On Monday, news of Dan Hurley’s decision to stay at UConn and turn down the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job rapidly spread across the sports world.
Hurley rejected the Lakers’ six-year, $70 million offer, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and will instead remain in Storrs to pursue a third straight national title with the Huskies.
The 51-year-old Hurley was tabbed as the Lakers’ top head coaching candidate by Wojnarowski last week, and his decision Monday ended rampant speculation over his coaching future. The back-to-back NCAA champion signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract with UConn in 2023 but could be in line for a raise soon.
As one might expect, Lakers fans reacted to the Hurley news with a wide range of emotions. The rest of the sports world chimed in, too.
It’s almost like Dan Hurley leaked all of this through a trusted media source (who literally wrote a book on his dad) to secure himself an even bigger contract at UConn. Woj gets a big scoop, the Lakers get to say we tried, and Hurley gets a huge raise. Win. Win. Win. https://t.co/TYWvLS7c1J
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) June 10, 2024Dan Hurley’s decision is massive for UConn in so many ways. If he’d left, players have 30 days to enter portal, and it’s virtually impossible to run a full coaching search in June. UConn keeps a Hall of Fame-caliber coach, avoids a thorny transition and keeps a Top 5 roster.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 10, 2024Dan Hurley’s decision to return to UConn cements him as the new face of college basketball, a title that Jay Wright and Coach K both held before him.
The Huskies now take aim at a third consecutive national title in 2024-25. https://t.co/2yJrnLZ9DE
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 10, 2024That 6yr $70M contract for Dan Hurley doesn’t scream all in for me 🤷🏾♂️
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) June 10, 2024I mean, Dan Hurley turned down Kentucky and the Lakers in a single summer. They gotta build the statue … tonight.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) June 10, 2024— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) June 10, 2024Lakers going back to JJ Redick after Dan Hurley turned them down pic.twitter.com/HYX5deBibN
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 10, 2024Lakers showing up at JJ Redick house after Dan Hurley decided to stay at UConn pic.twitter.com/fjfvmpmZCE
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) June 10, 2024— Overtime (@overtime) June 10, 2024
Source : Sports Illustrated