Dan Hurley’s UConn advanced to the Final Four after a thrilling victory against Jon Scheyer’s Duke. The Blue Devils were leading by 19 points at one point. But they lost that lead quite spectacularly. With just 10 seconds remaining, Duke had the possession, only to have a turnover with 6 seconds left.
They advanced to the Final Four and will now face Brad Underwood’s Illinois. UConn has not been in its best form. They had multiple scares and won some close games. Illinois also had a similar run all season. Keaton Wagler has made a name for himself with some inspired performances. He is averaging 17.9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 36 games.
It is surely going to be a blockbuster game. There isn’t much to separate the two sides. UConn would be full of confidence after the miraculous win, while underrated Illinois would be looking to prove everyone wrong. Analyst Stephen A. Smith recently gave his verdict on the mouth-watering matchup.
“Anything can happen. Anything can happen. We understand that. But if I’m betting, I’m not betting on UConn to win the national championship. I think that it’s it’s miraculous and incredible for them and a tribute to them that they got this far. Major major props to them. But I also think that when I look at Michigan and I look at Arizona and how formidable they are and to a lesser degree Illinois that is just a sleeping giant here, nobody’s paying attention to them,” Stephen A. Smith said at 8:17.
“They in the final four. Illinois can play. By the way, by the way y’all, that kid Wagler special. Special. Special. I mean we talk about people like Darius Acuff Jr. here and we looked at AJ Dybantsa and looked at all. Have you seen this kid at Illinois? Special! It’s all I’m going to say. And now Illinois is also locking down defensively. It’ll be a tough out for UConn. We’ll see what happens,” Smith concluded.
Stephen A. Smith Shares What it Means For a Player to Develop Under Dan Hurley’s Leadership
Everybody knows the caliber Dan Hurley has as a coach. Keeping aside his actions on the court, which one might like or not, there is no denying that he is one of the greatest modern day coaches. Not only that, he is now working his way to becoming one of the greatest ever.
Stephen A. Smith talked about the benefits of being coached by Hurley. He mentioned how coaches like Hurley, Tom Izzo and John Calipari have one thing in common: preparing these young student athletes for the real world.
The analyst went on to praise the straight forwardness of coaches like Dan Hurley. He said:
“Telling somebody where they stand and, you know, being critical and all of this other stuff. It ain’t hard if you tell the truth and you make sure that you’re telling it in a respectful manner. But most importantly, you’re sticking to the task at hand and you’re speaking in a way that’s going to benefit somebody because you’re enlightening them about the road that is waiting for them. Whether they get their act together or not is going to determine how the world responds to them. That’s benefiting them.”
Read more:
“I’m Ashamed”: Stephen A. Smith Goes Back on His Word in Honest Admission About Dusty May’s Michigan
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in baseball, tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
