Rejecting $70 Million Lakers offer, Dan Hurley calls UConn last chance to teach athletes crucial life lessons: "Something you don't get in pro sports"

Dan Hurley gave insights into his decision to decline the opportunity to coach one of the biggest NBA franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers, in 2024. The UConn coach said that coaching young players has a deeper meaning for him as he believes that he is ultimately preparing them for the real world.

He said that college coaches act as the last cushion of teachers that can leave a lifelong impact on a young player's life, be it discipline, personality, or toughness.

"College coaching compared to the NBA, there's more of a sense of purpose to it, there just is because of the impact you could have on a 17-year-old, a 19-year-old," he said (at 3:52). "What you can mean for them in their life is something that you don't get in pro sports the same way.

"You're the last group of people that are going to really teach these kids a lot of what they need to learn to be successful, to make them tougher, to make them better, just to prepare them for what life's going to be like and it's not always going to be easy."

With that, Dan Hurley noted UConn's stature in men's basketball, rhetorically questioning why he would want to leave something he has helped cultivate.

The UConn coach was offered $70 million to lead players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The opportunity came after Hurley made the Huskies a dominant force, leading them to back-to-back championships. Hurley took some time considering the landscape shift but ultimately decided to stay at the Division I level.

What's next for Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies?

As Dan Hurley returned to UConn for a shot at a three-peat, his Huksies churned out the worst season in the last three years (22-9, 14-6 Big East). They entered the season as a top-five team on the AP Poll but finished outside the top-25 bracket.

This led pundits and fans to question Hurley's ability to lead them to another national title.

However, UConn had the third-best record in league play and earned a bye game for the conference tournament. They are set to face either Villanova or Seton Hall in the quarterfinal on Mar. 13.

Winning the Big East Tournament will give Dan Hurley's team a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. However, in case they lose, they will have to wait for the bracketing on Selection Sunday, Mar. 16, to learn about their March Madness journey.