THE ED MYLETT SHOW - Winning It All: Building Champions w/ Coach Dan Hurley

Episode Date: August 15, 2023

So, what does it take to WIN at the absolute HIGHEST LEVEL?It’s a complex question with anything but simple answers. But this week, you’ll hear from somebody who knows EXACTLY what it takes from one of the best coaches on the planet.DAN HURLEY is the head coach at the UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, where he guided the team to the 2023 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP, reaching the top ranks of college basketball after more than 20 years of paying hard-earned dues.If Dan’s name sounds familiar, it may also be because he comes from one of the game's most famous basketball coaching families. His father is NAISMITH HALL OF FAMER BOB HURLEY SR., and his older brother, Bobby, was one of DUKE’S greatest point guards who played several seasons in the NBA and is currently the head coach at Arizona State.I wanted to know what it takes to build a program from the ground up, which Dan has done at WAGNER, RHODE ISLAND, AND UCONN. The best part of hearing Dan’s approach for each of these programs is that we cover skills and strategies you can use to win the big games in your life, too.Dan and I go into a full-court press with game notes on:Why DEFINING CULTURE is the most important thing you can doThe importance of PACING yourselfHow to COMMUNICATION during pressure-filled situations.Building RELATIONSHIPS based on TRUST and BELIEFWhy WINNING is not the ultimate EMOTIONThe role of FAITH, MEDITATION, MORNING ROUTINE, MARRIAGE, and FAMILY play in Dan’s lifeThe secret to being able to COMPETE at the highest levelsDan Hurley is a coach who plays ABOVE THE RIM.You rarely get such a candid take on the PRESSURE, GRIT, and MINDSET of what goes on behind the scenes of building a top-level program and championship teams, and Dan will tell you precisely how to use his blueprint to elevate your own game as well! 

This is the Ed Milach Show. Welcome back to the show everybody. I wanted to have this man on for a while. I've been a fan and a studier of his for a very long time. I told him this when we were off camera. He's achieved things in his career and in his life that very, very few leaders have achieved. The more I've been around the sports very, very few leaders have achieved.

The more I've been around the sports world, everyone, I have to tell you, these top level collegiate coaches, particularly in college baseball, basketball, and football that I've been around, are not just some of the great coaches that I've been around, they're some of the great leaders in any enterprise that I've been around, in any enterprise, business, politics or otherwise, to lead these elite programs and to do it in a way that they do it consistently takes a very unique leader. And this man right here is no exception to that rule. He is the University of Connecticut's head basketball coach.

They happen to be the 2023 national champs. And his name is Dan Hurley. Dan, it's really an honor to have you here today, brother. Thank you for being here. Yeah, man. It's also the beyond and the your voice is real familiar, you know, every morning, I've kind of started day working out, but I'm used to hearing your voice on like speed in the corner, you know.

You know, we're trying to maximize my time, you know, in the morning, when I'm on the peloton or we're working out, but it's an honor to be on you, man. Well, thank you for that. Yeah, when I meet people in person, I go, I want to thought you'd be taller and two, I thought you talked a little bit faster. And I'm like, the latter is because of the speed at which you listen to my podcast, probably.

So, and I'd be sick of me too, I'd speed it up as well. My kids are having on like five times speed, so they're done in like two years. So, so listen, on on the national championship, but really on your entire career, everywhere you've gone, they were losing pretty bad before you got there. And then within a pretty short window of time, you've been able to turn things around. I wonder when you take something over like that. Let's just take Yukon for the last job that you've had. What is the first thing you start with?

Is it culture? Is it the players themselves? Is there one thing you go? This is where I'm going to begin to turn something around. Yeah, I mean, for me, Ed, it's before arrival. It's when I kind of torture myself over whether I should make the move or not. You know, when you're coaching it at Wagner

and Rhode Island comes calling, or when you're at Rhode Island, now it's a chance to go to UConn. For me, I'm very emotional with my work and I'm very emotional with the way that I coach, and I become very attached to a place in my players. So it's hard for me to leave. So people think that all coaches, when they make moves up in the coaching ladder, that it's like an easy decision because it's more

money in a bigger stage. But prior to taking a job, prior to taking a job, like, I have to really believe in the place I'm going to that, like, I'm going to be able to do, like, historical success there. Well, that's just kind of, you know, hold on to the job, but, like, do incredible things. And, uh, you know, so that goes on behind the scenes. And then obviously you press conference menu. When you get the stage and you get introduced to the fan base and to the university organization for the first time, you've got to do a great job with that. I mean, you've got to get people excited. You've got to establish a vision and an identity of who you're going to be and generate that enthusiasm because you're

taking over for a coach or a program that has bottomed out. So fan base has got to be fired up and then the one thing that I've done when I've got into these places that I think is important in terms of your people is I don't go in there and get rid of any of the staff or move on from any of the players. I give ample amount of time for people to show value or show a commitment to change the inhabit's behavior. So I really evaluate things and not come in in a transactional way and show people that are more transformational and that I want to work

with people. So I'm building a program, I think, on a solid foundation and a culture of trust with anyone that survives. Now, it becomes survival and because I set a much different tone and an energy and a warprate. So I don't not everyone's going to survive, but the people that do, you know, they know what I'm all about. And then you hire the best staff, you get a hire and make sure you get that blue chip

talent. That's about the right things. But really, when you get in there, man, I think it's just like establishing a work rate and a trust and a work ethic that's going to blow people away and obviously go get some talent for people. I want to know what that looks like. I was thinking when you were describing that with no criticism of anybody else, but affect this guy and I are rep by the same people, but thinking of a real prominent former NFL guy that's recently taken over a college football program and he kind of just like

what I've heard sort of gutted the place like initially, right? I think you probably know what I'm talking about. And when I heard that, I thought I get the standard thing same time. I don't know that that's fair to the kids who had already made commitments to that school and Probably could have gone elsewhere at one time. So I really admire that you do it that way What does it look like though? So you said I want to establish a vision we just get a little granular So you come in you have your press conference took you a long time to decide to leave where you were because you love the kids You built relationships with the community the people the boosters. I assume

But now you've moved you've done your press conference, these kids are now used to losing, probably a standard that's not what you're gonna set. So is that like an initial like, hey, here's how things are gonna change or is it more like I'm gonna show you rather than tell you? I'm just curious, because a lot of people that are listening to this are entrepreneurs,

they got an organization right now that's functioning it, call it 60% of its capacity. They're gonna listen to you today who took a team that was literally losing and take them to a national championship. What does it look like to establish that vision and that work ethic to standard, all that other stuff? Yeah, so, you know, add for me,

the in terms of just the players, I think the first thing that I showed them in the first team meeting, you know, beyond, you know, making a commitment to them to, you know, to be in a type of coach that can really develop them is, is I showed them one clip, one play from the last season before I had gotten to UConn.

It was from the last season of the prior coach. I think they were playing Villanova at home at the Hartford Civic Center here. And I think on the possession, I think Villanova might have missed four shots in one possession, but got four offensive rebounds. Sunchams. Outworking him, hustling, superior talent, plus not giving the effort.

So he'll almost got better players, and they're playing a thousand times harder than we're playing in their ambition to win is far greater. So I showed them that play. And I said, that's going to change. And that's not that type of effort. It will not be tolerating. And I showed them just one possession from my Rhode Island team.

I didn't want to go in there and talk about Rhode Island, this Rhode Island that because that's not what I think a potentially like a returning player wants to hear. Yeah. About the stuff that you accomplish somewhere else. So, but I showed him one clip where I think our signature play for my last year, Rodi was like a defensive stop and then five different players touched the ball in transition to dunk the ball without any one player on the court dribbling. But it was beautiful teamwork, it was beautiful aggression, it was beautiful, you know, just pace, execution,

it was everything. Everything was on full display. So I showed the team that and in that first meeting, vision how far we have to go and then and then just model, man, model, model who you want everyone in the organization to be, you know, first person in the building, you know, last one to leave the building. You know, your coaches too. In other words, do your coaches still see you first in the building last You know, your coaches too. In other words, do your coaches still see you first in the building last to leave? Is that important with your staff as well? Or is that

exclusive to the players? Or is it literally everybody around you? Well, nowadays they they better be first. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I think I think early on, you know, I've gotten a little bit smarter. I think my responsibilities that UConn are different than they were at Rode or Wagner or as a high school coach. So I probably put more into sleep and rest within the last couple of years, where I'm in pretty early, but I expect my staff to beat me in. And a lot of stuff that I model was just everything that I believe.

Like, you know, I keep myself in great shape. You know, I work out every day in meticulous with my diet. I'm always trying to read and learn. And, you know, I talk about my morning routine with my players and my diet. I'm always trying to read and learn and you know I talk about my morning routine with my players and my staff. Oh yeah yeah. You know. Observation coach, I want to ask you about. We're talking about if someone meets me I should be taller and talk slower. The other thing they often say to me and I'm noticing this with you, I think they're

expecting an experience with like this super intense pumped up dude every single second of the day. And if I almost feel like sometimes they are disappointed that I am keeping energy and reserve. And right when the camera went on with you today, because I watch this dude, this is one of the most intense humans in sports that we're talking to you right now. And it's one of the things I admire most about you. Yet today, I find you dialed down a gear or two.

Have you learned to pace yourself like that? Is that an intentional thing? You can't be a hundred miles an hour all the time. But I imagine the way in which you delivered those two videos probably had a little bit different energy or volume tone. or am I wrong about that? Or is this your normal tone with the players? Yeah, so I think, you know, when it's time to turn it up, I think, I mean, as a leader, I could turn it up in terms of the intensity and the electricity.

I generally, growing up, I was always kind of a lot less serious than my brother. A lot less serious than my dad. I was probably always, I don't want to say like the funny Hurley, but the Hurley probably that, you know, didn't give a, you know, what? Yeah. You know, out of the group, out of the three Hurley men in sports, that was probably my deal. But generally throughout the day, I mean, I'm pretty relaxed, I'm pretty laid back. I mean, my wife says like her friends always ask her after we've got the dinner.

Like, like he's or says like he's way different. And when I told him, he's good. Right, right. Because I save it for, you know, in between the lines, I save it for a team meeting. I really I save it for when I come in the building and I've got to set a tone with my people. I mean, when I come'm here, you know, my meetings are intense.

You better have ideas. You better add to conversation about players on tactics or ways that we can move this thing forward or else you're not gonna be able to work for me. I mean, if you can't show up for when we're in between the lines with the absolute maximum effort, if you can't show up and play every possession like you're a total nobody for me,

like you can't play for me. So, you know, I guess from what I pull in here, you know, at eight until when I leave here at whatever time in the night, depending on time of year, I mean, I'm setting a tone that is hard to keep up with. Yeah. But when I'm not doing that business, a lot more chill and relaxed thanks to, you know, meditation and want to get home to my wife and chill.

Mm-hmm. Well, one thing I've noticed, and by the way, those of you that don't know, because there's probably 80% of my audience is not rabid college basketball fans, right? So those of you that don't know, is brother Bobby Hurley, who is one of the great all-time college basketball players at Duke. I don't know, two national championships.

I think when he was there, if I'm right, is there right? Your brother had two. Seven pick in the draft. Seven picking pick picking the five 11. Bob's probably five 11155. Yeah, crazy. And had a, you know, an accident that happened, probably would have played a lot longer. And then his dad is one of the great at St. Anthony, one of the literally one of the great all-time high school coaches, like all-time, Naseweth, award winner. So he comes from this insane basketball family. And I think it's probably accurate to say that,

you've been going back 15 years ago and said, which one of these three is gonna win a national championship? Probably Dan would be third on that list of the three of them, right? And that's, I don't, I think that's even what you're acknowledging. But I think that energy thing is important. I'm thinking about it when you were talking.

I didn't think I was gonna ask you this, but college basketball coaches are kind of unique like the great ones. And one of the things that's unique about them is how long they actually stay in their craft. I'm thinking about a guy like Dean Smith or Bayhine, Williams, you know, John Wood and all these guys. I mean, they coached a long time, right?

So I got to think part of that is to some extent pacing your energy. And do you have an intention of doing that, by the way, are you going to be a 78 year old guy coaching somewhere? Do you, do you think you'll still be doing this at that age? I personally, well, that's, I mean, a couple of things. I mean, I was a lunatic on the sideline, probably midway through my time at Rode, maybe seven, eight years ago, I'd say, where the emotion and the passion was overwhelming,

overwhelming my ability to manage the game and manage the woman, think clearly. And back then, I think I really was kind of like out of control with officials, with road crowds. You know, it was just, it was too much. And I had some moments, I think moments with my wife believe it or not, who knows like nothing about sports. I went to Andrea like night after like night of a brutal loss at home at Rody and her telling me that, you know, I was embarrassing her with the way I was acting on the sideline.

So it's a fine line between like coaching with that type of emotion and be able to manage it. I've grown a lot that way over the course of like the last several years. One of the keys to my coaching career has been like fired as an assistant coach at Rutgers, looking like I'll never coach college, but then you get you decide to become a head high school coach. Yeah, you learn your craft at nine years, really experimenting a lot with leadership and tactics and player development, and then you get like a low division one job for two years, which you know, it's a lot easier to win at that level than it is to be J-Rite And so like, you know, you're you're learning your craft and you're making mistakes, but you're learning and growing and you're not under that intense spotlight. And then you go low major to mid major at Rodee. And so I've been a benefit in my career, man, for just having like to prove myself at every level. And I've had time to kind of like learn and grow

and never take in the job that was too big for me. I, there's stuff I've always wanted to ask a great leader. Maybe you don't get asked this very often. So this might be stuff that is little, it's in the core, but it's not asked a lot. And it's about criticism. Not that how you face it, that's the second question. How you deliver it.

I'd like to ask you about that. How do you and have you do it differently now? How do you deliver criticism to a coach, but mainly to your players? And because you're dealing with, we forget this, I watch even college basketball this day, I'm like, this kid's 18, he's 19 years old. And at a school like Yukon,

man, the pressures of boosters and crowds and arenas and family back home, depending on you, how do you deliver criticism to players and coaches? Are you cognizant of the way you do it? Do you fly off the handle? Is it different with certain players over others? I think it's one of the most important nuances as a leader is to be able to criticize somebody

in a way that causes them to grow. I have to tell you, this comes because I had a coach criticize me in college when I played baseball. And I'm 52 years old to this day. And he recently came to a speech I gave, showed up out of the blue. And I turned to gave him this big hug and I actually started crying because he was proud of me. But actually the reason I was crying was I have never forgotten a particular criticism he gave me that just crushed me. And it wasn't delivered, it wasn't like, you know,

lift your elbow or spread your legs out. It was personal. And to this day, I probably think about it 25 or 30 times a year. Is that nuts? So I think it's an important thing. I think it's a real relevant question. So what's your answer to that? I would say it starts in like recruiting. Before they even get here, for me, I won't take a recruit

at Yukon where this is a pressure cooker. Coach here or play here, you better have a stomach for here, you better have the stomach for, because the standards are super high. You have, you don't get the five national championships with Coach Calhoun, one of the goats, and then Kevin Oli, and then you got Gino over there with 11. The women's coach, guys, Coach's women's basketball, 11.

With the 11. So it starts in recruiting. I need them to watch a practice I need them to see us I need to see us at work I need them to see the pace the tempo the competitiveness You know are my entire coaching staffs Attention to detail the intensity of our work. I need them to understand the that workload the intensity of our work. I need them to understand that workload. And then recruiting, you know, we don't cheat. I mean, we don't lie to them about what this is going to be. I mean, this is about, us being allowed to coach them and get them most out of them. And sometimes it's going to hurt. It's going to be painful.

There's a reason why they say that the truth hurts, right? And I just feel like the way that we recruit them because of the substance with it. And then when they step foot on campus, the time and festival, all these players talk for our college basketball. And our players are on campus 11 months a year. A couple days for Christmas, different holidays, a little bit for summer, maybe a week here.

But 11 months, our program is functioning and operating at a very intense level. I'm not out playing golf. You know, I'm not out, you know, writing a book on leadership or a vacation home. I'm on campus every day that they're on campus. Pushing, pulling, running our program, practice, whatever we're doing, starting auditioning off the court player development.

I'm pushing for them every single day that they're here. So for me, I feel like, you know, the day after game, you know, where they don't perform the things that we need them to perform for us all to succeed together. Yeah, those film sessions are going to be are going to be tough and I'm going to be honest about the things that you're not doing. But the foundation that the relationship has built on, the time investment, my evidence of success at various levels as a coach, it just gives me, I think,

the ability to be honest, to be tough on them when I need to, and also to celebrate them when they're successful. So, Coach, I'm curious, Dan, not to interrupt you, but I'm curious, do you have that kind of sensory acuity where it's been a rough film session and you know that potentially the kid is losing his confidence? Do you have that kind of that sensory thing where you'd pull a kid in if that's happened and I don't know, I love on him, remind him of your belief in him. I just think

these are things that great leaders do almost intuitively that they don't even realize that other that is the separator oftentimes is these little nuances. A guy tries to model you, for example, and he's intense and he's getting in there, you know what's about, their pants about film sessions, but they miss the other thing. And I've watched you enough. I've actually watched you on the bench in a game walk over to a kid that you'd been hard on.

I watched it, and then I watched you, I watched the camera catch you, walk over. You put your hands on his knees, and you got in front of him, and I could tell you, like, I gotta the camera catch you, walk over, you put your hands on his knees and you got in front of him. And I could tell you, like, all right, I got to make a deposit in this kid because I've made a withdrawal that maybe went a little too far. And I do think these are your laughing, right? So I hope I'm right. So is that part of the job as a leader is to be looking for that and noticing those little

subtleties? Well, look down. I mean, I Well, look down. I mean, listen, I played. I've been on the court at Seaton Hall as a player, you know, your brothers at Duke, you know, really like living the dream, like, like, when national championships, like, living the fairy tale career. But at the same time, I'm at Seaton Hall and I can't make a shot.

And, you know, totally broken. So I think I, as a game night coach, I same time, I'm at seat and hole and I can't make a shot and I'm totally broken. So I think I, as a game night coach, I think I really separate the two. Game night, I look at really myself, really almost as like a boxing trainer or one of these UFC corner men where, you know, I put my athlete through really brutal preparation and training up until the moment of competition. But then once you guys see us at the anthem and when that game goes on, I feel like my job is almost to be the hype man. Interesting. You will never see me beret a player on game night, you know, during a TV time out after a bad shot. I mean, I know that my job, like when those lights come on, it's time to perform is to protect their confidence, interest, enhance their confidence. But then on the flip side, I think that's kind of the genius from my dad.

My dad was like a very difficult taskmaster. You know, like he was, he was Mickey and Rocky, man, like on the lead to the fight. But then when he jumped in the corner on game night, you know, he built his fighter up. And I feel like, you know, kind of like, that's the perfect role as a coach. You try to make the practices and the preparation so difficult at the game feels easier. Is that part of the slower, less intense?

The game is slower, you're saying? In less than two. Our practices are at a pace and a competitive miss and in a tempo. had a pace, had a competitive miss and an attempt. That is, that not a lot of places, it almost reminds you a little bit of, when you watch games, playing college football, they are offensively in terms of,

I can put an attempt on the opponent. And I do all of my coaching and correcting on the lead up to the game. If I'm on the court, screaming at guys about a cut they didn't make, or not getting back on defense, then I'm a shitty coach. I should have been cleaned up before I got to Thursday night,

sold out, arena. Well, I asked that because I think I always think sports is a perfect metaphor for business or any other thing, even being a parent to some extent. And I've been fortunate to be around a few, I'd love to be around you more. I told you that because I do believe that these elite coaches are some of the best leaders I've ever met. And I actually compare them to guys that I know and ladies, I know that are run big

countries. I'm not exaggerating when I say that. These jobs, Dan's job, you guys, I want you to picture this. And by the way, I don't pretend to know all of the roles, but it's not just strategy, it's not just preparation, it's not just recruiting, it's the boosters, Dan's job, you guys, I want you to picture this. And by the way, I don't pretend to know all of the roles. But it's not just strategy, it's not just preparation, it's not just recruiting, it's the boosters, it's the program's brand, it's their reputation, it's the energy level, it's the families that he's involved with, it's alumni of past players that are in his life that still text them and message them and have life problems.

The bigness of this job is the role of a CEO of multiple companies at any given time. And I don't think most people appreciate that when they just see the basketball roll out there and your guys make some shots, right? And you're laughing when I say it. But based on all of that, I asked you this off camera, but I thought it was a really honest answer. Are you enjoying it? And is it what you thought it would be? Like for example, you want, I'm curious, you win that moment happens. I watched you want to happen. So there's that moment and then there's the after. Is this what you thought it would be? Is it is it is enjoyable? As you thought it would be? Is it?

You know what I'm asking? Is it or isn't it? You might have to ask a couple of follow-up questions. I'm going to go on a number of directions. I mean, that moment with the way that you feel about the group of people that you did that with, right? Like the memories you'll have with that team, the players, the staff, right? That right there. I mean, that is like stuff that you give you goosebumps. And you'll see a picture or you'll get together with the group and think about, you know, the seasons, just how hard it is to do what we did and in the manner in which we did it, the way we dominated. Yeah.

the way we dominated. Yeah. But I mean a lot of the other parts of it. No. I mean that there becomes in a way that overall feeling becomes now something that you're probably putting greater pressure on yourself. Right. The experience was so incredible that you you you're dying to feel that again with another group of people and experience that whole incredible like you know mission accomplished feeling for for that for that group. I mean for it. So like that comes like this, almost feels like an addiction to trying to get that feeling back, almost like a drug you want back. And then, I love the work, man. My father and our family in the city, we grew up, it was just like super blue collar and

like we're best when we're busy and working and so like there was a time period where we weren't practicing and we're doing like a bunch of events and like all that which is great. I mean you're getting honored and white house all these different, but I had a couple like panic attacks that my wife had to kind of Hey, get your breathing under control because I was getting Had a tire of all that shit and I wanted You look back on the next mission. So I've been a lot happier

Since I've been back in practice with my next year's team. I feel like my mood's been better. And I fell into a little valley like once we got like a week past winning it. And before we've got started on this next mission, I found myself in some, some weird emotional places. I relate to that, by the way, the wins in my life have, uh, they were as good as I thought. They didn't last as long as I thought. They didn't last as long.

And I have found that they even last short, that drug analogy is pretty good. Like at some point, the high, I wanna go back and get it again, but I enjoy the work part of it more than anything. I wish I could figure that out about myself. You probably could too. Like I actually enjoy the work more than I do, the celebrating of the

work after it's done. And you seem to be that exact same way to me. Do you... The secret sauce of you, if you could brag, because I don't think it's even possible to get you to do this, but I'd like you to try. Someone said, hey, what's the secret for you that makes your secret sauce? You've turned everywhere you've went around. It was not easy to do what he did in this day and age with the way recruiting works and guys leaving. It's just, I think it's as difficult as it's ever been to build a consistent winner and call it sports. And is there someone said, your secret is, it said your secret is it's your preparation it's your work ethic it's your energy level it's the exes and o's it's your ability to recruit if someone said what is yours

and you were willing to brag a little bit what would it be? I would say the the chase or the mastery of all the things that go into being a coach, right? Like that you said, or I mean, most people think, I mean, that this is his head class, you know, that it's just like, you know, hey, fellows, it's very complex. I mean, it's, you know, you have the culture of your organization that you're looking to absolutely perfect and you're looking for any crack of it

and any behavior or any habit of all of your people on a daily basis, right? So, you've got the cultural, you better, you're recruiting practices and your ability to attract elite talent, right? Your ability as to coach to help your players develop and acquire and develop new actual basketball skills. You're also trying to develop tremendous personal habits, right? So you're chasing the best way to really help develop better men, to help develop better people.

a better man to develop better people. You're constantly trying to learn and grow as a tactical coach, right? Offensive strategy, the defensive strategy, there's all these different ways that you can attack your opponent tactically during a game. The marketing and branding of your program, are you creating the excitement in terms of selling tickets and big social media of presence? So I think it's the chase, man. I've become in like the absolute best in every aspect of being a head coach. And my foundation is super strong. And I mean, my foundation starts with my faith. My faith in Jesus Christ. And then in my foundation at home with my home team, I mean, my wife is absolutely the perfect person on planet earth for me.

I was incredibly fortunate to meet her at Seton Hall and at the end of my career there when I was a mess or I wasn't in a great place, a mess may be too strong, but you know, in my son's day in Andrew, I mean, obviously a lot of credit goes to, my brother and my dad and my mom and Jersey City and just that family, exactly, but that foundation that I have at home in my faith, like I could handle anything that comes with this job, the criticism, the losing, the going through tough stretches. I mean, I am built, you know, to handle everything that comes with this job because of, background and my foundation. I'm impressed. I did not know that your faith was that strong nor that you professed it. And by the way, you don't need me to be impressed with you, but I am impressed with that.

Do you share that when you recruit? Do the kids know that? It's part of coming there that, hey, FYI, this is where I stand on these things or is that sort of, you know, found out later? No, we, I mean, I share, you know, the most important thing for me, I think, it was probably midway through my, my Rhode Island tenure and, you know, and I'm struggling emotionally. You know, I'm just not, I'm not the best version of myself. I'm not at my maximum abilities as a coach. I'm not sure if it was maybe your conversation with Billy Donovan, former head coach.

Incredible coaches, low best coaches in my generation. You just start talking to me about my morning routine and I had none. You know, it was pancakes. It was, you know, really? It was pancakes. It was maybe naughty. It was maybe, you know, show my toughness by starving myself. You know, it just, you know, like just immature approach to like being at my absolute, you know, highest level of like human performance and

highest energy and clarity of thought. So I, you know, Billy got me on like morning routine man and you're starting by getting the better early prioritized and sleep as much as possible. And then, you know, but just getting up by, at least being up by six, at the latest, you know, your prayer, you know, your spiritual readings and your prayer, you know, your meditation practice, you know, for me, my journaling, you know, whether it's free writing or gratitude journaling, you know, and then I get right to an hour of, you know, of hard physical training. And then your pool, I'm in the office by you know 830 I think then ready to attack the day and set a tempo and a pace and an energy and you're just dealing with whatever comes my way

when I come in the building. When you do your meditation you uh folks on your breath I'm just curious is there anything particularly you do when you meditate? For me it's my breath work it's easiest way for me to get out of my head. Yeah, and you know, for me, I need it to guide me. You know, because I will, you know, I will find myself, I need to be reminded by someone. So I use that calm app and we make sure that we get everyone in the program has like free subscription. So that, or any meditation app that they're comfortable with, because I just, I believe that it's changed a lot of my career.

That and that, that morning routine and that meditation tub, I do it in the morning, I do it at night. If I'm having trouble sleeping, I'll play one of the sleep stories or. So do I. Yeah. I use calm app every day. I'm not, I'm not here to endorse it because they don't sponsor the show, but I do use calm every day.

And I got to tell you guys, um, you know, it's so amazing to me. The people will listen to my show week after week and almost every elite performer or whatever they do has changed their life with their morning routine, whether that's a cold plunge or their workout, their prayer, their meditation. I'm really surprised to hear that you journal and do gratitude journaling as well. I just surprised that, you know, a man's man coach does that because I do it too, but I have to tell you that, and then yet so many of you still have not established a consistent morning routine. And the one thing I will say, and I want to take coach's time up, but no matter what that routine is, and I mine resembles yours, is that what it does is it gives a

predictability to the rest of your life. If the beginning of your day starts out willy-nilly responding to text messages and everything else, you're just sort of a reactor. You just react through your entire life. And at least if you have something you do for 30 minutes or an hour or two hours to start your day, the probability of you having some measure control over the rest of your day is increased. And I just don't know how you're going to compete in business or life against people who are routine like this when you're not. I just, I don't think you can compete against them. I'm competing against, I'm competing against killers, you know, I like that.

I mean, the big East Conference, which I coach in, I mean, it's a bunch of unbelievable coaches. You know, it's, when you get to this level of sport, I mean, this is the best of the best, the sharpest in every aspect that, I mean, the ruthless, the shop, and ruthless, you know, and they have very few holes in their game. And I want to put myself to start the day at an advantage on people that I'm competing with that, that aren't doing that, that aren't shockening their tools, that aren't taking advantage of the ability to think clear. I mean, we're in the decision-making business, and a lot of decisions that we've got to make that will define your career and your level of success, they've got to happen so quickly.

And I would say to people too, I'd be long gone from this level of coaching. If I didn't have these things, I mean, people see me on game night. I mean, I, you know, I've, I got thrown out of a game of one of our most important games last year. I've been ejected from games twice since I've been at UConn. I have just a history of sparring with officials. I become the ire of most opposing teams fan base because of the energy that I coached with. I had our GA ad do, Cambertime, Mischief, of Fox, you know like how much more ever time am I getting than the opposing head coach

Just because of my antics and my energy and the way that I show up on game night. I was getting twice as much time So I should have had some patches man All right, the race car driver or tennis player. Yeah, right So man someone. All right. Race car driver or tennis player. Yeah, right. So, yeah, and if I wasn't doing these things, to kind of calm myself and confuse me to like go beyond that line, I probably would have melted down by now,

had that incident because my engine runs high. Well, that's the thing. I was just going to say, coach, is that one of the things that you have to know yourself as a human being. And if you have a propensity to run hot, which you and I both do, I run hot. So I have, I don't really have to worry. Some people have to worry about something else. So if you're listening to this, it may be different.

But if you're wired like the two of us to the extent that I don't have to worry about getting cranked up, I have to worry about emotional control. I have to worry about not letting it get away from me. I have to worry about when I'm in criticism mode of going a little bit too hard, not, not, I don't, I don't lack candor. And so you have to know yourself and what coach is saying is, and here's the other element. I'm going to brag about you. If I were a kid, I want to play for a guy like you. I think more and more it is elite. He is competing against killers. If I were a kid, I want to look at what this dude's fitness looks like, which his routine look like, which his emotional control look like, right? What's his faith look like? What are his disciplines? I don't want to be coached

by a guy that's not got that stuff together. I want to be coached by a guy that I can model a real role model. And when I watched you the last few years, that's the number one thing that dawned upon me about you. And I'm just, I know you don't want to bunch of cons. I'm like, look, and I don't mean this to be criticism against your peers, but I just mean, look at him and look at that other guy. Like just visually, one of these dudes

is up earlier and hitting the gym. One of these dudes is working on himself. One of these dudes models what he's telling his kids to do. When I went to I've been to some football practices and watching a dabbo or a coach say been even run full freaking speed at practice themselves. They're running full speed, right? They're running full speed with the players in between the drills. Their coach has moved at full speed. I'm in between the drills their coaches move at full speed

I'm like I want to play for that guy not the guy sitting on the freaking golf cart going go go go I want that guy and I think that's true in business everybody listening to I will I want that as a dad I'm not telling my kids to work hard. They see me up before them They see me in the office working when they've gone to bed. And coach is nodding if you're on audio, but that's a big damn deal to me. I think it probably is for you. I feel like I can demand as much out of you.

Maybe you feel this way, Dan, because I'm demanding it out of me. Yeah, I mean, when I come in here in the morning, you know, I come in, I come in with my shirt wet. Like when I'm coming in here, I'm coming in from having just worked out at home, just driving into the facility.

And now subconsciously, that's not planned. I'm sure subconsciously, somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I want to send some kind of message that way, but it's not contrived. I've just always felt in terms of just the credibility of the culture that you're trying to build, man. And it's not like, I'm just trying to like, not be a hypocrite and like, I'm just vain and trying to like not be a hypocrite and like I'm just vain and trying to like

influence people. The fact that like I've got these behaviors and practices in in place in my life embedded so that I'm at my very best like I've got a great marriage and and a great connection with my with my children. Right. Like all these things are making me just a more powerful coach. And people can, your people can feel that from you. I mean, if you're off the court, personal life isn't as a leader. And your personal habits, maybe you work out a little bit, but you're not reading and learning and growing your mind and studying film about different tactical things.

Like if you're not modeling, doing absolute everything that you could possibly be to be an absolute elite performer, both for yourself internally, to be at your best, to have incredible confidence. I mean, I don't, I'm nervous to ship up until, up until the anthem, you know, like, and I'm got the only thing that you have confidence from this preparation.

I mean, everything, I mean, the mantra is great. And like, if your preparation wasn't absolutely top top top shelf confidence is gonna not be great but I I get nervous to ship before the game and you know I'd say that's more modeling for my dad. I mean I me and my brother would watch our dad lose a high school game now and he wouldn't lose many of them. I mean my dad is one of the greatest coaches in any

at any level if my dad decided to do the college or the coaching career thing He would have went He would have blown through college and been an MBA good as coach K or Phil Jackson or any of the coaches that are in basketball. I'm just telling you ask anyone that's been around them and watched them work. He was so far ahead of his time, but he would lose a game and he wouldn't go to work the next day.

He couldn't get out of bed the next day. There was a level of almost shame that he was broadcasting that I think me and my brother have kind of pulled into everything we do, especially basketball lives, and how we look at those like competitions and how much of our identities wrapped up in what's going on in our basketball life. You love to compete. I just say one thing to you about that. By the way, that I said that I'd come on this dad to come on my radar. It's one his brother's playing at Duke and the story on his dad. And this was back then. I don't know

when this was. It was, I don't know, late 80s, early 90s. And they had said at that time about your dad, back then, that this guy could easily be when an international championship is a division one coach, if he chose to, and onto the NBA. I think like in leadership, everybody, one thing that Dan does is that there's motivational people, and you should be motivational, coach has that box check. There's inspirational, which is different. That's to reach people in spirit. But nowadays, if you're gonna be a great leader, I think you have to have aspirational qualities to you

where people aspire to be a little bit more like you. And that's something a lot of coaches, I think, take for granted. Like I'll be motivational, I'll be inspirational. But in terms of you aspiring to be like me, I checked that box 20 years ago. That's for you, young guys. The thing I admire be motivational, I'll be inspirational, but in terms of you aspiring to be like me, I checked that box 20 years ago. That's for you young guys. The thing I admire about you, I think in 10 years when I come back, this guy's going to be fit. He's going to have a more disciplined routine. He's going to be still preparing like crazy. And I think if you're

going to get to the top of the top against these killers and whatever you do, there's got to be an aspirational quality because as a leader, the best stuff is caught, not taught. And that's what you got from your dad. You caught it. It wasn't just taught. He didn't sit you down and say all these things. I'm sure he did some of them, but you just caught them. You saw them. And that's one of the things I admire. I want to give people hope about themselves because they're listening to this. They're like, oh, wow, these two guys routines working out cold this, meditations, you know, come into work sweaty. Get up early, get in there by eight. Let me give you guys a little

hope. You don't mind telling them the night before I think it was the national championship game where you end up winning. You end up in a conversation with PJ Carlysemo who was your coach. And you kind of wanted to get something off your chest if I felt like in that conversation. That you've been carrying for a long time. By the way, I still carry my version of that myself, but why don't you tell them what you shared, because I think people will go, whoa, that was this guy. And now he's this other version of himself. So that Carlisomo was his coach at Seton Hall. What did you say to him if you don't mind sharing and why?

Yeah, so going back to coach recruiting at Set in the hall and it's like he literally had recruited the perfect team and needed me to be for seat in the hall, what my brother was being for Duke. I mean, we basically lived the same life growing up, right? We did the same drills, we grew up in the same neighborhood, we played in the same parks, we had the same incredible high school coach, so Yeah, and you know my career just you know at seat in the hall. It just it didn't it didn't go like that You know, I wasn't ready for I wasn't who he needed me to be as a player, as a point guard, as a leader. And I had a chance if I was that person, at that point career, my off the court was a mess.

I was drinking a lot. I wasn't committed to the game. I was a screw up in the classroom. I really, my table wasn't very balanced. I'm like, everything was a mess. And PJ needed me to be more like my brother. And if he got that, that was a national championship team. I mean, we were too seed in the NCAA tournament, even with me as a match of the corner.

But it was like two lottery picks, another NBA draft pick, another guy that goes on the play 12 years in the NBA. I mean, I was literally the missing piece on that team. Point guard was the issue. And like that haunted me for a lot of years. PJ moved on, he moved on to the NBA. I finished my career plan for another coach at Sea of the Hall. So he left before, you know, I gave him really anything.

I mean, I didn't give him anywhere close to the best version of me, you know, before he headed to the NBA and we didn't have much interaction after that. I was embarrassed plus, and blaming him. In my mind, it was PJ. The system was wrong. I was in play in the right offensive system. I wasn't being used correctly. It mean, it probably took me until like my 30s to realize how much for mess I was in my 20s or my late teens. So yeah, I mean, like no interaction or not much and then when I get back into college coaching,

he actually, I had that conversation with him maybe in like 15, 18 years. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Like long time. And so he's the former head coach at Wagner College, right? Before he goes to seat in the hall. So I've got to kind of call him first time in in 18 years and asked him to call Wagner on my behalf. The AD, the president, because there's no bigger deals at Wagner College than PJ Carlisomo. So that kind of like reconnected us and we had a pretty lengthy phone conversation and he actually like pulled some strings and helped me get that first college gig.

And then we stay in touch a little bit over the course of, you know, the next like 10 years between me now starting this year's NCAA tournament and Ed, like, in the back of my mind, I think about him a lot and I have a lot of regrets about my career that holds me a lot. So I get out to Albany and like we're playing Iona and Rick Petino and like or or less two trips to the Encibo Tournament and they ended first round exit Maryland New Mexico state the next year, first round exit. Yukon's not thrilled with me. I've long since turned off my notifications on Twitter for when I imagine. But folks are pissed off at me here in the United States, they're a Connecticut. But it's a pressure cooker going into that first round game against Iona.

I'm in Albanyany Rick Patinos over there You know all the prok most of the games are talking about You know this guy is flamed out first around two years in a row and You know the big bad Rick Patinos coming. Yeah, I heard that Yeah, well, and now I've got PJ who's like sitting next to me Like on the court this kind of figure for my past and I'm like Emotional with But so he's there man like

First round into the round of 32. I'm doing like pregame interviews with him on the radio and I'm getting Shoked up in every one of everyone and I'm crying like a baby. Like every one of them just kind of hours before the game. Yeah, yeah, just to cite of them and just how much emotion from what that time felt like, the reminder of just, I had some dark times at see all the player, man. Points that deep depression, thoughts of suicide and worse, that plan for him, I think, brought up in that time.

And then it just became incredibly cool, man. Now you're in Vegas week 16. The teams playing great. We're blowing these teams off the court and now I'm like, having conversations with them like, hey coach, I'm sorry by the end, man. You get to use it and by the end like, you're hanging out with your coach and you're by the end of those interviews, man, like you're just, you're not crying. It's more like you're proud of your journey. It those are like therapy sessions, where I got a chance to cry a lot of shit out, man.

Wow. Wow. Even now I'm kind of looking at you. You look a little different than you did earlier. It's still there. Yeah, that man. I mean, he, you know, it's like, part of what hurt me a little bit in college was when you play for a high school

coaches as incredible as my dad, you almost got to college practices and like you're finishing the sentence of your coaches. Like I played for such a master in college. It was almost like hard for me to get that from any other coach I play for. Because my dad was he was at such a level. So I got to tell you it's interesting watching him. I some of you that listen to audio, you see his face. And you know, I'm 52 and I could have given more in college. I have a recurring nightmare about three times a year to this day.

I talk about when I go talk to college teams. I held a little bit in reserve in college. And here I am, whatever the good things are that happen in my life. If you flip the camera on, I've been in interviews. I look a lot like you look right now. And it's just the reason that's valuable. Maybe my favorite part of our interview is because the one thing you don't want to ever have in life everybody is a regret about effort or regret about commitment. If you give everything to something and it doesn't work out you kind of live with that a little bit but when

you know you left something in the tank you know you let teammates down or family down. I don't think any amount of winning anywhere else completely makes up for it at any time in your life. And I'm watching this man who's at the top of his craft, he's number one in the world of what he does. And still shoulders hunched over the face changed. It's head shaking, you know, it's, it's an emotional thing when you, when you don't give your best to something. And in a lot of things in life, you don't get a second chance. And that includes your marriage. It's not going well. Maybe you shouldn't quit on it so soon. Maybe make another run.

Maybe it says a dad or a mom. Maybe it's in your business. You know, maybe there's something you know, you could be given more to. You don't want to get to the end of your life and run out of time because he can't go back and play college basketball. I can't go back and play college baseball. At some point, you'll be able to play your life again. And you don't want to get out of this thing with that feeling for eternity, right? You want to get out of this thing, having given it. So I really appreciate you sharing that coach. You want to say, you're going to say something extra there. I don't want to cut you off. Yeah, that's where you see. I mean,

that, you know, for the frustrating part, the pilot haunting part is when you know the commitment that you made just to get to that point. I mean, the things that me and my brother did, the commitment on a daily basis, in the way my dad pushed us from such an age, when you're talking about, you know, my brother is five

a limb. Five eleven, never dunked the ball in college, you know, but it's maybe the greatest point guard in the history of college basketball. I probably shouldn't even be a maybe, but he's the most decorated college basketball point guard of all time. All time assist leader, two chips, seventh pick in the draft at 5.111.60. I mean, that's the type of people that might dad raised in terms of what he pushed us to do in terms of sacrificing a lot of other things in your pursuits, you know, like understanding the thing that you want to build your life around.

For us, I think my dad understood that if he raised us a certain way, the standards were so incredibly high. And it wasn't exclusive to basketball. If you got a test or quiz, you know, that had something maybe with a seven in front of it, you know, like 75, you know, forget failing something. I mean, I, listen, we don't have to get straight A's or, or, or all 90's if you're a little kid. I mean, I was scared that that, that thing said 71. You think when he held you to that standard

that, because I think holding someone high standard, I won't ask you about this since you're on that. I think there's a hidden message when you hold someone to a super high standard, which is the hidden message in it is, I believe in you. I think you're capable of this. And that's why I think holding high standards

not only transforms an organization, but it can transform a person that it says that you're this amazing. This should be the standards you can perform at and live at. I think that's one of the hidden things about high standards. You agree with that? Yeah, I think you're, Yeah, I think you're, you know, you've got to be ruled by, you know, by your internal, right? I mean, you know, the external stuff, it's just, it's not going to do it. I mean, I'm looking at the window of the banner, you know, I see, we got five batters. I could see the 2023, but it doesn't feel the same way as it did when I first saw it. Right? Like, and if you're not driven by like the level of your work, you know, the, the feeling I think that gets instilled in you that like, like everything that I'm gonna do, like,

I'm gonna do, I know it, like, it sounds simple, but like everything that we ever did, like, you know, it had to be at our absolute best level. You know, we would never, like, do as a kid in jail. We were in Sunday Mass and, you know, me and Bob were talking there in a homily, like, you know, like, we could not be neighborhood, like, neighborhood know, like we could not like like like, you know, we could have been neighborhood like neighborhood asshole kids, you know, yes, yes, we had to be respectful of our teachers, we had to be like respectful of older guys in the neighborhood that we can learn something from like we had to do well and we had to do all of our homework, you know, you have to be the smartest guy, but the effort always had to be great, right? The end product didn't always have to be the A plus game, but the effort that you put into the outcome

had to be done a certain way. And like that train this incredibly well, and it's sprung into every aspect of friendships, relationships, everything. It's not just as a basketball coach. I want to ask you two things before we finish, because I've thought a lot. I want to go back for a second.

I've thought a lot about when I was there why I didn't give full effort. And I don't know if you have, but I did. And I'm not sure I'm right about this, but I think like your dad held you to these standards, right? I think part of that was, you knew he believed in you. Maybe you never got all the accolation or admiration or whatever from him, but the hidden messages, we don't act like other families in church. We don't do this stuff. We're not just everybody else, right? That's the hidden matter. We're not better, but we're not like that. We conduct ourselves a certain way, our preparation,

our effort. And when I got to that next level, if I look back on it, and I wanna ask you this because I think this is what most people struggle with at every aspect of their life. I've really unpacked it. Like why? By the way, you wouldn't know if you watched me

that I wasn't given full effort. I was still there pretty early. I still took extra BP. I was still on the gym, but I knew there was a level of preparation and focus and my diet, my nutrition. Why didn't I? Because I knew I was unlimited time. I knew I only had the four years back then.

Why didn't I? And I think if I'm being honest, when I got to that next level, there was a small part of me that did not believe I was good enough at that level, that when the level changed, when the demand changed, and this could be the level of look, you're making $80,000 a year, now you're making 200 and you could go to a million, right? But for me, if I really unpack it and I'm honest, as a 52 year old man and I look back, there was a little bit of me that wasn't sure I was that good at that level. And I think somehow that caused me to either sabotage it or hold a little bit and reserve or have an excuse or blame other people. and the level change caused a slight, I mean, just minuscule

lack of belief that ended up in this effort that was 99.8% or whatever it was or what I could have given. What do you think about that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, and I think it, you feel that. And maybe that's why this approach that I've taken in coaching

has been so maniacal in a way, or maybe even over the top in terms of commitment and obsessed with life hacks and little tiny advantages because, you know, I blew it as an athlete when I got that big stage and I was afraid and the self doubt was there and I wanted to have the excuse that I shared with you. My off the court was a mess, right? I didn't have meaningful relationships. I was a struggling student that didn't go to class.

I mean, I had all those built-in excuses. But I do think, and I suffered a lot in my career. I mean, my failure because of my inability to even try to be at my best I mean it it put me into the darkest places where that you can get to and trust me It's hard for a hurly to be that vulnerable back then and like the mid-early 90s I mean Brunei Brown would run around talking about vulnerability much right there were many like great

You know and so back then like, Dan Hurley quit the team because of mental health. I mean, like, it took a little bit of something to be able to kind of step away and understand I was in the danger zone of maybe potentially committing suicide as well. I got to, and stuff got real bad because of the bubbling feeling of regret. But I'm also at, I'm pouring all of that into, into my coaching career.

That's why I think, you know, you, and the day that I can't, I will not linger. You know, once I get past this level of energy commitment, the desire to learn and grow and improve and master every aspect and give everyone these players, every single thing I got. Once I want to be on the golf course instead of being in a gym, once, like once I would rather be somewhere else than not on the court with my guys on that. I've enjoyed this so much. I really do not want it to end. It's flown by for me. When another national championship and come back on next year, so we can talk about that. Will you please do that? We're carrying guests, right? We're in the next for six, right? We will,

you know, strives for five last year. We feel like we've got the team that's in the next for six, right? We will, you know, strives for five last year. We feel like we got the team that's that's in the mix for number six here. And I'd become a recurring guest whenever I win it. I'm back. Okay, well, you don't have to win, but I want to throw that out there because then because I know you really need that incentive to do it, coach. I know that'll get you up a little bit extra early tomorrow ago. What's on the line here is not the alumni, the boosters, my legacy, my players' lives. It's I can get back on it and my let's show, wow. This is gonna get you up through the air.

Ed, it's like, it's people like you. Like we don't, you know, this is like I'm a byproduct in terms of the leader that I try to be and what we try to accomplish. It's like, it's the books and the content of things that you put out either on social or what you write or what you put out in terms of podcasts that help create the mindset and mentality.

It doesn't happen by accident. It's like, it's listening and reading stuff that guys like you, you know, produce helps put me in a position to do this. So man, I appreciate you having me on me. Thank you, brother. I want to ask you one last question. I appreciate that. I ironically you just did it here today. This has been a master class. Like, I mean, really honest with you, I'm probably going to let my son hear this one before it comes out because it's a masterclass. So I'm getting it. You guys, you just got an hour with the best of the best in the world at what he does. He, I mean, you don't often get in the brain and the heart of somebody that

performs at this level in their prime. Like he said, you get him 15 years later when they write a book about what they used to do, but to be able to get them in the midst of doing it is incredibly rare and not something I take for granted. The last question is about pressure because of what you just said. How do you deal with it? How do you deal it with players and for yourself and do you feel it? You just want a national championship. You know, you guys finish fourth in the big East or something next year. That's probably not going to cut it. So do you feel pressure? Is it healthy? Do you turn it into something?

How do you do with that for you or your players? Yeah, I feel incredible pressure to win every game. I think that your physiology, your emotions, I mean, your mental health, they're in a course of like the five-month season, man, the rollercoaster arrived. Again, like your foundation got to be strong because, you know, you're under intense scrutiny, you're under intense criticism when it's going bad, but far, far greater than that is like this competitive animal that you have inside you that just, you know, I feel like I coach every game, like I've never won a game. You know, like coach, I got two chips

on my shoulder when I'm coach. I don't have one. Part of it is, I was a high school coach for nine years while a lot of the people that I'm now competing with were coaching at the level that I'm at right now. So when I was coach at a much lower level, these guys were at the top of the sport, now I'm at the top of the sport with them, and I want to prove that I'm better. That to me, as a competitor, I think about that all the time. I want to be better than the other guy. And for me, terms of overall, I almost, the analogy, I think, for me, is like, I'm almost feeling like a batter that is trying to hit through the cycle with his career. And I feel like I got

the triple. You know, like, there's a lot more than I want to do. I want to win. I want to win more of them. I want to win the conference championships. I want to finish them all in the country. I want to keep putting players in the lottery and the NBA draft. I want to, I want my assistant coaches to become head coaches. I mean, I want to be like the program in college basketball over the course of the next, you know, a bunch of years. So in doing that right now, I feel like I hit the triple. The whole run's out there that double the single, but the triple is the hardest one to get, man.

Yeah, you got the one. Getting that first one, man, I feel like, you know, my confidence in what we do is going to make me and make us harder to beat from here on out. It's not going to win us anything. But our belief here at UConn Basketball, we show up in a certain way where we look, I think, a ready like we believe, but our belief in what we do is higher now. Yeah, well, it's been validated. Your system, your process, your preparation, your style,

everything, your culture, your standards, your identity, it's been validated. And now it's a matter of running up to score. I gotta tell you, Dan, I enjoyed today just so much. I not only admire you, I really like you and I told you this off camera If there's anything I can never do for you brother. I'm a real fan of you and I'm rooting for you con I'm rooting for your family. I'm rooting for your players and I'm rooting for you. So thank you for today Well, I appreciate your madness is awesome. It was awesome. All right everybody. Hey share this episode

You just listen to one of the greats in their prime, like in the midst of what they're doing. And I have a funny feeling we're having them back next year. Because we got one thing he's got to do to do it, but I got a feeling it's coming back. All right, everybody. God bless you. Max, out your life.

This is the end mileage, shall. This is The Edmila Show.