Storrs — Dan Hurley believes newly-hired assistant coach Kimani Young will be a great fit for his UConn basketball staff.

UConn officially announced Young's hiring on Wednesday.

Hurley has known Young, 44, for years. The pair often crossed paths in the New York/New Jersey region.

"He's a high-energy guy with a tremendous work ethic and a tremendous amount of basketball knowledge," Hurley said in a release. "He's got some of the best relationships in the metropolitan area, which I think will be invaluable at a place like UConn. He's just incredibly well-liked and well-respected throughout our profession. I'm very excited that he's decided to join our staff."

A native New Yorker, Young spent the last five seasons as an assistant on Richard Pitino's staff at Minnesota and before that was an assistant for one season at Florida International.

Young's roots are planted deep in the New York metropolitan area.

After playing his college basketball at Texas-El Paso, Young eventually returned home and worked on the youth level before being hired as the head manager-video coordinator at St. John's for the 2008-09 season.

Hurley, a New Jersey native, gradually built a tight relationship with Young. 

"My relationship with Danny started back when he was a high school coach and I was an AAU coach in New York," Young said. "We just bounced around the same circles ... Kids that I coached in my AAU program played for his dad (Bob Sr.) at St. Anthony's. The New York-New Jersey basketball community is very small and tight-knit and we just developed a mutual respect and admiration for each other."

Young welcomed the chance to join Hurley at UConn and work closer to home. He grew up following Big East basketball.

"I just think it was the total package of being close to home, being in a region where I can really bring value in terms of my relationships, and my connections in that area," Young said. "I believe in the brand of UConn basketball — it's a national brand, it's a championship brand. I just thought the opportunity to get in on the ground level with Danny, to help the rebirth of UConn basketball, is just something I couldn't turn down."