Why Danny Hurley did the right thing

A history lesson.

Danny Hurley, the head coach of the UCONN men’s basketball team, has decided to stay at Storrs, spurning the Los Angeles Lakers in the process.

If history is any guide, Hurley made exactly the right decision.

While there have been a few high-profile college hoops coaches who have found NBA success — Brad Stevens, Billy Donovan (sort of) — there is a MUCH longer list of successful college coaches who have failed miserably in the pros.

Let’s go through some of them, shall we?

John Calipari, New Jersey Nets

Calipari built a monster at the University of Massachusetts — going 193-71 during his eight years there. He was hired by the New Jersey Nets in 1996 and never really succeeded. He finished 40 games under .500 during his three years with the Nets and was fired after starting the 1999 season 3-17. His tenure was widely seen as a disaster.

Rick Pitino, Boston Celtics

Pitino actually wasn’t bad in his first NBA coaching gig — leading the New York Knicks to a 90-74 record over two years before decamping for the University of Kentucky after clashing with the Knicks management.

But it’s Pitino’s second NBA coaching job — the four years he spent with the Boston Celtics in the late 1990s and early 2000s — that everyone remembers. And not well. Pitino’s team finished with a 102-146 record during his time in Boston — and his stint was remembered, primarily because of his “Larry Bird” press conference, in which he attacked the fans for living in the past.

Later, he insisted he should have never taken the job at all. “I think I do regret leaving Kentucky because I took over a team with 15 wins banking everything on the Tim Duncan lottery,” Pitino said. “And once we didn’t get Tim Duncan, I realized that leaving Kentucky was not a good move.”

John Beilein, Cleveland Cavaliers

Beilein was the quintessential college leader — coaching up his less-talented West Virginia and Michigan teams to the heights of basketball power. But, his NBA tenure with the Cavs was an unmitigated disaster. He didn’t even make it a full season before resigning in February 2020. The Cavs were at the time 14-40 at the time — worst in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN reported when Beilein stepped aside that he “struggled to connect with NBA players and was never able to implement his collegiate offense into the pro game.”

Fred Hoiberg, Chicago Bulls

Hoiberg built a powerhouse at his alma mater, Iowa State University, before signing on to coach the Bulls in June 2015. He never was able to come close to repeating that success in the NBA. Hoiberg made it through three full seasons but was let go when the team started out 5-19 in 2020. Hoiberg’s overall coaching record with the Bulls was 115-155.

Lon Kruger, Atlanta Hawks

Kruger is a GREAT college coach. He has built winners at Illinois, UNLV Kansas State and Oklahoma to name just a few. But he bombed out in his only chance in the NBA. He was hired to turn around a moribund Hawks franchise but only made it two full seasons. He was fired the day after Christmas in 2002. Kruger’s career NBA record? 69-122. He was also partly responsible for a promise to season ticket holders that the Hawks would make the playoffs or they would be refunded money. The team, um, didn’t make the playoffs.

Leonard Hamilton, Washington Wizards

Hamilton had won at Florida State and Miami before being hired to run the Wizards under head of basketball operations Michael Jordan. (Jordan had initially tried to hire then St. Johns head coach Mike Jarvis but had failed.) But Hamilton resigned after one season at the helm — and a record of 19-63. He was the third coach in three years for the hapless Wizards.

There are more but you get the idea. A successful college coach finding that same (or even close to that same) success in the NBA is very much the exception to the rule.

Why? Well each circumstance is a bit different, of course. But, this paragraph from ESPN — when Beilein was fired — nails it:

The plight of some previous coaches who made the leap to the NBA also befell Beilein: players quickly tuning him out with his penchant for screaming, and believing that Beilein was treating them as young, college athletes, not as professionals.

Hurley is, well, a screamer. Would LeBron James and Anthony Davis really have listened to him? My guess is no. And he was smart enough to understand that.