Bobby Hurley

LINKS AND FEATURES --Bobby Hurley and how to play point guard for college basketball's most decorated point guard (by Josh Weinfuss, ESPN.com/Dec. 3, 2020) --Bobby Hurley talks life and basketball (by John Canzano, OregonLive.com/Feb. 19, 2020) --Bobby Hurley has Sun Devils on rise to national prominence (by Michelle Gardner, azcentral.com/Mar. 15, 2019) --UConn’s Dan Hurley, Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley bonded by brotherhood and basketball (by David Borges, New Haven Register/Oct. 1, 2018) --Bobby Hurley has found a home in the Arizona Desert (by Doug Haller, azcentral.com/July 9, 2018) --Hiking with Bobby Hurley (photos/video by David Wallace, azcentral.com/July 9, 2018) --ASU basketball no longer a secret under Hurley (by Jeff Metcalfe, azcentral.com/July 31, 2018) --How Bobby Hurley finally changed the culture at Arizona State (by Andy Joseph, USA Today Sports/Feb. 15, 2018) --Bobby Hurley Q&A: How Former Duke Legend Has Become CBB's Hottest New Coach (by C.J. Moore, Bleacher Report/Dec. 15, 2017) --Five of the most memorable moments from ESPN’s Bobby Hurley E:60 (by Sporting News/April, 2016) --ASU coach Hurley: It’s my job to coach with passion, fire (by Adam Green, azsports.com/Jan. 6, 2016) --ASU Expects Explosive Bobby Hurley to Turn Sun Devils Basketball Team Into National Power (by Mike Tulumello, Phoenix New Times/Jan. 6, 2016) --All-Access: How Bobby Hurley is Shaping ASU (by Doug Haller, azcentral/Dec. 8, 2015) --ASU fueled by Bobby Hurley's intensity, fire (by Doug Haller, azcentral.com/Sept. 29, 2015) --Bobby Hurley's Basketball Life Has Become Full Circle (by Craig Morgan, Phoenix Magazine/October, 2015) --Family is the strongest thread in Bobby Hurley’s unwavering drive to excel (by Craig Morgan/Sept. 21, 2015) --Coach Hurley in the NCAA Record Books (Sun Devil Pitchfork Posts/May 8, 2015) --ASU banks on Bobby Hurley's pedigree, up-tempo pace (by Nicole Auberbach, USA Today/April 20, 2015) One of the most recognizable names in college basketball history became the 14th men’s head coach of the Sun Devil program, as ASU named 1992 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Bobby Hurley as the  Sun Devil head coach on April 9, 2015. What has followed is aggressive scheduling, lots of fast-paced hoops, playing hard, several big time wins both home and away and back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for Arizona State for the first time since Byron Scott, Fat Lever and Alton Lister were wearing Sparky on their short shorts (1980-81 to be exact). The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled but the Sun Devils were in position to notch their third straight appearance, a first for program in nearly 60 years. ASU has matched its highest ranking in school history (third in the Associated Press Poll in December of 2017), notched its best two average attendances in history (10,603 in 2017-18 is the ASU record), reached the NCAA Tournament for just fourth time in 23 seasons in 2018 and then followed it with back-to-back appearances for the first time since 1980-81, notched its best two non-conference wins in school history (vs. No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, 2018 and at No. 2 Kansas on Dec. 10, 2017) and defeated two eventual 2018 No. 1 seeds in a span of a few weeks (Kansas and Xavier). NCAA TOURNAMENTS ASU has made three NCAA Tournaments under Coach Hurley in his nine chances after making it three times in the previous 22 seasons (1996-2017). ASU would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament for the third straight time -- which would have been the first time since the early 1960s for ASU -- but COVID canceled the NCAA Tournament. Here is a breakdown of where the program was after five years when COVID hit. VS. OOC RANKED TEAMS Bobby Hurley has six wins vs. ranked non-conference foes in the regular season in his nine ASU seasons. In the 37 years prior, the Sun Devils had six. Included in those wins are victories at No. 2 Kansas and vs. No. 15 Xavier in Las Vegas in 2017, and both those teams were eventual No. 1 seeds. 20-WIN SEASONS ASU has four 20-win seasons, in its past seven years, after having 20 wins just nine times in the previous 35 seasons. It posted 23 wins in 2022-23 for just the second time in 28 seasons. PLAYING SOME TEAMS ON THE ROAD ASU is 10-6 in non-conference road games in his nine seasons, with wins at SMU, Creighton (twice), Grand Canyon, San Francisco, Princeton, Georgia, Kansas, San Diego State, UNLV. The Sun Devils were 9-21 in its previous 30 out-of-conference road trips prior to his arrival. THAT 2022-23 SEASON ASU won 23 tilts in 2023, reaching the mark for the first time since 2009 (25 wins led by James Harden) and for just the second time in the previous 28 seasons. Prior to 2009, you have to go back to Bill Frieder's 1995 squad that won 24 games to find more wins than the 2023 Sun Devils. Also, it wasn't an easy 23, as it included 13 wins away from home, seven true road wins and a 6-2 mark on neutral floors. ASU cruised to a victory over Nevada in the NCAA Tournament First Four, defeating the Wolfpack 98-73. ASU went on to nearly knock of No. 6 seed TCU in the opening round, falling 72-70 on a layup at the buzzer. BOUNCE BACK Want some tough dudes who are resilient and bounce back? ASU was 16-5 in the two-year span of 2019-21 after a loss, the best mark in the Pac-12. HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS Like a coach who makes adjustments at the half and carves out second-half buckets on late possessions? Look no further than the than the ASU bench, as the Sun Devils have numerous halftime comeback deficits in his tenure. BUCKETS Like bucket getting? Bobby Hurley put in a system that has resulted in ASU averaging 77.3 points per game from 2017-20 the best mark in the Pac-12 in that time. When he was hired he promised to pick up the pace. In the four years prior to his arrival at ASU, the Sun Devils averaged 69.5 points per game, seventh in the Pac-12. PAC-12 NOTE Want to change things in a program? Need a stat to show it? The Sun Devils went 11-7 in the Pac-12 after going 12-6 in 2018-19, marking just the second time in the past 25 seasons the Sun Devils have posted back-to-back winning Pac-12 records. ABOUT 2019-20 (DAMN COVID) The 2019-20 season saw ASU (20-11) post its first seven-game Pac-12 win streak since the 1980-81 team won 11 straight. The Sun Devils came back from 22 down (37-15) to beat Arizona, and took down eventual Pac-12 Champion and No. 14 Oregon at Desert Financial Arena in late February. ASU notched its third straight 20-win season for just the third time in program history. Not bad for a team picked to finish sixth in the annual preseason media poll. SUN DEVIL THREE STRAIGHT 20-WIN SEASONS 2019-20: 20-11/11-7 (T-3/Pac-12) 2018-19: 23-11/12-6 (2/Pac-12)  2017-18: 20-12/8-10 (T-8/Pac-12) 2009-10: 22-11/12-6 (2/Pac-10)  2008-09: 25-10/11-7 (T-3/Pac-10)  2007-08: 21-13/9-9 (T-5/Pac-10)  1962-63: 26-3/9-1 (1/WAC) 1961-62: 23-4/10-0 (1/Border) 1960-61: 23-6/9-1 (T-1 Border) 2018-19 (BACK-TO-BACK NCAAS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 198-81) Hurley in 2018-19 led ASU to a 23-11 overall mark and 12-6 in the Pac-12, good enough for second in the league for just fourth time in 41 years of Pac-10/12 play after being picked sixth in the preseason media poll. ASU defeated No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 22, the first win over No. 1 at home in program history and just the second all-time. ASU notched its first NCAA Tournament win since 2009 and posted 23 wins for just the eighth time in school history. Prior to its two straight appearances, ASU had made the NCAA Tournament three times in the previous 22 seasons (1996-2017). ASU averaged 80.04 points per game in 2017-18 and 2018-19, tops in the Pac-12. It had not made March Madness in back-to-back years since 1980-81, yet ASU was the only Pac-12 school to make the NCAAs in 2018 and 2019. TOP AVERAGE SEASON ATTENDANCE MARKS (HEAD COACH) 2017-18: 10,603 (Bobby Hurley) 2018-19: 10,538 (Bobby Hurley) 1995-96: 9, 514 (Bill Frieder) 2008-09: 9,354 (Herb Sendek) 1994-95: 9,333 (Bill Frieder) 2019-20: 9,251 (Bobby Hurley) ASU had two-game sweeps of Arizona (first since 2008-09), Oregon State (first since 2009-10) and Cal (second straight). ASU beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Nov. 19 and Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena, its second straight exempt tourney title after not winning one since November of 1994. GUARDU In 2017-18 ASU averaged a school-record 10,603 fans, as the 4,103 extra bodies from 2016-17 to 2017-18 was the second-best increase in all of college hoops. In the 2018-19 season 168,602 fans entered Wells Fargo Arena -- an average of 10,538, second-best in school history. ASU raced out to a 12-0 record and was the last undefeated team in the nation, topping eventual No. 1 seeds Xavier and Kansas that had the Sun Devils dribbling out the clock in in double-digit wins that they trailed at the half in both. The Sun Devils led the Pac-12 in scoring, as the senior trio of Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice made Sun Devil hoops fun and fast. EARLY YEARS AT ASU His first season at ASU saw the Sun Devils notch eight top-100 RPI wins, including wins over SEC co-champion Texas A&M, Ohio Valley top seed Belmont and two Pac-12 NCAA Tournament teams (Oregon State and USC). ASU's strength of schedule was 23rd and its non-conference schedule was 13th. ASU earned come-from-behind road wins against Creighton (79-77 on Dec. 2) and UNLV (66-56 on Dec. 16). Hurley, an NCAA champion with Duke in 1991 and 1992, led Buffalo to a school record-matching 23 wins in 2014-15, its first Mid-American Conference title and a trip to the 2015 NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Bulls fell to West Virginia in the second round, snapping an eight-game win streak that was Buffalo’s longest in a decade. After going to Division I status in 1991-92, Buffalo averaged 12.9 wins in its 22 seasons prior to Hurley, but was 42-20 in his two years, which included playing 29 games on the road. Basketball runs in the family for the Hurleys. pic.twitter.com/G1N1PaSctI — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 11, 2018 He coached the MAC Players of the Year in back-to-back seasons and led Buffalo to its first outright MAC East Division title in 2013-14. Buffalo went 10-7 on the road in 2014-15, including games at Kentucky and Wisconsin when it led at the half in both contests. In 2013-14 Hurley was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which is given to the nation's top first-year head coach. Javon McCrea was named the MAC Player of the Year and became UB's all-time leading scorer during his senior season as the Bulls won 19 games in Hurley's first year at  the helm. Hurley joined UB from the University of Rhode Island where he served as associate head coach under his brother Dan. A first-team All-American in 1993, he is best remembered for arguably being the best point guard in NCAA history. Hurley led the Blue Devils to three Final Four appearances and consecutive national championships in 1991 and 1992, and set the NCAA record for career assists with 1,076. He was selected seventh in 1993 by the Sacramento Kings and played five years in the NBA with the Kings and Vancouver Grizzles. Hurley joined the Philadelphia 76ers as a scout in 2003 before venturing into private business. He was hired as an assistant coach at Wagner College in 2010 and spent two seasons with the Seahawks, playing a critical role in rebuilding the program. He helped lead Wagner to a 25-6 record during the 2011-12 season – its best record in school history – before joining Rhode Island, where he was associate head coach. His father, Bob, Sr., is a legendary coach in the high school ranks, leading perennial power St. Anthony's to 26 state championships and more than 1,000 wins in 39 years of coaching. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Hurley's brother, Dan, is the head men's basketball coach at UCONN, after successful tenures at UCONN and Wagner College and an outstanding prep school coaching career. Hurley and his wife, Leslie, have two daughters, Cameron and Sydney, and a son, Bobby. BOBBY HURLEY BY THE NUMBERS... 1: That is what Buffalo led Wisconsin by at the half in 2014-15  (27-26 at Madison on Dec. 28). Wisconsin went on to win 68-56 and would reach the Final Four. 2 (TITLES): Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas has been really good to ASU. ASU won the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational at Orleans Arena on Nov. 23-24 with wins over 2018 Elite Eight member Kansas State (92-90) and then dropped 102 on No. 15 Xavier for a 16-point win. Those wins vaulted ASU into the rankings for the first time since James Harden was in uniform (2008-09), gave it a 6-0 start for just the second time in 32 seasons and was its first exempt tournament title since Bill Frieder's gang won the 1994 Maui Invitational. ASU then beat No. 15 Mississippi State on Nov. 19 and Utah State on Nov. 21 to win the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena.  2: Four seasons after Bobby Hurley arrived in Tempe, ASU removed itself from a long-standing chart. ASU had the fifth-longest active streak of a NCAA Tournament back-to-back drought among Power Six teams, as it had not made March Madness in back-to-back years since 1980-81. ASU was the only Pac-12 school to make the NCAAs in 2017-18 and 2019. LONGEST ACTIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT BACK-TO-BACK DROUGHTS (POWER SIX CONFERENCES) Northwestern, never TCU, 1952-53 Penn State, 1954-55 Rutgers, 1975-76 Arizona State, 1980-81 (snapped in 2018-19) Oregon State, 1988-90 DePaul, 1991-92 Nebraska, 1991-94 *List includes teams in ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, Pac-12, SEC 2: Coach Hurley won two national championships at Duke in 1991 and 1992. 2: ASU won two games over ranked teams in his first year at ASU, with wins over No. 18 Texas A&M and No. 23 USC. 3: Number of Final Fours Bobby Hurley played in while at Duke. 3: ASU had two-game sweeps of Arizona (first since 2008-09), Oregon State (first since 2009-10) and Cal (second straight) in 2018-19. It marked the first time ASU had swept three teams since sweeping four in 2009-10. ASU also won at UCLA and then beat the Bruins at the Pac-12 Tournament and won four straight over UCLA for the first time in program history. 5: ASU's 5-4 Pac-12 road mark in 2018-19 was the best since the 2009-10 and 2008-09 teams each went 5-4 as well and matched ASU's best Pac-12 road mark in past 39 seasons, and 2018-19 was only ASU's sixth winning road record since it joined the Pac-10 in 1978-79. Ned Wulk's 1980-81 (8-1) and 1979-80 (7-2) set the bar, while Bill Frieder's 1994-95 Sweet Sixteen team also went 5-4. 5: Prior to Bobby Hurley arriving at ASU in the spring of 2015, ASU was 8-22 (.267) in its previous 30 non-conference road games. It is 7-2 under Coach Hurley that includes wins at No. 2 Kansas, an 18-point comeback at Georgia and at fired up and big crowds at San Diego State, UNLV and Creighton. 5: ASU defeated five teams that would play in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, as it beat Mississippi State, Utah State, Kansas, Oregon and Washington. 5: ASU had been to four NCAA Tournaments (1995, 2003, 2009 and 2014) in 26 seasons (1992-2017). Five guys who saw the floor in the 2019 NCAA Tournament -- Remy Martin, Kimani Lawrence, Romello White, De'Quon Lake and Vitaliy Shibel -- went to the Dance in each of their first two seasons. 5: That is what Buffalo led Kentucky by at the half in 2014-15 (38-33 at Lexington on Nov. 16). Kentucky went on to win 71-52. 7: Bobby Hurley has made the attempt to play some folks. In his first year after looking at an inherited schedule that included tilts vs. NC State/Marquette in Brooklyn, at Creighton, at UNLV and No. 18 Texas A&M, he put the wheels in motion to make it even better by playing at Kentucky and filled a holiday break hole that could have been a yawner with Stephen F. Austin. In 2016-17, ASU played No. 1 Kentucky in the Bahamas, Purdue in NYC, at San Diego State and vs. No. 9 Creighton. In 2017-18, besides Kansas ASU played Xavier and hosted 2017 NCAA Tournament product Vanderbilt. Virginia in November of 2019  was the sevent top-10 non-conference opponent Coach Hurley played in his five years, ASU faced one in the previous 17 seasons. 7: He was picked seventh in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. 7.69: Average assists per game in 140 collegiate games. 8: ASU has defeated eight ranked teams in Bobby Hurley's tenure, including five out of conference and three of them away from home. The Nov. 24, 2017, Xavier win was the highest ranked OOC team ASU had topped since it beat No. 7 Maryland in the 1994 Maui Invitational...until it won at #2 Kansas on Dec. 10. ASU followed that up with a Nov. 19 win over No. 15 Mississippi State (Nov. 19, 2018) and its second win over No. 1 in school history on Dec. 22 over Kansas. In 2019-20, the wins came in conference play at home as ASU beat No. 22 Arizona and No. 14 Oregon. 11: He wore No. 11 at Duke, which was retired in 1993. 12-0/7-0: ASU started 7-0 for the second time in the past 38 seasons in 2018-19 -- but for the second year in a row. ASU had not been 7-0 since 1980-81 (Byron Scott and Fat Lever) but has done twice in the past three seasons. BEST STARTS IN ASU HISTORY 12-0/2017-18 (Bobby Hurley) 9-0/1974-75 (Ned Wulk) 7-0/2018-19 (Bobby Hurley) 7-0/1980-81 (Ned Wulk) 12: ASU finished second in the Pac-12 for just the fourth time in its 41-year Pac-10/12 history in 2018-19, as it also finished second in 2009-10, 1980-81 and 1979-80. ASU won 12 loop games for just the sixth time. BEST PAC-12 RECORDS 16-2 (1): 1980-81 15-3 (2): 1979-80 12-6 (4): 2018-19, 2009-10, 1994-95, 1982-83 12.9: Number of wins per year in 22 seasons prior to Coach Hurley taking over at Buffalo. He led them to 42 in his two seasons. 20: ASU won 20 straight regular season OOC games between December of 2016 and 2018, the sixth-best Pac-12 streak in past 23 seasons, prior to its 72-66 Dec. 7 loss to Nevada. REGULAR SEASON PAC-12 OOC WIN STREAKS (1996-PRESENT) 39, Arizona, 12/20/11-12/19/14 (5 over ranked teams) 26, Stanford, 11/11/99-11/24/01 (3 over ranked teams) 24, Washington, 12/5/04-12/4/06 (2 over ranked teams) 23, USC, 12/3/15-11/22/17 (0 over ranked teams) 21, Washington State, 12/5/06-11/29/08 (2 over ranked teams) 20, Arizona State, 12/17/16-12/7/18 (3 over ranked teams) 21: ASU has 26 wins (11 on the road) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five seasons. It did it seven times in 2017-18 and did it in 2017-18 at Georgia, vs. No. 1 Kansas, at California, at UCLA, vs. Cal and at Oregon State.  MOST WINS IN SUN DEVIL HISTORY 26, 1963 25, 2009 25, 1975 24, 1995 24, 1981 23, 2023 23, 2019 23, 1962 23, 1961 50: He was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team. 288: His assist total in 1990 in 38 games, which is the NCAA record for a freshman. 1,076: His career assist total in 140 games, the best mark in NCAA history. 2011: He was inducted into the Duke Hall of Fame in 2011. 10,603:  ASU averaged a school-record 10,603 fans in 2017-18, as the 4,103 extra bodies from 2016-17 to 2017-18 was the second-best increase in all of college hoops. In 2018-19 168,602 entered "The Bank" -- the nickname student broadcaster Braiden Bell tagged then Wells Fargo Arena and now Desert Financial Arena -- an average of 10,538, second-best in school history. YEAR-BY-YEAR WITH COACH HURLEY (146-103/.586 IN EIGHT SEASONS OVERALL) ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (102-83/.552 IN FIRST SIX SEASONS) 2020-21: 11-14/.440 (COVID laced season as whole team never played a game together) 2019-20: 20-11/.676 (Played 13th toughest schedule in nation, 6-5 on road, on doorstep of NCAA Tournament) 2018-19: 23-11/.676 (back-to-back NCAA Tournaments at ASU for first time since 1980-81; first NCAA Tournament win since 2009) 2017-18: 20-12/.625 (NCAA Tournament; last team in nation to be undefeated at 12-0, reached as high as No. 3 in AP poll) 2016-17: 15-18/.455 2015-16: 15-17/.469 BUFFALO (42-20/.677 IN TWO SEASONS) 2014-15: 23-10/.697 (MAC Regular Season and Tournament Champion) 2013-14: 19-10/.655 (Regular Season MAC Champion) SUN DEVIL HEAD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES (SEASONS/YEARS), RECORD Herb Sendek (2006-15/9), 159-137/.537 Rob Evans (1998-2006/8), 119-120/.498 Don Newman (1997-98 interim/1), 18-14/.563 Bill Frieder (1989-97/8), 132-108/.550 Bob Schermerhorn (1989 interim), 2-7/.222 Steve Patterson (1985-89/3), 48-56/.461 Bob Weinhauer (1982-85/3), 44-45/.494 Ned Wulk (1957-82/25), 406-272/.599 Bill Kajikawa (1949-57/9), 88-137/.391 Rudolph Lavik (1940-48/7), 70-73/.490 Earl Pomeroy (1934-39/6), 59-66/.472 Theordore Shipkey (1931-33/3), 25-28/.472 Aaron McCreary (1928-30/3), 16-25/.390 LINKS FOLLOWING THE HIRING OF COACH HURLEY (APRIL OF 2015) All Access with Coach Hurley Hurley press conference quotes Hurley ready to get started An interview with Bobby Hurley A photo gallery: Hurley brings blue collar mentality ASU gets an A for hiring Hurley An interview with Bobby Hurley Sr. Buffalo radio analyst calls Hurley impressive Hurley to elevate program Hurley has objectives