UConn's Dan Hurley was a focus during past St. John's coaching search
Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley works the bench in the first half of a Big East Tournament semifinal against Marquette on March 10 at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/John Minchillo
ALBANY — The situation seems awfully familiar.
The NCAA Tournament was going on and St. John’s was looking to hire a new coach. That was back in 2015, and Dan Hurley’s face was on the cover of the sports sections of every New York tabloid — the Jersey boy and hot commodity from URI who had to be considered for the Red Storm.
St. John’s brought back favorite son Chris Mullin to coach, but Hurley still ended up in the Big East. He is in his fifth season and third NCAA Tournament with Connecticut, and the fourth-seeded Huskies (26-8) will face Saint Mary’s (27-7) on Sunday at MVP Arena.
“I remember that,” Hurley said Saturday of the sports section covers. “I clipped it. I have that.” Asked if he’d been intrigued by the possibility, he replied, “How could you not be?”
The Huskies will be seeking their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2014, when they won the national championship. In their way are the big and methodical Gaels, one of the nation’s best defensive teams, allowing 60.1 points per game.
The key matchup may be in the middle, where both starting centers are coming off big games. UConn’s 6-9 Adama Sanogo had 28 points and 13 rebounds in Friday’s first-round win over Iona, scoring 10 of his points in a 17-4 run that broke open the game. UConn’s backup center, 7-2 Donovan Clingan, scored 13 points. Saint Mary’s 6-10 Mitchell Saxen had 17 points, shooting 8-for-11, plus seven rebounds and four assists in Friday’s win over VCU.
“I back my big man Mitchell Saxen all the way,” the Gaels’ Alex Ducas said. “I know he’s going to bring the effort every time. Obviously, they have two good big men, but I think we’ll be fine.”
Hurley has a unique perspective on the St. John’s job, having grown up in Jersey City, played in the Big East at Seton Hall and coached in the conference.
“Every school in the Big East is a great job, but St. John’s is a great job,” he said. “For a program . . . you want history, you want tradition, you want a recruiting base.”
Then, with an eye toward Madison Square Garden, he added, “Then obviously you want to have maybe an arena that you play in that you could sell.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
