Report: ASU’s Hurley at the top of St. John’s coaching list

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley is at the top of St. John’s list in its quest for a new head coach, according to Jon Rothstein.

St. John’s head coaching spot is expected to be vacant once current head coach Chris Mullin steps down, reports Rothstein.

Mullin was the head coach of his alma mater for four years, with his last game being a 74-65 loss to Hurley’s Sun Devils in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

But as the 2018-19 college basketball season comes to an end, so do coaching tenures. Numerous coaches will find themselves elsewhere next season as we enter college basketball’s coaching carousel season.

Hurley is coming off of his fourth season at the helm of Arizona State. In that time, ASU has back-to-back 20 win seasons and NCAA Tournament berths, something that hasn’t happened since the 1980-81 season under Ned Wulk.

Hurley also won ASU’s first NCAA Tournament game in 10 years, a feat that hasn’t happened since the 2008-09 season under Herb Sendek, who only managed one NCAA Tournament win in his nine years in the Valley.

Arizona State’s First Four victory over St. John’s isn’t the first time Hurley has knocked the Red Storm out of the Big Dance.

Back in 1991, the Duke point guard defeated St. John’s in the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament on the way to what would be the first of back-to-back national championships.

Prior to his arrival at Wells Fargo Arena, Hurley spent two seasons as the coach of Buffalo, who ended up knocking out ASU in the first round of this year’s tournament.

Hurley, who turns 48 in June, grew up in Jersey City, only a few miles from St. John’s.

It would be a catastrophic blow if Hurley were to leave, as ASU has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the country during his time in Tempe, something that only former coach Wulk achieved in the 1980–81 season when his starting lineup included future NBA stars Byron Scott, Fat Lever, and Alton Lister.

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