NCAA Basketball rewind: Most impactful coaching hires after 2012 season

1. Dan Hurley (Rhode Island)

In 1998, Jim Harrick (who had recently won a title at UCLA) led Rhode Island to the Elite Eight, but things went south after his departure a year later. The Rams weren’t terrible for the next decade-plus, but they weren’t exactly contending for conference titles or winning the big games. The hunt for a new coach in 2012 took them in a different direction; a direction that got the program back on track in the A-10.

Dan Hurley was already putting together a unique, successful coaching career. The former Seton Hall guard had spent time as an assistant at Rutgers, plus nearly a decade leading a successful high school program with St. Benedict’s Prep. His last two seasons had been at Wagner, leading that NEC program to a large increase in wins in just a pair of campaigns.

Hurley was fantastic with the Rams, spending six years in Rhode Island rebuilding success. After a slow start to reload talent, the Rams were an NIT and second place A-10 team by 2015. His final two seasons ended in NCAA Tournament appearances and first-round victories, with the 2018 squad winning the A-10 regular-season title and racking up 26 wins. Hurley’s success led him to replace Ollie at Connecticut in 2018, whereas these Rams just haven’t quite been the same since his departure.

We have completed our dive into the best coaching hires back from 2012; which of these programs do you think made the best moves back then?