Dan Hurley broke his silence.
Hours after he decided to spurn the Lakers’ head-coaching offer to stay with UConn, Hurley briefly explained his reasoning.
“I am humbled by this entire experience,” Hurley said in a statement. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”
Hurley, who has led the Huskies to back-to-back national championships, was offered a six-year, $70 million contract by the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
But Hurley, 51, is motivated to lead the first team to three straight NCAA championships since John Wooden’s UCLA teams won seven straight from 1966-73, according to the report.
“As swept away as Hurley became by the Lakers courtship and vision for him, he ultimately couldn’t walk away from a chance to make history and pursue a third straight NCAA title,” Wojnarowski wrote on X on Monday. “Even before Lakers talks, Hurley already had a UConn offer to become one of highest-paid NCAA coaches and those talks will continue, per sources.”
Hurley’s decision now leaves the Lakers scrambling.
Two candidates that they might now pursue are ex-NBA player and current media personality JJ Redick, who emerged as an early front-runner for the job before news of interest in Hurley arose, and Hornets assistant James Borrego.
The Lakers are coming off a disappointing season in which they were eliminated in five games by the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
There is also uncertainty regarding LeBron James’ future, as he can opt-out of his contract this offseason.