It’s debatable whether UConn qualifies as a “blue blood,” but there’s no doubting its prowess in college basketball.

The human storm of a basketball coach at UConn was unable to unwind even when he had attained the basketball immortality he had spent his entire life pursuing.

“Watch out for stealing my net!” When he left the UConn locker room for his postgame press conference, Dan Hurley exclaimed while grinning.

Hurley can no longer have anything taken from him, not his accomplishment or memento. The brother of one of college basketball’s finest point guards and the son of a legendary New Jersey coach finally had his time in the spotlight.

UConn realised the goals Hurley outlined when he was hired with a 76-59 victory over a tenacious but outmatched San Diego State on Monday night. The Huskies’ sixth national championship in the last 25 years was won under the leadership of the 50-year-old coach, who also brought back the program’s signature swagger and intimidation factor.

Unlike UConn, few teams have ever completely dominated an NCAA tournament. Just five men’s basketball champions have won all six of their games by more than ten points, and the Huskies are the latest. They nearly missed Kentucky’s 1996 NCAA tournament record for the average margin of victory by 20 points while thrashing opponents by an average of 20 points.

Hurley stated, “It feels terrific to follow through on my commitments. “This was the goal. We had this dream. As we sought out these men, we discussed the possibility of doing something significant along these lines.

Whether UConn is now a prestigious college basketball programme is the issue that must be asked in the aftermath of the Huskies’ most recent victory. Are they deserving of such lofty title? Do they have what it takes to compete with established institutions like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana, and UCLA?

Because the blue blood requirements are so arbitrary and vague, the discussion is useless. Others will never see UConn as a blue blood since it lacks a lengthy history that dates back to the peach basket period, didn’t leave the small-conference shadows until 1979, and spent the majority of its first decade in the Big East being eaten alive.

It was transformed by Jim Calhoun’s brash, brazen teams of the 1990s and 2000s, who punched up in weight until they were among the sport’s heavyweights and then won championships at a rate no one else could match. Calhoun retired in 2013 after winning three national championships. The next year, Kevin Ollie triumphed once more using Calhoun’s survivors.

When you include in UConn’s dominant title run this season under a third head coach, it’s hard to argue against the claim that it is the most successful programme during the previous 25 years. In that time, only North Carolina and Michigan State have made it to more Final Fours. No one has amassed more titles. Since UConn’s first national championship, Duke and North Carolina have each won three. Since 1999, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, and Indiana have a total of three between them.

Freshman Alex Karaban from UConn remarked, “We’re a blue blood.” “After 25 years, this is our sixth. With three various coaches, we have achieved national success. No matter what anyone says, we know we’re a blue blood.

Mike Krzyzewski is one of many who supports Karaban. During Colin Cowherd’s podcast on Sunday, the famed former Duke coach uttered the words, “I detest when people claim there are no blue bloods in the Final Four. You’ve got to be joking, right?

“Obviously they’re at the level of the few teams that you say are blue bloods,” Krzyzewski said of Calhoun, calling him “maybe the greatest creator of a programme.”

Younger UConn supporters may not be as accustomed to seeing the Huskies prance through March. They are unaware of the “Dream Season” of 1990 or the glory days of Donyell, Ray, Rip, and Ben. They only know of UConn’s upset of an unbeatable Duke squad in 1999. When Kemba Walker carried the Huskies on his back in 2011 or Shabazz Napier duplicated the feat three years later, they weren’t yet in high school.

UConn had no direction when Hurley took over the programme five years ago. While stuck in the confusing American Athletic Conference, the Huskies had only made the NCAA tournament once in the previous four years. Both a difficult separation with Ollie and NCAA fines were imposed on them.

Hurley expressed optimism in January 2020, when his rehabilitation efforts were only getting started. After a close defeat to Villanova, the intensely competitive coach angrily remarked, “They better get us now, that’s all. Get us immediately, you better. because it is approaching.

And it was on its way. Nevertheless, not as quickly as Hurley had intended.

After the Huskies’ embarrassing loss to New Mexico State in the NCAA tournament in March, UConn’s best three returning players had a heart-to-heart discussion about the team’s lack of playoff success. That day, Hurley unveiled his strategy for assembling a team capable of winning a championship around the playmaking wings Andre Jackson Jr., Jordan Hawkins, and Adama Sanogo.

UConn was restored to its former self thanks to that core and the other elements Hurley added. From November through the first Monday in April, the Huskies were the greatest team in college basketball, with the exception of a miserable four-week swoon during conference play.

UConn demonstrated it once more in the championship game on Monday when they jumped out to a 15-point lead midway through the second half and held their ground as San Diego State began its final onslaught. Hawkins sank a 3-pointer to start a game-winning 9-0 run when the lead was down to five points and UConn was under siege for the first time in this NCAA tournament.

Hawkins stated, “Coach drew something up for me.” He obviously trusted me to make the shot, I knew.

Hurley felt it was now time to rejoice after two hours of drooping his shoulders when easy shots missed, clutching his hands behind his head after defensive lapses, and never once sitting on the stool positioned in front of the UConn bench. Hurley angrily raised his fist with little over a minute left. The UConn supporters, many of whom were screaming his name, were then given a kiss as he turned his back on the action.

At the final whistle, UConn players and coaches appropriately danced to DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” before the national championship trophy was officially presented. Hurley lifted the trophy with joy and then gave a brief summary of his memorable night.

Hurley told CBS’ Jim Nantz, “We had the four national titles coming in.” “Five is what we’ve been aiming for. Now we’ve got our own.”