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Hurley has pieced together an up-tempo pace like he ran at Duke, and team ranks nationally as high as third.
By Arnie Leshin
Arizona State knew what it was getting when it brought in Bob Hurley, Jr., to coach its men’s basketball team.
He had coached University of Buffalo for two years, setting numerous school records that included 23 wins in a season. His record was 42-20, with 29 away games. Before that, he coached Wagner College to a school-record 25-6.
So the Sun Devils signed the most recognizable name tin college basketball history. Their goal was to contend with state rival Arizona, maybe find a place in the rankings, and perhaps even make it to the March Madness dance.
For this, they needed a winner, someone who had been just that as a player and as a coach. Hurley was just that, they didn’t need to look any further.
In his third year in Tempe, Ariz., he has turned the program from a mediocre one to an undefeated one. The Sun Devils are one of four schools with unblemished records. They are 12-0, they are currently ranked 3rd in one poll and 4th in another.
They play Hurley ball, which he learned playing for his Naismith Hall of Fame father, Bob Hurley, St. at national prep power St. Anthony of Jersey City. The school has now closed down because of financial issues, but not before it won a record 26 state championships as one of the smallest schools in New Jersey. It has won four national titles.
At Duke, they played Hurley ball. Up-tempo pace with the 5-foot-9 All-America point guard finding his way past defenders and finding teammates with his skills in that position. His freshman season as a starter, he set an NCAA record by recording 288 assists. In four years, the Blue Devils made it to the Final Four three times, won it back-to-back in 1991 and 1992.
And at the controls was Hurley. He engineered the offense, giving defenders fits with his expert play. He hit from outside, penetrated, and set an NCAA career mark of 1,076 assists in 104 games. His number 11 is retired and now hangs from the rafters at Duke.
He was the seventh pick of the 1993 college draft and chosen by the Sacramento Kings. He spent five years in the NBA, and it would have been more if not for the night a truck without its lights on rammed into his pick-up truck, tossing him onto the road. He suffered numerous injuries before returning to the court, but he wasn’t the same because of injuries to his knees that slowed him down.
And he can’t be classified as anything but a winner. He always played as one, always providing leadership, and now it’s no surprise of what he’s doing as a head coach. His popularity has spread throughout the Phoenix community, tickets for Wells Fargo Arena are now difficult to get.
Knowing Hurley from when he was keeping the St. Anthony statistics while in 7th grade, and calling in the results to my sports department, often asking for me. He was always ahead of our deadline, was extra efficient, already knowledgably, always polite.
As an 8th grader, his dad placed him on the junior varsity, but it didn’t last long before he was put on the varsity. There were times that young Hurley made enough mistakes in practice that his disciplined dad, a probation office in Jersey City, embarrassed him in front of the team, most times telling him to go home, walk or take the bus.
So he put his school books in his back bag and usually walked the 5 miles home.
But his junior and senior years were championship years. He ran the offense, made All-State, and the team lost only three times in that span. The Friars were national champions his senior season.
So now he runs his own show at Arizona State. He’s got his team playing the up-tempo pace that he did, he sometimes starts three guards, and he has done a marvelous job of recruiting after being hired in April of 2014.
“None of those players were recruited by me,” he said, “and so I had to work through it. We had a good first season, but I was already recruiting. Brought in seven freshmen, a combination of guards and forwards, and now look where we are.”
Now is where his team has won of its starts, including two key wins over Kansas State and Kansas while blowing out the others. This, from a team that began the season ranked No. 100.
There is always the aggregate data used for brackets, and there are always reports that say a team is regressing, but all Hurley’s team has to do is continue to play the way it has been doing. They have already made an impression.
They should be no worse than second best in the disappointing Pac 12, meaning a gaudy record and favorable NCAA seed are inevitable for a program that is looking at surpassing the 1961-62 school record of 18-straight wins. Entering this season, the Sundevils have made 14 appearances in the NCAA tournament and have an overall record of 13-15.
Hurley has been there. He has won there. He has that experience and his team has the talent.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “We have a lot of games still to play. There are other good teams out there, but I have confidence in mine. My motto, listen and learn, and they are doing just that.”
He says he has depth, can go deep, but right now included among the best of the Sundevils have to be the three guards he sometimes starts together.
They are Tra Holder, a 6-foot-1 senior averaging a team-high 21.3 points a game to go with a team-best 58 assists. Right behind at 17.8 is 6-1 senior Shannon Evans II, and rounding out the trio is 6-foot freshman Remy Martin, and he’s scoring at a 10.2 clip. All three can race up and down the court, can handle the ball, can play tight defense, and can toss in points.
At forward is 6-8 freshman Ramello White, who has the ability to get to the lane, is shooting 70 percent from the field, and is the team-leader in rebounds with 95.
Another freshman is 6-5 senior Kodi Justice, he can also play the backcourt, and he’s scoring at 13.6 per start. The big man in the middle is 6-10 junior Mickey Mitchell, 6-7 sophomore who can hit the 3, can hit baseline jumpers, and defend.
One more thing, Hurley’s solid reputation from his days at St. Anthony and at Duke should benefit his recruiting.
