UConn's new assistant coach is a familiar face

May 4—It's not Groundhog Day but Luke Murray is coaching basketball alongside Dan Hurley. Again.

Murray, who has been on Hurley's staffs at Wagner and Rhode Island, was hired Monday to join Hurley at UConn.

The son of the legendary actor, Bill, Luke Murray has 13 years of collegiate coaching experience. He comes to UConn after spending three seasons as an assistant at Louisville.

"Luke has a high level of experience as a coach and as a recruiter, he is someone I have a lot of confidence in because of the familiarity I have had with him at two other programs," Hurley said in a statement. "He has an extremely smart and talented basketball mind and has the commitment level and passion that we need to elevate this program to the championship level where UConn should be. I'm very pleased to welcome him to the UConn family."

Murray replaces Kevin Freeman on the Huskies' staff. Freeman left his position on the coaching staff for another job in the athletic department.

The 36-year-old Murray is a native of Palisades, N.Y., who graduated from Fairfield University in 2007. His first job in basketball was as the director of basketball operations at Quinnipiac, working alongside then-Bobcats coach Tom Moore. He coached on the staff at Post University in Waterbury soon after.

He has risen through the ranks and has developed a reputation as one of the top recruiters in the nation.

"I'm tremendously excited to reunite with Coach Hurley," Murray said in a statement. "He's a mentor of mine and somebody I hold in incredibly high regard. So, the opportunity to work for him and alongside great coaches like Kimani (Young) and Tom (Moore) is really something I'm deeply appreciative of."

Murray is apparently well-versed in UConn basketball history.

"Obviously, a tremendous amount of success — the four national championships and the dominance of the Big East for such a long period of time," he said. "And I'm really excited about the direction of the program now, the steady improvement that the program has shown under Coach Hurley's leadership. I think the potential is there to continue really moving things in a great direction."

At Louisville, where he served as recruiting coordinator, Murray helped assemble at top five class in 2019 for the Cardinals.

Murray also worked for three seasons at Xavier (2015-18), helping the Musketeers to a record of 81-26 record in that span with three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Prior to working for Chris Mack at Xavier and Louisville, Murray was part of Hurley's staff at URI.

"We've stayed in close contact over the years," Murray said. "We were talking the other day and realized it's been six years since we worked together, but our relationship has remained as strong as ever and he's somebody that I really enjoy being around and learning from. It's why I'm so excited about being here at UConn."

Neill covers UConn men's basketball and UConn football teams, and he keeps a finger on the pulse of Connecticut sports. For live game updates, and more insight into UConn athletics, player transfers, and team changes, follow Neill on Twitter: @NeillOstrout, Facebook: JINeillO, and Instagram: @NeillOstrout.