Getty Image / Jamie Squire
The UConn men’s basketball team is just two wins away from making history. They’re currently in Phoenix for the Final Four, and if they win, they would be the first team since Florida in 2006-2007 to win back-to-back national championships.
Considering they lost a lot of key players from last year, people are wondering just how Danny Hurley has helped UConn reload to an arguably better team than they were last year. Part of the secret may be something you’d never think of.
At UConn’s open practice on Friday ahead of their Saturday game with Alabama, players were seen wearing baseball batting gloves while doing ball-handling drills.
UConn practicing with baseball gloves on. 😅🔥 pic.twitter.com/4tONygyMTB
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) April 5, 2024
That’s a really interesting training aid! I think the purpose of this is to take away some dexterity and make ball handling just a bit tougher. Not being able to feel the curvature and dimples of the basketball makes dribbling a little more difficult.
Whatever UConn is doing is working. They entered the tournament as Big East regular season, conference tournament champions, and the top overall seed.
They’ve won their four tournament games by an average of just over 25 points per game. In their Elite Eight matchup against Illinois, UConn broke open a close game with an astounding 30-0 run that bridged the end of the first half and start of the second half.
Sportsbooks have UConn as a nearly 1:2 favorite to take home the national title next Monday night. If they do, they owe at least a little bit of the championship to batting gloves.