Dan Hurley “Seriously” Considered Stepping Down From UConn Last Year

[Jbirdp5]

Boneyard traffic must be low so temery must be trying to make wild takes to drive engagement.

Hurleys personality may not be for everybody but if you don’t have a lot of respect for coach and the way he runs this program with immense pride there’s clearly something wrong with you. And reading what a couple posters have to say just makes you shake your head in disbelief

 

[drayenob]

I think the state of the program when he took over is far exaggerated.

It got new life going back to the Big East and he inherited two 5* guards when he got here.

The hardest thing about college basketball is getting talent, this program sells itself (and Hurley has done an amazing job in general at identifying talent).

I push back on “never seen before” because we've just never seen the back to back.

But come on man we've won 4 titles before he got here and was the premiere program in the best conference in basketball winning multiple Championnships with a claim as having the best players in the NBA (not just getting there but performing there) at one point. No we didn't get the credit from the media (who cares), but we've been here before.

We aren't even dominating our conference like Calhoun did in the 90s where he won 6(!!!) regular season Big East titles in a much tougher conference. We've won one Big East regular season since Hurley has been here.

The only things we haven't seen is the back to back and media love (but who cares about media love). But we've been here before. Lets act like it.

Exaggerated? In 2018 we had the 121st ranked recruiting class and we finished the season 179th in kenpom. The program wasn't "selling itself."

 

[ctchamps]

Unfortunately this story gained national steam, which I'm sure is good for Hurley's book numbers. However it does paint a picture to recruits that Hurley is unpredictable and could retire/quit at any time. I don't love that.

Yup. And distraction to kickstart the new season. If you want to help your team out, keep it quiet. He talked down the Knicks job like he had no interest and Uconn was the place for him, then this. A bit all over the place. Weird timing. Why it feels book intentional.

Both of you are pointing out how emotions, spin and perspective can factor into a recruits perspective. Certainly there is a chance that a recruit can be persuaded to avoid UConn if that recruit buys into the possibility Hurley can leave anytime.

But doesn't that depend on whether a recruit believes Hurley is more likely to leave than other coaches? There is enough evidence, and access to that evidence, that demonstrate a coach's tenure at an institution is not guaranteed from one year to the next. Indeed there are instances of coaches fired mid year and instances when a coach was fired before a season started.

I can see a different spin that counters both of your concerns. Hurley is an open book and making these stories public will attract some players who are uncomfortable with or dislike what they perceive in coaches of having phony personas. I can see that a recruit can be excited to play for a coach so focused on winning and so intense day to day that he reached a state of complete exhaustion. Any recruit that believes they need to give 100% of their time and effort to become a better player will be attracted to a coach that lives by that same example.

IMO we could lose a player or players with the hype currently going on. But it is just as likely this story will attract certain players. Players like Cam Spencer for instance.

 

[Inyatkin]

AND...DANNY HAS THE PORTAL!!

AND ... SO DO ALL THE OTHER TEAMS!!

 

[RuffRuff]

Exaggerated? In 2018 we had the 121st ranked recruiting class and we finished the season 179th in kenpom. The program wasn't "selling itself."

Was rock bottom - worst state the program had been in since pre-Calhoun. We lost a ton of brand equity at that point, the 4 titles weren't holding much water. History can fade fast and in college hoops, the coach is the brand. If we had hired another dog of a coach, could have easily got into the same rut of a situation as Indiana found themselves in where top coaches avoid because it becomes a toxic situation.

 

[RuffRuff]

Both of you are pointing out how emotions, spin and perspective can factor into a recruits perspective. Certainly there is a chance that a recruit can be persuaded to avoid UConn if that recruit buys into the possibility Hurley can leave anytime.

But doesn't that depend on whether a recruit believes Hurley is more likely to leave than other coaches? There is enough evidence, and access to that evidence, that demonstrate a coach's tenure at an institution is not guaranteed from one year to the next. Indeed there are instances of coaches fired mid year and instances when a coach was fired before a season started.

I can see a different spin that counters both of your concerns. Hurley is an open book and making these stories public will attract some players who are uncomfortable with or dislike what they perceive in coaches of having phony personas. I can see that a recruit can be excited to play for a coach so focused on winning and so intense day to day that he reached a state of complete exhaustion. Any recruit that believes they need to give 100% of their time and effort to become a better player will be attracted to a coach that lives by that same example.

IMO we could lose a player or players with the hype currently going on. But it is just as likely this story will attract certain players. Players like Cam Spencer for instance.

At Uconn, we are recruiting against other top programs that are going to have cemented continuity with coaching (Scheyer, Pope, Sampson, Lloyd). Very rarely is there much movement at the very top of the food chain of college hoops. Not sure how this theory applies across the top 10 or so programs in the country.

Where it may make some sense is with any recruits (HS or portal) that don't intend on being with Uconn for more than a year anyway.

 

[superjohn]

Was rock bottom - worst state the program had been in since pre-Calhoun. We lost a ton of brand equity at that point, the 4 titles weren't holding much water. History can fade fast and in college hoops, the coach is the brand. If we had hired another dog of a coach, could have easily got into the same rut of a situation as Indiana found themselves in where top coaches avoid because it becomes a toxic situation.

It could've been far worse than Indiana. I think people forget just how dire things looked. Sure we were only 5 seasons away from winning it all but we were terrible and we were stuck in a conference playing Tulane in an empty high school gym having our games broadcast from what looked like a telescope from a Russian blimp. As bad as Indiana screws up they always had the Big 10 and the money that comes along with it to fall back on. People on the board here were talking about hiring Frank Martin and if there was any way Hurley could be convinced to come here over the allure of the Pittsburgh job.

 

[businesslawyer]

Okay. He wants to win more than any coach ever to the point he can't handle a season not winning a title anymore. He's just that passionate. Cool.

Seriously, what is wrong with you? What would make you respond to a post that uses the phrase, quoted by you, "than most people," and pretend he wrote the words you use -- "any coach ever?" Do you talk to your therapist about your need to do this?

 

[ctchamps]

It’s one of two things and it’s really only a handful of people, both imo obviously.

One, they don’t like him. Or, I should say they don’t like what they think they know of him. Ok. He is not for everyone and everyone is not for him. Cool.

The other thing is the way, again, only a handful of people react to praise of him when it is not paired with some qualifier that of course he is no comparison to our lord and savior Jim Calhoun. It’s an insane take. Nobody is comparing! Everyone can be pretty and blessed in their own way.

However, when people (person?) start embodying the intelligence of the most intense UConn hater twitter troll (omg what about Donovan?!), it is a lost cause here.

Human nature is a little more complicated than this which I'm sure you know.

You and I might be the only two individuals who are aware of how long @gtcam has been throwing shade at Hurley. What you don't know is some history which I believe is partially if not fully behind his acrimony.

He has a personal relationship with Kevin Ollie. This forum was brutal with commentary during and after KO's final years coaching at UConn. The pain that people suffered from several bad seasons bled over into a desire to destroy everything about Kevin.

So it's my opinion that gtcam is still nursing wounds from this forums reaction. Some of the shade he throws at Hurley is probably payback to posters in this forum. It's an attempt to make posters feel uncomfortable as he must have felt during those turbulent times.

Additionally Hurley characterized the program he inherited in an extremely bad light. It was in a bad situation which the vast majority of us will agree. But to a person with a personal connection to KO it would be painful to hear.

gtcams reactions are similar to how you react to posters when they throw shade at Dan. You have a personal relationship with him and because of that it stings more to read some of the posts. I think most of us react stronger when a situation becomes personal. I know I do.

 

[ctchamps]

At Uconn, we are recruiting against other top programs that are going to have cemented continuity with coaching (Scheyer, Pope, Sampson, Lloyd). Very rarely is there much movement at the very top of the food chain of college hoops. Not sure how this theory applies across the top 10 or so programs in the country.

Where it may make some sense is with any recruits (HS or portal) that don't intend on being with Uconn for more than a year anyway.

In other words the best of the best.

 

[RuffRuff]

It could've been far worse than Indiana. I think people forget just how dire things looked. Sure we were only 5 seasons away from winning it all but we were terrible and we were stuck in a conference playing Tulane in an empty high school gym having our games broadcast from what looked like a telescope from a Russian blimp. As bad as Indiana screws up they always had the Big 10 and the money that comes along with it to fall back on. People on the board here were talking about hiring Frank Martin and if there was any way Hurley could be convinced to come here over the allure of the Pittsburgh job.

Frank Martin, ooof. Talk about the buzz kill of a hire that would have been. In the 8 years since Dan Hurley joined, Frank hasn't made the tourney once between SC & Umass and is 2 games over .500. Not sure it would have been any better than trying to bring Howie Dickenman out of retirement.

 

[RuffRuff]

Human nature is a little more complicated than this which I'm sure you know.

You and I might be the only two individuals who are aware of how long @gtcam has been throwing shade at Hurley. What you don't know is some history which I believe is partially if not fully behind his acrimony.

He has a personal relationship with Kevin Ollie. This forum was brutal with commentary during and after KO's final years coaching at UConn. The pain that people suffered from several bad seasons bled over into a desire to destroy everything about Kevin.

So it's my opinion that gtcam is still nursing wounds from this forums reaction. Some of the shade he throws at Hurley is probably payback to posters in this forum. It's an attempt to make posters feel uncomfortable as he must have felt during those turbulent times.

Additionally Hurley characterized the program he inherited in an extremely bad light. It was in a bad situation which the vast majority of us will agree. But to a person with a personal connection to KO it would be painful to hear.

gtcams reactions are similar to how you react to posters when they throw shade at Dan. You have a personal relationship with him and because of that it stings more to read some of the posts. I think most of us react stronger when a situation becomes personal. I know I do.

Then the guy needs to go to the Ollie-Yard.

 

[Vowelguy]

It's a book. Every decision/thought gets played up

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Until he wins (FF or better) with an entirely different team, he will be hoping to follow in Billy Donovan's shadow.

Generally I would agree with this point of view, but if he does get this year's team to the final four, even with one player (Karaban) who started for the prior two titles and three others (Ball, Stewart & the older Ross) who were part of the most recent championship team (two who actually contributed a little), it would have to be viewed as far more than merely running one exceptional roster to a lot of success.

 

[NJHoops]

Frank Martin, ooof. Talk about the buzz kill of a hire that would have been. In the 8 years since Dan Hurley joined, Frank hasn't made the tourney once between SC & Umass and is 2 games over .500. Not sure it would have been any better than trying to bring Howie Dickenman out of retirement.

Frank Martin and Archie Miller joining the A10 at the same time and both doing pretty much nothing in the conference (so far for Archie, Martin’s time is up) is wild to me.

 

[RitzLuce1]

Exaggerated? In 2018 we had the 121st ranked recruiting class and we finished the season 179th in kenpom. The program wasn't "selling itself."

I’m still trying to figure out what two 5 star guards Hurley inherited when he got here. Maybe some had Adams and Gilbert at some point but most had them as 4 star. Even if Gilbert was 5 at some point I’m pretty sure his shoulder had exploded 3 times by the time Hurley arrived.

You’d probably have to go back to the Perno days to find a team as bad as the 2017 and 2018 teams.

 

[Mister P]

Read this article last week when it came out and thought then why wouldn’t UConn and Hurley agree to have a lifetime contract in place. UConn keeps a proven winner and Hurley stays at a job and place he loves.
Hurley has already shown that it’s not about the money for him but more about being at a place where he belongs, winning and molding young kids lives and watching them succeed.
Doing this, may take some of the usual contract negotiating stress off of both parties while each having an out if one side decides they want to move on from the other.

3 college basketball coaches who could secure lifetime contracts

Rick Barnes was added to a short list of names who have lifetime contracts in college athletics, who will be the next?

bustingbrackets.com

 

[NJHusky]

AND ... SO DO ALL THE OTHER TEAMS!!

Calhoun Didn't....that's what my post was in ref to

 

[Inyatkin]

I’m still trying to figure out what two 5 star guards Hurley inherited when he got here. Maybe some had Adams and Gilbert at some point but most had them as 4 star. Even if Gilbert was 5 at some point I’m pretty sure his shoulder had exploded 3 times by the time Hurley arrived.

You’d probably have to go back to the Perno days to find a team as bad as the 2017 and 2018 teams.

C'mon man we were loaded with talent when Hurley took over, everyone remembers that

 

[willie99]

Well, I guess he better win a title this year so he can feel fulfilled ☺️

I don't want him to be unhappy

 

[HooperScooper]

Matt Norlander article. He seems to have a pretty good relationship with Hurley. They spoke for an hour in July and Hurley was in a much better place and ready to tackle the 2025-2026 season.

Excerpt from the book:

"I knew my mind, and I knew my body, and I could feel that I was completely cooked," Hurley writes. "Just burnt. I didn't even know how I was standing. I stared at the office walls, muttering, conducting a brutal review of our season. I didn't build a strong enough roster. I wasn't a good leader. I let everyone down in Maui. I lost control, emotionally, at various points. I came in here some days sad and defeated, when I needed to be positive and inspiring. Then I went through the self-lacerating what-ifs: What if we'd played a little bit better in Maui? What if we hadn't blown that game against Seton Hall? What if we'd been a better seed than an eight seed and hadn't needed to face a number one in the second round? Who knows?

"It was unhealthy to be ruminating this way. I was unhealthy. I desperately needed to get out of town, flee to my standard hideaway, Dorado Beach in San Juan. I needed to do some healing, not think about basketball for a few days. But that wasn't possible in this new era. The transfer portal and NIL deals made every college player a free agent, so right after the tournament I needed to be in my office, in Storrs. If I left town right then, I wouldn't have a team for the 2025-26 season.

"At that point, I wasn't even sure that I would return for the 2025-26 season."

Dan Hurley briefly contemplated leaving UConn after turbulent 2024-25 season: 'I wasn't a good leader'

Winning two titles in a row is insanely hard. Going for three straight? As the face of the sport? It can drive a coach to the edge

www.cbssports.com

 

[RuffRuff]

Matt Norlander article. He seems to have a pretty good relationship with Hurley. They spoke for an hour in July and Hurley was in a much better place and ready to tackle the 2025-2026 season.

Excerpt from the book:

"I knew my mind, and I knew my body, and I could feel that I was completely cooked," Hurley writes. "Just burnt. I didn't even know how I was standing. I stared at the office walls, muttering, conducting a brutal review of our season. I didn't build a strong enough roster. I wasn't a good leader. I let everyone down in Maui. I lost control, emotionally, at various points. I came in here some days sad and defeated, when I needed to be positive and inspiring. Then I went through the self-lacerating what-ifs: What if we'd played a little bit better in Maui? What if we hadn't blown that game against Seton Hall? What if we'd been a better seed than an eight seed and hadn't needed to face a number one in the second round? Who knows?

"It was unhealthy to be ruminating this way. I was unhealthy. I desperately needed to get out of town, flee to my standard hideaway, Dorado Beach in San Juan. I needed to do some healing, not think about basketball for a few days. But that wasn't possible in this new era. The transfer portal and NIL deals made every college player a free agent, so right after the tournament I needed to be in my office, in Storrs. If I left town right then, I wouldn't have a team for the 2025-26 season.

"At that point, I wasn't even sure that I would return for the 2025-26 season."

Dan Hurley briefly contemplated leaving UConn after turbulent 2024-25 season: 'I wasn't a good leader'

Winning two titles in a row is insanely hard. Going for three straight? As the face of the sport? It can drive a coach to the edge

www.cbssports.com

Good share. Danny needs to regulate a bit. Coming off the B2B, has plenty of leash for multiple years with no need to be perfect annually. Has a fanbase that adores him. Follow your strategy, execute to your best and live with the outcome.

Sometimes you have to handle the winning as well as the losing and he honestly didn't seem to handle it all that well. The taste of those two runs must have been satisfying for so many reasons, but no need to treat it like a drug that you can't live without.

 

[willie99]

Andrea was like "I can't live on that Fox Sports salary"

 

[Edward Sargent]

What's Hurley's record without Clingan?

I hear you about DC but remember too that he wasn't a sure thing coming out of high school. He was well developed by the coaches

 

[alphasigko]

I certainly can understand his upset. The season's relative "failure" was mostly on him, but also shared by the other coaches and players. I can't imagine being in his shoes experiencing the shock of the Maui Mauling, and having to face the realization that the team was inadequately prepared defensively.

He also brought it on himself by his stubbornness to not make changes at Center by continuing to keep SJ as the starter throughout the season even though it was obvious that SJ was not the answer, while also realizing that the team did not have a skilled point guard. Then the injury to Liam, and Alex's surprising inability to make baskets, did not help the overall situation. And lastly, perhaps the team also did not have the chemistry needed to mix into the magic formula that jells into a Championship winning brew.