BOSTON — At the “under 4” timeout in the second half of UConn’s Elite Eight evisceration of Illinois at TD Garden on Saturday, coach Dan Hurley walked across the court and began waving his arms to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
The UConn faithful who turned this Garden into Storrs North for a long weekend responded accordingly to the pleas of Hurley’s arms, and he channeled that energy to a touching crescendo — a chest-bump with his son, Andrew, a UConn walk-on.
The scene epitomized a game that offered the full Danny Hurley experience, as his foot-stomping histrionics drew smirks from comedian Larry David, who was sitting in the front row.
Hurley’s day ranged from frenetic to introspective, as No. 1 overall seed UConn blowtorched No. 3 Illinois in the second half to win 77-52 and push toward more rare air.
All eyes will be on Hurley for the next week, as he has UConn in the Final Four for a second consecutive season and has emerged through early failures at the program to somewhat suddenly become one of the faces of an entire sport.
