Dan Hurley’s take on Luke Murray as Boston College coach

The UConn coach had strong praise for his outgoing assistant, who is now set to take over Eagles basketball.

Luke Murray (right) talks with Dan Hurley (left) during UConn’s Elite Eight win over Duke. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Boston College basketball’s new direction gets a strong endorsement: Following his team’s 69-63 defeat in the men’s college basketball national championship game on Monday against Michigan, Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley was eventually asked about his departing assistant coach, Luke Murray.

Murray, 41, is set to lead Boston College after he was hired in March following the school’s decision to fire Earl Grant after five seasons. It will be his first head-coaching role, and represents a major challenge. The Eagles have produced just two winning seasons since 2011, and have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2009.

Alongside Hurley at UConn since 2021 — and having previously coached as an assistant under him at both Wagner and Rhode Island — Murray has helped the Huskies win two national championships (and reach a third on Monday).

In response to the question about what Murray has meant, Hurley didn’t hold back.

“Luke’s like a brother. We’re both very similar. We’re both hard to work with,” he joked.

“We’re very similar though,” Hurley reiterated. “We’re like the same person. We’re both bald. He’s a brother. He’s worked with me at every place I’ve been. We’ve made each other better.

Looking to the future, Hurley projected a new era in Chestnut Hill.

“We’ve got a deep friendship, and Boston College is about to have a renaissance in basketball,” Hurley concluded.

It’s exactly the kind of statement that Boston College fans have been waiting years to hear. Exactly how successful Murray can be remains to be seen. One likely ramification of the appointment has already been established: As Murray is the son of famous actor Bill Murray, it’s probable to assume the Ghostbusters star will be in attendance for Eagles games in the near future.

Trivia: Bill Murray has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor one time. Can you name the movie?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He lost to Sean Penn, who won for Mystic River.

Scores and schedules:

The Red Sox lost to the Brewers 8-6 on Monday night. The two teams play again at Fenway Park this evening at 6:45 p.m.

Tonight, the Bruins are at the Hurricanes in Carolina at 7 p.m.

Also tonight, the Celtics host the Hornets at 8 p.m.

And in Edmonton, the Fleet will play the Vancouver Goldeneyes at 9:30 p.m.

More from Boston.com:

The national championship game: In the end, Michigan prevailed over UConn to win the 2026 men’s basketball national championship.

Settling Catan: After a recent story from SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell about the Celtics’ relentless commitment to the board game Settlers of Catan, NBC Sports Boston did some sit-down interviews with a few of the regular players.

On this day: In 2013, the Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 13-0 thanks in large part to three home runs from Will Middlebrooks. Jon Lester threw seven shutout innings, and Mike Napoli went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.