Lakers Hope Dan Hurley Won't End Up Like John Calipari's Nets Run

The Los Angeles Lakers could be the latest team to take a top college coach and bring him to the NBA.

Unknown date and Location; USA; FILE PHOTO; Former U Mass and New Jersey Nets head coach John Calipari on the sidelines. (unknown date) Mandatory Credit: Photo By USA TODAY Sports / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers stunned the basketball world early Thursday morning with the news that they were "zeroing in" on UConn coach Dan Hurley for their coaching vacancy, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. It smelled very similar to the time the New Jersey Nets poached John Calipari from UMass to coach the team in the mid-1990's.

Calipari came off a Final Four berth with UMass in 1996 before the Nets hired him later that summer, but his success didn't translate to the pros.

The Nets won just 26 games in his first season, but improved to 43 and a playoff berth in Year 2. Unfortunately, the Nets were swept in the first round of the playoffs by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to start their "Last Dance" postseason run. In Year 3, Calipari's Nets started off 3-17 and he was fired in the middle of the season.

The Nets are one of a few examples of college coaches learning the hard way that life in the NBA is different. However, there are examples of success.

Billy Donovan won a pair of National Championships with Florida in 2006 and 2007 and he's turned into one of the mainstay coaches in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls. Brad Stevens made seven playoff appearances with the Boston Celtics, including three Eastern Conference Finals visits, after making the National Championship with Butler in 2010. And Larry Brown is the only coach ever to win a National Championship (Kansas, 1988) and NBA Championship (Detroit Pistons, 2004).

The Lakers should hope Hurley ends up closer to those guys than Calipari and his Nets run.

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