GLENDALE, Ariz. – Dan Hurley made the adjustment after UConn was knocked out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament two years in a row. The Huskies were coming into the dance far too stressed, not enjoying the event for the spectacle that it is.
Last season the team came in loose and was able to have some fun. And the results spoke for themselves.
Despite the well-documented travel issues – not an “enjoyable experience,” Alex Karaban said – the team was able to get shots up in State Farm Stadium after they got in on Thursday and attended Fan Fest that night.
“You get new life when you come into this arena, you get new life when you see all of the Final Four signs and you just get super excited. We’re all super excited, we’re super blessed and we just can’t wait to play (Saturday),” Karaban said. “(Hurley is) really making sure we really just enjoy everything that comes with the Final Four and, in a way it’s a little bit of a celebration, but at the same time he’s definitely still the same coach. The intensity is there and if we’re not living up to the standard in practice he’s gonna let us know.”
If any of Hurley’s intensity dropped, the one he’s called “mini me,” Cam Spencer, would be right there to pick it up.
Spencer, a fifth-year who transferred in from Rutgers, wants more than anything to experience winning a national championship like his coach and several teammates.
“All of the other stuff is great but, you know, I came here to win,” Spencer said. “I’m really focused on beating Alabama (Saturday) night. I think time for reflection is for another time. We came here to win two games and that’s really what I’m focused on and I think we all are as a team.”
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‘We’ll be back’
It is the first Final Four experience for UConn freshmen Stephon Castle and Jaylin Stewart, but they each have recent basketball memories that were made in Phoenix and at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Stewart played in the Section 7 basketball tournament in the stadium when he was in high school in Seattle. The event includes 400 high school teams from 12 different western states. “It’s crazy to look…
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