INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Malachi Smith knew what he was getting into when he committed to UConn in the transfer portal last April. After four seasons at Dayton, Smith craved the intensity and success fostered by Dan Hurley\u2019s Huskies. He had heard of stories of the head coach\u2019s legendary practice tirades, and it didn\u2019t take long for him to become the focal point of one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Hurley was instructing Smith about passing reads during an early season practice when the senior guard gave a nonchalant acknowledgement that he heard the coach\u2019s message.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018OK, bet,\u2019\u201d Smith recalled after UConn\u2019s thrilling 2026 Final Four victory over Illinois on Saturday night. It turned out that was a poor choice of words.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cHe told me, say \u2018yes, coach,\u2019 and I said, \u2018yes coach,\u2019\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe said no, say \u2018yes fucking coach.\u2019 And I said, \u2018yes, fucking coach.\u2019 Ever since I\u2019ve been saying \u2018yes coach\u2019 or \u2018yes sir.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Hurley is 40 minutes away from his third national championship in four years when UConn faces the Michigan Wolverines in the title game on Monday. The first two came pretty easily: the Huskies\u2019 2023 team won their six tournament games by an average margin of 20 points per game<\/a> despite being a No. 4 seed. The following year\u2019s team was even more dominant<\/a>, out-scoring opponents by an average of 23.3 points in the tournament to become college basketball\u2019s first back-to-back national champion since Billy Donovan\u2019s Florida Gators in 2006-2007.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It didn\u2019t always look like this year\u2019s Huskies would be playing on the final day of the season. UConn lost to an under .500 Creighton team at home in the middle of February. A few weeks later, it lost the last game of the regular season to a terrible Marquette team that finished only 12-20 overall. UConn even entered the NCAA tournament on a sour note after it got drilled by 20 points against St. John\u2019s in the Big East tournament championship game, which finalized its destiny as a No. 2 seed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hurley once again has his team peaking at the right time, even without the obvious NBA lottery talent he enjoyed two years ago with Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle leading his team. He\u2019s also had to keep his staff focused even after top assistant Luke Murray accepted Boston College\u2019s head coaching job with the transfer portal already unofficially underway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe year hasn\u2019t been a joyride,\u201d Hurley said after the win over Illinois. \u201cWe haven\u2019t been a machine of destruction. We\u2019ve been a team that\u2019s had to grind out games like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In what ways have Hurley\u2019s previous two national championship runs changed the head coach? Senior forward Alex Karaban, a four-year starter who is also going for his third ring, scoffed at me even asking the question.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe hasn\u2019t changed at all,\u201d Karaban said. \u201cHe\u2019s the same guy. If anything winning has only made him hungrier for more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n