Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies continue to be disrespected by the national media

You can see why his son, Andrew, a reserve on the UConn team, referred to his father here in Houston as “bizarre.”

Among the topics at Dan’s Sunday press conference here, on the eve of playing for the national championship: how bad he is as a painter (one of his purported stress relievers) and why he “sucked” at first as a high school coach. Hat spun around backward on the podium, Dan projects pride in his players while making fun of himself. Listen to him long enough and you’re amazed he can find his way out of bed and into the gym every day.

Dan Hurley is the son of one of the greatest high school coaches in basketball history. He’s the little brother of one of the great point guards in college hoops history. He’s 40 minutes away from his own claim to greatness, a development that threatens to ruin his schtick.

The Connecticut coach has always exuded an oddball persona, wrapping it in Jersey wiseacre humor. Bob Hurley Sr.’s son and Bob Hurley Jr.’s little brother has accomplished a lot, but he runs with a tough crowd—this is one of the most accomplished families in the history of the sport, the Harbaughs of hoops. Thus Dan is far more likely to discuss his shortcomings, failures, phobias and exaggerated misery than embrace the fact that he’s damn good at what he does.

The glass half empty? It’s a scam,” says Bob Sr., in the UConn locker room Sunday, a Saint Anthony High School hat on his head and UConn sweats on his body. “I know it’s a scam. He loves to take you all on the magical carpet ride.”

The magical carpet ride is all UConn’s, rocketing back to prominence, storming through this men’s NCAA tournament like few teams ever have. Every Huskies victory has come by 13 or more points, with an average victory margin of 20.6. The last team to capture every NCAA tourney game by at least 13 points on the way to winning a title was Indiana in 1981—and those Hoosiers had to play only five games, not six.