When Danny Hurley led UConn to back-to-back NCAA championships last April in Glendale, Arizona, he not only joined an elite coaching association, he matched his older brother with two championship rings.

Bobby won back-to-back titles as point guard at Duke in early 1990sand Danny now has two as coaches at UConn — and he is obsessed with trying for the three-peat.

“It just fills my heart with happiness,” Bobby, who is entering his 10th season as the head coach at Arizona State, told NJ Advance Media by phone ahead of his team’s exhibition at Duke on Sunday night. “I mean, that’s the only thing it does.

“We grew up together and we’ve been through a lot together, coached together for a few years (at Wagner and Rhode Island) and we’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders. We both help each other out tremendously, just going through our seasons. We’ve that for the last 15 years, so to see him do this is just off the charts special, just knowing what he invests and what he puts into it and seeing him work, to make it all come together for him, is my heart just filled with happiness.”

Do you want to bet on College Basketball?

See the best NJ Sports Betting sites

During Big East media day on Wednesday, Danny used the words “pathological,” “sick” and “obsessive” to describe his desire to prepare the Huskies for this season and compete for the first three-peat in college hoops since John Wood coached UCLA

“It’s a lot of catchphrases, pathological, sick, obsessive,” Bobby, the No. 7 pick in the 1993 NBA Draft, said with a laugh when he learned what his little brother said.

“He’s always been driven like that anyway. Obviously, what he’s been able to do the last two years, it’s not shocking that’s what his thought process is right now, that’s for sure.”

Hurleys, of course, grew up learning the game from his father, formerly of St. Anthony’s trainer and current Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Hurley Sr. They learned about defense, toughness and fundamentals at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, a community center used for bingo games, dances and concerts, and also for basketball practice.

“If the work you put in growing up in our environment equated to winning, then I’m not surprised (with our success) because there was a huge amount of sacrifice and work that went into both of us as players,” said Bobby. “And Dan has taken that same mindset to his coaching, so it doesn’t guarantee you anything, it doesn’t guarantee me anything, but if you put in the time and do the work, things like this have a chance of happening.

“I never thought it would be me, it just happened to be me.”

With the 2024-25 college season just around the corner, both Hurley brothers are whipping their teams into shape.

Danny and UConn already had an exhibition win over Rhode Island at Mohegan Sun Arena, while Bobby returns to Duke this weekend to play Cooper Flag and the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-9 Flagg chose Duke over UConn last spring and is now in contention along with Rutgers stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper to become the No. 1 overall pick next summer.

“A player like (Flagg), that’s from Maine, that had the reputation that he had, the chances of him coming to Arizona State were like a snowball in hell,” Bobby said. “So I didn’t invest a lot of time watching his matches because I had to be realistic.

“But I’ve seen enough video to know he’s the truth about what everyone says about him and everything he’s done. Like what he could do behind closed doors (with the USA Select Team) against Team USA, it just confirms that even more.

“The hype is real so we’re excited to be a part of it on Sunday.”

Bobby said returning to Duke will be “nostalgic” because of “my history with the program.”

“I wanted to do it but I didn’t want to do it in a regular season format where there’s a winner and a loser,” he said. “In this situation, yes, there will be a winner and a loser, but it’s an exhibition and I think it will be a way to come back.”

On Saturday night, Bobby and former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be honored at a private dinner for Arizona State donors and Duke people. Coach K acts as a mentor to Danny as well.

“I’m looking forward to meeting (Coach K) and just putting my team in a tough spot as we get ready for the season,” Bobby said.

Thank you for trusting us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his website at ZAGSBLOG.com.