Bob Hurley has been through it all, adding the Saturday night upset in Tempe over undefeated top-ranked Kansas to his list, now he has his sights on winning another championship

By Arnie Leshin 

The only thing that’s missing now for Bob Hurley is to coach a school to a national championship.

After his 18th ranked Arizona State basketball team knocked off No. 1 Kansas in Tempe Saturday night, he took another step up the ladder of success. His Sun Devils also stunned the Jayhawks last year in Lawrence, but this was bigger.

So big that Hurley gave it a place among his many accomplishments.

“That was one of the great sports moments in my life,” he said after the 80-76 triumph before a packed house at Wells Fargo Arena. “I mean, did you see how they stormed the court after the final whistle.

Yes, they stormed the court and the Kansas players and coaches were stuck in the center of a midcourt Sun Devil mosh pit.

And so this victory made his list that included two national high school championships at St. Anthony of Jersey City, which was coached by his dad andhas now closed down, a pair of NCAA championships while at Duke, the nation’s all-time collegiate assist leader, and who led the country in assists his junior and senior years, and was named MVP of the NCAA’s March Madness.

During his All-America four years, he failed the first time because as a freshman, his bout with the flu slowed him down and Duke lost to UNLV in the Final Four. But the next two times, he had the energy and leadership to capture the NCAA title back-to-back. As a point guard who could make dazzling plays, he was also a quality shooter and a menace on defense.

He was drafted in the first round of the college draft by the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and in his second season, disaster almost struck as he drove to his apartment after a game. A pick-up truck did not have his night lights on, Hurley didn’t even see the vehicle and his own pick-up truck was rammed into a ditch.

He had a busted body and doctors said he was lucky to survive. There was a broken neck, banged up knees, some brain damages, cuts, bruises, and most serious was that he was unconscious when the ambulance arrived at the emergency room. His mom and dad flew in from New Jersey and he was in a coma.

Three days later, he was speaking quietly, and when released from the hospital after two weeks, his sense of humor returned and he wanted to know if it was a record for an NBA player to spend all that time in the hospital recovering from three-four days of surgery.

He was not the same when he returned to the Kings. His quickness wasn’t the same, nor was his defense, and he had problems with his balance. Sacramento had a day for him and honored his contract with a bonus.

Back to the Garden State he went, took a needed rest, and then became interested in horseracing, buying some horses and entering them in races. He even had some quality wins and still owned the horses when he decided to join his father as a coach.

After assisting his older brother, Danny, the head coach at Wagner College in Staten Island, he signed on to become head coach at Buffalo University. He had three winning seasons, took the school to its first NCAA tournament, and was a wanted man.

After numerous offers, he chose Arizona State. He liked the fact it played in the Pac 12, but in his first season, he coached a team without recruiting anybody, just staying with the returning players. He was fiery, and when he begged to differ with an official, he was ejected, and if it was a home game, waved to the fans as he departed.

He sometimes sent signals from the locker room and his coaching skills and reputation brought in some quality recruits. This year found the Sun Devils ranked as high as eighth, but after some sloppy losses, they entered this Kansas game as the 18h–ranked school in Division One, and sported a9-2 record.

They went back-and-fourth with Bill Self’s Jayhawks. There were 16 lead changes, five ties, tight defenses, banging around in the paint, and it was Arizona State pulling out the win and Hurley realizing he had another big accomplishment.

“The guy can coach,” said Self, “and I’m not surprised. He has really turned this program around, and he’s a winner. We figured we weren’t going to go undefeated and he proved it.”

And he’s still proving he’s a winner after four years at St. Anthony, four years at Duke, two years in the NBA, and an automobile accident that almost cost him his life. They love him in Tempe, and he loves to be alive and well and winning.