Bobby Hurley to Arizona State

[Duvall]

Hurley to Arizona State, ESPN reports. (https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/586283557066317825)

The view from Arizona State. (http://arizonastate.scout.com/story/1535783-sources-hurley-to-be-named-asu-coach?s=43)


A former Duke consensus All-American point guard and two-time NCAA champion has agreed to become Arizona State's head basketball coach, according to two sources directly familiar with development.
Bobby Hurley, 43, is expected to leave his position as the head coach at Buffalo after two seasons at the school to take the job with the Sun Devils. A press conference at the school announcing the hire could come as soon as Friday.

[-jk]

<sigh> Abysmal hoops school, even if a big 5.

-jk

[Orange&BlackSheep]

<sigh> Abysmal hoops school, even if a big 5.

-jk

So true. I fear that he would have been better served behaving like Shaka and waiting for a good job. Hard to turn the money down I am sure.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

So true. I fear that he would have been better served behaving like Shaka and waiting for a good job. Hard to turn the money down I am sure.

Maybe Bobby was tired of spending winters in Buffalo? Just the thought of doing it once gives me the shivers! :cool:

[weezie]

Oh man, Miller may pound on him. Wish Bobby had waited.....

[subzero02]

I view this as a diagnol move... Congrats Hurley.

[BD80]

I was often surprised that Bobby didn't get into coaching earlier. This is a pretty big step up, a chance to make a mark.

He'll have the USA Basketball facilities nearby, and it would be reasonable for him to be heavily involved.

One or two big recruits, and he could really turn the program around. Conditions are ripe, PAC12 hasn't really been on a high.

[Steven43]

I was often surprised that Bobby didn't get into coaching earlier. This is a pretty big step up, a chance to make a mark.

He'll have the USA Basketball facilities nearby, and it would be reasonable for him to be heavily involved.

One or two big recruits, and he could really turn the program around. Conditions are ripe, PAC12 hasn't really been on a high.

Agree with this completely. If he has a couple of strong seasons and advances to Sweet 16, he could write his own ticket.

[brevity]

I view this as a diagnol move... Congrats Hurley.

I agree. Totally a diagonal move.

5016

[Henderson]

<sigh> Abysmal hoops school, even if a big 5.

-jk

Three words for you, brother: Buff A Lo

I'm super excited for Bobby Hurley. Super excited. And that's not just because Tempe/Phoenix is so much better a place to live.

[YmoBeThere]

Tempe/Phoenix is so much better a place to live.

Well, at least parts of the Valley of the Sun...

[Reilly]

What was Bobby's financial situation after all of the horse doings -- seems like a no-brainer to take a big pay raise I'm guessing, move up to the big time, move to a better weather locale ...

[SoCalDukeFan]

I loved Bobby as a Duke player and am very happy for him.

This is a tough situation as he has to recruit against some big time programs for talent - AZ and UCLA. USC'r recruiting is improving as well.

However he really coached up the Buffalo team. He was very impressive to me in interviews, etc. I doubt if much is expected next year.

Hope he does great.

SoCal

[wilson]

What was Bobby's financial situation after all of the horse doings -- seems like a no-brainer to take a big pay raise I'm guessing, move up to the big time, move to a better weather locale ...This article from SI (http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/03/19/bobby-hurley-buffalo-coach-ncaa-tournament-duke) recently said that Bobby "ultimately lost millions" in the horse racing business, and that "his return to basketball came more out of necessity than destiny." That being said, I am elated for Bobby's quick rise in the coaching ranks. I disagree with those who say Arizona State is not a step up from Buffalo. It is not a high quality Big 5 program, but it's certainly above Buffalo in quality and stature. It will be tough for Bobby to find great success there, but it's not like the Sun Devils' expectations are traditionally that high, and I'll be excited to watch him try. He has already accomplished a lot in a very short time as a head coach, guiding Buffalo to its first division (but not conference) title in program history in his first-ever season as a head coach, then to the first NCAA Tournament in school history in his second season. That is simply incredible.
I for one would be overjoyed to see Bobby Hurley back on the Duke bench someday. It would be so cool to root for an all-time on-court great of the program as head coach, and it's important to remember that not only is Bobby one of K's great proteges ever, he's also the son of one of the great high school coaches ever, someone who has groomed and produced a lot of D-1 talent. It's going to be damned hard for anyone to follow K, but that's not a bad formula to start with.

[NYBri]

Go Bobby H!!!

[DUKIE V(A)]

Congrats to Bobby and to ASU on a great hire! Not many West coast hoops power programs. Why couldn't ASU be developed into one with the right leadership?

[Reilly]

This article from SI (http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/03/19/bobby-hurley-buffalo-coach-ncaa-tournament-duke) ...

Thanks for the link. Terrific article. I didn't realize Bobby's daughter was a freshman at Duke.

I was in Duke's undergrad admissions one day -- I recall it being warm, maybe early fall 1988 though maybe it could've been as late as spring 1989, and seeing Bob Bender there, so figured it was recruit-related, and Bender then stopping to talk to this really small-looking, skinny kid who was sitting in the wingback chairs they had there in the lobby and telling the kid to follow him or something. The kid seemed dwarfed by the suit he was wearing, and even by the chair he was siting in. And I was thinking "there's no way that really skinny, small kid is a player, is there? ... but why else would Bender be involved?"

[Reilly]

decent (old) q-and-a from the Buffalo site with Bobby talking about his journey ...

http://www.buffalo.edu/atbuffalo/article-page-winter-2014.host.html/content/shared/www/atbuffalo/articles/winter-2014/locker-room/bobby-hurley-lets-his-guard-down.detail.html

[PackMan97]

decent (old) q-and-a from the Buffalo site with Bobby talking about his journey ...

http://www.buffalo.edu/atbuffalo/article-page-winter-2014.host.html/content/shared/www/atbuffalo/articles/winter-2014/locker-room/bobby-hurley-lets-his-guard-down.detail.html

ASU isn't a bad job.

Their FB program is doing well, which means there isn't much pressure on BB.
Their FB program in return brings a considerable amount of regional and national exposure to the school.
Herb Sendek *almost* won there.

I view ASU as a school in which it should be fairly easy to build a decent program. To build a NCAA most year type program. Hurley takes over and puts in 3-4 years and a couple of NCAATs and he'll get mentioned for the big jobs when there is a vacancy. Chances of landing a job in an established program are slim in Buffalo, pretty good at ASU with moderate success. Let's face it, not many AD's are going to take a chance of a coach from Army, Iona or Buffalo these days.

[tux]

ASU isn't a bad job.

Their FB program is doing well, which means there isn't much pressure on BB.
Their FB program in return brings a considerable amount of regional and national exposure to the school.
Herb Sendek *almost* won there.

I view ASU as a school in which it should be fairly easy to build a decent program. To build a NCAA most year type program. Hurley takes over and puts in 3-4 years and a couple of NCAATs and he'll get mentioned for the big jobs when there is a vacancy. Chances of landing a job in an established program are slim in Buffalo, pretty good at ASU with moderate success. Let's face it, not many AD's are going to take a chance of a coach from Army, Iona or Buffalo these days.

Agree. Sendek did okay but not great, so Bobby has a fairly low hurdle to jump over. It's a risk that's probably worth taking at this point in his career, being young-ish but not some 30 year old hot shot. And, as of now, the conference is pretty good but not deep. Probably easier taking ASU to the tournament than say Clemson or Georgia Tech. The one negative is moving away from his natural recruiting area; have to think he had more connections and inroads in NY/NJ high schools. He needs to hire well.

[pfrduke]

ASU isn't a bad job.

Their FB program is doing well, which means there isn't much pressure on BB.
Their FB program in return brings a considerable amount of regional and national exposure to the school.
Herb Sendek *almost* won there.

I view ASU as a school in which it should be fairly easy to build a decent program. To build a NCAA most year type program. Hurley takes over and puts in 3-4 years and a couple of NCAATs and he'll get mentioned for the big jobs when there is a vacancy. Chances of landing a job in an established program are slim in Buffalo, pretty good at ASU with moderate success. Let's face it, not many AD's are going to take a chance of a coach from Army, Iona or Buffalo these days.

Hurley also takes over a team that could win* right away. This year they were 18-16, 9-9 in conference, and got an NIT bid. They bring back 3 of their 5 starters and have a couple good recruits coming in.


*"win" for Arizona State means being competitive in the Pac-12 and getting an NCAAT bid. I'm sure the powers that be there have higher aspirations, as does Bobby, but next season would have to be considered a success if they accomplish that much.

[FerryFor50]

ASU isn't a bad job.

Their FB program is doing well, which means there isn't much pressure on BB.
Their FB program in return brings a considerable amount of regional and national exposure to the school.
Herb Sendek *almost* won there.

I view ASU as a school in which it should be fairly easy to build a decent program. To build a NCAA most year type program. Hurley takes over and puts in 3-4 years and a couple of NCAATs and he'll get mentioned for the big jobs when there is a vacancy. Chances of landing a job in an established program are slim in Buffalo, pretty good at ASU with moderate success. Let's face it, not many AD's are going to take a chance of a coach from Army, Iona or Buffalo these days.

Sendek *almost* wins at a lot of places.

At least he's consistent.

[Reilly]

... The one negative is moving away from his natural recruiting area; have to think he had more connections and inroads in NY/NJ high schools ...

After the winter the northeast just suffered, I would think Bobby might be able to build a NY/NJ pipeline to the Arizona desert. Sort of like Gabe Kaplan in "Fast Break".

[flyingdutchdevil]

Count me in as one of the fans who thinks that this is awesome for both Bobby Hurley and Duke.

Reasons for Bobby:
1) I ain't a mid-major guy. Sorry
2) Living in Boston for the last 2 years, really cold weather blows (pun intended)
3) ASU may not be Arizona, Kansas, or Texas, but it's still a school that can be competitive. I mean, don't they have the prettiest college girls? Isn't that a pretty strong recruiting tool ;)

Reasons for Duke:
1) I would like to see a Duke assistant coach or Duke family member to succeed Coach K
2) IMO, Mike Brey is leagues better and more accomplished than any other Duke assistant coach. It isn't even close. But he'll be too old to take over when Coach K retires
3) The more coaches in BCS schools, the higher probability that one stands out to take over (the-more-the-merrier theory)

[devildeac]

ASU isn't a bad job.

Their FB program is doing well, which means there isn't much pressure on BB.
Their FB program in return brings a considerable amount of regional and national exposure to the school.
Herb Sendek *almost* won there.

I view ASU as a school in which it should be fairly easy to build a decent program. To build a NCAA most year type program. Hurley takes over and puts in 3-4 years and a couple of NCAATs and he'll get mentioned for the big jobs when there is a vacancy. Chances of landing a job in an established program are slim in Buffalo, pretty good at ASU with moderate success. Let's face it, not many AD's are going to take a chance of a coach from Army, Iona or Buffalo these days.

Hey, hey, hey, let's leave the ASU FB program out of these discussions.:mad::rolleyes:;)

[Billy Dat]

Looks like, maybe, Buffalo blew a chance to keep him:

http://buckyandsully.buffalonews.com/2015/04/10/hurley-had-change-in-heart-after-ub-mishandled-situation/

[Olympic Fan]

After the winter the northeast just suffered, I would think Bobby might be able to build a NY/NJ pipeline to the Arizona desert. Sort of like Gabe Kaplan in "Fast Break".

Love that movie ... I re-watched it on Amazon Prime streaming a few weeks ago ... as good as I remembered it. Totally fanciful, but any team that features Bernard King and Mike Warren is going to be pretty good.

It's a little frustrating that while I can stream it, I can't get it on DVD.

[SoCalDukeFan]

how much Coach K and Jerry Colangelo had to do with Bobby's hire at ASU.

SoCal

[weezie]

Bobby's first order of business should be to get rid of that stupid under-the-basket curtain thing.
So freaking dumb!

[brevity]

how much Coach K and Jerry Colangelo had to do with Bobby's hire at ASU.

Well, Jeff Capel is credited with the assist.

The official Arizona State announcement is here (http://www.thesundevils.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=210012410), and from there you can click over to the press conference's video (http://www.thesundevils.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3926292&db_oem_id=30300) and partial transcript (http://www.thesundevils.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=210013564). Quoting from the latter...


COACH HURLEY: ...So at this time, I'll open it up for any questions.

RAY ANDERSON [VP of University Athletics]: Can I make a comment? Can I make a comment? Would you like to introduce your parents before they spank you? (Laughter).

COACH HURLEY: Oh, geez.

RAY ANDERSON: Because you are still their son.

COACH HURLEY: Ray, yeah, how did I miss that? Wow. That's bad. (Laughter).

It's an overwhelming day, as you might imagine. Mom and Dad, really sorry. (Laughter) This has like SportsCenter not Top‑10 written all over it maybe.

[CajunDevil]

Bobby's first order of business should be to get rid of that stupid under-the-basket curtain thing.
So freaking dumb!

You must be kidding!!! The Curtain of Distraction is so funny... and effective. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12220852

[COYS]

You must be kidding!!! The Curtain of Distraction is so funny... and effective. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12220852

I'm only disappointed the crazies didn't come up with it. It's the one antic that seems to produce a measurable drop in opponent's ft %

[mcdukie]

Congrats to Bobby. Only thing I want to say is there is no way this is a diagonal move. Bigger conference and much better pay.

[gurufrisbee]

Living in Pac 12 country, this is awesome news!

Arizona State is now immediately my favorite Pac 12 basketball program!!! My sister in law graduating from there and working there couldn't do that. But this does!