Dan Hurley is preparing to face his good friend Nate Oats in the Final Four on Saturday, and the UConn coach offered a great quote about the matchup this week.
Oats is very close with the Hurley family. The Alabama coach got his start in college basketball as an assistant on Dan’s brother Bobby Hurley’s staff at Buffalo in 2013. Oats then took over for Bobby as the head coach of Buffalo when Bobby took the Arizona State job in 2015.
Dan Hurley spoke on Thursday about facing Oats in the Final Four. He had a great way of summing up the experience.
“This one, I think I’m excited to compete against a friend in such a big spot,” Hurley said, via On3’s Charlie Potter. “This is, like, the Final Four. I think it kind of changes it a little bit for me because we’ve both done something incredible with the season. Somebody that I really care about is going to play for a national championship — preferably me. I also care about Nate, too, to a much lesser degree.”
Oats told reporters on Thursday that he would not be where he is without the Hurley brothers.
Nate Oats said he's done "a lot of reminiscing over the last week" about coaching in the Final Four and his journey here from his start as an assistant on Bobby Hurley's Buffalo staff.
"Bobby is the one that got me in this business. If it wasn't for Danny and Bobby, I wouldn't… pic.twitter.com/Hr4KdEmL9O
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) April 4, 2024
“If it wasn’t for Danny and Bobby, I wouldn’t be here,” Oats said. “We’re playing each other in Bobby’s town down here in Phoenix. Kind of funny how it comes full circle.”
Oats also joked that he is not responsible for the travel issues UConn has had leading up to the Final Four.
Alabama is a massive underdog against UConn, and for good reason. The Huskies have demolished every one of their opponents dating back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Oats is hoping to avoid being his close friend’s next victim.
