Is Hurley a Bad Fit?

[bballcat4]

This take will get blasted, but here are my thoughts.

I’m not sure Hurley is a good fit for UK. Yes, I think he is a good coach and is ahead of the curve on roster construction.

But, I do believe his relationship with fans would be very contentious. Rick joked about being a Yankee, but he had the PR ability to always brag on the fans, and he knew how to tame BBN.

I strongly suspect Hurley’s biting personality would quickly criticize BBN, causing a contentious relationship.

Hurley IS a great coach and I’ll support him if he’s our next coach. However, I believe it would be short tenure.

Thought I would post my thoughts in advance. (Posting this after a coach is named would appear as sour grapes if it’s not Hurley and negative juju if it is Hurley.)

 

[sosoblue]

He is a GREAT fit IMO. He wants to win championships and us fans want our coach to win multiple championships. Who cares about his personality, where he is from none of that matters. We want a winning product especially at a place like Kentucky. Alabama wouldn't have hired Nick Saban if all that other stuff was an issue.

 

[JPFisher]

South Carolina didn't hire Steve Spurrier for his cherub-like demeanor. Rick at Louisville (and behind the scenes at UK) had about as much personality as a dog sh****g thumb tacks. Cal had arrogance and the moniker "Swaggy Cal." Yeah, Hurley might be a barren wasteland personality-wise, but winning cures all.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

There's an argument to be made that Hurley would be great at any other school.. but he'd be hated and kneecapped here at UK. His often sideline tantrums would be scrutinized by the anti-UK media, and the officials would start to give him the same calls that Cal got.

NCAA and Sports World: Hurley would be great for the college game! Just, so long as it's not at UK.

 

[SemperFiCat]

I was told yesterday that winning is the only thing that matters.

 

[JonathanW]

I get what the OP is saying.
But I have often thought much of BBN is too soft-skinned. Too easily offended.
Regardless, BBN still is of the Al Davis philosophy "Just WIN Baby!". If he won, most of BBN wouldn't care about his personality.

 

[MachineHead1]

Are you kidding? The dude eats, breathes, sleeps, and shits basketball. Granted, so did BCG, but Hurley is a proven elite, championship coach.

He’d fit just fine.

 

[know1]

No. I believe he'd be a great fit. He's my top choice right before Drew at this point.

 

[gojvc]

😂

 

[DDMatUK=NBA]

I wouldn't call Joe B, Eddie Sutton nor Rupp himself...Mr Personality either. Of course, same goes for BCG, too.

 

[BigKari]

There's an argument to be made that Hurley would be great at any other school.. but he'd be hated and kneecapped here at UK. His often sideline tantrums would be scrutinized by the anti-UK media, and the officials would start to give him the same calls that Cal got.

NCAA and Sports World: Hurley would be great for the college game! Just, so long as it's not at UK.

People are talking about his sideline antics, he’s different but he’s two steps down from what I’ve seen out of Cal. What I see out of Hurley more than anything is a someone who really cares about the game. How many times did Cal get T’d up when we’re down 5 or 6 to give the opponent a 3 possession lead? Was it less than a dozen times? Probably more. How many times did that jackass get ejected? And every time he did, it looked like our players were relieved of a 20 pound weight vest. If we could tolerate the bloviating fool, John Calipari, I’m certain we can tolerate a winner like Dan Hurley.

 

[Dreklie]

He would win here, which in turn would make us love him, which in turn would make him love us. There isn't a better fan base on the PLANET in college basketball than Kentucky (When you're winning of course lmao)

 

[kats23]

All you have to do is win and you can be an asshole to the fans. Rick was a jerk to the fans. Billy Gillipspie was a jerk to the fans. People loved the Basketball Bennies BS from Cal until he started losing.

Win basketball games, that's all that matters.

 

[BlueVoodoo]

He has a big enough personality for the job. Which is what it takes and why Drew is a bad fit. UK too big for him and if hired do not believe he would be here very long. He would be yet another Mitch mistake.

 

[ukpence]

Hurley is a winner. No matter what your personality is, winning will always be a fit here. I think the personality issues with Dan are overblown in my opinion. Some people act like Hurley is just hateful towards fans and doesn't care about community. Both of those statements couldn't be more wrong.

 

[UKwootwoot]

Doesn’t matter because there’s zero chance he leaves UConn. Any other discussion is hilarious

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Winners can be Jerks.


Losers can go to Arkansas.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

People are talking about his sideline antics, he’s different but he’s two steps down from what I’ve seen out of Cal. What I see out of Hurley more than anything is a someone who really cares about the game. How many times did Cal get T’d up when we’re down 5 or 6 to give the opponent a 3 possession lead? Was it less than a dozen times? Probably more. How many times did that jackass get ejected? And every time he did, it looked like our players were relieved of a 20 pound weight vest. If we could tolerate the bloviating fool, John Calipari, I’m certain we can tolerate a winner like Dan Hurley.

I strongly disagree. Hurley has been living outside the coaches box all year, never called for it. He goes on tirades all game, he's making comments about the fans, opposing fans, opposing coaches. He is a whole different brand of "hot head". And normally, I'm fine with that, but I just don't think it will be allowed if he's at UK.

Cal is no worse than your average coach, and it's easy to see when you compare him to a guy like Coach K or Tom Izzo. Plus, half the time he;s usually getting on his own team and not the refs. Coach K on the other hand, don't think you ever really see him lay into his team for a bad play, 99% of the time it's aimed at the refs.

I don't disagree on the 2nd part though.

 

[TheBlueMist]

He’s a terrible fit! Imagine him coming here and using the transfer portal and NIL to win multiple championships! That and he has a yankee accent too!

 

[triadaz]

Hurley on recruiting from USA today:

"In terms of recruiting, Hurley looks at certain critical factors, and many of them are away from the basketball court. In assessing a recruit, Hurley looks and asks “Have they played on seven different travel teams? Have they transferred to four or five different high schools?”

“They tell on themselves, they drop hints. You get the wrong kind of people in that inner circle around your players, they’ll sink your program,”

Isn't this what we want?

 

[ukwazoo]

Everyone is a bad fit and a good fit. Let's just close the program.

 

[UK90]

But, I do believe his relationship with fans would be very contentious. Rick joked about being a Yankee, but he had the PR ability to always brag on the fans, and he knew how to tame BBN.

It's silly that people even bring up words like "Yankee" in these discussions. That whole "cultural fit" line of nonsense has always been pure bunk. In case folks hadn't noticed, Yankee coaches tend to do very well in the SEC (see Billy Donovan, Urban Meyer, Rick Pitino, Nick Saban, Les Miles, Bruce Pearl, etc.).

Hell, all the UK football and basketball coaches who've had any sort of real success in recent decades had no prior geographic ties to the region (Pitino, Brooks, Calipari, Stoops). Meanwhile it was an utter disaster when we hired a native Kentuckian (Joker Philips) and a guy with a Southern vibe (BCG).

Who gives a shit where a coach is from? It should only be about how good he is.

 

[bballcat4]

Hurley on recruiting from USA today:

"In terms of recruiting, Hurley looks at certain critical factors, and many of them are away from the basketball court. In assessing a recruit, Hurley looks and asks “Have they played on seven different travel teams? Have they transferred to four or five different high schools?”

“They tell on themselves, they drop hints. You get the wrong kind of people in that inner circle around your players, they’ll sink your program,”

Isn't this what we want?

I think Hurley can win at UK, and yes, like other fans, I want to win! However, I do not think Hurley is the ONLY coach that can win at UK.

I don't care if a coach has a yankee accent, a southern drawl like Rupp, or the perfect midwestern accent like Painter. (Dang, that guy has the perfect accent for television.) However, culture matters for a coach to last at a program like UK. Pitino came in while we were on probation, brought an exciting brand of basketball, then built us into a championship caliber team. He left us while we were on top of the world.

I don't know Hurley, and haven't watched UConn outside of the 2 tournaments. I'm fine with some brashness, but I easily see a scenario where we lose a few games and Hurley says something that starts the fans-vs-coach. If the "basketball bennies" comment frustrated fans then I'm just guessing that will pale in comparison to what Hurley says.

I'll support Hurley, (or any other new coach) 100%! I think Hurley will win wherever he's at. However, I don't think Hurley is the only coach that can win at UK. Plus, I think if Hurley is our next coach that he's not here in 5 years for multiple reasons.

 

[bballcat4]

It's silly that people even bring up words like "Yankee" in these discussions. That whole "cultural fit" line of nonsense has always been pure bunk. In case folks hadn't noticed, Yankee coaches tend to do very well in the SEC (see Billy Donovan, Urban Meyer, Rick Pitino, Nick Saban, Les Miles, etc.).

Let me be clear, my OP was that we'll quickly hear the "yankee" comments from fans if a coach makes some emotional and harsh comments about the fanbase.

Your list of northern coaches is a great list of coaches and have been great winners! My point is that all those coaches on your list wouldn't make harsh comments 'off the cuff.' Again, I don't know Hurley. He just appears to be a person that would give an emotional answer before thinking about it's consequences. UK will overwhelm this kind of personality regardless of the coaching chops. Look at Billy G. (I'm not comparing the coaching ability of Billy G to Hurley.) Billy was a Texan, and we saw him not control his comments during half-time interviews, post-game conferences, and even other environments.

"Shooting from the hip" doesn't work at UK. It has nothing to do with where a coach is from.

 

[dl51344]

This take will get blasted, but here are my thoughts.

I’m not sure Hurley is a good fit for UK. Yes, I think he is a good coach and is ahead of the curve on roster construction.

But, I do believe his relationship with fans would be very contentious. Rick joked about being a Yankee, but he had the PR ability to always brag on the fans, and he knew how to tame BBN.

I strongly suspect Hurley’s biting personality would quickly criticize BBN, causing a contentious relationship.

Hurley IS a great coach and I’ll support him if he’s our next coach. However, I believe it would be short tenure.

Thought I would post my thoughts in advance. (Posting this after a coach is named would appear as sour grapes if it’s not Hurley and negative juju if it is Hurley.)

Totally agree.

 

[bouncebackcats]

Winners can be Jerks.


Losers can go to Arkansas.

Cal is gone, you got what you wanted so why not let it go? Stop beating that dead horse and move on.

 

[crestcat]

We’ve had Kansas and NYC I think we can do Joisey plus Rupp and Pitineer could be quite abrasive.

 

[Hjack]

I guess I doubt if we will ever know.

 

[blubo]

hurley’s a flash in the pan. next year this sentence will reflect ignorance or prophecy.

by the way here’s uconn’s incoming #39 recruiting class—https://247sports.com/college/uconn/season/2024-basketball/commits/

 

[Runnin'Ramel]

He's a great coach, obviously. Possibly the best in the business right now.

He fits UConn perfectly. Lived in NYC for 9 years. Anyone else go to the UK/UConn game at the Garden during Wall's year, or the Final Fours in Houston and Dallas (even though few UConn fans actually travel)? You know what I'm talking about. They're as much about backwards hats, gold chains, and line-beards as Louisville fans are, and obnoxious as hell in that arrogant East Coast way.

Would love to see Hurley at UK. But holy hell would he be oil/water for many far beyond Pitino when he arrived in Lexington.

 

[jeffky]

I personally think he has kind of a enemic personality a bit odd what I am more concerned with can he handle us the fans I want be disappointed if he comes but odds of him winning 3 or more national championships are slimmer now since he won two time will tell

 

[katkraze]

With a blank check - Hurley might have been interested-too late now

 

[tug1543]

This take will get blasted, but here are my thoughts.

I’m not sure Hurley is a good fit for UK. Yes, I think he is a good coach and is ahead of the curve on roster construction.

But, I do believe his relationship with fans would be very contentious. Rick joked about being a Yankee, but he had the PR ability to always brag on the fans, and he knew how to tame BBN.

I strongly suspect Hurley’s biting personality would quickly criticize BBN, causing a contentious relationship.

Hurley IS a great coach and I’ll support him if he’s our next coach. However, I believe it would be short tenure.

Thought I would post my thoughts in advance. (Posting this after a coach is named would appear as sour grapes if it’s not Hurley and negative juju if it is Hurley.)

You made some great points BBall! Also I don't think Ky fans would tolerate a coach who yells at opposing players during the game, I know he's had a great two year run which just happens to coincide with the arrival of a once in a lifetime 7'2" center who reminds me of Bill Walton, His record before he joined the team is very mediocre and it remains to be seen how he does after he moves on to the NBA this fall. Hurley's extreme arrogance would also not bode well with the average UK fan. I watched the interview he had with "the herd" this week. Throughout the interview Hurley had a smirk on his face that looked like "a ripple on a slop bucket" and he had his chest run out so far "you could have hung a damn washing out on it" No thanks I'll pass on Danny and his Dukie flopping brother Bobby also.

 

[bballcat4]

You made some great points BBall! Also I don't think Ky fans would tolerate a coach who yells at opposing players during the game, I know he's had a great two year run which just happens to coincide with the arrival of a once in a lifetime 7'2" center who reminds me of Bill Walton, His record before he joined the team is very mediocre and it remains to be seen how he does after he moves on to the NBA this fall. Hurley's extreme arrogance would also not bode well with the average UK fan. I watched the interview he had with "the herd" this week. Throughout the interview Hurley had a smirk on his face that looked like "a ripple on a slop bucket" and he had his chest run out so far "you could have hung a damn washing out on it" No thanks I'll pass on Danny and his Dukie flopping brother Bobby also.

There’s no doubt the man can coach. More importantly, he appears to currently be the best at roster construction in today’s college game.

However, his attitude seems to be perfect for a small market and where most people don’t question the coach or even listen to much of what he says. That’s not UK. Coaches are in a fishbowl here and every word and (non verbal actions) are scrutinized. We’ll never know, but I think Hurley would have quickly clashed with fans from Pikeville to Paducah. It has ZERO to do with where he’s from and EVERYTHING to do with how he talks to people.