Ranking Dan Hurley’s weirdest superstitions, from UConn coach’s lucky suit to fire-breathing dragon underwear initially appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.”
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This quote from Steve Carell’s Michael Scott in “The Office” isn’t solely humorous but additionally sums up what number of view superstition. People could not purchase into all of them, however the sports activities world could have a couple of, whether or not it’s baseball gamers not stepping on the foul line, or gamers refusing to shave so long as they’re profitable within the playoffs.
For UConn males’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley, he’s no stranger to superstitions and has a plethora of them to maintain monitor of. Even forward of the Final Four win over No. 3 Illinois, his spouse had to go away the sport and return with holy beads that Hurley wanted to fulfill his superstition.
Sadly, with the success he has had in a brief tenure with the Huskies, it’s arduous to doubt that there’s not less than some advantage to the little actions and traditions he has created for himself. Hurley himself referred to as his superstitions his “armor.”
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We rank Hurley’s weirdest superstitions.
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Ranking Dan Hurley’s weirdest superstitions
1. Weirdo Room
Off the title alone, this has to be the weirdest superstition that Hurley has. The UConn coach has a room he calls the Weirdo Room, which is his little protected haven, but it surely would not have a central theme. The room is at his house, the place Hurley meditates, however he will even have conferences with assistant coaches and prime gamers.
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The room is the place Hurley retains his bible, and there’s a statue of Archangel Michael as quickly as you stroll in. It can be the place he has Marvel and DC superheroes. There are motivational athletic posters on the wall.
His wife even said, “You can’t put a finger on which age person sits in this room. It could be a priest, it could be anyone.”
While having a “man cave” or private area is not essentially superstitious, Hurley is meticulous about what goes into the room, together with a referee determine within the nook he can berate after an evening of powerful calls.
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2. M&Ms
Superstitions can vary far and huge, however completely the weirdest one among Hurley’s is his pre-game snack. Plenty of individuals, coaches and athletes alike bask in a pre-game snack, and it could even be sweet.
Hurley takes that to the acute, consuming not solely M&Ms but additionally a selected quantity and avoiding sure colours. The UConn head coach eats precisely eight M&Ms earlier than video games, and can solely eat seven if he occurs to drop one on the ground. He said, “Eight. Right earlier than the sport. Just earlier than the sport. A half-hour earlier than the sport. Seven if I drop one on the ground.”
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Hurley additionally takes the opposing staff’s M&M shade out of the pack, making certain he would not unintentionally eat one that would assist his opponent. His son Andrew confirmed this nuance, saying, “That’s going again years, the M&M’s. He takes the opposite staff’s shade out of the pack.”
MORE: How Dan Hurley’s legacy continues to grow with UConn success
3. Finding a bobby pin
This is a smaller one which Hurley hasn’t expanded upon a lot. Essentially, he believes that if he finds a bobby pin within the wild, whereas on a stroll or simply all through his day, when there usually would not be one, it isn’t solely good luck but additionally an indication {that a} win is coming.
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4. Burning sage
This is a standard follow amongst those that need to maintain evil spirits away. Hurley will stroll the court docket and burn sage earlier than the season, after which he’ll burn sage once more after losses.
MORE: Inside UConn’s perfect national championship game record
5. Same suit
Hurley has worn a two-piece navy suit for each sport this postseason, and the Huskies maintain profitable. To be extra particular, the top coach has worn the very same two-piece suit. The wear-and-tear on this suit has elevated, and Hurley even admitted to being just a little nervous it won’t make it by means of the championship sport intact.
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Hurley said, “Suit’s in bad shape, I’m not gonna lie to you guys. The pants are fine, it’s the jacket that is really—the lining is the problem. There’s like three holes when I stick my arm in the right [sleeve]. There’s like three different places, and if you can see it, it’s like the lining is coming through and going past the dress shirt. That’s been my biggest problem is that the lining and the jacket is a complete mess.”
6. Lucky underwear
This one isn’t super weird because a lot of athletes and coaches opt to wear the same outfit while they are playing well. The weirdness here is that Hurley and his wife take a portable washing machine on the road, using it in their hotel rooms to make sure Hurley’s clothes get washed. To add to the lore, his preferred pair of underwear has dragons on them, while others will have various animals like sharks or lions depending on what pair is bringing wins.
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While many athletes would argue that washing a garment takes the luck off, Hurley at least wants to be sanitary while maintaining his luck.
7. Holy bead bracelet
Hurley’s wife, Andrea, was called into action ahead of UConn’s Final Four game against Illinois. She told a story about how Hurley has a pair of holy beads from Jerusalem and that they needed to be fixed. Andrea was in charge of bringing the beads to Hurley and had forgotten them.
She said, “I had to go away the world final night time, run within the rain, get the beads… And then I bought a police escort again with the holy beads. So, I saved it. The win is all mine.”
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MORE: Why Dan Hurley wears holy beads during games
8. Uniform combinations
This is probably the tamest of Hurley’s superstitions. If it were up to him, his team would wear the exact same uniform combo every game and only change things up if they lost. He said in an interview that Nike has sent UConn several jerseys that he said his players will never wear. Partially because of his superstition, but also in part because “then for those who get your a– kicked, you appear like a bozo.”
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9. Miscellaneous Superstitions
Hurley sat down for an interview with Graham Bensinger. In the interview, he’s requested about his superstitions, however Bensinger additionally sits down with Hurley’s spouse to discuss them, and even interviews some gamers and assistant coaches about their favourite Hurley superstitions.
Other miscellaneous superstitions for Hurley embrace consuming seven cherries on sport day, hitting 4 half-court pictures earlier than follow and beforehand not consuming the day earlier than, after or on sport day in the course of the season.
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