EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) 鈥� has turned down multiple opportunities to coach in the , including with the and .
When the were willing to give coach Dan Hurley a in 2024, Hurley asked Izzo for advice.
鈥淚 told him to seriously look at it because I could see where college basketball was going,鈥� Izzo told The Associated Press on Monday. 鈥淏ut I said, I would hate to lose him because I think he’s all that is right about college basketball. He cares about the kids. He cares about the game. He has to care about the game because of his dad.鈥�
Bob Hurley Sr. won more than two dozen state championships at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, developing dozens of Division I college players.
and third-seeded will face Hurley and the second-seeded Huskies in Washington on Friday night in the Sweet 16 of the .
The 53-year-old Hurley, who is in his eighth season at UConn, won consecutive national championships in 2023-24. He is 17-5 in the NCAA Tournament, winning 77.3% of games to rank No. 1 among active coaches and fourth all time among coaches with at least 15 games.
The 71-year-old Izzo has earned a record 28 consecutive bids to and won an NCAA title in 2000 鈥� the last by a Big Ten team 鈥� in one of his eight Final Four appearances during his career.
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