The biggest talk in the NCAA college circuit and the Los Angeles Lakers camp is about hiring a new coach. While JJ Redick and James Borrego are contenders for the Lakers’ post, another name that has popped up is of the University of Connecticut Huskies coach Dan Hurley. While there is a lot of discussion about whether Hurley will leap the Lakers or not, a UConn veteran has come forward to share Hurley’s preferred playing style and how that is different from what the NBA plays.

Mike Crispino, the UConn announcer, was present in an interview where he spoke of Hurley’s dislike towards the NBA’s playing style. This gave insights into Hurley’s mind and inched closer to his much-anticipated decision.

Mike Crispino exposes Dan Hurley

Crispino revealed that Hurley was a coach in the truest sense who likes to groom players and form a team whereas in the NBA it is mostly player management. In the interview on WFSB 3, Mike Crispino said, “I was in the NBA for a long time and now I am in college, and he always says to me I don’t like the NBA. I don’t like the way they play the game. It’s all three-point shooting. So he wouldn’t go to the NBA and change the league. The league would change him. Can you see Dan Hurley taking lessons from players on how to play the game of basketball? I can’t see it. I think he is a teacher, he is a coach, he loves to develop,” Crispino stated. 

“The options are obvious. You go into the NBA and coach a legendary franchise. But they fired 6 coaches in 13 years. They can’t replace Phil Jackson apparently. And they fired some good coaches. Darvin Ham just got fired. Frank Vogel, a winner in the league. Luke Walton, Byron Scott, Mike D’Antoni couldn’t win there,” stated Crispino.

His fiery warning to Hurley included recollecting the past of the Lakers and how after Phil Jackson, they have had 7 coaches. They had done with imminent coaches such as Mike Brown, Bernie Bickerstaff, Mike D’Antoni, Byron Scott, Luke Walton, Frank Vogel, and Darvin Ham after 2011. The most shocking of thing was that a coach like Luke Walton couldn’t survive there. Walton had notably won the back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010. Therefore, there is no surety that if Hurley is hired, he will sustain for a long time.

Hurley has been the head coach at UConn and has been a major part of their team building. His recruitment is something other coaches aspire to do. He has led UConn to two back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. And as per Crispino, Hurley hates the three-pointer game in the NBA. Notably, in NCAA men’s basketball, the three-pointer game is a rarity since only 19 players have made 12 or more three-pointers in a single game. This points out that long-range shooting is not much relied on in the NCAA.

Furthermore, the NBA is filled with more stars who earn a lot. This might be one reason why it is difficult to groom a team in the NBA as compared to that in the NCAA. Hurley, therefore as stated by Crispino, might have a difficult time adjusting to the cash-rich league. Crispino also came forward to state that money wouldn’t be a motivation for Hurley.

Mike Crispino talks of Dan Hurley’s motivation

There is no denying that there is a vast difference between the earnings in the NCAA as compared to that of the NBA. Hurley’s current contract gets him $5.25 million per year but an NBA contract can go up to $16 million a year. However, Hurley is in the East with his wife and kids, and other relatives which makes it apt for him to continue with UConn.

“At UConn enough money for him for his lifetime. We are talking about the Laker enough money for his kid’s lifetime. So money motivates people but I don’t think that’s really the driving force for Dan Hurley,” Crispino remarked. Hurley had previously also stated his love for the Huskies, and it is a thing to note that the last Lakers coach only had a tenure of 2 years. All this makes it a deal for Hurley not to choose the Lakers.

After Crispino’s statements, fans would have a clearer idea of Hurley’s thinking and hopefully, for UConn, Hurley will not go to the NBA.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.