For the past week, the Lakers have been all over the news because they were trying to hire UConn’s head coach Dan Hurley.
Dan Hurley’s Decision:
Even though Hurley signed a six-year extension with UConn in 2023, he considered taking the Lakers’ offer. But on Tuesday, he announced he’d stay at UConn and turned down a six-year, $70 million deal. After this went public, he shared his thoughts.
“I am humbled by this entire experience,” Hurley said. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is on getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”
BREAKING: Connecticut’s Dan Hurley has turned down the Los Angeles Lakers’ six-year, $70 million offer and will return to chase a third straight national title, sources tell ESPN. LA would’ve made him one of NBA’s six highest paid coaches.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)
UConn’s Reaction:
UConn’s Director of Athletics David Benedict was thrilled about Hurley’s decision to stay. “We’re thrilled that Dan Hurley has made the decision to stay at UConn and continue building upon our championship tradition,” he said.
Hurley has brought back-to-back NCAA Championships to UConn. Now they can focus on trying for a historic three-peat in 2025. Benedict added, “We look forward to Dan’s continued leadership on and off the court at UConn.” He also mentioned how important donations are for their success.
I think it’s cool that he’s staying loyal to his team.
Geno Auriemma’s Advice:
Geno Auriemma advised Hurley not to take the Lakers job because he thought it was set up for failure. Geno coaches UConn’s women’s team and talked about this recently.
“I leaned over and said, ‘Hey, I think you could win a lot of championships with the Lakers,’” Geno shared on The Dan Patrick Show. “He just looked at me and nodded; we had a good laugh.”
Auriemma believes college basketball is chaotic right now but thinks Danny could handle it well because of his excellent player development program. Before Hurley’s final decision, Geno even warned him against taking any NBA job unless it was perfect. “If Danny were to leave… I would say ‘You’re set up for failure.’ But it’s the Lakers,” Geno added.
