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UConn's Dan Hurley Says He's Open to Taking NBA HC Job 'Way Down the Road'

Jack MurrayApril 13, 2024

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - APRIL 08: head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament National Championship game at State Farm Stadium on April 08, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

The NBA could be a future destination for UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley, although it doesn't appear to be on his radar currently.

Mike Anthony of CTInsider reported that Hurley said that UConn is "the only place he'll ever coach college basketball" but that he wouldn't rule out becoming an NBA coach "way down the road."

Mike Anthony @ManthonyHearst

Dan Hurley says the only place he'll ever coach college basketball is at UConn. <br>He doesn't rule out trying the NBA "way down the road."

Hurley just finished his sixth season as head coach of the Huskies and led the program to its second consecutive National Championship. He has compiled a 141-58 record with UConn and was named Naismith Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season.

Hurley was a name floated for the recent Kentucky vacancy, but he told Dan Dakich of OutKick that he shut down the Wildcats' pursuit quickly.

"I told them very early on, I have no interest. My wife, my family, we have no interest," Hurley said. "Why would you leave the current best program in the country to go somewhere else?"

He also told John Fanta of Fox Sports that he currently "has his mind set on pursuing a national championship three-peat." This hasn't happened since UCLA in the 1960s and 70s, when the program won seven consecutive and 10 in 12 seasons. Otherwise, no other program has won at least three consecutive championships.

UConn will have a difficult time doing so, considering how rare the feat is, but Hurley has the program in tremendous shape. It has reached four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and earned the No. 1 overall seed in this year's tournament.

While losing Donovan Clingan and potentially Stephon Castle to the NBA will be a blow to UConn in 2024-25, the program still has a top-30 recruiting class for 2024, per 247 Sports.

Determining when it's time to leave will be something only Hurley can figure out. However, the possibility of him leading a team to an NBA Championship at least exists in the future.