Huskies will face Miami in the national semifinal in Houston on Saturday night.
Bob Hurley Sr., left, Gabe Hurley, center, and Bobby Hurley attend the game between Arkansas and UConn at T-Mobile Arena.
In a basketball-crazed family – Bob Sr. is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and Bobby is now the head coach at Arizona State – coaching in the Final Four will be something of a milestone.
“It’s been indescribable for the family,” Bob Sr. said.
And as far as Dan is concerned, it all started with dad.
“I’m just proud that he’s been able to travel with us,” he said in a news conference after Connecticut’s drubbing of Gonzaga last week. “And now I get to take my dad to a Final Four.”
‘An education in basketball’
Dan’s journey in the sport has been shaped – and, at times, defined by – his family. Bob Sr. was a probation officer by trade who started coaching at St. Anthony on the side in 1972, winning 28…
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Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2023-04-01 12:30:41
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