"That was never even a thought": Dan Hurley spills the beans on NBA talks and his future at UConn

UConn coach Dan Hurley stated that applying for the New York Knicks head coaching vacancy never crossed his mind during the offseason, as he was focused on rebuilding the Huskies program.

The two-time champion coach set the record straight in his appearance on "Inside College Basketball Now" with Jon Rothstein on Thursday. He stressed that the two-point loss to Florida in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament was still fresh, and his mind was crowded with thoughts about the team's makeup for the coming season.

"No, not even a small part of me (thought about it)," Hurley said. "I think, when you’re coming off the year that we had, I think, you know, every thought – and it's hard to turn off, I think, you know, for most of us, you know, that are coaching at the level, you know, that I’m coaching at at this level of sport?"

"I don't think – your mind very rarely drifts from your team, your program, your players, where things are headed, especially when you’re coming off of, you know, a season like we had had, you know. So, that – yeah, that was never even a thought, really," he added.

The New York Knicks management fired Tom Thibodeau after guiding the team to its first Eastern Conference Finals stint in 25 years. Rumors linked Hurley to the coaching vacancy, but he insisted in June that he remains a college coach.

Eventually, the Knicks hired former Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown, who New York's executives warmly welcomed after the hiring was formalized.

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Dan Hurley sees himself coaching a pro team in Europe

UConn coach Dan Hurley isn't turning down the possibility of coaching in the professional ranks in the future. However, it's not in the NBA like most basketball experts think.

He admitted he loves guiding college players to their dreams, but that doesn't mean he closes his doors in coaching in the pro ranks. Hurley sees himself coaching a EuroLeague team when he's done calling the shots in Storrs.

“When UConn’s had enough of me, maybe, maybe I’ll coach in the EuroLeague or something," he told college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein. "You know, when I’m 60 or whatever and, you know, I want to try something else maybe at that point in my career or whatever. Maybe I end up, you know, coaching in the EuroLeague or something."

Dan Hurley's Huskies have yet to announce their complete nonconference schedule. According to the team's website, UConn will play exhibition games against ACC program Boston College on Oct. 13 and Big Ten school Michigan State on Oct. 28.

They are scheduled to face AJ Dybantsa and BYU on Nov. 15 in the Hall of Fame Series and Arizona four days later. Neither the athletics department nor the Huskies has yet to disclose their games for the opening week.