DAN HURLEY, UCONN SECURE 5-STAR RECRUIT AHEAD OF 3-PEAT BID

Following the UConn Huskies national championship this season, head coach Dan Hurley became only the fourth coach in NCAA basketball history to win back to back championships. He joined the likes of John Wooden (UCLA), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) and Billy Donovan (Florida). But facing several key departures, the Huskies are going to need to bolster the roster to continue contending for titles. UConn made a huge acquisition this week to that end with the commitment of Liam McNeeley as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.

UConn finished this past season with an overall record of 37-3 and 18-2 in Big East Conference play. They ran through the NCAA Tournament in route to winning the national title, knocking off Purdue in the championship game.

But the Huskies are set to lose several key players from this past season’s team. Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle have declared for the NBA Draft. Alex Karaban declared for the draft as well but is maintaining his college eligibility. Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton are out of college eligibility.

That’s where someone like Liam McNeeley can step right in and make an immediate impact for UConn for the 2024-25 season. A five-star recruit, McNeeley was originally committed to Indiana before ultimately withdrawing

McNeeley is a talented shooter and has good size as a small forward. He helped lead Montverde Academy to an undefeated 33-0 season and was named a McDonald’s All-American.

Dan Hurley looking to continue culture of excellence at UConn

While UConn had a culture of winning basketbal prior to Dan Hurley, the Huskies head coach has helped re-establish the program as a national powerhouse. Hurley will be tasked with leading a team that will look much different than they did this past season.

But it’s something he has experience in doing when he lost Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson and Adama Sanogo to the NBA from the 2023 championship team.

Hurley first took over at the helm for the Huskies in 2018 when they were still a part of the American Athletic Conference. Since then, he’s complied an overall record of 141-58. Since UConn moved to the Big East in 2020, Hurley has led the team to the NCAA Tournament each season including two national championships.

Hurley got his start as a head coach at Wagner back in 2010. He coached there for two seasons before becoming the head coach at Rhode Island from 2012-2018. His six years at the helm of Rhode Island included two NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT appearance.

During the past 30 years, UConn has won six national championships. The program is tied with North Carolina for third most championships all-time behind only UCLA (1st) and Kentucky (2nd). Their first title came in 1999 under Jim Calhoun and behind future NBA star Richard Hamilton.

Their second championship also came under Calhoun in 2004 and with future NBA players Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon. Calhoun won his third national championship in 2011 with Kemba Walker.

Following Calhoun’s retirement in 2012, Kevin Ollie took over as head coach and led UConn to their fourth national championship in 2014 behind Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels.

Like ClutchPoints’ content? Be sure to follow us.

The post Dan Hurley, UConn secure 5-star recruit ahead of 3-peat bid appeared first on ClutchPoints.

2024-04-27T00:12:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd