Glendale, Ariz. — Dan Hurley used to be more than just a basketball coach.

Did you know that Hurley, UConn’s fiery head coach, once taught high school history as well as a sex education class?

Or that he was a certified lifeguard?

After graduating from Seton Hall, the then 22-year-old Hurley started out his career teaching at his high school alma mater St. Anthony in Jersey City, N.J., while also serving as an assistant coach on his father Bob Hurley’s staff.

Hurley sometimes references historical figures while talking to his Huskies.

His teaching experience helped him become a better coach.

“I love that…,” Hurley said. “I’ve taught world history starting with the collapse of the Roman Empire, mostly focused on European history, from the Dark Ages all the way through to the Reformation.

“I’ve also taught driver’s ed, health, sex ed to coed classes at St. Anthony. At 22 years old, to be able to teach sex ed at St. Anthony, coed classes, you learn how to control a classroom and keep an audience captivated. It’s definitely helped me as a coach in the huddle.

“I think it also helps, too, if you have other jobs, besides just being a coach. It just helps you with perspective a little bit, too.”

Hurley is one of three of the four Final Four coaches, joining Alabama’s Nate Oats and North Carolina State’s Kevin Keatts, that started their coaching careers in high school and gradually moved into the college ranks and up the coaching ladder. Oats was the head coach at Romulus High School in Detroit just 11 years ago and Keatts worked at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

Hurley also coached and taught for St. Benedict Prep in Newark, N.J. for nine years starting in 2001.

“There’s an opportunity at the high school level, through trial and error, without college pressure, to work on your craft as a coach,” Hurley said. “You have to do all things in a high school program. You don’t have three full-time assistants. You become a one-man show.

“That experience, you get to develop in every way as a coach and also you get a chance to witness and get to know a lot of college programs that recruit your players. … You learn a lot from that aspect.”

As far as Hurley’s lifeguarding skills, he was certified years ago in college.

“A couple of classes that I took that got me to my degree were beginners aquatics and advanced aquatics,” Hurley said. “I don’t know if I still have the certification.”

Guessing that Hurley’s certification expired long ago, so don’t expect to see him sitting in a lifeguard chair this summer.

Huskies chasing history

UConn arrived at the Final Four just two wins away from completing its quest to become the first team since Florida (2006, 2007) to repeat as national champions.

Prior to the regular season, Hurley began preparing for the difficult task by talking to Billy Donovan, who coached Florida’s amazing runs. His brother Bobby also accomplished that feat with Duke (1991,1992).

“I got talking to him immediately, really a week after the season ended last year,” Hurley said. “I hit that emotional crash when it’s over and it doesn’t feel like maybe what you thought it would in terms of that sustained euphoria. Kind of disappeared quickly.

“We talked a lot about that, just the emotions of it all. Then the mindset with the team. The difference is, I had a whole new team basically. (Duke) coach Mike Krzyzewski and Billy Donovan, the two coaches to do it, returned pretty much intact an entire dominant team.

“We’ve done this while losing five of our top seven, or whatever it was, scorers and only taking one in the portal. So doing it through player development, doing it through trusting freshmen, strategic portal, it was different.”

Hurley and the Huskies had another chance to experience that national championship winning euphoria once again this weekend in Arizona.

Birthday celebration put on hold

All Cam Spencer wanted for his 24th birthday on Saturday was a national semifinal win over Alabama.

Any other gifts could wait.

“He’s going to enjoy his birthday when we get a win,” said redshirt sophomore Alex Karaban, Spencer’s road roommate. “I’ll buy him a milkshake or something. Hopefully, after Monday.”

The ultra-competitive Spencer, a graduate transfer, has had his serious game face on while playing in his first NCAA tournament.

“I’m focused on winning,” Spencer said. “I really don’t care about the outside stuff. I came here to win and beat Alabama and hopefully get a win Monday night.”

One UConn basketball birthday tradition was still supposed to happen Saturday. Andrea Hurley, Dan’s wife, makes the birthday person’s favorite cupcakes.

“It has to be done,” Karaban said.

News and notes

The Naismith Hall of Fame will announce its national award winners on Sunday in Phoenix. Hurley is a finalist for the coach of the year. … UConn is the first team to reach back to back FInal Fours since North Carolina (2016, 2017) and also first team in program history to do that. …Of the four Final Four teams, UConn is the only one to rank in the top 90 in scoring defense (9th). … Purdue and Alabama have never won a national championship while UConn has captured five (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023) and North Carolina State (1983, 1974).

g.keefe@theday.com