STORRS, Conn. — Even with a deal that would make him one of the highest-paid college basketball coaches in the country, UConn's Dan Hurley never let his thoughts stray too far from what took him to the top of the men's college basketball world.
About a month after turning down a bid to become the head coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, Hurley agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract through the 2029-30 season. He will receive $6.375 million next season on top of his base annual salary of $400,000.
“It's not something I'm obsessed with,” Hurley said Tuesday. “If anything, I held off because I didn't want to review it or read it or deal with it. We've been so focused on the basketball part, but it's good to have it over with.”
Keeping his assistant coaches on staff and dealing with the current aspects of college sports were part of the new contract signed by Hurley, 51.
Hurley knows Tom Moore, Luke Murray and Kimani Young are as responsible as he is for UConn winning back-to-back national titles.
“It's hard to put together a team because there aren't a lot of people that can work for me. The intensity with which we go about our work and the way we run our program is different,” Hurley said. “I'm picky about the people that play and work for me, I'm picky, so it's always hard for me to find people to hire.”
Hurley was quick to credit UConn athletic director David Benedict for handling things the way he has since hiring Hurley.
“Dave is as responsible as any of us for where we are right now,” Hurley said. “DB has been a good partner. We’ve had these conversations about the changing college basketball landscape, the revenue sharing that’s coming up, the television deals and being able to leverage and maximize our brand. Our brand is at the top of college basketball and our basketball excellence is here on both sides, how do we take full advantage of that so we don’t get left behind?”
“You want to stay so focused on your work that you can continue to achieve more and more in your career. He's always done that.
“He has provided us with the resources and does what we need to do to give us the resources to compete at the top.”
UConn had four starters selected in the recent NBA draft, with Alex Karaban being the only starter returning to the Huskies.
Hurley said freshman Liam McNeeley, who is currently dealing with an ankle injury, is “as ready as any freshman that's come in.”
Hurley believes he has a roster that can compete for a third consecutive national title.
“We have a similar talent level to last season's group,” Hurley said. “You can see a lot of potential there.”
