Dan Hurley wasn't just winning. He had turned UConn into a fire-breathing dragon. The Huskies won 12 NCAA Tournament games in a row … each by double figures on their way to two-straight National Titles.
Now, the Los Angeles Lakers have come calling for its head coaching vacancy, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
It's a seismic development coming less than a week after Alex Karaban withdrew from the 2024 NBA Draft to return to UConn for his junior season right before the May 31 deadline.
Maybe we should have seen it coming all along.
"I do aspire one day if the right NBA situation were to come along, to really test myself," Hurley said Tuesday on The Mike Francesa podcast. "If an organization wants a tone setter to come in and instill a culture. Young players, an organization that wants to pursue championships."
The Lakers are expected to make a huge run at Hurley in the coming days, per Wojnarowski. Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract extension last June, but talks of a new contract were in the works after a second straight title. Especially after UConn's brass had to hold off Kentucky from making a run at the best coach in college basketball.
It did just that.Staving off Kentucky was easyenough, but keeping the Lakers' jackals away from Hurley could be a whole different challenge.
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Monty Williams signed a six-year, $78.5 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers could exceed that number for Hurley. In essence, Hurley turning down Los Angeles to stay at UConn could be turning downclose to $50 million.
If not, Hurley-to-the-Lakers would have a monster ripple effect on the transfer portal and the college basketball ecosystem.
"It's a sport that's functioning right now with no rules,"Hurley said on The Mike Francesa podcast. "It makes the offseason interesting. People are talking about it. There's constant activity and movement. It keeps college basketball relevant. But it's not sustainable. I think eventually it's going to be a major turn-off for the fans. You gotta get to a point where there are salary caps with contracts and buyouts if players want to move on, just like coaches. We have to get to that point. Places like ours, we've won back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in a tournament that makes over a billion dollars in revenue, but we don't see a lot of that type of monetization."
WHO WOULD BE NEXT?
If Hurley departs, all eyes will be on prized UConn assistants Luke Murray and Kimani Young.
Murray has turned into one of Hurley's trusted confidants. He's an elite X's and O's mind, mixed with outstanding chops on the recruiting trail. The former Louisville assistant came to UConn after the 2020-21 season and helped the Huskies get humming in a hurry. Murray landed Aidan Mahaneyfrom St. Mary's in the portal this cycle. He was a big part of successfully recruiting Karaban in 2021. He helped UConn ink Liam McNeeley after the five-star decommitted from Indiana earlier this offseason.
Young would be another outstanding potential candidate. His fingerprints were all over the roster and the fact that UConn finished with a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense for two years in a row.
"Really, I'm surrounded by three head coaches every day,"Karaban said, via CT Insider. "Coach Kimani and CoachLuke, we wouldn't be here without them."
The Lakers would certainly have an interest in bringing the best staff in college basketball to the NBA, and Hurley could want that. It might be wrapped in the deal. The Lakers would be able to give Hurley's prized assistants more money than they can make in college. There is also the allure of focusing just on ball. No NIL, no recruiting, none of the issues that college coaches continue to complain about.
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Could UConn somehow keep one or both of Murry and Young? That's the best shot at retaining a roster core that, while unproven, is still extremely talented.
In the small (but not unlikely) chance that Young and Murray all follow Hurley to the Lakers, UConn could be forced to chase the coaching carousel. It would have anoustandingpitch, but convincing a sitting high-major head coach to leave his team in June would not be painless.
Rutgers' Steve Pikiell could make plenty of sense. Pikiell has just landed the best recruiting class in program history, headlined by five-stars Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. He's built Rutgers up from a Big Ten cellar-dweller into a NCAA Tournament-caliber program, but UConn's resources are far better. Pikiell has strong East Coast ties and he's well-respected for his defensive acumen. Bringing Harper and Bailey along could ease the sting of losing Hurley.
Oh, and Pikiell is a Bristol native whoplayed point guardfor the Huskies from 1987-1991. Pikiellwas alsoan assistant coach atUConn under Jim Calhoun in 1991-92.
TRANSFER PORTAL IMPACT
The UConn players would have a 30-day window to enter the transfer portal if Hurley departs.
Keeping Young or Murray would give UConn a real shot at retention, but the offers in free agency could be hard to pass up.
Alex Karaban instantly would become the most sought-after free agent in college basketball.
The 6-foot-8 forward is an elite role player. Maybe the best pure role player in college basketball. Karaban shot 38% from downtown last season and had a dazzling 130.3 offensive rating. Karaban is an excellent cutter, high-level processor and a rock-solid, multi-positional defender who would impact winning on any program.
If Karaban is No. 1 on the wish list for opposing staffs, McNeeley might not be far behind. The five-star wing is a plug-and-play rotation piece at any program in the country. McNeeley played with Cooper Flagg at Montverde Academy, so he's highly familiar with how to impact the game without the ball in his hands constantly. McNeeley is regarded as one of the best shooters in the Class of 2024, but the 6-foot-7 wing was reliable on both ends of the floor and has a keen feel for the game.
