"Get In The Real World:" Dan Hurley Might Act A Little Crazy, But He's A 'Good Egg' On This Easter Weekend

INDIANAPOLIS — Dan Hurley has been living in what he calls the "real world" the past few years — a life that includes actual human interaction while avoiding the pitfalls of social media.

Call him whatever you want. The 53-year-old UConn coach has likely heard it all, or at least been told by his family and staff. 

Sure, some of it is warranted. But, a lot of times, there seems to be a disconnect between who Dan Hurley actually is within the parameters of basketball compared to his life outside the spotlight. 

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But, a lot of that is by design. There are moments when the Huskies coach finds himself as the ‘meme of the day’, which came after his interaction with an official last weekend in the Elite Eight win over Duke. 

Amid the ongoing discussions about his persona on the court, though they might not look the best to some, Dan Hurley is not playing the victim card. If anything, the Huskies head coach knows that he rubs some the wrong way, but he's not going to cry about it.

"Yeah, I'm not a victim. I've done everything. I did what I did," Hurley said about past incidents. "We don't allow victims in our program, and I'm not a 53-year-old man sitting up here like I'm some victim.

"I don't want to waste a lot of time with it because it takes away from the team."

On Easter Weekend, Dan Hurley Perceives Himself As ‘Good Egg’

The discussion around mental health in college athletics has been a hot-button issue in recent years, with plenty of discourse around the off-court aspects of trying to stay in the right headspace amid the ever-changing world. 

Whether that be players staying glued to their phones and listening to the constant noise, or not doing what they can to take advantage of resources that will help them navigate difficult times, Hurley has found that presenting his players with the tools needed to battle ongoing issues is imperative. 

"Yeah, so many things. I think number one, relative to mental health and wellness, you try to promote it as much as you can," Dan Hurley noted. "If you need it, seek counseling, seek therapy. I think it's a really healthy thing for all people.

"Obviously, we have mental skills coaches to try to keep these guys with their mindfulness practices, whether that's meditation or visualization or mantras. Also, I think it's important — it doesn't have to be Christian at this, but having some type of spiritual side to your life is critically important."

While there will be plenty of people who do not agree with Hurley's outlook, or ways in which he tries to promote a better environment, I would think most would concur with his passion for stepping away from the stress that comes from a few apps on your phone. 

"Just please stay off your phone. I know it's tough, man. Get your face away from your phone and get in the real world," Hurley mentioned. "Like get off Twitter, get off Instagram, stop reading the comments. That's probably why it doesn't bother me when people have things to say."

And, there is absolutely a difference between the real world, compared to what you see on social media consistently. For Dan Hurley, there have been people who see him on the television screen getting face-to-face with an official and automatically think he's a bit crazy. 

But lost in the madness of the discourse around his on-court antics are the people interacting with him in-person, compared to what they see on social media. 

"I get much more of a bad reaction from people, I think, on social media than when I meet regular people, because anytime I meet regular people they look at me, and they start laughing or they start smiling, or like, you're the guy from the video, you look a little crazy, but I think you're a good egg."

I don't imagine Dan Hurley is losing any sleep over what people think of him as a basketball coach. 

But, I can promise you he's paying attention to what his players are going through on a daily basis.