Why Dan Hurley staying at UConn is great for college basketball

Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel, senior college football reporter Ross Dellenger, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde discuss Dan Hurley’s choice to decline the Lakers’ head coaching offer and stay at UConn.

Video Transcript

Dan Hurley turns down the Los Angeles Lakers to return to the University of Connecticut raises a shot at a historic three peat.

It’s gonna continue his legacy in college basketball.

Great day for uconn.

Is it a great day for college basketball?

Also?

Pat, I do, I mean, Dan Hurley is now the king of the sport.

He’s at a, a historic high point that very few have ever been and he has a chance to continue to add to it.

I mean, they should start the 2024 25 season in the top five and have a chance at a three peat which hadn’t been done since John Wooden.

And I just think he is a better fit psychologically geographically where he is at uconn and in the college game, as opposed to being in Los Angeles with the NBA and the Lakers, Ross.

What does this mean for college sports that not only is he returning to uconn but uconn is not in a powerful, big money football league.

What does this say about the ability to compete?

He clearly sees in the big East and at a school without quote unquote, big time college football at these big time, college football money because that has been a concern.

The dividing line.

Dan Hurley seems to see no dividing line.

Yeah, I mean, we, we’ve heard now for months, if not years as nil and all these changes happen in, in college athletics and there’s, you know, free transfer and you hear the, the complaining by a lot of coaches about the, the college athletic recruiting calendar and, uh, how to protect college sports and all these coaches are leaving for the NFL and the NBA and they don’t want to be in college and boom, here you go.

You’ve got, you’ve got a guy that passes on arguably the, one of the certainly, arguably the best job in, in basketball.

Um, uh, not, not just the money, right, which was, which was allegedly $70 million over over six years.

But, um, to coach in the NBA and to coach a historic franchise in the NBA and coach, maybe the best player to ever play the sport, um, is, is pretty, pretty incredible.

Um, and probably says a little something about, um, uh, you know, the, the college athletic landscape in general.

Um, maybe it, maybe it, you know, some, some people in the sport see it, uh, as a better option, uh, than, than coaching professional players.

And, and I, I think we’ve got to keep in mind 11 thing here, um, especially and Pat kind of mentioned it, uh, Dan Dan Hurley as a coach.

Right.

Probably fits better coaching college players.

Uh, I, I think, I think there are certain coaches like that and, and he, it’s pretty clear that he is just fits in the college game a little better than he might in the pro game.

Dan Hurley.

Not going anywhere.

Great day for uconn.