STORRS, Conn. — ESPN is reporting the Los Angeles Lakers are preparing to make a substantial offer to University of Connecticut Men's Basketball Coach Dan Hurley.
Hurley is fresh off the heels of his second NCAA Championship at UConn.
ESPN Reports, "The Lakers have had preliminary contact with Hurley and the sides are planning to escalate discussions in the coming days, sources told ESPN. Hurley has been at the forefront of the Lakers' search from the beginning of the process, even while the organization has done its due diligence interviewing several other candidates, sources said."
Gov. Ned Lamont said he has been talking with UConn about this report.
"Obviously, we love him here in Connecticut," Lamont told Connecticut media outlets Thursday morning. "I just know that Dan Hurley is the greatest coach in America, so no wonder the professional teams are paying attention."
Lamont added that it's Hurley and his family's choice on whether to take the alleged offer.
"They gotta know they are part of the Connecticut family," Lamont said.
FOX61 has reached out to UConn Athletics for comment.
Since arriving in Storrs in March 2018, Hurley has helped the team regain the national prominence it has pursued.
The men were eliminated in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons but won their fifth national championship in 2023 and their sixth national championship in 2024.
Prior to the Huskies' success over the past two years, the last time they were in a Final Four was when they were under the leadership of Kevin Ollie, who took the team to a National Championship title in 2014, in tandem with the UConn women.
Before Ollie was Calhoun, who won three national championships with UConn in 1999, 2004, and 2011.
Before coaching for UConn, Hurley was the head coach for Rhode Island, Wagner College, and St. Benedict's Prep.
This is a developing story.
RELATED: Who is Dan Hurley?
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