Is Dan Hurley’s pregame ritual a secret to the UConn men’s success?
The UConn men’s basketball team may have coach Dan Hurley’s pregame sage ritual to thank as the Huskies (7-1) narrowly escaped with a 72-63 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore (2-5) on Tuesday night at the XL Center.
UConn men’s basketball team is ranked No. 17 in the country and off to its best start in years, so maybe the sage has been hidden key to the team’s success?
About four hours before tip-off, Hurley was seen walking around with a lit sage throughout the court.
According to CBS Sports Network, this ritual isn’t new. He started burning sage pregame back when he was coaching at the University of Rhode Island. At URI, he started putting sage in the left corner because they kept being beat in the left corner by buzzer beaters — and it worked.
It’s been a staple for Hurley ever since.
Perhaps the sage has been warding off evil spirits and negative omens for this UConn season, or maybe Hurley is just channeling his inner Phil Jackson and Kyrie Irving.
Whatever the ritual is used for, Hurley should keep doing it as UConn continues to win.
