Arizona State hires Bobby Hurley

[Halldan1]

Rob Dauster

Getty Images




Bobby Hurley will be the next head coach at Arizona State, the school announced on Thursday.


"We have a leader who, along with our university and our community, is committed to helping Sun Devil Basketball thrive," Arizona State said in a statement. "With Bobby at the helm, we will provide the necessary
resources to compete within our state, our conference and across the nation. We are intent on becoming an elite men's basketball program."

"Bobby is energetic, passionate and tough, and his contagious competitive fire will bring unmatched vigor to our men's basketball program."

Hurley, who is 43 years old, spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Buffalo, going 42-20 in that span and getting the Bulls to the 2015 NCAA tournament. Hurley, the former Duke point guard, accepted the position after Jeff Capel turned it down.

Hurley will be replacing Herb Sendek, who spent nine seasons with the Sun Devils. He was let go last month after failing to get the Sun Devils to the Big Dance for the seventh time in those nine seasons.





This post was edited on 4/10 7:44 AM by Halldan1

 

[Halldan1]

Getting old. LOL

I remember going to watch Sandy Pyonin's NJ Roadrunners years ago that had a star studded roster. Especially rising seniors. On that team was a skinny player who looked 12 and was 15 years old. After that particular game I walked out of the gym impressed with this player I had never seen not just for his ability but the intensity in which he played.

Bobby Hurley might have been years younger and pounds lighter than anyone else on the court that afternoon but even then he showed the grit and leadership abilities that have now manifested themselves into his being appointed head coach of Arizona State.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

 

[HALL85]

Good for Bobby. Tough kid that has overcome a lot of adversity from the accident. Like Mullin, he will continue to be a success.

 

[cernjSHU]

That is another very good potential coach for SHU is off the board. If Danny gets URI to the tournament next year, we will be out of that sweepstake as well. Get ready for Seton Hall not being able to attract a proven college basketball coach. By next year, we will be interviewing as leading candidates Engles and Boyle.

 

[Muggsy Blue]

Good decision by Bobby. Didn't take him long to move up.

 

[Halldan1]

Bobby Hurley's rapid ascent leads to Arizona State job

Bobby Hurley led Buffalo to the school's first NCAA Tournament bid this past season. Photo: AP

In five short years, Bobby Hurley has gone from an assistant coach in the Northeast Conference to a head coach in the Pac-12.

The former Duke icon from Jersey City has climbed the coaching ladder quickly, agreeing to become the Arizona State men's basketball coach Thursday afternoon, the school announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hurley, who leaves Buffalo after two seasons as its head coach, replaces Herb Sendek, fired after nine seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances with the Sun Devils. Duke assistant Jeff Capel was considered the front-runner before taking himself out of the running this week.

Hurley led Buffalo to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history this year in just his second season, and the 12th-seeded Bulls nearly upset No. 5 West Virginia in the opening round.

In two years at Buffalo, Hurley went 42-20 overall and 25-11 in the Mid-American Conference and was a strong recruiter. He got into coaching just five years ago, when he joined brother Dan's staff at Wagner. He went with Dan to Rhode Island - Bobby turned down an opportunity to be the head coach at Wagner - for a year before taking the job at Buffalo.

"Bobby Hurley epitomizes basketball excellence, with a keen knowledge of the game that stems from his lifelong involvement in the sport," Arizona State vice president for athletics Ray Anderson said in a statement.

"His childhood consisted of watching the defining moments of the NCAA Tournament; his high school days included a 115-5 record on the court and four state titles; and his college career, with an excellence exemplified by two national championships and his No. 11 jersey hanging in the rafters at Cameron Indoor."

Hurley was linked to the job opening at DePaul that went to Dave Leitao, but Arizona State was the job he wanted, a source said. There were talks of a contract extension between Hurley and Buffalo, but it was never finalized, the source said. The old deal reportedly was paying him $300,000 per year.

The 43-year-old Hurley was a high school and college All-American, winning two national titles at Duke and playing under his father, legendary coach Bob Hurley Sr., at St. Anthony of Jersey City. He was a first-round pick of the Kings, going seventh overall in the 1993 NBA draft, but played just five seasons after a serious car accident derailed his promising career. He was a thoroughbred horse trainer and owner before getting back into coaching, under Dan at Wagner.

"I never thought I would be in this position," Hurley said after Buffalo reached the NCAA Tournament. "I owe so much of this to what I learned from Dan and the opportunity he gave me to learn from him. Just watching him every day gave me a chance to become the coach I was able to be this year for this team."

 

[Hall91]

One thing is for certain, bobby Hurley will probably never be the HC for SHU. All eyes turn to Danny.

 

[Seton75]

We have to get off the Hurley idea. Danny is not coming either. Next.

 

[HALL28]

But what about the extension?! Haha, who said they were not meaningless?

SHU loses again. If you want to succeed, you need to move quickly and boldly. Danny will do even better at URI next year and a more attractive school will grab him. This was the moment, but Seton Hall is a Mickey Mouse operation.

 

[wpc75]

If you can get to football school you go......they have all the cash....Danny's next move will be to a football school.....

 

[HallX2]

Herb Sendek escaped to the desert looking for love. Didn't work out as planned. A true test of just how great a coach he will be.

 

[Burnsly]

Good for him but I feel bad for the Buffalo players.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Burnsly:
Good for him but I feel bad for the Buffalo players.


The guy uses other job offers to extort a substantial raise out of Buffalo, and then winds up leaving a couple weeks later. I'm all for people pursuing better opportunities when they come along, but there's something wrong about this. Then again, personal integrity and major-college coaching don't exactly go hand-in-hand. Not sure what lesson Hurley taught his former Buffalo players with this move, but it's certainly not a good one.

 

[Seton75]

"Extort" is a little harsh, No? He did a great job, deserved a huge raise, got one, then quickly took the inevitable bigger job. In what industry do we expect top of the line performers to make half the money in jobs a tenth as prestigious? He took care of himself, and aint that America...

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Seton75:

"Extort" is a little harsh, No? He did a great job, deserved a huge raise, got one, then quickly took the inevitable bigger job. In what industry do we expect top of the line performers to make half the money in jobs a tenth as prestigious? He took care of himself, and aint that America...

I guess it is America, but at the same time it's also a sad commentary on what we've become. The winners in the game of life aren't necessarily the ones who end up with the most money. Hurley agreed to a new deal after threatening to leave (hence the extortion reference), and then promptly beat it out of town. He is a snake, which makes him a difficult for me to root for. But like I mentioned, this is standard operating procedure for these coaches. Most of them don't possess values that young people should look up to.

 

[Save Continental]

This was from one of the Buffalo writers...some interesting context.

Bucky Gleason @TBNbucky · 21h 21 hours ago



Hurley wasnt insulted by $551,000. He thought UB was being petty. He hoped UB would make it tough for him to leave. Instead, it was easier.

Bucky Gleason @TBNbucky · 21h 21 hours ago



Hurley wasn't looking for last dollar. He was willing to take less money than what's out to stay. UB's approach changed everything.



· 21h 21 hours ago











Sources close to Hurley told me that he was insulted by UB approach. Top MAC coach made $550,000, for example. UB offered Hurley $551,000.

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by Seton75:

"Extort" is a little harsh, No? He did a great job, deserved a huge raise, got one, then quickly took the inevitable bigger job. In what industry do we expect top of the line performers to make half the money in jobs a tenth as prestigious? He took care of himself, and aint that America...

Extort is very harsh considering that an extension and raise had not yet been signed. Here's a little perspective on Hurley's side of things. According to that article, Buffalo didn't want to negotiate with Hurley's agent, so it was a take-it-or-leave-it from Buffalo.

The truth is obviously somewhere in the middle of Buffalo leaking the extension news (when nothing had been signed and apparently they wouldn't take a counter from Hurley's agent) and Hurley's viewpoint of, "It wasn't about the pay raise. It came down to principle," even though he's going to get a very big pay raise.

But Buffalo got burned here. If it's true that they wouldn't negotiate with Hurley's agent, then they have nobody to blame for losing Hurley and not getting a substantial buyout from Arizona State. As a MAC fan who has seen so many schools in that conference mismanage athletic departments, I have no sympathy for Buffalo. You're a low- to mid-major. If you have a coach leaving on his own, that probably means you're program is in good shape. At least get a decent buyout in exchange. Failing to do so just makes it that much tougher to have sustained success.

This post was edited on 4/10 3:37 PM by Pirate6711

 

[Seton75]

Did PJ extort his raise after the 89 season? Or did SHU fear losing him due the mammoth success of 89 and due to KY's interest and give him more money, money he earned?

I think young people in business aspire to be in demand in their profession like Hurley is in his, and would do the same thing. And I think people my age and people older than me would as well. It is not like the only benefit Hurley receives is money. The step up in class is just as important to his market value. Now he can see how good he really is.

A Buffalo will do what it can, and hope it can keep him for another year or so, but it is inevitable that Bobby Hurley, if successful, is leaving Buffalo. And the AD should know that as he signs his first contract.

The only issue I have with the coach's freedom is that the players do not have the same freedom of movement.

 

[Muggsy Blue]

It always comes down to principle, lol. Take the money and run, Bobby. Money is the reason we can't get rid of our coach. We so overpaid him, we can't even afford to buy him out. Who can blame Willard? We were such jackasses.

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by Muggsy Blue:
It always comes down to principle, lol. Take the money and run, Bobby. Money is the reason we can't get rid of our coach. We so overpaid him, we can't even afford to buy him out. Who can blame Willard? We were such jackasses.

It always cracks me up when people are judgmental about coaches leaving because of money. Arizona State will likely pay Hurley more than triple what he would have received in the rumored deal with Buffalo. Plus, he's going from the MAC to the Pac 12. In any other line of work, making a significant jump like that in prestige and salary would not be met with criticism.

 

[Stone]

Originally posted by Muggsy Blue:
It always comes down to principle, lol. Take the money and run, Bobby. Money is the reason we can't get rid of our coach. We so overpaid him, we can't even afford to buy him out. Who can blame Willard? We were such jackasses.

+1 whoever signed off on that contract has buried our program for a number of years.I'm not so sure KW is on the hot seat for next year since the buyout will still have 2 years on it.Not to mention what we would have to pay for taking another program's coach.I'll believe it when it happens the powers to be have no choice in order to save face,they will be betting on KW having a decent year.Then telling morons like me that Willard will be our coach for another year.

 

[MBF72]

Why Bobby and not Danny???

 

[Muggsy Blue]

Stone

Exactly, two more years of "our coach." And you know what, the administration who has much bigger fish to fry, and the athletic department who has no power, don't much care what the hell we think.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Pirate6711:

Originally posted by Muggsy Blue:
It always comes down to principle, lol. Take the money and run, Bobby. Money is the reason we can't get rid of our coach. We so overpaid him, we can't even afford to buy him out. Who can blame Willard? We were such jackasses.

It always cracks me up when people are judgmental about coaches leaving because of money. Arizona State will likely pay Hurley more than triple what he would have received in the rumored deal with Buffalo. Plus, he's going from the MAC to the Pac 12. In any other line of work, making a significant jump like that in prestige and salary would not be met with criticism.

It is met with criticism when you welch on a deal. All Hurley proved in this situation is that he's a prostitute who'll screw anyone or anything for money. Believe it or not, there are more important things than making a buck. He comes off looking like a greedy scumbag, which is not something to be proud of. I can only imagine the "lines of work" where this wouldn't be criticized.

It's funny how some folks think it was wrong for Tommy Amaker to leave Seton Hall for a more prestigious job, but that this is somehow okay.
This post was edited on 4/10 10:04 PM by JIMSOULS

 

[shu09]

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

Originally posted by Seton75:

"Extort" is a little harsh, No? He did a great job, deserved a huge raise, got one, then quickly took the inevitable bigger job. In what industry do we expect top of the line performers to make half the money in jobs a tenth as prestigious? He took care of himself, and aint that America...

I guess it is America, but at the same time it's also a sad commentary on what we've become. The winners in the game of life aren't necessarily the ones who end up with the most money. Hurley agreed to a new deal after threatening to leave (hence the extortion reference), and then promptly beat it out of town. He is a snake, which makes him a difficult for me to root for. But like I mentioned, this is standard operating procedure for these coaches. Most of them don't possess values that young people should look up to.

+1. This move also sits sour with me after he agreed to the new deal.

 

[SjVal]

Originally posted by shu09:

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

Originally posted by Seton75:

"Extort" is a little harsh, No? He did a great job, deserved a huge raise, got one, then quickly took the inevitable bigger job. In what industry do we expect top of the line performers to make half the money in jobs a tenth as prestigious? He took care of himself, and aint that America...

I guess it is America, but at the same time it's also a sad commentary on what we've become. The winners in the game of life aren't necessarily the ones who end up with the most money. Hurley agreed to a new deal after threatening to leave (hence the extortion reference), and then promptly beat it out of town. He is a snake, which makes him a difficult for me to root for. But like I mentioned, this is standard operating procedure for these coaches. Most of them don't possess values that young people should look up to.

+1. This move also sits sour with me after he agreed to the new deal.

A lot of schools like Buffalo, who know Hurley will eventually leave, does the new deal to make his buyout $ bigger. I'm sure Buffalo got more money from ASU now than it would have before they gave Hurley the new deal. In this case it's not really extrusion since both sides got more out of the deal than before.

 

[SPK145]

Originally posted by SjVal:

A lot of schools like Buffalo, who know Hurley will eventually leave, does the new deal to make his buyout $ bigger. I'm sure Buffalo got more money from ASU now than it would have before they gave Hurley the new deal. In this case it's not really extrusion since both sides got more out of the deal than before.

Um, there was never a new deal, Hurley never agreed to anything, etc.

No extortion, no ethical diemmas here.

 

[SHUMA04]

arizona State got itself a winner. Good for them.

Very happy for Bobby. He's fought through a lot of adversity, and deserves every bit of what he's getting.

Go Bobby, go Jersey. I will be pulling for Arizona State next year.

Boo to Seton Hall. We let Bobby get away once in 1989. Could live with that one. This time though it hurts.

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

Originally posted by Pirate6711:

Originally posted by Muggsy Blue:
It always comes down to principle, lol. Take the money and run, Bobby. Money is the reason we can't get rid of our coach. We so overpaid him, we can't even afford to buy him out. Who can blame Willard? We were such jackasses.

It always cracks me up when people are judgmental about coaches leaving because of money. Arizona State will likely pay Hurley more than triple what he would have received in the rumored deal with Buffalo. Plus, he's going from the MAC to the Pac 12. In any other line of work, making a significant jump like that in prestige and salary would not be met with criticism.

It is met with criticism when you welch on a deal. All Hurley proved in this situation is that he's a prostitute who'll screw anyone or anything for money. Believe it or not, there are more important things than making a buck. He comes off looking like a greedy scumbag, which is not something to be proud of. I can only imagine the "lines of work" where this wouldn't be criticized.

It's funny how some folks think it was wrong for Tommy Amaker to leave Seton Hall for a more prestigious job, but that this is somehow okay.
This post was edited on 4/10 10:04 PM by JIMSOULS

Read the article I posted earlier in this thread. It gives Hurley's side to the extension that was never agreed on, despite what Buffalo leaked. The Buffalo AD said he doesn't talk to agents and he wouldn't talk to Hurley after Hurley turned down DePaul. There was no deal for Hurley to "welch" on, except his previous contract. But if you condemn every coach for leaving while under contract, then you would condemn every coaching hire that didn't involve hiring somebody who is jobless.

 

[cernjSHU]

Jimsouls, you are out of line. Calling what Bobby Hurley did a scumbag move is ridiculous. Let's look at it a different way. A computer engineer is working at a small start up tech company. He then gets an offer from Apple which more than doubles his salary. If you were that person what would you do? You would go to Apple. Everyone at Buffalo knew that Hurley was going to take another job this year or the latest next year. This is the nature of the business.

With regard to Amaker, it was not that he left that pissed so many people off, it was how he left. Moreover, the jump from Buffalo to ASU is enormous as opposed to the jump from Seton Hall to Michigan.

You act like schools have some loyalty to coaches. Coaches that have performed well get fired all the time, ie Rick Barnes. there is only one school that I know of that you can be completely incompetent and the school will not only keep you but give the coach an extension. Yup Seton Hall. You must be very proud of how Seton Hall conducts its business with the Willard saga.

This post was edited on 4/11 8:05 AM by cernjSHU

This post was edited on 4/11 8:07 AM by cernjSHU

 

[Pirate6711]

Originally posted by cernjSHU:
Jimsouls, you are out of line. Calling what Bobby Hurley did a scumbag move is ridiculous. Let's look at it a different way. A computer engineer is working at a small start up tech company. He then gets an offer from Apple which more than doubles his salary. If you were that person what would you do? You would go to Apple. Everyone at Buffalo knew that Hurley was going to take another job this year or the latest next year. This is the nature of the business.

With regard to Amaker, it was not that he left that pissed so many people off, it was how he left. Moreover, the jump from Buffalo to ASU is enormous as opposed to the jump from Seton Hall to Michigan.

And since the Buffalo AD proudly declared that he doesn't talk to agents, Buffalo didn't even get anything of note in a buyout. I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for them.

 

[jcalz88]

Btw shu ad does not deal with agents either

 

[Muggsy Blue]

So Willard negotiated that deal on his own, meaning that he dealt with Lyons one on one. Wow, not much of a coach, but a brilliant financial tactician. Lyons little lacking in that department, lol.

 

[SPK145]

Originally posted by Pirate6711:

And since the Buffalo AD proudly declared that he doesn't talk to agents, Buffalo didn't even get anything of note in a buyout. I don't feel an ounce of sympathy for them.

Well his original contract called for a two-way buyout of half a year's base salary for each remaining year of his contract (where have you heard that before?) so they will get ~$500,000.

 

[Muggsy Blue]

And no one is going to want Willard, so we're stuck with the whole freaking thing. Stone is right at least 2 more years with this coach.

 

[hallgrad80]

We're stuck with Willard with the only issue that remains unanswered is how long are we stuck with him. It doesn't matter who put us in this position , what the terms of his contract are or why he got the deal he did because no one in the higher echelons of SH cares what happens with our basketball program and their continued retention of Kevin and their continued silence confirms that. Until there is a change in leadership and you have a president and a supportive BOR who value successful athletics what you've seen happen the past three years is all you can expect going forward and all our concerns and all our communications to our school expressing those concerns have fallen on deaf ears. I wish that things were different but they aren't so each of us will make their own choice how we deal with this reality , which unfortunately seems to be the norm for SH .

 

[shupat08]

From all accounts Hobbs did all the negotiating not Lyons.

So maybe he doesn't deal with agents, because he doesn't negotiate big time contracts? LOL.

The real question is: Does Hobbs deal with agents?