UConn won the coaching search last week, outmaneuvering Pittsburgh and Rhode Island to bring Dan Hurley on board as the Huskies’ new head coach. The next day, Hurley won the press conference. He heaped praise on the UConn program, with its historic success and Hall of Fame coaching tree. He laid out an enthusiastic and positive vision for his new program. And he committed to the long term, assuring those in attendance that he wants UConn to be his home for a long, long time.
While there weren’t any “escalators are for cowards” moments, Hurley’s remarks were enough to ignite a spark of enthusiasm in the UConn fanbase missing the last few seasons. Peter covered some of the immediate next steps Hurley will have to take, including filling in his coaching staff and getting to work on the recruiting trail.
Here are some other thoughts:
David Benedict deserves a lot of credit. We’ve been skeptical of his approach at times since he took over for Warde Manuel, but he really hit a home run with the Hurley hire. Benedict is certainly not risk averse. His decisions to fire Bob Diaco and Kevin Ollie might have been no-brainers at a school like Auburn, but took guts at a time when UConn can’t afford to make million dollar mistakes. A primary concern (for me, at least) following Ollie’s dismissal was that the next head coach would be more indicative of UConn basketball’s present place, not its historically earned place, in the sporting world. Hurley’s arrival shows that UConn is still big time, that its athletics department still punches with the heavyweights and that, while much of the college basketball world would like to forget about UConn, the Huskies won’t go quietly.
Hurley can get paid $3.1 million per year. This is noteworthy because it’s exactly what we reported. It’s important to remember that we were right. It’s also noteworthy because that’s a lot of money. It essentially shows that UConn is committed to maintaining the level of athletic spending it’s enjoyed since joining the American. We’ve talked a lot in the past about the financial obstacles surrounding the athletic department. Those issues could be compounded by an ongoing state budget crisis and, more acutely, Kevin Ollie’s appeal of his firing for cause. But for now at least, UConn seems to have staved off making steep cuts to athletic spending.
It’s unclear what role boosters played. Part of our original reporting included sources telling us that increased financial support from donors aided UConn’s effort to bump Hurley’s offer from a reported first bid of around $2 million to the final $3.1 million eventually agreed to. UConn has pushed back on this narrative (though our sources haven’t, for what it’s worth). As we discussed on our latest podcast, this might be a semantic distinction. UConn needs more financial assistance. This isn’t a secret. The athletic department is propped up by subsidies and any money that comes in from outside donors is money not asked of students or state taxpayers. Having donors willing to step up because they believe in the long-term success of UConn athletics seems like a very good thing, but maybe that’s just me.
Also, it’s amusing that this tweet went up during the Hurley press conference, only to be deleted.
Here’s the link though if you’d like to donate. (See UConn, we’re on your side.)
All eyes are on Jalen Adams. It seems inevitable that Adams will declare for the NBA Draft — though I’d be surprised if he hired an agent. It’s the smart move for a player of his caliber now that the new rules allow underclassmen to receive evaluation from NBA teams and participate in the draft combine while retaining their collegiate eligibility. Adams can (and probably should) avail himself of that opportunity. With Hurley now in the fold though, I think Adams would benefit from another year at UConn (the opposite of my opinion had Ollie been retained). He obviously still has room for improvement in his game, and would benefit from playing in a… purposeful offense.
If you’re looking for reasons Adams might avoid declaring the draft, there are a few. One, he must be so tired. He played more minutes than anyone in the American this season and did so while often single-handedly running UConn’s offense. Two, Adams is a thoughtful kid who has a big picture view of the world around him. If he’s sold on coming back to play for Hurley, announcing that as soon as possible would give his new coach something to sell on the recruiting trail — especially with grad transfers who will be looking to join a team that can compete next season.
It’s also worth mentioning that I think Adams wants to be a significant part of UConn history. It’s always been somewhat unfair to him — being where he’s from — to be compared to Shabazz Napier at every turn. But he’d be forgiven if the success of his Roxbury predecessor crept into his decision-making process. At the moment, Adams’ recruiting class (which is now just Adams) would have the fewest NCAA Tournament wins of any UConn group since 1986. Leading UConn to a surprising run a year from now would drastically change Adams’ legacy — and probably result in his name hanging on the wall of Gampel Pavilion.
This isn’t lost on Hurley who told the players at the press conference “I feel like we can have a much better year than we had last year. If you guys fully commit to the way I run my program, a number of you guys — the Jalen Adamses — the legacy you leave behind can be much different if we get a full commitment to everyone in this room.”
How successful can Hurley be recruiting the current roster? There are some talented pieces on UConn’s existing roster, including several guys with potential that should benefit from playing in a more development-focused system. Hurley will need to work fast to sort out who is returning and who will transfer. Sources told A Dime Back earlier this month that guard Alterique Gilbert will return to UConn. Sid Wilson (who also missed this season after transferring) should return as well. At the risk of reading too much into the social media postings of a 21-year-old, Christian Vital is seemingly signaling his intent to return (though I haven’t seen anything official yet). Those three — along with Adams — represent a really good core to build around. The cadre of big men offer more intrigue. Hearst’s Dave Borges tweeted that former UConn assistant George Blaney has been selling Hurley to Josh Carlton (Blaney coached both Carlton’s dad and Hurley). Hurley also recruited Mamadou Diarra in the past, so the two have a relationship.
It’s safe to assume that a few players will leave the program this spring. That was likely true even without a coaching change. Hurley will have his work cut out for him building a roster capable of competing next year and step one will be sorting out who is returning.
Keep an eye on Jermaine Harris. He’s the key piece of the very good recruiting class that Hurley had slated to join him at Rhode Island next season. Harris is a 6’8″ forward who can play inside or outside, spread the floor and defend three positions. He’s a four-star recruit and is ranked 70th in the nation by 247. He would be a perfect fit for UConn’s roster that is light on scoring ability at the power forward position and badly in need of a partner for Wilson on the wing. David Cox, Hurley’s associate head coach at URI, was the lead recruiter of Harris, and will likely end up replacing Hurley as coach of the Rams. I’m sure he’ll give Harris the full-court press, but hopefully Hurley does as well.
Does this feel different? It’s kind of amazing how fast Hurley’s arrival has reenergized the UConn fanbase. Personally, I read about 30,000 words about Hurley this weekend (and will gladly read more; send links). That enthusiasm should translate into a nice boost in ticket sales — especially if a few more things start going right for UConn (Adams returning, a key recruiting commitment). It’s cool to feel good about the direction of the program again.
