Dan Hurley Says Kentucky 'Never Became A Thing' On Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich

Kentucky never had a chance at hiring Connecticut back-to-back national champion coach Dan Hurley.

"Why would you leave the current best program in the country to go somewhere else?," Hurley told OutKick's Dan Dakich on Friday morning on "Don't @ Me."

Watch the full interview of Dan Hurley on Don't @ Me:

Dakich didn't mince words when he asked Hurley about Kentucky's pursuit of him.

"Let's cut the BS," Dakich said. "How much did Kentucky offer you?"

Hurley laughed loud, then answered.

"It never became a thing ever, like whatsoever," he said.

Meanwhile, Kentucky is still looking for a new coach as Baylor coach Scott Drew turned Kentucky down. And Kentucky, which lost embattled coach John Calipari to Arkansas for less money, is interested in Brigham Young coach Mark Pope, though the fans are vehemently against that.

Dan Hurley Took Agent's Advice Regarding Kentucky

Hurley said he listened to his agent concerning Kentucky's brief courtship of him.

"When you've had the success you've had the last two years, obviously you want your staff to be rewarded," Hurley said. "You want the university to double down on the investment so we can stay at the top of the mountain. So your agent tells you what to tell the media, basically, ‘Try not to say no without saying no. Be as evasive as possible.’ So, that you don't hurt his ability to get the things that he needs at UConn, to just be totally honest."

Hurley said he was up front with Kentucky from the start.

"I told them very early on that I have no interest," Hurley said. "My wife, my family, we have no interest." 

RELATED: Dan Hurley Keeps Close Eye on Recruits' Parents

Dakich asked Hurley what he told Purdue center Zach Edey during an emotional moment in the first half of the championship game Monday night.

Why Did Dan Hurley Go After Zach Edey?

"It was more of a glare, and I was barking at the ref," Hurley said. "Because he was fighting with the ref when I wanted to fight with the ref. So, I think I was jealous that he got the opportunity before I did to fight with the official. An envy of Zach's ability to get the ref's attention before me. And I just kind of glared at him while I was yelling at the ref about the three-second calls that coaches have been demanding (Edey). And, ‘Hey, are you going to ever call a foul on this guy?’ So, I don't think I ever said anything to Zach, but I definitely glared at him because I wanted to send him a message about our intensity and such."

And Edey glared back.

"A man of his stature and accomplishment? He glared back, but we broke the stare at the same time," Hurley said. "Obviously on social media, all the softies are going to make a bigger deal out of it than it actually was. We're both great competitors. I couldn't have more respect than I got for that guy. He had generational production - unreal." 

Hurley followed up on previous comments he made about paying close attention to how a prospect's parents are during recruiting.

"You dial into the family," he told Dakich. "Are they like constantly killing the coaches that they play for while you're recruiting them? Are they delusional? Are they going to sink your program, relative to making it about them and not being realistic? Are they honest with their kids? The best thing you can do for somebody is tell them the truth. And I'm a truth teller, and I don't want to have parents or people around my players that are not truth tellers." 

UConn coach Dan Hurley makes a point with an official at the Final Four in Houston in 2023. (Getty Images.)

Hurley discussed UConn's relatively meteoric rise in men's college basketball with six national championships only since 1999 with the first four by former coach Jim Calhoun. Indiana, where Dakich played and coached, has won five, but since 1940, and has not won one since 1987 when Dakich was an assistant coach under Bobby Knight. (Dakich also coached under Knight during the Hoosiers' 1981 national title season.)

"It's awesome being on with you Dan - big fan," Hurley said. "I remember in the late ‘80s, there was a guy named Tate George, who was a real big deal in New Jersey - the best player in the state (from Newark). And he committed to UConn. And we looked at each other like, ’What's UConn?'"

Dan Hurley On UConn's Early Growth

Hurley, 51 and a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, was 13 at the time when George went to UConn in 1986 and played there as a point guard through the 1989-90 season before becoming a first round pick of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. 

"The best player from Jersey is supposed to go to Syracuse or Indiana or Duke or what have you," Hurley said. "That was the first time you really became aware of UConn."