Oats is a good Plan B. Doesn't have near the track record Hurley does of turning around multiple NE programs. I also pulled this from the Pitt board that pretty nicely sums up what Hurley brings (slightly edited for UConn readers):
1. He's 45, young by D1 P5 standards.
2. He has an outstanding track record as a coach. He elevated Wagner from 13-17 in his first season to 25-6 in his second and Rhode Island from 8-21 in his first season to 23-10 in Year 3, and now back-to-back NCAA appearances and a national ranking.
3. He coaches at a school that is a "near major." Rhode Island is much closer to P5 territory than, say, a Northern Iowa, Missouri State, College of Charleston type program. RI is in the Atlantic 10, which, while not a P5, includes four programs (Dayton, VCU, George Mason, and Davidson) that have appeared in the Elite 8 since 2006. Additionally, the conference is rarely, if ever, a one-bid conference, which the vast majority of true mid-major conferences are. In the past 10 years, the A10 has put 36 teams in the tourney, nearly 4/year. The numbers by conference are hard to come by, but other than the P5 and Big East, I'm not sure any other conference can boast that many bids during the past decade. Most mid-majors have 10 to 12 bids during that same decade. In short, Hurley is not a gamble like a Joe Dooley or Earl Grant would be. He has proved he can win against NCAA tourney-bound teams.
4. His last name is Hurley. That means something in and of itself. It has cache, with players and HS coaches.
5. He's intense and passionate and his track record suggests he would be expected to restore UConn more quickly than almost any other potential candidate.
6. Because of his name, his background as a former Big East player, his father and brother's legacies, NJ roots, and the location of his current coaching stint, he's ideally situated to help UConn capture NJ recruiting territory.
7. Did I mention his last name is Hurley?
