Dan Hurley turned down the Lakers to stay at UConn?

• Jeff Borzello Close Jeff Borzello ESPN Staff Author Basketball recruiting expert. Signed up with ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Myron Medcalf Close Myron Medcalf ESPN Staff Author Covers college basketball Signed up with ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato Jun 10, 2024, 05:05 PM ET ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last

• week that the Los Angeles Lakers had targeted UConn’s Dan Hurley as their next head coach, two months

after he ‘d led the Huskies to their 2nd consecutive national title and sixth champion in 25 years. Twenty years earlier, the Lakers made a similar pitch to Mike Krzyzewski, who rejected the offer to remain at Duke. The franchise got the exact same answer from Hurley on Monday.The UConn Huskies coach revealed he had chosen to remain in Storrs, Connecticut, and continue his pursuit of a 3rd straight NCAA title and the spoils of being recognized as the leading coach

in males’s college basketball. Lakers owner Jeanie Buss has negotiated handle LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and other notable figures in basketball. However the franchise failed to tempt Hurley from his distinguished post in the collegiate ranks, a frustration for the Lakers and a significant development for the future of UConn men’s basketball.Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello break down why Hurley remained, what it suggests for UConn’s three-peat opportunities and more.How shocked are you that Hurley remained at UConn?Editor’s Picks

1 Related Borzello: I marvel from the standpoint of the Lakers being one of the most storied franchises in American sports, led by one of the greatest players to ever play basketball. Had he made his choice soon after meeting with Lakers executives and ownership, it would have been spectacular to see him turn that down. But once he returned to the East Coast and the decision-making progress started to drag out till Sunday and after that to Monday, it ended up being less surprising to see him remain at UConn. It’s a lot more difficult to state “I’m leaving” when you have to go into the practice center– with jerseys of UConn legends on the walls and national championship trophies in the lobby– and tell it to the group you developed to go after a third successive title.Medcalf: I would have been more surprised Friday or Saturday. But I’m less shocked now that I understand he was used a six-year,$ 70 million offer. Yes, it’s a substantial deal, however I’m less surprised offered the Lakers didn’t put a massive, eight-figure offer on the table. Still, it was an opportunity to coach among the storied franchises in sports, a team that might be led by future Hall of Famers Davis and James next season. I’m also unsure how much higher Hurley can go at UConn after all of his success. But I think he can be authentic at UConn in methods he might not remain in the NBA. Still, it’s the Lakers. Few have actually declined a deal from a member of the Buss family, so it’s surprising.A statement from UConn Guys’s Basketball Head Coach Dan Hurley: pic.twitter.com/16e77ykbVp!.?.!— UConn Guys’s Basketball(@UConnMBB)June 10, 2024 What does this mean for UConn’s possibilities of a three-peat? Borzello: The hunt for something that hasn’t been performed in more

than 50 years in men’s college basketball is officially back on. Had Hurley left, UConn would have likely been entrusted a novice head coach and a diminished roster. It would have been an offseason filled with enigma and a season filled with unpredictability. Rather, the UConn program and its fan base are going to be more motivated than ever. Hurley currently was a Huskies legend. Two nationwide titles will do that for you. Today that he has refused Kentucky and the Los Angeles Lakers? The fan base is going to back him to the fullest extent. With Alex Karaban returning and Liam McNeeley and Aidan Mahaney entering the fold, there’s a top-five lineup in Storrs. And Hurley is likewise back to lead the way.Medcalf: It makes them genuine. Karaban withdrew from the NBA and went back to UConn for a shot at a run that has not been accomplished given that John Wooden’s UCLA

teams in the 1960s and 1970s. Only a handful of teams have actually won back-to-back crowns, however UConn has a genuine shot. It appears, however, that Kansas has the very best team in the nation going into the season. And Alabama is likewise equipped for another Final 4 run. Houston, North Carolina, Duke, Iowa State and others are valid competitors. However Karaban, in addition to McNeeley, a top-10 hire, and Mahaney, a Saint Mary’s transfer, could lead this program to a seventh national title in 26 years and extend an extraordinary run in recent men’s college basketball history.What is the greatest enigma for the Huskies?Top stories of the week from

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top writers. – 10 greatest Stanley Cup finals concerns”- Scouts pick 14 sleepers for 2025 draft”- MLB: College hitters who might go No. 1″ More ESPN+material”Borzello: Over the past two years, UConn has actually controlled challengers in a couple of methods.
The Huskies have overwhelmed them in the paint at both ends of the floor, they have actually gotten high-level point player play when it mattered and they’ve seamlessly integrated newbies with

a returning core of players. All of those things are, at the minimum, up in the air today. Hassan Diarra needs to change Tristen Newton at the point of attack. Donovan Clingan replaced Adama Sanogo last season and UConn got even much better on the interior; can Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed duplicate that production? And will UConn’s freshmen and transfers hit the ground running a la Stephon Castle and Webcam Spencer? McNeeley and Mahaney will have a lot on their shoulders from day one.The Huskies’offense is the other thing to keep an eye on. It was running perfectly last season, a lineup filled with shooting and unselfishness, each player knowing his function. It could require time to reach that level again.Medcalf: It’s the same concern Hurley’s squad faced a year ago: How do you replace the lost skill? Clingan and Castle are forecasted lottery choices in this summer’s NBA draft. Newton, one of the most Exceptional Player in the NCAA tournament, is also gone. In general, 4 of the group’s top 5 scorers have actually left. Getting in last season, 3 of the top 5 scorers from the 2022-23 national title run had returned.But Hurley likewise has players, such as Samson Johnson, who have actually been waiting on their opportunities to shine. He has major talent and some veterans, such as Diarra, on the lineup, too. Plus, Hurley has actually proved that he knows how to hit the reset button. The loss of elite skill, nevertheless, is indisputable. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports What does the future look like at UConn if Hurley stays long term?Borzello: Considered that Hurley refused the most significant job in college basketball and one of the most significant franchises in sports in the period of 2 months, it would appear that he is going to be in

Storrs for the foreseeable future. Had he left, the issues about UConn’s tenuous area in the altering college sports landscape might have become more major. Since the Big East isn’t one of the huge football conferences, there are questions about how it will stay up to date with the revenue-sharing model. The league just does not have the television cash of the Big 10 and SEC. However Hurley remaining is a statement about his confidence about UConn having the ability to compete at the highest level. And it’s not a bad recruiting tool, either.Medcalf: A lot of folks have actually compared this to Krzyzewski’s choice to return to Duke after the Lakers offered him a massive offer 20 years back, however Coach K came back to a different collegiate landscape. Every team in the country now has to reconstruct each season due to the fact that of the proliferation of the transfer portal. And the unknowns ahead with earnings sharing might

likewise complicate that aspiration. Hurley, today, can stroll into the home of any recruit in the nation and tell him that he declined both Kentucky and the Lakers in the exact same offseason.But the revenue-sharing designs of the future will favor the wealthiest schools in the wealthiest leagues. UConn has been a prospect for prospective growth efforts by power conferences in the past, and a relocation by the school in the years ahead might have implications for men’s basketball and the rest of the athletic department. If the school stays in the Big East, the Huskies could face downsides without the television cash those schools enjoy.Hurley can continue to build winners off pedigree, tradition and track record. The next years might show, nevertheless, that those aspects suggest less than they ever have, which could make complex Hurley’s reign.Who might be the next college coach to get an NBA offer and why?Medcalf: I’ll opt for Nate Oats, who has put together an Alabama Crimson Tide group with nationwide title goals in 2024-25. His design fits with the modern NBA’s approach to the game. His players are all flexible.

He does not believe in midrange shots and he’s dedicated to the idea that an excellent offense will beat a great defense. Oats could make a seamless transition

— on paper– to the NBA since of the way he approaches the game. He likewise has

enough character to handle that aspect of the shift, too.Borzello: I’m with Myron on this one. Oats has actually established arguably the most contemporary offense in high-major basketball over the past couple of years, entirely eliminating midrange jumpers and focusing on spacing the floor and shooting a high volume of 3-pointers and shots at the rim. From both an X’s and O’s and personality standpoint, he makes the most sense as someone who might make the jump. Another name that leaps out at me is Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd.

Sources who viewed Lloyd coach USA Basketball at this month’s FIBA U18 AmeriCup came away amazed with his ability to potentially coach at the next level.