Seth Greenberg Picks the Natty

Seth Greenberg closes his Final Four preview segment with Rich by giving a direct pick and a read on Dan Hurley that most people don't get to hear.

Rich starts with Dusty May scouting the Illinois-UConn game in person, charting the first half from the stands. Greenberg says he would have done the same thing. The film shows you plenty. Sitting there in the arena shows you something different.

May was not eyeballing the UConn players. He was eyeballing Hurley. What situations force a sub. What Hurley reacts to. What he overreacts to. That is the chess game you can't pick up on a broadcast feed.

Rich jokes that Hurley probably overreacts to all of them. Greenberg laughs, then turns serious. Hurley is a complex dude. Misunderstood.

The competitive edge, the wars Hurley talks about, the causes he creates, those are his approach in the moment. Every coach creates causes. Hurley just takes it to an extreme.

Away from the sideline, Greenberg says Hurley is a different guy. The work at Children's Hospital. How he treats his players off the court. How he operates in the community. The circle of life Hurley has lived through, the highest highs and the lowest lows, made him considerate in a way the public broadcast doesn't capture.

Then the ball goes up and Hurley loses it. That is what happens in the heat of competition. Sometimes you catch yourself and comport. Sometimes you can't.

Rich pivots to the pick. Is he crying himself to sleep tonight or cracking a nice bottle of red to toast it off? Greenberg tells him to go get a good bottle. A blend maybe. Because he thinks Rich ends up toasting a Michigan win.

One last thing before Greenberg signs off. If UConn does win, Alex Karaban becomes the last of the last. Four years at the same school. No transferring. Three national championships. Staying the course.

Nobody has done that since UCLA. Greenberg doesn't think anybody will again.

But the pick is still Michigan. As good as Hurley is, as hard as his team plays, as much as they prepare, Greenberg thinks Michigan at their best operates on a level where a lot of things would have to break right for UConn to win.

That is the call from the ESPN desk the day of the title game. Respect for Hurley as a human being. Respect for Karaban's rare college career. And still Michigan.

A good bottle of wine is coming out later.