Arizona State Basketball: Bobby Hurley deserves extension

Arizona State basketball reportedly rewarded head coach Bobby Hurley with a deal through 2023 on Jan. 31. Here is why he deserved that contract.

Bobby Hurley had led one of the most pleasantly surprising programs in the country this season. Sure, the Arizona State Sun Devils haven’t lived up to their nonconference hype since starting Pac-12 play but he deserves everything coming to him.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported that the Sun Devils handed Hurley an extension on Wednesday. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed but the contract runs through 2023.

Those who look solely at Arizona State’s 4-5 Pac-12 record would be right to wonder why this extension was given. Hurley accomplished much more in the beginning of the season, though.

The Sun Devils came out of almost nowhere to roll through nonconference play, including wins over Kansas State, Xavier, and a season-defining road victory at Kansas. In the process, Tra Holder and Shannon Evans II emerged as two of the league’s biggest stars.

Even though the road has been tough since then – and those two stars are recruits from the previous regime – the Sun Devils are still ranked in the AP top-25. Should the season end today, they would assuredly reach the NCAA Tournament.

Still, this will be Hurley’s first winning campaign in three seasons with the Sun Devils. For some, his unproven nature makes him a dangerous choice to lead the team into the future.

He has proven that he has the ability to turn around programs before, though. In just his second season with the MAC’s Buffalo Bulls, he led the team to an NCAA Tournament berth. That directly resulted in him taking the Arizona State job.

There’s evidence he can recruit, too. While Arizona State is led by their trio of senior guards, their next best player is Romello White, a freshman averaging 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

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At the end of the day, Arizona State’s best chance at competing with the Arizona Wildcats’ basketball prestige is through stability. Bobby Hurley proves that stability and will continue to do so for the next half-decade.