The huge headline at the top of the Los Angeles Times sports section read “Lakers shift focus.”
The Lakers had just swung for the fences and failed in their attempt to take away the most successful coach in college basketball.
That was in July 2004, when Mike Krzyzewski turned down the opportunity to replace the resigning Phil Jackson, explaining that “you have to follow your heart and lead with it and Duke has always had my whole heart.” titles with the Blue Devils while he satisfied his curiosity about whether he could coach NBA players leading USA Basketball to three consecutive Olympic golds.
Two decades later, Dan Hurley of the University of Connecticut is prepared to follow the same path Krzyzewski once took. Hurley will be the fiery, wisecracking face of college basketball for the foreseeable future after turning down a lucrative offer from the Lakers on Monday that would have reportedly paid him $70 million over six years.
“I’m humbled by this whole experience,” Hurley said. in a sentence released Monday by the school. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built in Connecticut. We met as a team before practice today and our focus now is on improving this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to chase championships.”
Although Hurley has yet to publicly explain his decision, he previously described UConn as “a perfect fit” for him and acknowledged that he is reluctant to mess with happy. In April, the New Jersey native laughed at the far-fetched idea of considering the job in Kentucky when it was open, alluding to the fact that his wife, Andrea, was unwilling to leave the Northeast.
Then there’s the small matter of the challenge he would abandon if he left UConn this summer. UConn is a fixture in the preseason top five too early and a real contender to become the first program to achieve a three-peat since the heyday of John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty in the 1970s.
Hurley’s return is a triumph for UConn, which under his leadership just completed the best two-year stretch in the history of modern men’s college basketball. In 2023, UConn defeated all six of its NCAA Tournament opponents by 20 points per game. Five of that team’s top eight players moved on, but last season’s Huskies proved even more unbeatable, winning six NCAA Tournament games by a record average of 23.3 points.
Had Hurley left, the timing would have been a catastrophic blow to UConn’s hopes of remaining among top-tier college basketball programs. The players Hurley assembled for the 2024-25 season would have had 30 days to decide whether to enter the transfer portal.
The threat of a mass exodus of players is much more daunting in mid-June, when the transfer portal is already clear and few impact recruits are still available. UConn athletic director David Benedict might have had little choice but to prioritize retaining current players by promoting one of Hurley’s top assistant coaches, Kimani Young or Luke Murray, both of whom are highly respected but lack coaching experience in boss.
With Hurley staying in Storrs, UConn can refocus the challenge of building a third championship team with an almost entirely new roster. Returners Alex Karaban, Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson will form the core of a team that has also reloaded through the transfer portal and a top-10 recruiting class.
Hurley’s return is also a blow to college basketball, a sport that has recently lost some giants on the coaching staff. Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim and Jay Wright have retired since 2021, leaving a dearth of big names to sell tickets and attract attention.
Hurley is the coach best suited to fill that void, and not just because he has thrived better than any of his peers amid the chaos of the transfer portal and players earning the right to pursue NIL money.
If you’re a fan of any other team, you probably roll your eyes at the over-the-top way Hurley yells and screams at referees, makes up slights to motivate himself and his team, and responds to opposing fans who call him names. If you’re a UConn fan, you’ll probably love Hurley’s intensity and relentless grit, the way he was already eyeing a potential dynasty just minutes after the Huskies won their second national title last April.
“I mean, shit,” he said with a smile, “let’s try to replicate it again.”
While it is undeniable that Hurley has the coaching acumen to thrive in the NBA and the authenticity and passionate demeanor to hold players accountable, accepting the Lakers job would have been a significant risk. This is a franchise that has captured 17 championships and has a history of attracting high-profile free agents. This is also a franchise that has sky-high expectations and aging stars and that has burned seven coaches in 13 years.
The challenge of coaching in the NBA surely intrigued Hurley, but he may have had to suppress his personality to succeed. As a high school and college coach, his temper flared and his practices were grueling. He is known to tear down signs or shoot projectiles when his team does not practice at his level.
Hurley’s handpicked UConn players fed off his relentless intensity. Would NBA veterans feel the same way over the course of an 82-game schedule?
Maybe one day we will find out. Maybe Hurley will take the job from the Knicks or Nets the next time one opens up. Maybe he will once again follow in Krzyzewski’s footsteps and try to hold on to USA Basketball.
For now, he’s back at UConn, back to the challenge of trying to do something no one since Wooden has done.
As he said the night UConn defeated Purdue in the national title game: “I don’t think we’re going anywhere.”