“There is NO chance he’s leaving”: Analyst rules out Big East coach’s move to Kentucky as John Calipari's replacement
The Kentucky Wildcats' vacant head coach role has become one of the biggest storylines entering the college basketball off-season. One of the names linked to the position is generating quite a buzz.
After delivering back-to-back NCAA Championships with the UConn Huskies, Dan Hurley has now been linked to the job, which will give him a chance to coach one of the Blue Bloods.
According to veteran college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, the possibility of such a move is near impossible:
"Here’s what I will say about all those still thinking Dan Hurley is going to end up at Kentucky. I’ve known Dan Hurley for almost 25 years. There is NO chance he is leaving UConn right now for Kentucky."
Dan Hurley's coaching history
Dan Hurley has been with the UConn Huskies since the start of the 2018 season. He is wildly popular with their fanbase and within the organization.
After missing the postseason in his first two seasons, Dan Hurley warned the rest of the league of UConn's impending dominance via a now-famous presser.
Back-to-back Round of 64 exits later, Coach Dan has become the one major constant between two-straight Championship winning runs for the Huskies, the first team to do so in nearly 20 years, since the Florida Gators in 2007 and 2008.
During this run, the team had to overhaul its entire roster, a feat extraordinary in its own right. Equally impressive was their NCAA Tournament dominance in that stretch.
Winning all of their games by an average of over 20 points, UConn were a step above the competition, etching the largest combined margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history this season, a record previously held by Kentucky in 1996.
John Calipari's Wildcats tenure comes to an end
Calipari coached the team for the better part of 15 years. He was responsible for a phenomenal start to the 2010s for the Wildcats, who made the Final Four 4 out of 5 years between 2011 and 2015. Their second trip, in 2012, saw them win the NCAA Tournament Championship as well.
A 6-time SEC regular season and tournament winner, Calipari was named the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2015 and won SEC Coach of the Year 4 times during his run with Kentucky.
Since 2018, the team won just one regular-season championship. In the NCAA Tournament, their best finish came in 2019 when they reached the Elite Eight.
Calipari bade goodbye on Tuesday and said that the program needed to "hear another voice"
Who do you think could be the next Kentucky HC? Let us know in the comments section below.