In 2018 as Philippe Coutinho was preparing to leave Liverpool for Barcelona, his manager, Jurgen Klopp, came with a warning. Stay here and they’ll build you a statue, he said. Go somewhere else and you will be just another player. Philippe Coutinho left for Barcelona, leaving after being unable to ever establish himself in the team. Now, he plays in Saudi Arabia, a player only remembered by bar trivia and Liverpool fans. Contrastly, Liverpool has gone on to win the Premier League, the Champions League, a Club World Cup, and a slew of other trophies without him. It is a parable-esque ending for a player who everyone believed was bound to set the world on fire. And so, when I heard the news about Dan Hurley to the Laker, the above warning was all I could think of.
We’ve all accepted that Dan Hurley is the best coach in college basketball. Last year, I chalked up the National Championship to UConn in Houston; that’s just what they do. This year, I obviously picked against UConn in March Madness, because two-peating is hard. I believed in some Big 12/Iowa State dominance. Due to this, I was so wrong I ended up getting last or almost last in every pool I was in. For the fourth year in a row, I lost to a dog in our family pool.
Even though Dan Hurley has caused me great pain because of his college coaching greatness, I can’t help but want to stop him from going to the Lakers. I should point out, that I think he deserves it more than any college coach. Not only has Hurley worked his way up from the sewers of basketball coaching, but he has excelled in the college game. It is not unrealistic to bet early on UConn to threepeat. Is it insane? Sure. But if anyone can do it, it’s Dan Hurley. Especially after the smackdown he put on the entirety of college basketball throughout March. He has already cemented himself as an all-time college great and is slowly pushing for the greatest college coach.
But in all this, I have to say – I don’t understand this NBA courtship. If there is one college coach I watch that I believe to be the antithesis of everything the NBA, especially the Lakers, stands for, it’s Dan Hurley. I can get into his offensive and defensive schemes, but I actually think those will transfer over well to the NBA. For all the rigidness of college, UConn has been crafted into a team able to play freely depending on the opponent. The efficiency of his ball screen offense coupled with a high level of offensive efficiency, and the number four most efficient defense has created a championship program. It all works perfectly. And that’s because Hurley recruits and shapes those recruits into the players he wants. Dan Hurley is a molder of young men into champions. But that isn’t why I think Dan Hurley’s NBA aspirations are off.
The NBA is a different animal. As much as Hurley has spoken about his own changes, the man is his unrequited self. As a college basketball enjoyed, I remember the old school coaches losing their minds on the sidelines. There are guys who would berate their players from the sidelines; I watch enough Kelvin Sampson games a year and that man is never satisfied. But Hurley is the same. He has mastered the art of being a tough coach who drives his players through toughness. Do you think that will fly in the NBA? If Dan Hurley is going crazy on the sideline do you think Anthony Davis is going to work harder? Or is he going to think “I am 31 year-old super veteran of the NBA why is he yelling”?
I just don’t see the Dan Hurley personality working in the NBA. And the long-term coaches like him no longer exist in the NBA. Erik Spoelstra isn’t out there losing his mind on the sideline, and his “Heat Culture” is just losing early in the playoffs. The Hurley way doesn’t fly in the NBA. Especially during the LeBron era (for maybe a year). There is no way LeBron is going to be cool with a coach taking the reigns like Hurley. Sure, LeBron has publicly distanced himself from the process, but if he stays (a Bronny draft) there is no easy endgame.
The last ten or so years have brought me a weariness about good coaches taking those historically successful jobs. From basketball to soccer to college football, there have been this slew of coaches going to prestigious jobs only to be ousted. Look at Tom Herman. A man who went from UH to UT only to be beaten by the boosters into coaching irrelevance. How’s Billy Donovan doing? And look at Rick Pitino. His biggest regret is leaving Kentucky for the Celtics. If Pitino had stayed, he would have outranked that narcissist Coach K. I’m sure it would be nice to get away from boosters who believe athletes should be happy getting a college education for free, and then speak about how college is a liberal scam. I’m sure the NCAA hoops are tiring. But I can only imagine how Lakers/Chiefs/Alabama fans would react to a couple of losses in a row. Imagine how much pressure there is to restore the Lakers to their immortal status. There hasn’t been a real championship in LA since 2010.
Speaking of the college basketball boogeyman, Big Cat on PMT started the narrative that this is all a Duke-run plot to stop Dan Hurley from being the best college coach of all time. With the JJ Redick connections, I am fully on board with this theory. Duke is interfering in the Lakers’ election and I think they should be sanctioned as such.
Dan Hurley shouldn’t go to the Lakers. I know he’s taking this weekend to think about it, but this is an easy choice. Stay at UConn and they will build a statue for him. He will become the greatest college coach of all time with the way he’s going. But, the best way to tarnish that chance is by going after that big-name job, like the Lakers.
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