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Just as Dan Hurley’s UConn squad prepares for the Sweet 16, a key assistant has received a job offer that threatens to become a major distraction.

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“Apparently, UConn assistant Luke Murray was offered the BC job, per @kstone06. Dan Hurley has long touted Luke and Kimani Young as future head coaches,” comes a tweet from Adam Zagoria describing the entire situation.

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On Wednesday morning, a report from the New England Football Journal came out that UConn assistant Luke Murray has been offered a contract to be the next men’s basketball head coach at Boston College.

Well, in other times this deal wouldn’t have ruffled feathers, but right now UConn is in the center of March Madness, and if Murray does take his skills elsewhere, Dan Hurley will be left without the services of someone he had once touted to take up the responsibility of UConn once he steps down.

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Murray has never worked as a head coach prior, but does have quite a resume working as an assistant in programs like Towson, Rhode Island, Xavier, Louisville,  etc., so he knows his craft well.

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The Eagles have had a horrendous season so far (11-20), and bolstering their team with one of the top assistants in the country would give them quite a boost. After failing to make it to the NCAA Tournament for five straight years, the Eagles finally fired Earl Grant. They need someone who could guide the team forward and build the roster effectively as well.

Now, the real question is whether Murray will answer the call sooner or wait for the season to end. But from the looks of it, it does feel he will stay until the season concludes, so that the UConn players do not get distracted midway through an NCAA tournament.

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Murray has been actively involved with Hurley all these years and naturally has a very acute understanding of the game. Boston can benefit from his valuable insights, and they look to make the most of Murray’s new coaching style.

Speaking of coaching styles, Dan Hurley recently made quite an admission regarding his style of coaching, drawing a comparison to his upcoming rival on the court.

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Hurley Compares His Coaching Tactics To Spartans’ Tom Izzo

As UConn and Michigan prepare to collide… Dan Hurley himself claims his coaching style has an old-school charm, making him and his rival more alike than fans might know.

Well, this isn’t an offhanded claim but comes from Dan Hurley himself, as he said that his coaching style has an essence of the old school charm that you seldom see today.

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“There’s a lot of things that are insidious to the development of young men. I feel like I got a responsibility to these old school coaches to continue to have those values with the way I put together strong teams and develop strong men,” Hurley said on The Pat McAfee Show.

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Now, what is this old school style you may ask? The answer is simple: the straight old-fashioned boot camp approach, where intense discipline, physical toughness, defensive accountability, and strict hierarchy, often featuring vocal criticism and high-pressure tactics, take center stage.

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The players are not babied and pampered, but given a sort of reality check. Hurley shouted out all of his “old school” idols, including Tom Izzo, Kelvin Sampson, Rick Pitino, and Bill Self, who were the coaches he modeled his approach on.

This coaching tactic and outward behavior might come under fire, as Hurley has been susceptible to allowing his emotions to overflow, leading to many on-court behavioral reprimands, but it is also now his signature style, which has somewhat become inimitable.

While Hurley’s focus is on beating his idol, the looming question is whether his staff will remain intact long enough to see the end of their championship run.

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Written by

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Sourav Ganguly

295 Articles

Sourav Ganguly covers the WNBA and NCAA basketball for EssentiallySports. With a master’s in media studies and reporting experience across basketball, soccer, tennis, and Olympic sports, he brings a cross-sport lens to the ES Basketball Desk. His work often follows rising talent like Dominique Malonga and Ashlyn Watkins, and the moments that push the women’s game forward.

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Edited by

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Pranav Venkatesh

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