The Athletic website has pointed out the special things of Dan Hurley, a coach who has never once stepped out of the NCAA but has the opportunity to lead the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.
Although he does not have any experience in the NBA, UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley has left a certain impression in his leadership and coaching work.
It was not by accident that he was able to create a team that won the NCAA championship two years in a row and had 52 wins in 57 matches played. So what helps Dan Hurley get into the sights of the Los Angeles Lakers, an extremely ambitious team with the presence of top NBA star LeBron James on the squad?
Although he has never once stepped out of the NCAA in his coaching career, 51-year-old coach Dan Hurley has the opportunity to lead the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA starting next season.
Sam Vecenie, veteran writer for The Athletic, calls Dan Hurley the best candidate among the NCAA coaching staff who can immediately set foot in the NBA.
On offense, Hurley applies the NBA style to the NCAA for the UConn Huskies. He had his students perform a series of shots that revolved around rotating the ball to find empty 3-pointers.
Interspersed with long throws are options for shooting close to the basket for center forwards after they screen for their teammates. In addition, Mr. Hurley also likes to let his players move without the ball to create space, creating a modern and beautiful attacking style.
From this style of play, in the past 6 March Madness matches, coach Dan Hurley’s UConn won all 6 matches with an average difference of up to… more than 30 points per match.
In defense, Dan Hurley works closely with the assistant team to find the strengths and weaknesses of his players. From here, the coaching staff will adjust defensive tactics to better suit the team, helping the players defend more effectively.
As for “scouting”, the assistant team that Hurley selected is considered the best in the entire United States at the NCAA level. They try to find the opponent’s weakness and then focus on it to Attack accurately and effectively.
Once UConn has a play strong enough to penetrate the opponent’s defense, they will not hesitate to run exactly one attack throughout the entire match until the opponent finds a way to counter it.
Many experts say Dan Hurley helped the UConn Huskies achieve the two most dominant years in NCAA history, resulting in two consecutive years of championships.
The Vecenie writer further notes an important point: Dan Hurley has a tough coaching style in terms of discipline, but he is willing to create space for the players to be creative. This creates comfort in competition for the students while solidarity and discipline are still maintained at the best level.
Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers are preparing a high-value, long-term contract for Dan Hurley, including the cost of releasing this captain’s contract with the University of Connecticut.
If Hurley accepts the Los Angeles Lakers’ offer, he will become one of two rare coaches in the current 30 NBA teams who both win the NCAA championship and work in the NBA. The other person is Billy Donovan, the current captain of the Chicago Bulls and also a close brother to Hurley in everyday life.