Connecticut coach Dan Hurley on competing with NBA teams: 'That's crazy talk'

No. 1 Connecticut has steamrolled through the regular season and the first two games of the NCAA men’s tournament, making the Huskies the unquestioned team to beat as the program looks to become the eighth Division I program to claim back-to-back national championships.

With eight wins in a row by double digits in tournament play, the Huskies are still waiting for a real test in the march toward college basketball history.

But the idea that UConn can compete in the NBA is ridiculous, coach Dan Hurley said.

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“I know somebody on ESPN said we could beat an NBA team or something bizarre,” he said. “That’s crazy talk.”

This was the theory offered on Monday by ESPN host Mike Greenberg, who said UConn “would make the playoffs in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.”

The Huskies are “an NBA team,” he said.

“They execute like one,” ESPN analyst Jay Williams said in response, “but their talent level I would not say would be able to make the play-in.”

“We do have several players on this team that are going to play in the NBA, are going to be drafted in the NBA, are going to be drafted in the lottery in the NBA,” Hurley said. “You can’t deny when you watch this team play that it’s a fun team to watch because the ball moves, and we share it, and we play for each other. You can see the culture. You can see the energy. You can see the commitment to defense. You can see the personalities up and down the organization.

“It’s been a great team. It’s just been a fun team. I think we’ve got … we finally have kind of figured out the formula.”

Greenberg reversed his remarks on Tuesday during his syndicated radio program, saying that he was just joking.

“I’m more than willing to admit that I’ve said more than a million stupid things,” he said. “It just bothered me yesterday because I knew I was kidding. Look, I grant, if it wasn’t obvious enough that I was kidding, that’s on me, that’s not on anybody else. For what it was worth, if I need to say this out loud, I do not believe that UConn would make the playoffs in the NBA.”

Connecticut coach Dan Hurley reacts during his team’s game against Northwestern in the second round of the 2024 NCAA men’s tournament at the Barclays Center.

In fact, he said, “They would probably go 0-82, yeah.”

The Huskies have won two tournament games, against No. 16 Stetson and No. 9 Northwestern, by a combined 56 points. The 33-point halftime lead against Stetson was the largest in the program’s tournament history and the second-largest in the past 20 tournaments. UConn plays on Thursday against No. 5 San Diego State in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Connecticut coach Dan Hurley on competing with NBA teams: ‘That’s crazy talk’