Dan Hurley On Coaching In The NBA: “That Would Be My Goal” | The Boneyard

Dan Hurley On Coaching In The NBA: “That Would Be My Goal”

For context:

Indeed, when he was introduced in Cleveland, Beilein expressed his desire to coach basketball without the constraints of the college game. That leads one to wonder if Hurley, 46, despite his family’s long association with high school and college basketball, harbors similar NBA aspirations.

“That would be my goal,” said Hurley, starting his second season at UConn, where his contract run through 2024. “I would love to win a couple of championships, get UConn back on top of the mountain. I think in the long term, you have to have goals. You have to have things you continue to drive and reach for. I want to be a championship level coach here and someday, down the road, that’s something I’d think about.”
 
tcf15 said:
For context:

Indeed, when he was introduced in Cleveland, Beilein expressed his desire to coach basketball without the constraints of the college game. That leads one to wonder if Hurley, 46, despite his family’s long association with high school and college basketball, harbors similar NBA aspirations.

“That would be my goal,” said Hurley, starting his second season at UConn, where his contract run through 2024. “I would love to win a couple of championships, get UConn back on top of the mountain. I think in the long term, you have to have goals. You have to have things you continue to drive and reach for. I want to be a championship level coach here and someday, down the road, that’s something I’d think about.”
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Thank you for providing the context that got me off of the ledge.
 
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CTBasketball said:
NBA shuffles thru coaches way too much, unless you go to a contending team it’s likely a step back for your career.
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Step back? No way. There's only 30 NBA head coaching jobs, it's an elite level. If you prove yourself a decent coach and get fired, it's really not a detriment to your career. Even guys who made a fool of themselves at the NBA level (Calipari, Pitino) returned to high level college basketball with no issues. If the OKC Thunder fire Billy Donovan he can take his pick of college jobs. I'm sure he'd be a top candidate for good NBA positions too.

Plus, those guys get ludicrous fully-guaranteed contracts. Look at Fred Hoiberg - made the leap to a mediocre Bulls team for 5 yrs/25 million a couple years ago. Got fired this year after ownership decided to tank. He still gets paid, and now he's right back to high major college basketball at Nebraska.
 
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navery12 said:
Hopefully better shape than the last time we had a coach getting NBA offers
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We had just won a national championship and had an incoming top 10 recruiting class the last time we had a coach get NBA offers.
 
CTBasketball said:
NBA shuffles thru coaches way too much, unless you go to a contending team it’s likely a step back for your career.
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This is how I feel as well. NBA jobs dont have much security. Even if you go to a loaded team, you better hope the star player/players like you a lot or else they will run you out of town real quick.

PS. Hurley is a northeast guy, and I would be very very worried if the Knicks, Nets, Celtics, or 76ers ever went after him.
 
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MervthePurvis said:
Do you remember the short lived good old days with Kevin Ollie? This was a recruiting weapon against us.
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And we got Adams and Enoch the first year after, and the #6 class the one after that. Recruiting wasn’t what hurt him, coaching was.

Hurley becoming a serious candidate for the NBA would mean good things have happened here, which we are pretty desperate for. Hopefully we do get to that point.
 
UConnStats said:
And we got Adams and Enoch the first year after, and the #6 class the one after that. Recruiting wasn’t what hurt him, coaching was.

Hurley becoming a serious candidate for the NBA would mean good things have happened here, which we are pretty desperate for. Hopefully we do get to that point.
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I like your take much more.
 
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Being a big time college coach seems like a better and more high profile gig than big time NBA coach, no?
 
Let's pretend Danny wins big here and goes to the NBA. He would be an amazing in studio analyst after he is fired after his first year in the league and before he goes back to college.
 
What he should have said was "My only focus is on winning a championship with Uconn"

Answering that question never helps the university and fanbase and anytime there's an NBA coach vacancy, his name might pop up. It's not a big deal, but it is.
 
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B1GEast said:
What he should have said is "My only focus is on winning a championship with Uconn"

Answering that question never helps the university and fanbase and anytime there's an NBA coach vacancy, his name might pop up. It's not a big deal, but it is.
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And its not the first time he said this in an interview. I think it was a Q and A with Steve Serby from the NY Post? He pretty much said the same thing how he would love to coach in the NBA one day.
 
Ts5034 said:
And its not the first time he said this in an interview. I think it was a Q and A with Steve Serby from the NY Post? He pretty much said the same thing how he would love to coach in the NBA one day.
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Chief’s experience with Danny is that he is going to give you the “honest” direct answer regardless of circumstances or how others might answer who put on more filters.
 
awfuldan said:
Step back? No way. There's only 30 NBA head coaching jobs, it's an elite level. If you prove yourself a decent coach and get fired, it's really not a detriment to your career. Even guys who made a fool of themselves at the NBA level (Calipari, Pitino) returned to high level college basketball with no issues. If the OKC Thunder fire Billy Donovan he can take his pick of college jobs. I'm sure he'd be a top candidate for good NBA positions too.

Plus, those guys get ludicrous fully-guaranteed contracts. Look at Fred Hoiberg - made the leap to a mediocre Bulls team for 5 yrs/25 million a couple years ago. Got fired this year after ownership decided to tank. He still gets paid, and now he's right back to high major college basketball at Nebraska.
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Don't forget PJ. Great college coach, not so hot as an NBA coach.

Choked by one of his players, is his legacy.
 
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