UConn became the first team since Florida in 2006-07 to repeat as national champions last month with a 75-60 win over Purdue in the title game. Less than 24 hours before the biggest game in college basketball went down in Glendale, Arizona, reports started to emerge that Kentucky's John Calipari would become the next coach at Arkansas — leading some to believe UConn coach Dan Hurley would be a candidate to coach the Wildcats.
Hurley went into detail earlier this week on why there was "no way" he was leaving his post at UConn to take the job in Lexington, Kentucky, when it became open.
"Probably the best thing that happened to me was my phone broke on Sunday morning," Hurley said on Inside the ICE House podcast. "By the time I got a chance to talk to my agent, who obviously had tried me several times. No. 1, there is no way I would leave the best program in the country to another program unless the place I was at didn't value me anymore or didn't value what we were doing. Your agent … he doesn't want you to say too much and he kinda wants that out in the air because he's looking to renegotiate my contract, our staff's contract, you're trying to make sure your NIL is where you need it to be."
The Wildcats instead hired former player and BYU coach Mark Pope to fill the vacant position.
The Huskies are expected to lose a majority of their championship roster ahead of next season. Star guard Stephone Castle, Donovan Clingan, and Alex Karaban declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, and all-American guard Tristen Newton and guard Cam Spencer are both out of eligibility.
With Hurley remaining at UConn, the Huskies have started the process of attempting a three-peat by reloading the roster. The Huskies have added Saint Mary's star guard Aidan Mahaney and Michigan center Tarris Reed from the transfer portal to replace some of that production.
UConn also reloaded its roster with a commitment from five-star forward Liam McNeeley in the last few days. The No. 16 player in the 2024 recruiting cycle by 247Sports committed to UConn last weekend. The Huskies have the No. 9 recruiting class arriving, headlined by four-star guard Ahmad Nowell, four-star forward Isaiah Abraham, and McNeeley.