UConn assistant coach Tom Moore boasted a little growth of stubble for Tuesday night's game.
David Borges/Hearst CT MediaCHICAGO — If UConn men's basketball assistant coach Tom Moore appeared a bit more disheveled than usual on the sidelines on Tuesday night, there was a reason.
The slicked back hair was still in place, but a noticeable growth of stubble — dangerously close to a beard — was on his face. A slump-busting beard, to try to help get the struggling Huskies back on track?
"I think so," head coach Dan Hurley said. "I think it was something that we felt like, we needed a change, and Tom jumped on the grenade there."
Moore, who has never grown a beard before, insisted it had nothing to do with superstition. Hurley is as superstitious as it gets, from burning sage before every game to leaving the locker room exactly two minutes before the buzzer sounds to insisting his team wears the same uniforms after wins. The man considered wearing a mask during a game last week, even though he wasn't required to, since he had worn one in a resounding victory the prior game.
Moore doesn't appear to be quite as superstitious, but he's certainly in a bind now. Keep the beard or shave? Moore said after the game that he wasn't sure. His boss was a little more sure.
"It stays," Hurley said. "I don't know how he's going to shave it now."
david.borges@hearstmediact.com @DaveBorges