Bobby Hurley did his best with the Arizona State Sun Devils, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job after 11 seasons out in the desert.
The writing had been on the wall, but Wednesday’s 91-42 blowout loss to the Iowa State Cyclones was the final nail in the coffin. Just hours after the season-ending loss, Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini announced that Hurley’s contract would not be renewed as head coach of the men’s basketball team.
Taking the job in 2015, Hurley looked to bring the major-program success he had as a player at Duke University, where he won back-to-back national titles in 1991 and 1992. Overall, he finished with a 185-167 record as head coach of the Sun Devils, making three NCAA Tournament appearances and being ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP Poll (2017-18).
Hurley released a lengthy statement on his personal X/Twitter account, thanking the staff, administration, players and fans at Arizona State in an emotional farewell.
There will certainly be suitors for Hurley, whether that is to lead a program or become part of its staff. His brother, Danny, is the head coach for the UConn Huskies, and rumors are already swirling that big brother could join little brother’s staff once again; he did it once before at Wagner College in 2010.
Let’s take a look at Hurley’s ASU career and what lies ahead in the near future.
Bobby Hurley’s career at Arizona State
Hurley failed to meet expectations in Tempe, and it seemed like the COVID era is where things took a turn for the worst. After making the NCAA Tournament in two of his first four seasons, Arizona State only made the dance once in those final seven years – including misses in each of the last three. The 2022-23 season was Hurley’s best, as the Sun Devils went 23-13 before winning a First Four matchup against Nevada, and then getting bounced in the Round of 64 by TCU in a two-point loss.
Arizona State was proud of the job Hurley did, but the school was clearly looking to go in a different direction as it is now two years into new life in the Big 12 Conference.
“Bobby Hurley has made incredible contributions to the sport of basketball, and that certainly includes many memorable moments during his time as our head coach,” Rossini said in a statement. “While we will not be extending his contract, we are so grateful for the 11 years that Coach, Leslie, Cameron, Sydney, Bobby Jr., and he spent with us at ASU. We wish Coach well moving forward and we are thankful for his leadership while at ASU.”
Hurley’s success before Arizona State
Hurley was one of the best players in the history of college basketball, leading Duke to back-to-back titles in 1991-92 under the legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Playing all four seasons for the Blue Devils, Hurley started all but one game in his 140-game career in Durham, finishing with 1,076 assists, which is still the most in college basketball history.
After college, Hurley was drafted seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1993 NBA Draft. A car accident in his rookie season derailed what could have been a long and successful NBA career, but he would wind up playing five seasons (269 games) for the Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies.
Following a brief stint with his brother at Rhode Island, Hurley was named the head coach at the University of Buffalo in 2013, and a season later, he would lead the Bulls to their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
What’s next for Bobby Hurley?
Growing up in the town next to the Hurleys for most of my life, I am very familiar with the impact of the entire family here in the Northern Jersey area. Hell, I even went to one of the basketball camps in the Poconos and got yelled at by their father numerous times that week.
The head of the household, “Bob Sr.,” was a very successful high school basketball coach at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City and instilled a no-nonsense attitude in both Bobby and Danny from a very early age. As a testament to that tutelage, both sons won back-to-back titles at very competitive levels, with Bobby as a player at Duke and Danny as a coach at UConn.
I highly doubt that Hurley will be out of work long. That same playmaking vision and tenacity he had at Duke as the starting point guard will land him in the right spot once again. Some potential landing spots could be Boston College, Providence, South Florida, or Utah State, while the door would always be open to land as an assistant at Duke or UConn.
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