Charles Barkley poked the bear when he suggested UConn had little to no chance against Illinois in the Final Four on Saturday night.
” I don’t think it’s going to be a close game. I think Illinois is going to beat ’em pretty good,” Barkley said before the Huskies handed the Fighting Illini a 71-62 defeat. UConn head coach Dan Hurley used his postgame press conference to take a subtle shot back at Barkley.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of my guys and, you know, how hard they fought when most people probably didn’t think we were going to win the game, or at least a little bit of what I saw on TV today, you know, TNT and some of the different prognostications,” Hurley said. “It’s great to win the game, and I had to throw some shade.”
Barkley clearly didn’t see Hurley’s prior warning for college basketball that has since started going viral again.
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Following a loss to Villanova on Jan. 18, 2020, Hurley proclaimed to reporters that teams “better get us now” before warning that UConn would become a preeminent program in college basketball.
“I just think we’re in year two of a rebuild man,” said Hurley in the press conference. “This isn’t the way UConn has looked. We’re on our way back. We’ve got exciting young players. We’ve got a whole new group of guys that are gonna get enough wins this year that they will feel good about how their career ended.”
“Some exciting young players that are gonna help get us back. We are going to continue to recruit and develop and bring in the type of players that are gonna get us back. People better get us now. That’s all, you better get us now. Because it’s coming.”
The warning has gained new life on social media.
His warning turned prophetic as the Huskies now have a chance to win three national titles in the past four years with a Monday night showdown against Michigan.
Tip is set for 8:50 p.m. ET with the game being broadcast on TBS, truTV and streaming on HBO Max.
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