NBA analyst Chris Broussard was reportedly told that University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley runs an extremely tight ship in regards to his practices.
“People have told me his practices — we all know — are really intense,” Broussard said on the subject of Hurley. “They’re really hard — militaristic precision. One person who’s familiar with both of these coaches told me his practices are way harder than Thibs,’ Tom Thibodeau. And we know a lot of players don’t even wanna play for Thibodeau, alright, so he gets after it in practice, and how is that gonna sit with LeBron [James] and A.D. (Anthony Davis) in particular?”
Yesterday, a report surfaced that the Lakers are pursuing Hurley to be their newest head coach, and the NBA world lost it on social media in reaction to the report.
However, it’s worth mentioning that J.J. Redick allegedly still has a chance to replace Darvin Ham.
“Now, Hurley, who led Connecticut to back-to-back national championships, has emerged as a legitimate candidate, if not the favorite,” Jovan Buha wrote.
“Team and league sources cautioned that the coaching search remains far from settled. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and governor Jeanie Buss will interview Hurley in a more formal manner on Friday, league sources confirmed. There is still a chance the 51-year-old will work out a new contract with Connecticut and remain college basketball’s top coach. Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million deal with Connecticut after the 2023 championship season. His buyout to join the NBA would be roughly $1.9 million.
“Redick, considered the front-runner for weeks, remains a viable candidate, according to league sources.”
Hurley stands out as one of the more accomplished college basketball coaches of the decade. He has led the Huskies to loads of success during his six-season stint as the team’s head coach.
His tenure as the head coach for the UConn got off to an inauspicious start, however. In each of his first two seasons with the team’s head coaching reigns, the Huskies failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Plus, in his inaugural season with the program, the squad finished with more losses than wins, evidenced by its 16-17 record.
But in each of Hurley’s last four seasons as the Huskies’ leader from the sidelines, UConn qualified for the NCAA Tournament. On top of that, he guided the team to consecutive NCAA titles in 2023 and 2024.
First, the Huskies won the 2023 NCAA title after defeating San Diego State University in the title game by a score of 76-59. Tristen Newton led the way for the Huskies from a scoring standpoint on college basketball’s biggest stage, as he totaled a team-high 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Then, UConn defeated Purdue University in the title game the following year. Newton again finished as the team’s leading scorer with 20 points and buried two of his five shot attempts from deep in the Huskies’ 75-60 victory.
While it’s reasonable for Broussard to be concerned about the notion that James and Davis won’t appreciate Hurley’s modus operandi when it comes to practices, his coaching philosophies have clearly translated into success for the Huskies.
