In choosing to leave UConn for Indiana, assistant coach Kenya Hunter not only ruins a segment of our most recent podcast, but also leaves a hole in Dan Hurley’s coaching staff. Given the effectiveness of the team of assistants that Hurley put together upon his hiring, it’s reasonable to assume that he will be able to make another quality hire here. Let’s Consider Some Names that might get Hurley’s attention.
Taliek Brown, UConn Director of Player Development
The easy move for Hurley would be to promote Brown, currently on staff at UConn and a fan favorite for his championship run as UConn’s starting point guard from 2000 to 2004. I wouldn’t expect Hurley to take the easy road here, though. Given that Hunter was Hurley’s recruiter in the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) region and UConn’s primary big man coach, Brown doesn’t appear to be the ideal fit.
Tony Skinn, Seton Hall Assistant Coach
UConn fans might remember Skinn as a starting guard on the 2006 George Mason team that ruined spring semester for me (I’m mad). While Skinn would need to pay some sort of penance to me personally for that, he could be a good fit for Dan Hurley’s staff. Skinn recruits heavily in the DMV region, and Seton Hall has seen more success in that region since Skinn joined the staff two years ago.
Kevin Freeman, Penn State Assistant Coach
Freeman has more of a coaching resume now than Brown, having just finished his second season as an assistant coach at Penn State, where he primarily works with big men. Freeman left Dan Hurley’s staff after one season (seven total on UConn’s coaching staff) when he wasn’t offered an assistant coaching job. Freeman also has a championship ring of his own. Unfortunately, with no signature recruiting wins on his resume, and a somewhat complicated history, it’s hard to imagine Hurley pulling the trigger here.
Andre LaFleur, UNLV Assistant Coach
LaFleur was a highly regarded assistant coach at UConn, responsible for coaching big men during the last few years of Jim Calhoun’s tenure with the program. His star has fallen a bit since his move to Providence, but he has been successful with UConn in the past, and might welcome a return. LaFleur would be a safe and credible pick with a long history of east coast recruiting, but it’s likely that Hurley has set his sights a bit higher.
Orlando “Bino” Ranson, Maryland Assistant Coach
This one is probably pretty unlikely, and if it were to happen it would have to come with a title and salary bump for Ranson, who has been at Maryland since 2010 and who is heavily involved in seemingly every prominent DMV-area recruit. Ranson has also worked with a number of prominent big men at Maryland, giving him all of the experience Hurley would want in a Hunter replacement. I don’t expect UConn to out-bit Maryland for his services, but Ranson would be among the best possible hires.
Rebecca Lobo, ESPN Analyst
Lobo has no coaching experience, but she would be a flashy hire for Hurley given her prominence as an ESPN analyst and broadcaster and the fact that she would become the first woman hired to the UConn men’s basketball staff. She clearly has a comprehensive understanding of the game and could likely take over coaching bigs given her experience as a player. Unlike the other coaches on this list, she also shows a high tolerance for Russ. This one is almost certainly a pipe dream, but it’s fun to consider.
Christian Webster, Virginia Tech Assistant Coach
Webster is seen as a rising star among assistant coaches, and he is one of the best recruiters in the DMV area. Webster’s most recent available salary shows him making less than half of what Kenya Hunter was being paid at UConn, making him a pretty reasonable acquisition. Hiring a coach away from an ACC program, even a lower-tier one like Virginia Tech, would be a satisfying turnaround after Hunter’s somewhat lateral move to Indiana.
JD Byers, VCU Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator
Byers is another DMV-area assistant, as he’s been heavily involved in recruiting at both VCU and Radford. Byers is only being paid $150,000, so he would likely be pretty easy to obtain. He’s been coaching at, and recruiting to, DMV-area schools for most of the decade, so his experience as a recruiter is ideal.
Kevin Nickelberry, LSU Assistant Coach
R.J. Cole’s former head coach at Howard, Nickelberry has a tremendous amount of experience coaching and recruiting the DMV area, having also spent time as the head coach at Hampton, as well as an assistant at Charlotte and Clemson. He was just promoted to assistant coach after spending a year as special assistant to the head coach, so he may not be inclined to leave yet, and his new $300,000 a year salary would make him expensive to poach, but he would be a terrific option if he is, in fact, attainable.
Brandin Knight, Rutgers Assistant Coach
The former Pitt guard could welcome a return to the Big East, as he’s heavily involved in recruiting the northeast for Steve Pikiell. Knight was the lead recruiter on former UConn target Cliff Omoruyi, and was also involved in recruiting four-star guard Montez Mathis out of Maryland. Unfortunately, like Nickelberry, Knight makes $300,000 a year, so he would be expensive to acquire.
Cliff Warren, Georgia State Assistant Coach
Warren is a Maryland native who has head coaching experience (Jacksonville) and a resume featuring assistant coaching stints at Georgia Tech, Maryland, UMass, and (currently) Georgia State. He was named the Atlantic Sun’s coach of the year in 2009 and managed to cobble together two 20-win seasons before the wheels came off.
