Dan Hurley is getting ready for another championship. Three-peating in an era where it’s almost unheard of, the UConn Huskies men are more than ready. The head coach turned down the LA Lakers for this, and as Monday gets closer, Alex Karaban and Co. have a versatile roster up their sleeve against Baylor when that matchup comes on Dec. 4. And yet, one analyst has a warning for Hurley and his team.

It was assumed that to make room for superstar freshman Cooper Flagg in Duke, former Blue Devil Jeremy Roach had been let go in his fifth year. He joined Baylor in a surprise move in April and yet, as Locked on UConn host Mark Zanetto points out, “Baylor brings a really stacked roster including transfers and talented newcomers like freshmen VJ Edgecome. Baylor has…the transfer from Duke, who’s playing point guard this year, Jeremy Roach.”

The Bears have been remade this year with two more transfers in Norchad Omier and Jalen Celestine and are looking to better their 24-11 record from last season. Roach, who originally wanted to go back to Duke, will be an integral piece in the new roster. “You gotta think a guy like that is coming back with a chip on his shoulder, so that will be an interesting showdown,” Zannetto says.

“Baylor always plays tough, Scott Drew’s teams are always well coached…I expect this game to test both teams on offense and defense, especially as Baylor’s depth and UConn’s versatile line up clash,” he continues. Dan Hurley knows what a certain team needs and what may look like a mish-mash of players to others makes sense to him.

The Huskies have Jaylin Stewart and Solo Ball in two different players; the former can play from almost anywhere on the court and the latter shows enough preseason work to earn a starting lineup spot. There will be the only returning starter Alex Karaban, but backed by Hassan Diarra, Tarris Reed Jr., and of course Liam McNeely.

Hurley definitely thinks of the current Huskies as a championship-worthy team but as Diarra says, the head coach has changed a little in quest for a three-peat.

‘Crazy’ Dan Hurley doesn’t want to “only win two in a row”

After two back-to-back titles, a third championship is only natural, thinks Dan Hurley. Calling it the ‘elephant in the room’, the coach told Fanta, “You can’t hide from this opportunity. If we don’t win three in a row, what are people going to say? That you suck as a coach because you could only win two in a row?”

Hurley continued, “But we realize the magnitude of this. You have to be a champion at UConn to be remembered and celebrated.” The only other coach to have done this is John Wooden with UCLA in the 70s, and he did it seven times from 1967 to 1973. Now he has an award named after him, given to the most outstanding players in college basketball.

While Hassan Diarra says, “If he has changed, he’s gotten a little crazier,” Alex Karaban says, “Hurley wants another championship so badly, but he’s coaching us the same as he always has. The intensity has always been there. Now, it’s just leveling up.” Hurley is ready to tear another net from its basket, is what he’s saying.

It’s going to be another bettor-friendly season as the Huskies not only look poised for another championship but are confident enough in themselves to grab it. And leading the symphony is conductor Dan Hurley, who is the most self-assured of them all and believes in his team.