According to a source, Hurley intends to make up his mind about the choice that is weighing on him soon. After allegations appeared that the Lakers were interested in hiring the 51-year-old head coach of the back-to-back men’s college basketball national champions, Hurley did not want to keep the rumors from his players.
Hurley informed his team, which is ranked 2nd in the Early Top 25 and attempting to become the first school since John Wooden’s UCLA teams to win three consecutive national championships in 2025, that it is “business as usual” for the time being. Their practice was slated for Thursday at noon in Storrs.
According to a source, Hurley is “truly at a 50-50” on whether to join LeBron James and the Lakers or remain in college and attempt to do something unprecedented in today’s game. “He deals with things mentally where he’s constantly seeking to prove what he can do,” a person said.
Currently, Hurley is the head coach of the Huskies. The University of Connecticut has extended an attractive new contract offer to him, which would rank him among the highest-paid coaches in the nation and provide him with other perks. Hurley said on Wednesday that “it’s complex, and it’s taken longer to reach an agreement than any of us would have desired.
It hasn’t been a rush for me. You make significant sacrifices to accomplish your work. The work very much beats your ass, and your family suffers too. Any possibility for a social life depletes what you have.”
Keep in mind that UConn is not in the major four conferences, but rather the Big East, and the money necessary to award Hurley this new contract is not readily obtained in a location like Connecticut. However, an agreement has been reached and presented to Hurley’s team.
Aside from finances, a source claims Hurley is considering making this move. He has northeastern roots, and his father, Bob Sr., 76, is heavily engaged in his life and a regular at UConn games. His wife Andrea and kids, Dan and Andrew, are content in the northeast, but his sons have graduated from college, which should make a relocation simpler.
“His parents are still here and still very much a part of his life, and it’s convenient for the family to be in this part of the country,” according to the report. “But there’s that angle that there may never be a better opportunity than this one right now.”
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster. He covers the sport in several roles, including calling games on FS1, acting as the primary presenter on the BIG EAST Digital Network, and delivering analysis on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter, @John_Fanta.
