Dan Hurley beware: History of coaches who jumped from college to NBA is a cautionary tale

“[He] is one of the most accomplished and innovative basketball minds and leaders in the entire game. He has a unique ability to create an outstanding culture that will promote the development of young players and provide a solid structure to the entire program; not to mention the fact that [he] wins everywhere he goes.”

That, more or less, is the framework of the argument for handing over the moon, the stars and a Brinks truck to hire Dan Hurley away from UConn to take the reins of the Los Angeles Lakers — a pursuit first reported early Thursday by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

And if it sounds familiar to you, it might be because it was the framework of another argument — one made just over five years ago, when Dan Gilbert and Koby Altman handed over the moon, the stars and a five-year contract with “an average annual value of more than $4 million” to hire John Beilein away from Michigan to take the reins of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“He’s considered one of the elite offensive tacticians and teachers in basketball,” wrote Wojnarowski of the Cavs’ 2019 pursuit of “culture driver” Beilein.

“He takes players right out of high school and turns them into lottery picks,” a “source close” to the Beilein hire told Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.

“It is no surprise that Koby and his team landed on John Beilein, as great cultures attract others who hold the same values as the foundation for everything they do,” Cavs owner Gilbert wrote in a team statement. “I can’t wait for next season to begin.”

Dan Hurley has had no problems winning championships at Connecticut. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

As it turned out, he probably would’ve been fine waiting.

Beilein opened his pro account with 15 losses in his first 20 games and totaled more defeats by mid-January than he’d had in his final three years in Ann Arbor. The tactical excellence that produced so many wins across 27 years on campus failed to translate at the next level, producing the NBA’s sixth-worst offense and second-worst defense at the All-Star break.

The college lifer struggled to connect with the young roster he was…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-06 18:06:37

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