San Diego State guard Lamont Butler leaves open the possibility that he will return next season, could also transfer You learn something new about Connecticut coach Dan Hurley every day. Such as: He taught sex education at a Catholic high school. And the kid from Jersey City once was a certified lifeguard. The sex education was one of several courses he taught at St. Anthony’s, where he also was an assistant
basketball coach on his father’s staff. “I taught history starting with the collapse of the Roman Empire, mostly focused on European history, from the Dark Ages all the way up through the Reformation,” Hurley said. “I’ve also taught driver’s ed, health and sex ed. Being able at 22 years old to teach sex ed at St. Anthony’s (to) co-ed classes, you learn how to control a classroom and keep an audience captivated. “I think it’s definitely helped me as a coach in the huddle. I think it also helps, too, if you have other jobs besides just being a coach. I just it just helps you with perspective.” The lifeguard certification came while he was a student at Seton Hall. “A couple of the classes I took that got me to my degree were beginners aquatics and advanced aquatics,” Hurley said. The certification was for a pool lifeguard, not on the beach down the Jersey Shore. “No, I would not throw the Speedo on and pull a (David) Hasselhoff,” Hurley said of the Bay Watch
Actor. “I’d need a Manscaped (electric razor) plus Nair (hair removal). I’d need everything. It would be messy.” He never worked at a pool, either. “That was a missed opportunity,” he said. “Maybe I was afraid.” Props for preps Hurley isn’t the only head coach in the Final Four who spent time as a high school coach. North Carolina State’s Kevin Keatts and Alabama’s Nate Oats did as well. Said Keatts: “Some of the best coaches in the world are high school guys. They’re doing the same thing that we’re doing, but they’re not making a lot of money to do it. At that level, some coaches get a stipend or maybe $2,000, $2,500 to do their
Job, and they do it for the love of the game. I think that’s what is so special about it.” Oats: “There are a lot of really good high school coaches. I went up against some in metro Detroit. I’ve gotten to know a lot of them. Shoot, I still steal drills when I go on recruiting trips to see different high school coaches work. … I’m sure there’s a lot of high school coaches out there looking at this Final Four wondering if they can get a break. I just tell ’em, ‘Keep working, be ready for your break if it comes.’” House call The Reese’s All-Star Game is played at the Final Four on the Friday after the open practices. The West, coached by USD’s Steve Lavin and his staff, won this year’s game 87-75. The West MVP was also a familiar figure to San Diego State fans: New
Mexico guard Jaelen House . The only Mountain West player in the game for seniors who have exhausted their eligibility finished with 16 points on 6 of 8
shooting to go with four assists and a steal in 23 minutes. The West squad was plus-22 points with him on the floor. House is from Phoenix and was already in town, so playing in the game made sense despite taking 10 days off to heal various injuries after the Lobos’ season ended in a 19-point loss against Clemson in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. “It was a like a real game,” House said. “I’m not going out to (lie): I’m going out to play my real game, and that’s what I did. … I’m glad I got to leave on a win and not a loss. It feels way better. It’s a cool experience (but) I’d rather have experienced it as a Lobo instead of a Reese’s All-Star.” Scouts from all 30 NBA teams attend the game as well as the practices in the days before. “That’s always the main goal,” House said of his NBA ambitions. “But wherever the most money is, that’s where I’ll be.” Award season Zach Edey was a busy man Friday. In addition to his Final Four media obligations with Purdue, he also attended separate news conferences for receiving a pair of player of the year awards — from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Associated Press — for the second straight year. The 7-foot-4 Canadian center known as Big Maple becomes the fifth back-to-back winner of the AP award and the first since Virginia’s Ralph Sampson , who’s also 7-4, since 1983. The basketball awards season continues Saturday, when the Karl Malone Award for the nation’s top power forward will be announced. SDSU’s Jaedon LeDee is among the finalists (and favorites). Butler enters draft Aztecs senior guard Lamont Butler announced Friday that he will provisionally enter the NBA Draft while retaining his collegiate eligibility, just as he did last year. The move was expected and doesn’t change his status whether he’ll use his COVID year for a fifth season in college, either at SDSU or elsewhere. Butler has not entered the transfer portal and has until May 1 to do so. He never did last year, reducing his decision to turning pro or returning to SDSU.