Rumors of Hurley Leaving URI for Rutgers Intensify
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Rumors of Hurley Leaving URI for Rutgers Intensify
According to Steve Politi of NJ.com "the next 24-48 hours could be crucial for both parties one way or the other," he said in a post on Sunday.
URI signed Hurley to a $1 million extension last off season
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRutgers fired head coach Eddie Jordan after the team went 7-25 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten conference. In three seasons, Jordan had a record of 29-68 overall.
Dan Hurley to Rutgers
Rumors of Dan Hurley's departure is nothing new. Last off season, there were rumors that he could be headed to St. John's, before they hired Mullin, and three years ago there was speculation that he could be headed to Rutgers, prior to them hiring Jordan.
Hurley got the Rams to a 17-15 overall record this season and 9-9 in the A-10 after losing star guard E.C. Matthews in the first game of the season and sitting A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Hassan Martin for the final four games of the season with knee tendonitis.
URI Next Season
While the opportunity to go home may be appeziting for Hurley, going to Rutgers would be a massive rebuilding project. Meanwhile staying at URI could result in and NCAA Tournament appearance and the potential for an A-10 Championship. The Rams will likely be picked to finish atop the A-10 next season.
In 2016-17, the Rams will return E.C. Matthews, Hassan Martin, Jared Terrell, Jarvis Garrett and Kuran Iverson while transfer Stanford Robinson will be eligible to play.
5 Reasons Why URI is a Much Better Place to Coach than Rutgers
#1
Dream Team is Coming Back
For Hurley, a return to Kingston is a return to a loaded line-up.
E.C. Matthews will be back from injury with something to prove and an NBA draft awaiting him
Hassan Martin returns with his hardware as Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year.
Kuran Iverson is only a sophomore.
Jared Terrell will only be a junior.
Jarvis Garrett will be a junior.
Stanford Robinson (Indiana transfer) joins the team with two years of eligibility.
#2
NCAA Tourney
So if the goal of any young coach is to get to a place to make your mark in the Big Dance
The Last time Rutgers went to the NCAA was 1991 — they were a #9 seed and lost to Arizona State.
#3
Rutgers is a Graveyard for Coaches
Only one coach since 1973 was ever a D-I Coach after Rutgers
Tom Young - never a head coach again
Craig Littlepage - nope
Bob Wenzel - never
Kevin Bannon - guess again
Gary Waters - He is the only one to coach after Rutgers, now at Cleveland State
Fred Hill - rumor is he never watched basketball again
Mike Rice - are you kidding?
Eddie Jordan - giving it up for Lent
Editor's note - In an earlier version, GoLocal wrote none of the coaches were a head coach again -- our error.
#4
The Last Time Rutgers Won a NCAA Game was 1983
Rutgers beat Southwest Louisiana #9 seed and then got beat by #1 seed St. John’s 55-66.
Reagan was a great President back then.
#5
No Raises
Rutgers has been a coaching revolving door so don’t look for a raise anytime soon.
According to the Ashbury paper they got a lot of old bills to pay off.
$3.3 million: Amount Rutgers has paid to part ways with its {three} men’s basketball head coaches since 2010 – Fred Hill, Mike Rice and Eddie Jordan. Rutgers has spent at least another $4.3 million on severances with other head coaches and top athletics officials during that same span.
