{"id":94972,"date":"2024-09-10T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-10T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=94972"},"modified":"2024-09-09T22:29:05","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T02:29:05","slug":"dan-hurley-not-top-coach-in-the-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/10\/dan-hurley-not-top-coach-in-the-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-to-Back Champion Not Top Coach In the Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dan Hurley<\/a> led UConn to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2023 and 2024. Under his guidance, the Huskies implemented a play-centric, high-IQ system that maximized their players’ ability to exploit lanes and make quick decisions. His development of NBA talent is impressive, with Jordan Hawkins<\/a> drafted by the Pelicans<\/a> in 2023 and both Stephon Castle<\/a> (4th pick) and Donovan Clingan<\/a> (7th pick) selected in the 2024 NBA Draft. Given this track record, many argue that Dan Hurley deserves recognition as the top coach in the nation.<\/p>\n

Back-to-back Champion Not Top Coach In the Nation<\/h2>\n

Hurley’s success in revitalizing UConn and building an elite roster is undeniable. However, according to Busting Brackets<\/a>\u2019 2024-2025 coach rankings, Dan Hurley is not the top coach. He is ranked second, just behind Kansas’ Bill Self<\/a>, a college basketball legend. Self\u2019s legacy includes 16 Big 12 titles and two national championships, with his most recent title in 2022. His unparalleled consistency has solidified his position at the top.<\/p>\n

Hurley\u2019s recent success might suggest that he deserves the number one spot, but Self’s two-decade dominance, longevity, and regular-season mastery are difficult to overlook. While Hurley is the rising force in college basketball, Self remains the standard of sustained greatness.<\/p>\n

Different Ways to Greatness<\/h3>\n

Hurley and Self employ contrasting styles of play. It is reflective of their unique basketball philosophies.<\/p>\n

Hurley\u2019s Philosophy<\/h4>\n

Hurley\u2019s UConn system is highly structured and emphasizes a play-centric approach. It revolves around precise execution and intelligent decision-making. His offensive schemes focus on spacing and ball movement. These allow players to exploit defensive weaknesses by driving into open lanes. This requires high-IQ players who can adapt quickly, read the defense, and make quick, effective decisions. His teams are known for their toughness, discipline, and ability to score efficiently from both inside and outside the arc. Dan Hurley has become a top coach using this ‘basketball poetry’ style. A style so attractive that he was heavily recruited<\/a> by the Lakers<\/a> this offseason.<\/p>\n

On defense, Hurley emphasizes versatility, with an aggressive approach to perimeter defense and strong rebounding. His teams disrupt opponents with pressure, forcing turnovers and speeding up the game. These principles fueled UConn’s back-to-back championships, creating a balance between offensive fluidity and defensive intensity.<\/p>\n

Self’s Philosophy<\/h4>\n

In contrast, Bill Self\u2019s Kansas teams are characterized by a more traditional, balanced style, focusing on high-low post play, pick-and-rolls, and man-to-man defense. Self is known for his ability to develop dominant big men, and his offenses often run through the frontcourt, taking advantage of size mismatches. His teams excel at playing inside-out, using the post to collapse defenses and create open perimeter shots for guards.<\/p>\n

Self\u2019s defense is known for its consistency and physicality. He employs a straight man-to-man system with limited switching, relying on individual matchups and disciplined help defense. His teams are also strong on the glass, often ranking among the best in the nation in rebounding.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h3>\n

In summary, while Hurley\u2019s style has yielded back-to-back championships with an adaptable, fast-paced approach, Self\u2019s traditional, power-based system has provided consistent success over two decades. Each approach has its merits, and the choice between them comes down to a preference for either innovation or consistency. Both are top-tier coaches, but their contrasting styles reflect different philosophies on how to win in college basketball.<\/p>\n

In evaluating the two, Hurley’s case hinges on his recent national titles and player development, while Self\u2019s claim to the top is rooted in a broader body of work. Although the debate continues, both coaches exemplify excellence, making the competition for the top spot fiercer than ever. In short, while Hurley is a back-to-back champion, Self\u2019s overall body of work still cements his place as the best in the game today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dan Hurley led UConn to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2023 and 2024. Under his guidance, the Huskies implemented a play-centric, high-IQ system that maximized their players’ ability to exploit lanes and make quick decisions. His development of NBA talent is impressive, with Jordan Hawkins drafted by the Pelicans in 2023 and both Stephon Castle (4th […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":94990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[773,1608,26,33],"tags":[1432,5008,49145,4756,881,49264,1744],"class_list":["post-94972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-basketball","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-pelicans","tag-bill-self","tag-dan-hurley","tag-donovan-clingan","tag-jordan-hawkins","tag-kansas-jayhawks","tag-stephon-castle","tag-uconn-huskies"],"modified_by":"Jacob Stephens, Associate Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}