UConn fans are certain Dan Hurley isn’t going anywhere after championship speech

Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies are back-to-back champions of college basketball after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers on Monday night. Hurley is atop the college basketball world, and it should come as no surprise that a Blue Blood with a head coach opening has him atop their list of dream candidates.

With John Calipari leaving Kentucky for Arkansas, it would be borderline malpractice for Mitch Barnhart not to make a call to Storrs, Connecticut and gauge Hurley's interest. Hurley leaving a place where he's won two straight titles seems unrealistic to the naked eye, but you never know -- there are few jobs in college basketball that offer the financial resources and glory that Kentucky can.

However, Hurley appeared to send a message Kentucky's way Monday night. He's doing just fine with the Huskies.

"UConn is a special place and they give us all the resources we need to do it," Hurley said.

Would Dan Hurley consider leaving UConn for Kentucky?

Hurley has it made with Connecticut, a place he will be forever revered. If the Huskies athletic department is smart, they will give Hurley a hefty raise this offseason in hopes of keeping him from flirting with larger programs down the road.

UConn is 6-0 all time in the National Championship Game and became just the eighth program to repeat as champions on Monday night, and the first to do so since the 2006-07 Florida Gators. Of course, the head coach of that team (Billy Donovan) eventually left for the NBA, but that's another story.

Hurley has no obvious connection to Kentucky that would tug at his heartstrings enough to leave a back-to-back national championship program. Whatever he is doing is working well in Storrs, and there's little reason to think the Huskies can't run it back again in 2024-25, albeit with a much different roster.

While Kentucky is a Blue Blood, whoever accepts the head coaching position will be taking on a project of sorts. Much of the roster is expected to leave for the NBA or transfer elsewhere, and Calipari's top-ranked recruiting class could very well head to Arkansas with him.

Winning at Kentucky is arguably the hardest and most rewarding accomplishment in college basketball. Hurley doesn't necessarily need to take that on right now, though it won't stop Barnhart from making the call.