UConn has had the luxury of retaining its men’s basketball assistants longer than would normally be the case. Over the last four years Dan Hurley, aided and abetted by Luke Murray and Kimani Young, has been effective at all levels, recruiting, evaluating, motivating and game-planning.
Surely, another college would want to get a little of that secret sauce. But the Huskies long March runs have probably limited the opportunities for other schools, who wanted to move fast to fill head coaching positions, from waiting out Young and Murray. With Young making more than $1.1 million per year as associate head coach and Murray, hailed for his offensive creativity, north of $800,000. They have been making too much for a school outside a power conference, more likely to hire a first-time head coach, to match.
But the start of the coaching cycle this year feels a little different. There are several jobs open that Murray or Young just seem to fit, schools that might be willing to wait, and offer the right combination of salary and resources to acquire players, though with shorter-termed contracts.
“Maybe (it’s a little more serious),” Hurley said. “For them to get the type of jobs that make financial sense for them, they need to be at a high level of college basketball. When you look at what Tommy Lloyd has done at Arizona, he had been at Gonzaga, understanding what it takes, those are the type of jobs those guys should be in the mix for.”
Jessica Hill/AP
UConn associate head coach Kimani Young could be a candidate for a major head coaching opportunity this offseason. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Among the jobs to open up so far are Arizona State, where Hurley’s brother Bobby is out, Syracuse, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Providence, Cincinnati, Northern Illinois, and St. Bonaventure. Most of these fall into the category of power conference programs that have been struggling in recent years but have tradition and resources.
Reports on St. Bonaventure, where Mark Schmidt retired, are that there is an idea of signing a coach for less money, to be able to offer recruits more money. That could, some insiders say, be the current trend, three-year contracts, instead of five or six, with enough resources provided to give the new coach a chance to rebuild quickly through the transfer portal. If he gets results, he could then get a bigger, longer contract.
If Young and Murray do aspire to be head coaches, there may have to be the one-step-back-to-take-two-steps-forward approach to it. Leave the comfort zone at UConn and bet on themselves.
Murray has been mentioned as a candidate for Syracuse, though Gerry McNamara, with deep Orange ties and head coaching experience at Siena, is thought to be a favorite there. Mike MacDonald, a Ridgefield High grad, has been mentioned as a candidate for St. Bonaventure, his alma mater.
Head coaches who have been successful at mid-majors are usually the hot names this time of year. McNamara, Joe Gallo at Merrimack, Josh Schertz at St. Louis and Brian Hodgson at South Florida are among those.
Young and Murray, having been with Hurley through two national championships, may not have head coaching experience, but they have the national name recognition in the sport that would allow an ACC or Big 12 team to market the hire. They also have had direct participation in a program that still recruits and develops high school prospects, tends to retain its own players and use the transfer portal to complete its roster. That’s a model many school, presumably, would want to emulate rather than try to quick fix a program by throwing money at transfers.
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“Sometimes, if we have a great March here and have a great run, players get drafted higher when you make a big run this time of year,” Hurley said. “Coaches get better jobs when you make a big run.”
Hurley said he’d have no problem with one of his assistants interviewing while the Huskies’ season is still alive. “We don’t hold anyone back here,” he said. “I want them to get a job; look at what they’ve helped us do here.”
Meanwhile, his brother, who was once his assistant at Wagner, could be in position to land on his head coaching feet quickly. Maybe Pitt, which finished second to UConn when Dan Hurley was ready to leave Rhode Island, or one of the ACC schools could be a good spot for Bobby Hurley.
“Bob, his next opportunity, I hope he gets the support and the commitment and resources he needs for success,” Dan Hurley said. “You look at the job he did at Buffalo, look at he job he did at times, especially early on at Arizona State. The COVID year killed him. He had a great team that year. He’ll land on his feet, but he deserves to be in a place that’s really going to support him.”
If UConn has to replenish its coaching staff, Hurley said, he will be find the right assistants all over again. Last year, he added Mike Nardi from Villanova and shifted Tom Moore to the GM role.
“I’ve always had great staffs,” Hurley said. “I had Bashir Mason and my brother and Luke Murray on my staff at Wagner, how about that? At Rhode Island it was Preston Murphy, my brother, David Cox, Luke Murray there. I’m not afraid to lose people, I don’t hire ‘yes’ men, I hire talented people. I want those guys to get jobs, and I want those guys to get jobs where they have a chance to win.
“They’re compensated well enough here and we love working together, so it doesn’t make them fidgety or panicky.”
More for your Sunday Read:
Record chasers
While the Big East Tournament was raging at Madison Square Garden, NYU’s women’s team was chasing history in lower Manhattan. The Violets extended their winning streak to 90 games in Division III women’s basketball, beating Hardin-Simmons on Friday night to reach the NCAA Elite 8.
That ties the UConn women’s team of 2008-11, which won 90 in a row, second longest streak in college basketball history. The longest belongs to UConn, 2014-17, winners of 111 straight games. Geno Auriemma was delighted to learn someone was chasing his Huskies.
“When you do something that’s so consistently good, the danger you see is, ‘If you can do it every single day it must be easy,’” Auriemma said. “I say, ‘How many things do you do every day that are exactly the same as the day before?’ Probably none. So doing something exceptionally well and doing it every day you have to do it, is way, way, way more difficult than people think. It’s Division III? I don’t care if its Division 12, people say, ‘The conference they play in.’ None of these things are relevant because you have to go out there and execute to your best ability, and for each game you win, people are throwing that number at you and you have to keep your mind on what got you here.”
UConn, which is on a 50-game active winning streak, and NYU both have sophomores from Grace Christian School in North Carolina, where Sarah Strong and the Violets’ Serenity McNair were teammates. Before taking over at NYU, coach Meg Barber was an assistant under current UConn assistant Tonya Cardoza at Temple.
“I met some of the kids in the program and their coaches and I have a lot of respect for them,” Auriemma said. “I hope they get to 112, that would be unbelievable. I might want to be at that game.”
I’ll hazard a guess if NYU gets there next year, the potential record-breaker is in New York and UConn’s not playing that night, Auriemma will be there. And he’ll bring the wine.
Own a piece of the dome
With Gampel Pavilion set to undergo a renovation, fan can purchase a piece of the Huskies’ home since 1990. At collectuconn.com, you can bid on items like chairs, including coaches chair signed by Hurley and Auriemma, lockers belonging to UConn stars, rings made from arena materials. “(Fans) have the chance to buy some of the most unique memorabilia around,” said Chris Grosse, associate AD for external strategy, “from a Gampel seat on a customized collectible base autographed by Coach Auriemma to the actual whiteboard Coach Hurley has used to design plays.”
Items will ship in April when the renovations begin. Wonder if they’d sell pieces of the ceiling with a bucket to go underneath? That would be kind of funny.
Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant
At collectuconn.com, you can bid on a piece of Gampel Oavilion, which will undergo renovations this spring. (Courant file photo)
Sunday short takes
*Trinity squash won its 18th national championship in 26 years, beating Harvard, 5-3, in the Potter Cup final last weekend in Philadelphia. The Bantams beat Yale and Princeton to reach the final. Seniors Joaquim Chuah (52-11) and Benedek Takacs (51-14) finished their careers with a flourish.
*Former UConn forward Dorka Juhasz was the MVP for both January and February in EuroLeague Women’s basketball, averaging 18.7 points and 10.0 rebounds for Turkey-based Galatasaray in January and Italian team Beretta Famila Schio in February. Juhasz has played in the WNBA with the Lynx.
Dom Amore: UConn, Dan Hurley needed a place to heal and recover. Xavier, The Garden provided it
*One thought on the World Baseball Classic snafu last week. If an active MLB manager, wrapped up with his own team, was not up on all the format/rules in the WBC, one could understand. But doesn’t Mark DeRosa, team USA manager who thought his team clinched when it didn’t, have all year to memorize this stuff.
*My friends at WTNH-TV in New Haven, John Pierson and Erik Dobratz, both hustling, resourceful home-state guys who care about the local sports scene and its youngsters, will be honored with merit awards by the CIAC before state championship games on Friday at Mohegan Sun.
*Fun fact, depending on your school and sport: Boston College’s baseball team scored more in a 26-19 win over UConn this week than its football team scored in a 38-23 loss last fall.
Last word
If you’re one of those who thinks UConn officials are going to tell Dan Hurley to tone it down, hold him accountable in some way for his sideline behavior, or believe this would change anything, I have some great news for you: There’s a bridge for sale not far from The Garden, spectacular views. While we’re in this dream world, you can use it to go watch the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Conservative estimate, how many Division I teams would gladly trade their model of sideline demeanor for Hurley and his results … 95 percent?
