“I'm not going to be a bozo coach” — UConn HC Dan Hurley expresses clear mindset going into 2024 college basketball season as defending champion

UConn coach Dan Hurley will be eyeing a three-peat this upcoming season after signing a new contract with the program. Hurley signed the new agreement, $50 million for six years, after rejecting a more lucrative offer from the Lakers in the NBA ($70 million for six years).

Hurley comes from a famous family. His father Bob Hurley Sr. is a legendary former basketball coach, and his brother Bobby Hurley is one of the best point guards in college basketball history. His family history motivates him to be better.

"Being a Hurley and your father is a Hall of Fame coach — and my own pride, too — I'm not going to be a bozo coach," said Dan Hurley, via CT Insider. "My dad is an all-time great coach. If you're giong to be a coach, you better be a coach."

"The only college desire I ever had was I just wanted to coach in the NCAA Tournament. And that was just from watching 'One Shining Moment' with my wife. After every national championship game, we would just sit and say,' Hey someday we're going to be in this video'," he added.

Hurley led UConn to back-to-back national championships in the last two seasons, winning 52 out of 57 games. Rejecting an offer from Lakers bigger than UConn's offer showed that money was not enough to take him from his beloved Huskies.

"The success, what I have now, stature-wise and financially, that's just a byproduct of every single day trying to run a championship organization and every single day trying to get better as a coach — just every aspect of it, chasing it, pursuing it," Hurley said. "Everything else is just a byproduct of that. I was never chasing this."

When Dan Hurley arrived at UConn in 2018, the situation was tight. The program was almost at the bottom of the AAC conference. From there till two national titles, Hurley's journey has been incredible. Now, he has the chance to make it three in a row for UConn, and maybe after that, he can think about taking another big step in his career and moving to the NBA.

Why did Dan Hurley reject the Lakers' offer?

MLB: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

Dan Hurley was in high demand after winning two back-to-back national titles, and the Lakers offered him a $70 million offer for the head coach position.

Hurley visited the Lakers' facility to explore his options but ultimately rejected the offer. Famous college hoops analyst Mark Zanetto spoke about the reason behind it.

"Let's not forget that Hurley turned down the Lakers offer which was —now that we know he got a six years, $50 million-dollar extension to make him the second-highest paid coach in college basketball — he turned down $20 million more to be the Lakers coach," Zanetto said.

"And, according to Thomas, that dedication bodes well for UConn's pursuit. His quote was 'it's big,' his massage to me was kind of like ... 'I'm not finished here yet.' So Dan Hurley is continuingihis pursuit of everything," he added.