"He never played again for us" - When Dan Hurley and Tristan Thompson got into a heated exchange

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The player-coach duo of Tristan Thompson and Dan Hurley once crossed paths at St. Benedict’s Prep school. Both were quite talented in their respective fields, yet their synergy wasn’t seamless.

This was particularly evident during their clash in a February 2009 game. As the school’s headmaster at the time, Edwin Leahy, remembered, it prompted significant repercussions for the young Thompson.

“Tristan Thompson took a three, probably the only three that he took all year, and walked back on defense. Danny took him out of the game. As he walked by Danny, he was mumbling something. Danny said, ‘You’re not talking to me, are you?’ And the kid continued to mutter. [Hurley] said, ‘I can’t coach you.’ He was done; he never played again for us,” Leahy stated, per NJ.com.

The makings of Hurley

In early April 2024, Hurley won back-to-back NCAA championships with UConn and was named Naismith College Coach of the Year. Prior to these remarkable achievements, the 51-year-old had his humble coaching beginnings at St. Benedict in Newark from 2001 to 2010. During that time, Dan worked with several players, and some of them really tested his patience – not only Thompson but also another future NBA star.

“Remember, J.R. Smith and I think it was Alex Galindo didn’t play in a Blair (Academy) game in the state tournament because they left school without permission to get a haircut. He [Hurley] sat them on the bench,” recounted Leahy.

Dan’s direct, no-nonsense coaching style was reportedly rooted in the upbringing of his father, Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley. While not all players may resonate with such an approach, for Hurley Jr., it has become a hallmark of the teams he coached. The New Jersey native is often credited with elevating St. Benedict’s into a top high school basketball program, and the successes at his other coaching stints also validate his methods.

Both later reconciled

Hurley’s iron-fist rule was usually supreme, and exceptions were rare, no matter how talented the player. Tristan, a promising center prospect at the time, learned this the hard way. After his removal from the team, numerous top prep schools competed to recruit him, leading him to transfer to Findlay Prep just one week later.

Years later, Thompson reflected on the incident with Hurley at the 2011 NBA Draft combine.

“You got to learn from things like that. I think it helped me mature as a man. We just bumped heads. Frustration kicked in for both of us,” the 6’9″ player remarked.

Although their relationship certainly hit a rough patch back then, the then-20-year-old claimed he and his ex-coach “are still close,” and he “texted him the other day.”

Shortly after, Tristan was drafted fourth overall by the Cavs. Looking back on the 13 years that followed in the league for him, one aspect deserves highlighting. In a way, it fittingly supports Hurley’s outrage back then: Thompson – the opposite of a stretch big man – has since only attempted 39 three-pointers, making 10 of them.