"Could win a lot of championships with Lakers, more so than a guy who's never coached"- Geno Auriemma shades JJ Redick while endorsing Dan Hurley
Geno Auriemma and Dan Hurley are both legends at UConn. While the former has been at the helm of the UConn Women for 40 years, Dan Hurley has already won two NCAA Division I Championships in his five years in charge.
Hurley was linked as the primary candidate for the Lakers head coach position by ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, ahead of JJ Redick whose case has been slowly gaining momentum over the last week or so.
Auriemma, appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, weighed in on the reports and took a sly dig at Redick. He disclosed what he said to Hurley:
"I think you could win a lot of championships with the Lakers, more so than a guy who's never coached."
Auriemma added that he had no insider line on the Lakers coaching search and was as shocked as anyone else by the early morning Woj-bomb. He further opined that it would be a bad day for UConn and a bittersweet day for Dan Hurley.
Auriemma said that Hurley is not interested in any other coaching job with the prospect of a historic three-peat looming for the Huskies.
The UConn Huskies went 292-163 in his time in charge and 14-4 in NCAA tournament play on route to two titles. Hurley has the chance to become the first coach since UCLA's John Wooden to win three years in a row if he stays.
What can fans expect from Dan Hurley as the Lakers coach?
Dan Hurley is considered one of the game's foremost tacticians and believed by many to be an uprgrade over previous coach Darvin Ham's perceived naivete.
LeBron James had previously praised Hurley's offense after his appearance on JJ Redick's podcast following UConn's 2024 Championship.
Hurley, who hails from an esteemed basketball family is known for his creative play designs and intensity with players. Pundits have already started speculating that he might find it difficult to transition to NBA coaching.
NBA coaches who have made the jump from college have had mixed success. PJ Carlesimo and Rick Pitino failed quite miserably while John Calipari had a three-year stint with the Nets in the 90s and Brad Stevens coached the Celtics with distinction before moving on to become their GM.