That infamous moment when UConn head men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley got right up in a referee’s face last season is now a full-blown Halloween decoration outside The Charles restaurant in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Yeah, you heard that right. This isn’t just some generic spooky display, either. We’re talking about two scarecrows standing nose-to-nose, one rocking the Hurley look and the other dressed like an official. It’s exactly as wild as it sounds.
The Elite Eight Moment That Confused Everyone
Remember that Elite Eight NCAA tournament game against Duke last season? It was pure chaos at the end. Braylon Mullins sank a clutch three-pointer, putting the Huskies up 73-72 with less than a second left on the clock. Absolute pandemonium, right? Amid all the celebration, the cameras caught Hurley practically head-butting a referee. People were losing their minds trying to figure out what went down. Was he going to get fined? Suspended? There were serious questions flying around about what kind of discipline he’d face after that interaction.
Hurley’s “Chest-Bump” Explanation Is Unbelievable
Turns out, what everyone saw as a heated confrontation, Hurley saw as something else entirely. He went on the Triple Option podcast, and get this, he explained the whole thing with official Roger Ayers. According to Hurley, “Really, at that point in the game, we had it won. And [Ayers is] such an easy guy to work with during the game, that I thought he was coming over to chest-bump me to celebrate the shot.” A chest-bump! You can’t make this stuff up. Seriously. The dude thought the ref wanted to *celebrate* with him. Predictably, Hurley wasn’t disciplined for the interaction, and UConn kept rolling, making it all the way to the National Championship Game before falling 69-63 to Michigan. As for what Hurley thinks about his scarecrow doppelganger? His reaction isn’t public yet, but Matt Norlander of CBS Sports apparently showed him a photo of the wild display.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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