It was nearly one year ago to the day when reports began to swirl that UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley was being targeted for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching vacancy. The story took the internet by storm with pundits across the sports media landscape taking their best guess as to whether the Huskies’ head coach was going to leave the college game after winning back-to-back national championships for the chance to coach LeBron James in the City of Angels.
Hurley made the decision to return to UConn, but with another big-market NBA coaching job now open, could history repeat itself?
After the New York Knicks announced they were moving on from head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, Hurley’s name once again became a hot topic of conversation. The 52-year-old coach was born and raised in New Jersey and has spent his entire coaching career on the East Coast.
Coming off a disappointing season at UConn, which concluded with a 24-11 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Florida, would Hurley consider making the jump now to the NBA and taking over the Knicks’ head coaching position?
FOX Sports college basketball reporter John Fanta joined Jason McIntyre on Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd” to discuss the odds of Hurley becoming the next coach of the Knicks.
John Fanta on Tom Thibodeau’s firing, Dan Hurley-Jay Wright odds of becoming HC, NBA mock draft
“I don’t think that this buzz is going to progress to the degree that we saw the Lakers thing last year and the reporting off of that, talking about him staying at UConn, the layers to it,” Fanta said about Hurley potentially leaving Storrs for Manhattan. “I don’t think we’re going to get down that road. I just don’t see it.”
Fanta added that Hurley would likely “entertain” at least discussing the opening with the Knicks if they reached out, but he doesn’t think the situations align at this point in time.
“If they go and hire Dan Hurley, is it a splash? Yes.” Fanta said. “Hiring Dan Hurley, as much as I think he’s a tremendous college coach, I just don’t think it’s here and now.”
Hurley is not the only two-time championship coach whose name has been thrown around as a possible candidate for the Knicks’ opening. Former Villanova coach Jay Wright has the third-best odds to be named the Knicks’ next head coach, listed at +1500. Of course, a big reason for Wright’s name being thrown into the mix is the fact that three of his former players at Villanova – Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart – are part of the Knicks’ current core.
“Could I see Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart trying to orchestrate a FaceTime call with Jay Wright, if they haven’t already in the last 24 hours?” Fanta questioned. “Of course, I could see that.”
But despite the close connection to his former collegiate stars, Fanta was quick to shut down the idea of Wright – who serves as a college basketball studio and game analyst for CBS Sports – becoming the next head coach of the Knicks.
“Jay Wright is enjoying red wine, basketball, television and his family,” Fanta said. “If he wanted to coach again, he’d be the Villanova coach.
“Jay Wright is not going anywhere.”
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