UConn Denies Rumor Suggesting Dan Hurley Was Told to 'Tone Down' On-Court Behavior

A UConn spokesman denied that men's basketball coach Dan Hurley was told by school officials to "tone down" his behavior on the sidelines after the Maui Invitational.

The spokesman told CT Insider's David Borges a supposed meeting between Hurley and university president Radenka Maric "didn't happen."

Hurley is never shy about showing his emotions during a game, whether it's celebrating a big moment for the Huskies or arguing about an officiating decision. Even by his usual standards, though, the two-time national champion was in rare form during the Maui Invitational.

Kyle Boone of CBSSports.com was among those who thought the time had come for Hurley to dial his behavior back a bit and described it as a "festering problem."

"He berated officials, routinely violated bench decorum by breaking the boundary of the coaching box and making profane comments with numerous outbursts that could have—and should have—earned him far more punishment for acting inappropriate and unprofessional than the one technical he left Hawaii with," Boone wrote.

College basketball analyst Robbie Hummel also called Hurley's antics "embarrassing" and said the coach might be costing his team by going after the referees so frequently:

UConn's 4-3 start meant Hurley's sideline displays were going to become a bigger story. The Huskies went from the No. 3 team in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll to almost falling out of the rankings altogether after going winless in Maui.

Then the reigning national champs went on an eight-game winning streak before their 68-66 loss to Villanova on Wednesday. Not surprisingly, Hurley has been a little less of a subplot amid the program's quest for a three-peat.

And based on Borges' report, this doesn't appear to be much of an issue within the administration, either.