Dan Hurley says it's an 'honor' to share Sweet 16 with mentor Tom Izzo
Dan Hurley told TNT that Michigan State's Tom Izzo was his coaching model before becoming one of basketball's top coaches at UConn.
The group chat will be blowing up ahead of UConn and Michigan State's game in the Sweet 16. Seriously. During UConn's win over UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Huskies coach Dan Hurley told Spartans coach Tom Izzo through the TNT cameras to expect his call "just to break the ice," while sharing some words of respect for his next opponent.
"Talk about an honor to share the sideline with one of the greatest coaches and one of the most real coaches, not a phony in any way," Hurley said in his postgame interview. "What you see is what you get, and he's one of the greatest to ever do it, and he's always been my most respected coach that I've tried to model myself after at the college level. So I love Coach Izzo.
" According to a report during the broadcast, Izzo and Hurley are part of a group chat of coaches who prioritize more traditional coaching values in an evolving college sports landscape. Both have been vocal critics of recent changes like in-season roster additions or allowing NBA draft picks to play college ball. Hurley's No.
2 seed UConn (31-5) will face Izzo's No. 3 seed Michigan State (27-7) in the Sweet 16 after the Huskies' 73-57 win over No. 7 seed UCLA in Philadelphia.