Nearly 11 months removed from winning his first national championship, UConn head coach Dan Hurley could be outdoing himself this time around. In his sixth season leading the Huskies, Hurley has been named to the late-season Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Watch List. The UConn coach is the only Big East representative among the 15-man field.
Dan Hurley Named to the Late-Season Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Watch List
Hurley had coached Connecticut (24-3, 14-2 Big East) to a unanimous No. 1 ranking in the most recent AP Top 25 — their sixth week leading the national poll.
The Huskies have reached greater regular season heights than their national championship team saw a season ago. The team lost their three top players to the NBA in the offseason and has had no problem recreating their success. Hurley has put together perhaps the nation’s most balanced roster with all five starters averaging double-digit scoring outputs. Each starter also averages at least four rebounds per game.
Connecticut also leads the Big East in more than a handful of team statistics. UConn owns the best scoring offense, defense, field goal percentage, rebounding margin, and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Hurley follows up Shaka Smart of the rival Marquette Golden Eagles who was one of four finalists for the award last season. Smart was eventually outdone by Jerome Tang of Kansas State who was named the 2023 coach of the year. Smart was unanimously voted as the Big East Coach of the Year in 2023.
UConn Trying To Stay No. 1
The Huskies’ stay atop the AP Top 25 could be reliant on their performance this Saturday. UConn dropped their first game in two months on Tuesday when the No. 15 Creighton Bluejays got the better of Hurley. Connecticut will host ESPN’s College Gameday as well as the Villanova Wildcats this Saturday attempting to bounce back and remain at Number 1.
Late-Season Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year Watch List
- Hubert Davis, North Carolina
- Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon
- Anthony Grant, Dayton
- Dan Hurley, UConn
- Nate Oats, Alabama
- T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
- Matt Painter, Purdue
- Lamont Paris, South Carolina
- Bruce Pearl, Auburn
- Richard Pitino, New Mexico
- Mark Pope, BYU
- Kelvin Sampson, Houston
- Josh Schertz, Indiana State
- Kyle Smith, Washington State
- Danny Sprinkle, Utah State
