Dan Hurley is one of the biggest villains in college basketball. Some people love him, especially UConn fans. Most people hate him, especially Providence fans.
However, the 52-year-old head coach pulled an extremely classy move that might get the Friars back in his good graces. He made sure to get the walk-ons their shine on Senior Day and the crowd went bonkers.
UConn held an insurmountable 15-point lead with under 50 seconds left in Saturday’s college basketball game at Providence so Hurley called a timeout to clear the bench. The stoppage allowed walk-ons Luke Fonts and Kieran O’Haire to check into the game for the home team. They combined for less than 10 total minutes over the last four years. Neither guy had previously scored a single point.
Emotions ran high during pregame as the seniors walked out onto the court one final time. Fonts and O’Haire were among them.
A few misty eyes for Providence’s senior day ceremony.
— Ian Steele (@RealianSteele6) March 1, 2025
Bryce Hopkins, Bensley Joseph, Jabri Abdur Rahim, Wesley Cardet, Kieran O’Haire, and Luke Fonts honored.
Tip with UConn soon. @abc6 #pcbb #gofriars pic.twitter.com/8QYnBxaM0d
Okay now back to the final minute!
Fonts was fouled with 14.1 seconds left and went to the free throw line for two shots. He made the first, barely, and the student section went wild for his first career point! He shanked the second.
While that might seem like a major letdown for the Rhode Island-native’s big moment, the miss was a blessing in disguise. The Friars pulled down the rebound and kicked out to O’Haire, who knocked down a nasty turnaround fadeaway jumper. It was the first bucket of his four-year career.
Relive Luke Fonts and Kieran O’Haire make their first career shots as Friars on Senior Day!#GoFriars pic.twitter.com/jYLjvqpXJj
— Corey Floyd Jr. Apologist (@FriarsCapital) March 1, 2025
Hurley left Providence fans with a sour taste in their mouths the last time he was in town. He gave them no reason to hate him on Saturday. UConn called a needless timeout so that Fonts and O’Haire, and the other seniors, could get into the game. They scored the first (and likely only) points of their entire career in the last 15 seconds. That wouldn’t have happened without the classy timeout.
Hate Dan Hurley all you want, but this was a cool move. Luke Fonts and Kieran O’Haire will tell their grandkids about the time they scored against the back-to-back reigning champions on Senior Day!