Bobby Hurley: Should the Sun Devils Keep Their Coach?

When things don’t go the way people want they look to make a change in their life. The same can be said for the world of sports. Coaches are hired to be fired. Coaches know that very well.

Bobby Hurley may find his job in the crosshairs when the season is over. I believe if you took a poll of Sun Devil alumni and fans you may find that poll split right down the middle at 50/50 on whether or not Bobby Hurley should be retained by the school moving forward.

The modern day fan can have the patience of a toddler, has superficial understanding of what college coaching is about, and is only interested in how many wins/losses that a coach accrues throughout his tenure. Fan bases want wins, excitement, and for their school to be relevant on a national basis. If you are a Sun Devil fan you have to ask yourself, “Is ASU in a better place since Coach Hurley has been coach?”.

For those who want to fire Bobby Hurley my question to you would be, “Who do you think would want to come here to coach basketball?”

There have been phenomenal players make their way through the Sun Devil program. Lester Connor, James Harden, Fat Lever, Joe Caldwell, and Ike Diego just to name a few. That’s a credit to the coaches that have come through Arizona State in past years.

However, this basketball program has been nothing, but average for a long time. If you’re being honest with yourself you have to concede that point. Coach Hurley has basically maintained the status quo in terms of mediocrity for this program. He certainly hasn’t downgraded the program in any way. The one thing that Hurley has had going for him is his name. Basketball fans know who Bobby Hurley is. Anybody that follows basketball has known who Bobby Hurley is for over 30 years. The name recognition Hurley has can’t be applied to that many coaches.

Bobby Hurley has been able to recruit to ASU. Hurley has brought in Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon this year. In the recent past (2021), Hurley has brought in top recruits to his program. Just a couple of years ago, Josh Christopher and Marcus Bagley were brought in to bolster the Sun Devil program. That didn’t happen at all. In the Pac-12 Conference that Bagley-Christopher team finished 11-14 overall and 7-10 in the Pac-12. Much of that talented combo was slowed by injury. This current day combo of Quaintance-Sanon is being slowed by injury as well. It’s not because Coach Hurley can’t get talented players to his program. It’s once these players get here they can not stay healthy.

Here’s the next question you need to ask.

Do you believe there is some young, relatively unknown coach that would put this Sun Devil program at the top of his list?

I know that Arizona State alumni want to believe that their program is a destination job for anybody. I’m not so sure that it really is a place that an up and coming coach wants to take on.

If a new coach were to be hired in Tempe he would be inherit a fan base that is fair weather to say the least. Like with most college programs if you don’t win enough the fans do not show up. The only real sell-out at Desert Financial Arena is when the Sun Devil rivals, the Arizona Wildcats, show up once a year.

The need to make significant changes at Desert Financial Arena is a glaring one. It’s old, doesn’t have the bells and whistles that renovated or new arena’s have, and doesn’t have the cache to fans. The home arena needs to be able to be a place where fans say, “I want to be there”. Desert Financial isn’t that place at the moment.

The other aspect to this Sun Devil basketball program is that financially it’s not backed the way it needs to be. There have been questions about their NIL situation and maybe not being able to meet the commitments they have made to players on this Sun Devil team. Those type of rumors, whether they are true or not makes it rounds between players and recruits. Also, the basketball budget compared to other teams in their conference is pretty paltry. A new coach will want to know that his program can compete on the floor and can compete off the floor in terms of NIL opportunities for his players. If a program can not compete on the NIL level with other schools it’s not going to get to the level of success it wants to.

The current Sun Devil players love Bobby Hurley. If a change was made, there would be a mass exodus of players from Arizona State. Hurley defends his players from referees, media criticisms, and any disgruntled fans. Players love that. A coach that has your back is a coach whose players will run through the proverbial wall for that coach.

Does a new coach really want to come into a situation where he has piece together a roster? Doubtful.

Part of the issue is also that Bobby Hurley has an on-court demeanor that leaves little to like. He’s fiery to say the least and seems like he is arguing with the officials more than he should be. Plus, when you add in the fact that there has not been any sustainable success on the floor it’s no surprise that fans are leaning towards making a change from Bobby Hurley.

At the end of the day, coaches are hired to be fired. If you win you stick around. However, you lose and you’ll be doing analysis on a sports network or being paid not to coach. In the 10 years that Coach Hurley has been at Arizona State things have been fine.

Not great, but not a total failure. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

Michael J. Wilson-The Daily Waiver

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