Watching UConn basketball star James Bouknight fold like a cheap suit against the Maryland Terrapins on March 20, I knew for sure he wasn’t a card-carrying member of Dan Hurley’s book club, through which he might have been more mentally ready for stiff competition.

That’s right, Coach Hurley has a book club!

Now, before you fall into a chortling fit over men’s college basketball players reading books, consider Coach Hurley’s brilliant idea.

I first learned of the club in a Day sports article some time ago (“Springs looking forward to playing for Huskies,” May 18, 2020), but the idea continues to beguile me, based on my personal experience.

The UConn athletic department preferred not to talk to me about the book club because, well, understandably, there’s probably not much to say about male college basketball players and books.

But Hurley uses the book club to discover and teach ideas that may better players’ games, mental strength, and, perhaps, their lives.

I like Coach Hurley, and I know his book club is a brilliant idea because I once belonged to a business book club, the strategic idea of attorney James Scott Farrin, CEO of The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin in Durham, North Carolina.

In 2007, I was an assistant office manager with Farrin. We had 22 attorneys and a staff of 50, with five satellite offices. Last I checked, Farrin had grown to over 50 attorneys, 150 staff members and 16 satellite offices.

They’re obviously doing something right. I’m sure their book club deserves some credit.

During my stint, Farrin invited all employees to join his book club, and many did, whether administrators, case managers or attorneys. We had about 30 or 40 members at the time.

Farris would buy books that were ours to keep, usually concerning business practices, leadership or corporate culture and success — books like Jack Welch’s “Winning,” Jim Collins’ “Good To Great,” and Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s “First, Break All The Rules,” and “Now, Discover Your Strengths.”

We’d have three or four weeks to read a book and take notes of any information that might help the firm or its employees improve and succeed.

Then, Farrin would take us all out to lunch where each table of six or eight represented a team. During the meal, individual teams would network and organize their talking points, as Farrin or a designee set up large dry erase boards or attached blank poster boards to the walls.

After the tables were cleared, a chosen representative from each table would present their group’s findings. They were productive and fun sessions, with humor keeping things light.

Farrin documented and organized the ideas presented for all to see. The blank sheets were full by the end of the meeting.

He would then go over the list and all could discuss each item, a fun vetting process that exposed the weak ideas and supported the strong ones, resulting in solid ideas for improvement.

It was a brilliant idea because all positions at the firm took part, bringing different perspectives together. All opinions were taken seriously, no matter your position at the firm. We respected each other, as we all had a stake in the firm’s success.

As such, we all worked on becoming better, more effective performers and potential leaders.

The benefits of a book club for an organization are many. It builds camaraderie and teamwork, a workplace culture that ignores status and encourages morale and productivity. It focuses employees on the same topic in unity and collaboration, creating leaders who enable the company to flourish. It opens minds, bringing employees closer together.

I know it improved our working relationships with each other at Farrin. Learning each others’ strengths built a certain level of professional trust between us. All of us benefited, and I believe a book club can work for any organization or team.

Sportswriter Gavin Keefe rightly reported: “Yes, Dan Hurley is no ordinary basketball coach.” I couldn’t agree more, and wish him all the best in changing the culture of men’s college basketball at UConn.

John Steward lives in Waterford. He can be reached at tossinglines@gmail.com.