UConn's Dan Hurley Rips Society's Modern Sports Culture: 'We Don't Value Champions'

UConn men's basketball head coach Dan Hurley says junior forward Alex Karaban's snub from the AP's preseason All-American team is emblematic of a "societal issue" with sports.

"Alex does a s--tty job of drawing attention to himself. Maybe if he did more TikToks, he'd have solidified his All-American status," Hurley told reporters on Wednesday (h/t Jaden Daly.) "We value the wrong things in sports.

"We don't value champions, but maybe that's a societal issue."

Karaban, who withdrew from the 2024 NBA draft this spring, is the lone returning starter playing for UConn this fall. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds last season while helping the Huskies to a second straight title.

Hurley is returning to the Huskies after turning down a six-year, $70 million offer to serve as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

He told reporters in June that his decision to ink a six-year, $50 million deal to stay with UConn hinged in part on Karaban's return.

Karaban may not have much of a presence on TikTok, where his lone post is a highlight reel from the Huskies' run to the 2024 title, but that doesn't mean he hasn't profited from his two seasons as a starter for UConn's championship teams. Partnerships with brands including JBL and Dunkin' have earned him an On3 NIL valuation of $989,000, good for the 26th-highest in college basketball.

UConn freshman Liam McNeeley (On3 NIL valuation of $988,000) also reportedly has one of the 30 most lucrative NIL portfolios in college basketball.

Hurley said last week during an appearance on the Come and Talk 2 Me podcast (28:00 mark) that NIL makes him "coach harder" because "the more resources that get poured into you, the more the people that are pouring these resources deserve from you."

But Hurley also expressed concern about the impact of these NIL portfolio's on his players' drive to succeed.

"I worry about the players, though," Hurley said. "There's a sense, I think you can see a little bit, sometimes it's good to be broke. I think sometimes that is a feeling that is healthy to not have, the feeling of desperation and urgency, when you don't have a lot. Now, maybe, you get to 20 years old, and your life is pretty sweet.

"You don't want to get seduced... you don't want this to be the best you ever have it. That would be, I think, haunting for these guys."

There's a possibility that Karaban's name being left off the preseason All-American list could help provide some of that motivation for the third-year guard. Karaban earned a spot on the preseason first-team all-Big East squad but lost out on the conference's preseason Player of the Year title to fifth-year Creighton standout Ryan Kalkbrenner, so he'll have plenty to prove heading into what could be his final college season.

Karaban, Hurley and the Huskies are set to open the regular season against Sacred Heart in Storrs on Nov. 6.