Aside from winning a national championship, the next thing is the most important thing And Hurley Can do to keep UConn men’s basketball relevant is the transmission players in the NBAespecially players who aren’t considered to be of the NBA’s caliber when he recruits them.
So this week was another win for the Hurleys Huskies, Jordan Hawkins making it two lottery picks in three years, and Andre Jackson Jr. making it four draft picks in three years.
“We don’t have all these signs on the wall of players who came in as No. 1 players in the country and left as No. 1 and you basically babysit for six months,” Hurley said after UConn. Road show for trainers this week. “We’ve been able to do that now with several players who weren’t considered early entry or even NBA players at all.
“So smart people know that when you’re hiring and they know your player development is real.”
UConn coach Dan Hurley signs new six-year, $32.1 million contract
Hawkins went 14th to the Pelicans, Jackson came 36th and ended up with the Bucks, to play Aubrey Griffin’s father, Adrian. Then when Adama Sanogo signed a two-way contract right after the draft with the Bulls, it marked Hurley’s most successful day finish since leaving Houston. After winning and sending players to the League, the most important thing on the list is the promise of settling in Storrs.
On the morning of the draft, Hurley’s new six-year contract worth $32.1 million was announced, making him the highest paid state employee.
Some things to unpack. First, it was inevitable that Hurley’s contract would be replaced by a new, more lucrative one, despite the huge deficit in Yukon’s sports budget. It was inevitable because of the national championship, and the money the NCAA tournament brings to UConn and Ed Cooley signed a deal with Georgetown. When coaches win, they get new deals. When the salary bar is raised, schools must move up with it.
Dom Amore: As UConn celebrates championship, Jim Mora can’t help but do some Power Five football dreams
That’s the cost of doing business at this level, and because of this, if the Big 12 makes an offer to UConn, it’s probably one the university can’t refuse. UConn is on top right now, but it’s going to need Power Five money, not just to save football, but to keep basketball. Everyone loves Big East basketball here, but don’t expect anyone to settle for less than the going rate of pay to stay.
Then there is the possibility, as remote as it may seem at the moment, that Hurley could one day join some of his players in the NBA. In 2019, when John Beilin left Michigan to coach in the NBA, I asked Hurley at a Road Show event if it was something he would like to do.
He ruffled some feathers, saying, “That would be my goal. I want to win two championships, and put UConn back on top of the mountain. I think in the long run you have to have goals. I want to be a championship-level coach here and someday, down the road, (the NBA) ) Something I’ve been thinking about.”
Well, four years later, Hurley has achieved one goal, and his new contract, which runs until 2029, could give him a path to the second. If Hurley wanted to leave UConn for another school, according to the contract, the buyout would be prohibitive: $10 million before March 31, 2024, then $7.5 million in ’25 and $3 million in ’26.
But if he were to get a job in the NBA, the acquisitions in the next three years would be $2.5 million, $1,875 and then $1.5, or a change of couch cushion for the NBA franchise he might want.
It’s hard now to imagine Hurley, even at 50, making do with the NBA, the “players’ league” right now and most major college coaches struggling to find success there. Beilin was 14-40 before he quit, Rick Pitino winning percentage 466 with the Knicks and Celtics, John Calipari was . 391 with the nets.
But one day, it may be just the challenge that will interest Hurley, as some Hall of Fame college coaches have either failed, or never tried. With a championship on his wall, Hurley could be attractive to NBA franchises in need of an energy boost; Rise in prestige in certain markets.
“When you win the national championship, it’s a select group of coaches and players, and it changes your career and it changes your life,” said Hurley.
A special moment for Dre 💙laugh daddy receives the call from @dollars #HU5KIES | @NBADraft pic.twitter.com/FdfbIhVCxQ
– UConn Men’s Basketball (UConnMBB) June 23, 2023
For now, Hurley and O’Conn can continue to enjoy their fifth National Championship. At least UConn can. And Hurley promised the crowd in Southington that he would not be lazy after winning one. He’s in a great place, but he’s still on a journey and hasn’t reached a destination.
“For me, I was into next year,” said Hurley. And a lot of coaches who have won it come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I know what you’re doing, but just have fun with it. I enjoyed it, maybe not as much as the average person, but I love the work that goes into doing something like that. I’m a process trip person.”
Now, how about you follow Geno Auriemma’s warning and blow the whistle and write down the rest of your Sunday read:
UConn’s Matthew Wood hits the hockey lottery
After completing the NBA draft, the UConn folk can turn their attention to the NHL Draft on WednesdayAnd, with anticipation, Matthew Wood will be the highest drafted Husky of all time.
No Kid on the Ice: Despite his age, budding superstar Matthew Wood has made an impact at UConn
The most recent mock draft has Wood on the rise and into the top 15, and that’s what coach Mike Cavanaugh has heard.
Bamford’s Bleacher Nation tab Wood’s No. 11 went to Vancouver, the team closest to his hometown. Says Lyle Richardson of Bleacher Report #14 to Pittsburgh. Others have him go No. 11 to the Pisces, er, … Coyotes, or maybe he gets to No. 9 to Detroit.
Either of those scenarios would Wood be ahead of UConn’s only other first-round draft pick, Taige Thompson, in 2016. With Buffalo, Thompson has become one of the league’s elite scorers and Wood is often compared to him.
Hockey Newswhich also led him to go to the Penguins, whose 18-year-old is called Wood, the most impressive freshman in NCAA hockey.
“Wood is one of the most interesting and polarizing players available in the draft,” wrote THN’s Jacob Pintory. “He has the appeal of his size, at 6-4 and close to 200 pounds. With his build and skill set, he’s expected to be the next dominant force in the league. He has the potential to be a first-line winger and a key contributor to the power play.”
Wherever he goes, Wood will likely return to UConn for at least one more season of Hockey East.
Sunday takes short
* Former UConn player Anthony Kaye is back in the big league with the Cubs, and threw a negative inning from the pen in each of his first three games before giving up a run against Baltimore this week.
Let’s go @employee win f @employee With 1,2,3 ix pic.twitter.com/Nvh8XppdM4
– Bobby Kay (BKayZone) June 14, 2023
* The Somerset Patriots will be back in Hartford to play the Yard Goats July 18-23 in case you’re on the watch for Aaron Judge rehab.
*This year’s proof that while baseball may change, it doesn’t get past the great managers before: Bruce Bochy’s Rangers.
*Next big thing for Stors alert: Shelton’s Audrey Cusack, the CIAC heptathlon champion, and Stonington’s Seth Mooney, who won the decathlon title, are heading to UConn.
* Conrad-West Hartford and CCSU star Dominic Nieman, who has been at the top of his form in the NCAA Regional, is in the transfer gate and is playing in the Cape Cod League this summer. his nAn extra stop can be an SECwhere baseball players could do something good with the NIL.
Bill Murray signing autographs after his tour pic.twitter.com/NiElBNyJej
– Dom Amore (@AmoreCourant) June 21, 2023
The last word
Kind of funny conversation at the first stepping stone on the Travelers Pro Am. Asked about playing against his coaches, Dan Orlovsky said he never beat Randy Edsall on the golf course. Irrelevant, a few minutes later, Jim asked Mora about his game and ditched himself, saying that maybe one can’t be a good soccer coach and a very good golfer. We’ll leave that there.