Dan Hurley has emerged as the Los Angeles Lakers’ priority target in their head coaching search, per reports. From the outside, the UConn head man looks like a slam-dunk candidate after leading the Huskies to back-to-back national championships. However, we took a deep dive into past NBA hires from the college ranks, and it revealed a fair share of disappointments.
There are plenty of success stories, too. For every disappointing crossover, like Rick Pitino and John Calipari, there’s a Larry Brown, the only coach in basketball history to win both an NCAA national championship and NBA Finals. Will Hurley throw his hand in the ring? No one knows for sure, but he teased the idea in the past.
“There’s no one coaching like me in the NBA,” Hurley said in 2023. “They’re not ready, and certainly, I’m not ready. But that is something I aspire to do down the road.”
RELATED (VIP): Lakers targeting UConn’s Dan Hurley: Potential coaching replacements, transfer portal fallout
Here’s a look at how several notable college coaches have fared in the NBA:
