The Connecticut men's team is back in the same Final Four as it was 20 years ago, when the 2004 Huskies defeated Georgia Tech for the second national championship in program history.
That UConn team was loaded.
Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor, top five picks in the 2004 NBA Draft, were the stars. Freshman Charlie Villanueva, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, came off the bench. Three more Huskies from the team also played in the NBA: Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone and Marcus Williams.
And we had a freshman manager named Mark Denault.
Twenty years later, Dynor, who went from being a freshman coach to becoming the Thunder's fourth-year head coach, is the favorite to win the NBA Coach of the Year award after finishing second last season.
Orlando's Jamal Mosley, Boston's Joe Mazzula and Minnesota's Chris Finch have all won Coach of the Year awards, but no one is as strong as Daigneault. No need to squint at his patented Daigneault.
The Thunder (52-25) have five games remaining and have already surpassed their preseason over/under win total of 44.5. The Celtics, Timberwolves and Magic also exceeded preseason expectations, but the Thunder entered the season as the second-youngest team in the NBA to do so.
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Orlando's core players are similar in age to OKC's players, and while Mosley would be No. 2 in my vote, the Thunder entered the weekend with a seven-game advantage over Orlando in the loss column.
Last season, the Thunder improved their record by 16 games, from 24 wins the previous year to 40 wins. Although his health may not allow it, the Thunder are still within reach of 56 wins, an increase of 16 wins this season.
One of those leaps is noteworthy. Two is almost unheard of.
Sam Presti built it and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over the engine duties, but Daigneault calmly piloted the team's Ferrari.
Some NBA coaches specialize in strategy. Other soft skills areas include leadership, relationship building, and problem solving.
Daigneault is good at both. He is a genius tactician who knows his players well and builds a two-way relationship of trust between players and coaches.
Part of Daigneault's mystery is how a man who has never even played college basketball, let alone professional hoops, can interact with and manage some of the best players in the world.
Although we know him here, Daigneault's name is unknown among most NBA fans outside of Oklahoma City and Boston. That's exactly the way he and the Thunder like it.
Daigneault has worked primarily behind the scenes dating back to his time at UConn. Although his role as a manager expanded throughout his college career, Daigneault's work as a freshman was minimal. He gives rebounds for the players and helps the assistants with preparation work.
“I was there every day,” Denault said. “And that gave me a good idea of what a great team looks like.”
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Daigneault remembers the efforts of his players, especially Ben Gordon.
“He had one coach who helped him bounce back,” Daigneault said. “(Gordon) calls him at 2 a.m. and he's gone. Gordon is there and he'll do a full workout in college ball and he'll do the same workout in NBA ball. I had this incredible vision.
“For the first time, I realized that there is invisible work,” Daigneault continued. “There's a reason people can perform when the lights are on, and he was a great example of that.”
Understanding Gordon's practice habits also allowed Daigneault to pick the brain of coach Jim Calhoun, who was as imposing as he could have been.
“There's a tendency to want to overcoach, to want to be better at everything, to teach everything, to fix every mistake in a very imperfect game,” Daigneault said.
Calhoun showed Daigneault the importance of prioritization.
“The reality is you have to be really good at what you're really good at, and he was doing that right away,” Daigneault said.
From Connecticut to Holy Cross to Florida to Oklahoma City Blue to the Thunder, Dino has already risen to the top of an exclusive profession.
UConn's freshman manager in 2004? He could very well be the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year.
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Joe Moussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have an idea for Joe's story? Email jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and the work of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
