Jay Bilas doesn't hold back on Dan Hurley's 'bad behavior' on UConn basketball
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After another incident with a referee involving UConn basketball head coach Dan Hurley, media personalities in the basketball world have been discussing his sideline antics. As the viral interaction with the UConn basketball head coach was widely talked about, one specific judgment came from Jay Bilas of ESPN.
Bilas was candid in his thoughts on Hurley not as a basketball coach, but how he treats the officials through the duration of a single game. He would say that being “authentic” and “competitive” is an excuse for Hurley and is “bad behavior” as he would speak on the difference between losing their cool once compared to doing it the whole time.
“That’s who he is. Be authentic and he’s competitive, take Dan Hurley out. If you say that about any coach, I think it’s just an excuse for bad behavior,” Bilas said. “Yes, it’s just an excuse for bad behavior. And my thing is more about the competitive advantage that is perceived by what they call ‘working officials’ or ‘trying to influence officials.’ It’s not just when they cross the line once and lose their minds and get a technical and all that stuff, the referees can handle that. It’s the constant berating of officials throughout a game that fans think are influencing calls.”
“It’s just an excuse for bad behavior.” Jay Bilas weighs in on Dan Hurley’s sideline antics. pic.twitter.com/7PLecnaiMt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 25, 2025
The antics by UConn basketball’s Dan Hurley are “bad optics”
There would even be former general managers that would question Hurley’s ability in the NBA due to the antics as he was in the running for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job before it was taken by JJ Reddick. While Bilas doesn’t believe it’s a crisis in college basketball, it has been at the least “bad optics” for Hurley.
“So if it influences calls, then that’s a competitive advantage, and we need to deal with it,” Bilas said. “If it doesn’t influence calls, then it’s really bad optics, and people have the perception that it does, and I think we need to deal with it. Generally, I think college coaches behave poorly relative to NBA coaches, and I don’t think that’s a very good look. It’s not a crisis. Nobody’s suggesting it’s a crisis, but I will tell you, I do not buy this.”
There are defenders for UConn basketball’s Dan Hurley
One defender of the UConn basketball head coach was Seth Greenberg who argued that “he is good for the sport of basketball” on College GameDay.
"Dan Hurley … is not fake. That's just the way it is," Greenberg said via Awful Announcing. "If you're a UConn fan, you love him. If you're playing against him, you absolutely hate him. But I can tell you for sure, that his players love him, they play their asses off for him, the culture's incredible, the identity's unbelievable.
"And right now, he is good for the sport of basketball,” Greenberg continued. “Just like Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) was when he was doing similar things, just like Gary Williams was, just like Jim Boeheim was. It is what it is."
The Huskies are 14-6, 6-3 in conference, as they next face DePaul on Wednesday night, ranked No. 19 in the country.
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