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KANSAS CITY, MO — Bobby Hurley is too competitive to end his career now.
His Arizona State Sun Devils were lambasted by Iowa State 91-42 in second-round play at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. By the time the team settled in at the team hotel, he had been told by athletic director Graham Rossini that his contract would not be renewed and the school would be looking for a new coach.
Leading up to the game, Hurley, 54, was peppered with questions about his future. He answered them all, which could not have been easy. He has proceeded this season as a "lame duck coach," knowing his contract was set to expire and the school had not offered a renewal earlier. He spent 11 years in Tempe. Given the transient nature of the coaching profession, that's a long time.
Unfortunately, in the last few years, he did not have the same success he had in the early part of his tenure. The changing landscape of the sport was part of that. When he signed on at ASU in the spring of 2015, there was no transfer portal, and NIL had not created the college version of free agency.
Players, past and present, loved Hurley. He never threw shade at those who opted to leave. He had their backs when he had many reasons not to, especially when it came to certain athletes who proved to be more trouble than they were worth.
No player was closer to Hurley this season than senior point guard Moe Odum. Like Hurley, Odum is an East Coast guy, growing up not far from where Hurley's roots are. Odum was the first transfer portal acquisition last season because Hurley valued a point guard and wanted one with strong character and leadership traits.
"He's relentless," Odum said of Hurley. "He's always in it for his players. He's one of the best coaches I've ever had. He'll go to war for his players."
After the season-ending loss, Odum expressed his appreciation.
"I just had an opportunity to be with one of the greatest right here, Bobby Hurley," Odum said, sitting at the podium next to Hurley. "I've always been a fan, you know? He changed my life in a lot of aspects. I couldn't even tell what it is exactly, but it's a blessing for me. It's just a blessing for me to be a part of this team. Everything we went through, the way coach coached me. It was just amazing this year."
Allen Mukeba, another senior, echoed the words from Odum.
"He's done everything he could," Mukeba said. "He fought really hard. He's a human being like everybody. He's a father. He's a brother, you know? He's a friend. So it's all props to him."
So what comes next for Hurley? He'll coach again. Somewhere. He's too competitive not to, and he said in an earlier interview that he has another 10 years in him.
He appears to love Arizona, but the most logical scenario is that he returns to the East Coast. His parents still reside in Jersey City, where he grew up. His brother Dan has found his niche at UConn, where he won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024.
There are coaching openings on the East Coast. Syracuse parted ways with Adrian Autry after three years and is about to put a new athletic director in place. The one and only Dick Vitale has already lobbied for Syracuse, which has a great basketball tradition but has struggled in recent years, to go after Hurley.
Boston College said goodbye to Earl Grant. Pitt and Providence have not ushered their coaches out, but are among the schools that could do so in the not-so-distant future. Georgia Tech fired Damon Stoudamire. Bobby Hurley in the ACC? That would be interesting.
He'll likely want to go to a place willing to invest in a competitive program — something Arizona State has seemed reluctant to do.
This is one of the parting-of-the-ways that appears beneficial for both sides. The school can get a fresh start, as can Hurley.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, another East Coast guy, has known Hurley and his family well. He believes the now-former ASU coach still has some good coaching days left in him and thinks he did an admirable job given what he had to work with.
"It's always been a difficult job," Fraschilla said. "There are a lot of things about Arizona State from a basketball standpoint that make it attractive, especially now that they're in the Big 12. The university, the athletic program overall, but the university has to commit to men's basketball. I've done games in there, and I walked in and said, `When are they going to fix this up?' Did Bobby shoot himself in the foot at times with some of his antics? Yes. But he's a very good basketball coach, and he cares about his players."
Without a contract beyond the 2025-26 season, Hurley faced a challenge in recruiting. ASU replaced all but one player on the roster, but posted a winning record at 17-16. It was picked to finish last in the 16-team Big 12, but it finished ahead of four other schools and had upsets of two nationally ranked teams — Texas Tech and Kansas.
In short, Hurley did his best this season, even if it wasn't enough.
"I think he's at peace, knowing he did everything he could and that he is leaving the school in a better place than when he got there," Fraschilla said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bobby Hurley has left ASU, but he won't leave coaching
Continue reading...
His Arizona State Sun Devils were lambasted by Iowa State 91-42 in second-round play at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. By the time the team settled in at the team hotel, he had been told by athletic director Graham Rossini that his contract would not be renewed and the school would be looking for a new coach.
Leading up to the game, Hurley, 54, was peppered with questions about his future. He answered them all, which could not have been easy. He has proceeded this season as a "lame duck coach," knowing his contract was set to expire and the school had not offered a renewal earlier. He spent 11 years in Tempe. Given the transient nature of the coaching profession, that's a long time.
Unfortunately, in the last few years, he did not have the same success he had in the early part of his tenure. The changing landscape of the sport was part of that. When he signed on at ASU in the spring of 2015, there was no transfer portal, and NIL had not created the college version of free agency.
Players, past and present, loved Hurley. He never threw shade at those who opted to leave. He had their backs when he had many reasons not to, especially when it came to certain athletes who proved to be more trouble than they were worth.
No player was closer to Hurley this season than senior point guard Moe Odum. Like Hurley, Odum is an East Coast guy, growing up not far from where Hurley's roots are. Odum was the first transfer portal acquisition last season because Hurley valued a point guard and wanted one with strong character and leadership traits.
"He's relentless," Odum said of Hurley. "He's always in it for his players. He's one of the best coaches I've ever had. He'll go to war for his players."
After the season-ending loss, Odum expressed his appreciation.
"I just had an opportunity to be with one of the greatest right here, Bobby Hurley," Odum said, sitting at the podium next to Hurley. "I've always been a fan, you know? He changed my life in a lot of aspects. I couldn't even tell what it is exactly, but it's a blessing for me. It's just a blessing for me to be a part of this team. Everything we went through, the way coach coached me. It was just amazing this year."
Allen Mukeba, another senior, echoed the words from Odum.
"He's done everything he could," Mukeba said. "He fought really hard. He's a human being like everybody. He's a father. He's a brother, you know? He's a friend. So it's all props to him."
So what comes next for Hurley? He'll coach again. Somewhere. He's too competitive not to, and he said in an earlier interview that he has another 10 years in him.
He appears to love Arizona, but the most logical scenario is that he returns to the East Coast. His parents still reside in Jersey City, where he grew up. His brother Dan has found his niche at UConn, where he won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024.
There are coaching openings on the East Coast. Syracuse parted ways with Adrian Autry after three years and is about to put a new athletic director in place. The one and only Dick Vitale has already lobbied for Syracuse, which has a great basketball tradition but has struggled in recent years, to go after Hurley.
Boston College said goodbye to Earl Grant. Pitt and Providence have not ushered their coaches out, but are among the schools that could do so in the not-so-distant future. Georgia Tech fired Damon Stoudamire. Bobby Hurley in the ACC? That would be interesting.
He'll likely want to go to a place willing to invest in a competitive program — something Arizona State has seemed reluctant to do.
This is one of the parting-of-the-ways that appears beneficial for both sides. The school can get a fresh start, as can Hurley.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, another East Coast guy, has known Hurley and his family well. He believes the now-former ASU coach still has some good coaching days left in him and thinks he did an admirable job given what he had to work with.
"It's always been a difficult job," Fraschilla said. "There are a lot of things about Arizona State from a basketball standpoint that make it attractive, especially now that they're in the Big 12. The university, the athletic program overall, but the university has to commit to men's basketball. I've done games in there, and I walked in and said, `When are they going to fix this up?' Did Bobby shoot himself in the foot at times with some of his antics? Yes. But he's a very good basketball coach, and he cares about his players."
Without a contract beyond the 2025-26 season, Hurley faced a challenge in recruiting. ASU replaced all but one player on the roster, but posted a winning record at 17-16. It was picked to finish last in the 16-team Big 12, but it finished ahead of four other schools and had upsets of two nationally ranked teams — Texas Tech and Kansas.
In short, Hurley did his best this season, even if it wasn't enough.
"I think he's at peace, knowing he did everything he could and that he is leaving the school in a better place than when he got there," Fraschilla said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bobby Hurley has left ASU, but he won't leave coaching
Continue reading...
