Hurley vs. Calhoun

[UCLJ0211]

I believe that Calhoun is still the GOAT at UConn and appreciate what he did to bring UConn men’s bball into the mainstream from relative obscurity.

My question is: with 2 titles now under his belt, including a regular season and BET title, what else would Hurley have to do to cement himself as the greatest men’s coach of all time at UConn? Could he potentially unseat Calhoun for that honor down the road?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I believe that Calhoun is still the GOAT at UConn and appreciate what he did to bring UConn men’s bball into the mainstream from relative obscurity.

My question is: with 2 titles now under his belt, including a regular season and BET title, what else would Hurley have to do to cement himself as the greatest men’s coach of all time at UConn?

Sustain it.

 

[Vuce]

Really hard to compare. We can't automatically assume that anything that happened after JC retired would have eventually occurred. We could have been PC, BC, etc. JC had to push and shove to get UConn to the top over national powers like Gtown, St Johns and Syracuse in the conference and then Dook, UK, etc on the national stage. Any coach that follows will always be building on the foundation that JC put down in one way or another. Looking back it is still hard to believe we are where we are now given what we faced in the mid to late 80's when JC got there.

 

[Smp7598]

Stupid question! I love them both!

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I believe that Calhoun is still the GOAT at UConn and appreciate what he did to bring UConn men’s bball into the mainstream from relative obscurity.

My question is: with 2 titles now under his belt, including a regular season and BET title, what else would Hurley have to do to cement himself as the greatest men’s coach of all time at UConn? Could he potentially unseat Calhoun for that honor down the road?

It isn't fair to compare. J.C who was the first to do it. He will always be the trailblazer. He built the program to a championship caliber program.

Even if D.H deserves all the credit in the world for rebuilding UConn after a rough few years he will always have the benefit of coaching in a program with 4 NCs to start. That makes it easier to get back to that level than to build it from scratch.

That's why I will never be able to compare the two.

We should just accept they are both great in different ways.

Its not about the amount of rings. Its about being the builder of something that wasn't there before. To prove to the world that UConn can win championships when no one believed it. That puts J.C on a league of his own

 

[RuffRuff]

Don’t think this is even worth debating. Calhoun built the program from a poppy seed. As in shambles as it was when Hurley picked it up from Ollie, lots of good foundational stuff already there.

 

[uh-no]

If hurley is still winning titles 10-15 years later, we can have a talk.

 

[Hi-Low]

Calhoun had sustained excellence really from 1990 to 2011. JC didn't win a title until 99 but during the 90's UConn made 3 elite 8's & 3 more sweet 16's before 99....UConn was in the mix evey year before 1st tiltle and at or near the precipice of CBB for a solid 20 years under Calhoun.

I don't expect Danny to stay at UConn for 20+ years, but not out of the realm of possibilty that he wins more than JC's 3 titles. They are both great coaches so we'll see how DH looks when he calls it a day at UConn...hopefully many years from now.

 

[HuskyBoi]

Let's be happy we have another coach that looks to secure our basketballing future for the next decade

 

[king conn]

Calhoun doesn't come here, Hurley is coaching at Pitt.

Does he win back to back at Pitt?

 

[Sibeerian]

The Isaac Newton quote comes to mind: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

(No relation to Tristen)

 

[jake14mw]

Absolutely no need to compare them. Both did amazing jobs, Calhoun building a program, and Hurley bringing it back to greatness!!

 

[Hunt for 7]

One is in the HOF the other is heading there no debate when they are that great.

 

[IndyLives]

No comps. JC will always be the GOAT. What he did coming to UConn in the 80s when the school was a Big East doormat playing in the Field House, to putting them on the national map in the 90s, an then a national powerhouse in the 00's is such an incredible story. It will never be duplicated. Where is the 30-30 ESPN documentary?!?

 

[slepers]

Nobody will ever ever ever supplant Calhoun. End of discussion

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Hard to compare. They are operating in almost totally different sports.

If Calhoun had the transfer portal and extra COVID years at his disposal like exists today, his tenure would’ve been drastically different (assuming he embraced it the right way). One of Calhoun’s big difficulties was having to rebuild a team after losing guys to draft/graduation. Not necessarily his fault, but led to several down-ish years.

Hurley can just look at the holes in his roster and recruiting class each year, and plug it with veteran talent in the portal. The potential of what Hurley can do here is insane in this environment. They could be competitive at the top of the sport every year that he still has the drive to be.

If Hurley sustains us at this level almost every year for the next 5-10 years, it will be hard to argue against his accomplishments on paper.

I think UConn’s dominance right now will raise the level of other programs, and level the playing field, so it will get harder to sustain what he’s doing. Similar to what happened after Geno won 4 consecutive championships.

 

[DblCrossbar]

Ask Tom Moore?

He would never divulge his inner thoughts on that nor should he. Probably mutual respect for the things that have been accomplished but it seems cultures and right fit players who understand and execute their roles are consistent attributes of both coaches and approaches,

 

[Scoe]

Jim Calhoun is Jim Calhoun, Dan Hurley is Dan Hurley

Calhoun never had the resources Hurley has and one them is none other then Jim Calhoun, Hurley to his credit has taken full advantage of them. The game has evolved, Calhoun evolved with the times and so has Hurley, that’s what all time great coaches do.

 

[Yanksrock615]

Don’t think this is even worth debating. Calhoun built the program from a poppy seed. As in shambles as it was when Hurley picked it up from Ollie, lots of good foundational stuff already there.

Apparently there was nothing there and Hurley had to build it all again and was feeling some regrets about accepting the job. That is when Calhoun famously told Hurley to get his head out of his ass.

 

[uconnfan68]

Apparently there was nothing there and Hurley had to build it all again and was feeling some regrets about accepting the job. That is when Calhoun famously told Hurley to get his head out of his ass.

And Danny listened.

 

[ctchamps]

JC to a recruit in the portal discussing NIL: “Not one dime more”.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Great question.

Given that Calhoun built the program from very meager beginnings, Hurley would have to significantly surpass JC's on-court accomplishments.

He would need 4 championships just to get in the conversation and probably stay here for another 20 years. If he gets like 500 wins, 8-9 conference championships, 7-8 Final Fours, and 5 championships, then maybe there's an argument.

 

[Woodson]

I embrace debate. But. The goat is still the goat. If coach Hurley passes 3 maybe we talk.

 

[RedStickHusky]

SMH. Ask yourself what Dan's reaction to this thread would be.