Former UHart coach John Gallagher ‘overwhelmed’ with memories as he returned to coach Manhattan against UConn

After the UConn men’s basketball team beat Manhattan, 90-60, on Friday, head coach Dan Hurley went over to talk with his old friend John Gallagher, the former University of Hartford head coach who is now leading the Jaspers.

“Danny, at the end, said, ‘I’m thankful that I get to bring you back here,’” Gallagher said. “It means a lot. Because I root for UConn, I root for Danny. Hard. My son, last year we were at the games. So this place means a lot… People mean a lot to me here and I care a lot about this place.”

Gallagher’s team beat Central Connecticut, 67-63, on Sunday and returned Thursday to spend Thanksgiving at Hartford Country Club. His return to the state, since parting ways with UHart last November after it decided to move down to Division III, brought back memories that he said “overwhelm” him at times. He even remembered the security officer that was positioned behind the visiting bench on Friday. The officer used to work UHart games, too.

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“There’s so many people in this area that mean a lot to me, and, to be quite frank, I’m really confident in my coaching because of the time here,” he said. “Hartford, the area, the people, the schools, the teachers, so many people were here and they’ll always be a part of my life.”

Manhattan played Kansas, the current No. 1 team in the country, and lost 99-61 on Nov. 10.

“I’ll put it on the table,” Gallagher said. “I think UConn’s better. I think by a couple baskets and here’s why: At the end of the day, (Donovan) Clingan’s ball-screen coverage is a little better than (Hunter Dickinson’s). And if you look at (Alex) Karaban, Karaban’s an NBA first-round pick. He’s a first round pick at the end of this year, go look at his numbers… He’s very impressive. So I think UConn’s better and, I think at the end of the day, Kansas and coach (Bill) Self – who I love – they don’t have the sweat equity that UConn has, they have to get that.

“You’ve got to give Danny Hurley, you’ve got to give UConn, the administration, the credit because they’re back as a top two, three program and he’s a top two, three coach because it’s really growing.”

The University of Hartford’s move down to D-III came shortly after Gallagher coached the Hawks to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021.

“I would have stayed at that (UHart) job for my whole life,” Gallagher told The Courant earlier this month. “There’s nobody who loved he area more, I loved raising my family there. But for my career, this has re-invigorated me. I’m back at full octane right now.”

Asked if Gallagher’s Manhattan squad would be a regularly scheduled opponent in the nonconference, Hurley wasn’t quite ready to jump at the idea.

“I would like not to play his teams too often,” he said. “They play really hard, they’re well-prepared and they play with a lot of energy. So you try to avoid teams like that in these types of games.”