UConn Men's Basketball Head Coach Dan Hurley, Reigning Back to Back NCAA National Champion, on what sets his team's culture apart part in terms of recruiting.
In his words, they aren’t afraid to say NO to ‘neon talent’ if the player and parents haven’t demonstrated the ability to put the team first.
In an interview before the game with CBS This Morning, Hurley explained the key ingredient to the culture-building process in Storrs. It starts in the recruiting process with an evaluation of the parents just as much as the player.
"There's measurable talents you have to have -- the height, the speed, the skill set. But we spend a lot of time really focusing on the parents," Hurley said. "Are they going to be fans of their son or are they going to be parents? Are they going to hold them accountable, have an expectation that when something goes wrong that it's not the coach's fault? That their son's got to work harder, he's got to do more, he's got to earn his role."
When pressed on how he evaluates recruits' parents, Hurley said this:
"Have they played on seven different travel teams? Have they transferred to four or five different high schools? When you talk to the parents in the recruiting process, are they constantly complaining about the coaches after a bad game or are you having a conversation where their son has got to do more, got to play harder, he's got to work on his skills. They tell on themselves. They drop hints. You've got the wrong type of people around the inner circle of your players, they'll sink your program."
https://nypost.com/2024/04/12/sports/dan-hurley-reveals-how-he-scouts-uconn-recruits-parents/