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Penny, Crean, Hurley, Mack: Which new coaches will break through?
Dan Hurley, UConn
Challenges he faces: For a 15-year stretch under Jim Calhoun, UConn was up there with the blue bloods of college basketball. The Huskies won four national championships, went to five Final Fours and reached the Sweet 16 more often than not. The start of Kevin Ollie's term in charge was more of the same; the Huskies won the national championship in 2014. Since then, it has been something of a disaster in Storrs. UConn missed the NCAA tournament in three of the past four seasons, only reaching it in 2016 because Jalen Adams hit a 60-foot buzzer-beater to beat Cincinnati in the AAC tournament. Ollie wasn't recruiting to the same level as Calhoun, and UConn lost its prestige among the upper echelon of the sport. So now Hurley has to bring back UConn basketball. That's about it.
Chances he is successful: Hurley specializes in these sorts of turnaround jobs. The year before he took over at Wagner, the Seahawks finished 5-26. Within two seasons, Wagner went 25-6 and finished one game from a Northeast Conference title. The year before Hurley moved to Rhode Island, the Rams were 7-24. By the time Hurley left Kingston six seasons later, Rhode Island had gone to two straight NCAA tournaments, winning one game each trip. UConn won't be a league title contender immediately, but Hurley has put together an elite staff and already has landed ESPN 100 guard James Bouknight in the 2019 class. Hurley won't take long to get the Huskies back to national relevance.
Dan Hurley, UConn
Challenges he faces: For a 15-year stretch under Jim Calhoun, UConn was up there with the blue bloods of college basketball. The Huskies won four national championships, went to five Final Fours and reached the Sweet 16 more often than not. The start of Kevin Ollie's term in charge was more of the same; the Huskies won the national championship in 2014. Since then, it has been something of a disaster in Storrs. UConn missed the NCAA tournament in three of the past four seasons, only reaching it in 2016 because Jalen Adams hit a 60-foot buzzer-beater to beat Cincinnati in the AAC tournament. Ollie wasn't recruiting to the same level as Calhoun, and UConn lost its prestige among the upper echelon of the sport. So now Hurley has to bring back UConn basketball. That's about it.
Chances he is successful: Hurley specializes in these sorts of turnaround jobs. The year before he took over at Wagner, the Seahawks finished 5-26. Within two seasons, Wagner went 25-6 and finished one game from a Northeast Conference title. The year before Hurley moved to Rhode Island, the Rams were 7-24. By the time Hurley left Kingston six seasons later, Rhode Island had gone to two straight NCAA tournaments, winning one game each trip. UConn won't be a league title contender immediately, but Hurley has put together an elite staff and already has landed ESPN 100 guard James Bouknight in the 2019 class. Hurley won't take long to get the Huskies back to national relevance.