After meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, UConn basketball head coach Dan Hurley has turned down the Lakers’ offer and will return.
STORRS, C.T. (CBB Review) – Hurley is currently under a six-year, $32.1 million contract with UConn basketball which was to run through the 2028-29 NCAA season. The Lakers were rumored to have offered upwards of $100 million to take the job, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the official numbers were 6-years, $70 million. It would have made Hurley one of the league’s highest-paid coaches.
A source within the UConn program stated that no one on the staff knew what Hurley’s decision would be even as late as Monday afternoon.
Hurley and the Huskies will head into the 2024-25 season with a chance for a 3-peat, a feat that has not been accomplished since John Wooden and UCLA won seven straight national championships from 1967 to 1973.
Here are two takeaways from the decision:
1. UConn should be a top 5 favorite to win the national championship
Just a year ago, UConn basketball won their fifth national championship and lost stars Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, and Andre Jackson Jr. to the NBA.
The program was shrouded in uncertainty. How good would this group be without three of the top five scorers from the year prior? Was Donovan Clingan ready to step into Sanogo’s role? Who does UConn target in the portal to replace the wings?
The Huskies erased any doubt, losing just one game past Dec. 20 and running the table in March. The Huskies’ smallest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament was 14 points.
Now, there is a similar situation. Tristan Newton and Cam Spencer are gone. Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan have declared for the NBA Draft. Alex Karaban is the only returning starter, but only after throwing his name in the ring and then withdrawing from the draft process.
The Huskies added Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney, but there are still plenty of holes to fill.
Having Dan Hurley back to steady the ship is huge for this program.
2. Recruiting is about to get even easier for UConn
Nothing screams, “I will do anything for this program,” quite like turning down $70 million.
Hurley has been the center of attention all weekend, fans from Storrs and Los Angeles alike anxiously awaiting Hurley’s decision. You can speculate that a lot of his own players were waiting on the decision as well.
Hurley passing on the money is a huge win for not only UConn basketball but also college basketball as a whole. This will likely take a lot of top recruits by surprise. They see a man turn down that amount of money and have to assume that he loves UConn.
Who wouldn’t want to play for that?
On top of that, UConn has won the past two national championships. As if the Huskies needed any extra help.
UConn currently sits as one of the top teams in preseason rankings. Storrs, CT is buzzing.