It is safe to say that UConn basketball head coach Dan Hurley is not going anywhere else — at least for now. Right after the Huskies' 75-60 win over the Purdue Boilermakers in Monday night's 2024 NCAA Tournament national championship game, Hurley was asked about whether he has an interest in the job opening down in Lexington, to which he responded with laughter and a reassuring tone that he will not be leaving Storrs anytime soon.
“I don't think [leaving] is a concern,” Hurley said (h/t Brian Rauf of Heat Check CBB).
UConn basketball fans certainly want to believe that what Hurley just said is binding. The Huskies have already won consecutive titles under Hurley, and those trophies both signify a concrete reason why UConn wouldn't want to see the head coach leave for another program. But with John Calipari parting ways with the Kentucky Wildcats, a tempting head-coaching vacancy has just opened up in a certified blue-blood program.
Kentucky's blue blood label may not matter much to Hurley since he's already coaching one at UConn. Whether there is or isn't a debate about the blue blood-iness of the Huskies, back-to-back March Madness titles clearly indicate that UConn basketball is a force to reckon with under Hurley.
At the same time, there's the allure of the challenge of turning an underperforming program into a national title winner at Kentucky– pretty much what Hurley has done with UConn basketball. Will that challenge grow on Hurley and lead him to a major and shocking decision to leave UConn for Lexington? That scenario is still a long shot, but one could assume that the door out of UConn is never completely shut for someone like Hurley, who's already a legend in the college basketball world.
Is Dan Hurley leaving UConn for Kentucky?
UConn basketball itself seems confident that even if Kentucky tries to poach Hurley, the Huskies will find a way to retain their head coach.
“Kentucky can call. Yes, we will do everything we can to keep him and I think he knows that,” UConn athletic director David Benedict said after the Purdue game (h/t NJ Advance Media).
And speaking of blue bloods…
“Look, if we can’t be a Blue Blood, then we’re a New Blood and come get us because we’re not going away,” Benedict added.
In any case, Hurley will be cherishing the success of his Huskies on the grandest stage of college basketball, which was also largely a product of UConn basketball's excellent talent scouting.
“I mean, we just recruit really talented NBA players that are willing to not make it about themselves and to be a part of a winning group and to go for all the championships, Hurley said after the Huskies defeated Matt Painter's Boilermakers. “And while doing that, their draft stock still is really, really high. So we both win. UConn wins and the players win,” Hurley added.
"You can't even wrap your mind around it"
Dan Hurley after leading @UConnMBB to back-to-back titles pic.twitter.com/pPPoG98Zwh
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) April 9, 2024
Hurley was hired by UConn to be its men's basketball program head coach in 2018. After missing the boat on the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons with the Huskies, Hurley finally had UConn breaking into March Madness in 2021. The Huskies lost in the first round that year, though, and again in 2022, But it all changed for the better in 2023 when Hurley coached the Huskies to the program's first national title since 2014.
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