It took a little longer than originally thought, but the Sun Devils finally got their Duke man to lead their basketball program. However, it wasn't the Dukie that they thought they would get. The man on their radar for the majority of their search for a new coach was Jeff Capel, head assistant at Duke right now. They ended up with Bobby Hurley, former head coach at Buffalo.
Anybody that knows anything knows that Hurley is a Duke guy. He played at Duke under Coach K, won 2 consecutive national championships, was a NBA player, and has the coaching pedigree from his father who is considered one of the best, if not, the best high school coach in the country. With all those credentials, Hurley certainly brings the "splash" effect to Tempe, Arizona. He should "win" the press conference when he is formally introduced in the next couple of days.
The ASU basketball program is in need of some serious attention right now. The program is not relevant in the least, they don't make the NCAA tournament that much, attendance is atrocious, the facilities are sub-par, and overall interest in the program is just non-existent. With Hurley in the fold, interest in the program should see a marketable uptick in interest, but lets keep this a bit real. If the wins don't come and he can't get the program to be competitive or get to the NCAA tournament, then this will be for naught. I believe with all the swag he will initially bring that he will get the program to be competitive. What does that really mean though?
With a perennial top ten program only 90 minutes away in Tucson, Hurley has some serious work to do. Initially, he may not win like the alumni want him to, but an angle he may want to look at is to go the international route with recruiting. Get some kids in the program that have some experience playing on a high level and that may just get those important wins for him at a struggling Power 5 school. Just a thought on my part. Right now, ASU won't get the type of players that the University of Arizona gets all the time in the basketball program. Hurley is going to have to be a major seller of the program and the surroundings in the Valley of the Sun. An international kid that gets recruited here may look at the Valley of Sun and think that this area is paradise and may also think, I can become a big time player here. Hurley has said the right things in his initial statement to the press, but he needs to be a recruiter on an elite level to do things that he thinks he may be able to do here in Sun Devil land.
In the end, the Devils got their man, maybe not the man they originally thought they would get, but a guy that I can see being here for more than just three years or so. He has his work cut out for him, but if attacks this job like he played on the court, then there is nothing, but blue skies ahead for the Sun Devil program. The proof will be in the pudding as they say. Forks Up!
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