Name recognition to assist Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley in recruiting

TEMPE, Ariz. — Recruiting. It’s been called the lifeblood of college sports.

And if there is one knock on Arizona State’s new head men’s basketball coach Bobby Hurley, it’s that he lacks those recruiting ties to the West Coast, specifically Arizona and California.

Hurley is an East Coast guy, born and raised, and where he played his college ball, not to mention where he’s spent each of his first five seasons in coaching.

Still, Hurley believes he has one advantage many of his colleagues do not.

“I think that I have a national name. I have a name that people recognize in my career as a player in college athletics and winning championships opens the doors for me,” he said.

Hurley was a first-team All-American in 1993. He helped lead the Duke Blue Devils to three Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992, and set the NCAA record for career assists with 1,076.

Hurley also has a tremendous family connection. His father, Bob, Sr., is a legendary coach in the high school ranks, leading perennial power St. Anthony’s to 26 state championships and more than 1,000 wins in 39 years of coaching.

“I’d be able to pick up the phone and build and develop relationships with all the people I need to,” Hurley said, during his introductory press conference Friday in which his father was in attendance.

“When I took over Buffalo, people had similar questions about how was I going to recruit the Midwest and be successful in a conference that was based in the Midwest with a lot of East Coast ties. We worked at it. I hired a great staff that helped recruit the major markets in our conference, and because of the job that we did, basically with all Midwest players, we were able to win our league.”

With regards to recruiting, Hurley’s first decision as Sun Devil head coach was an important one. He elected to retain assistant Stan Johnson, who had served under Herb Sendek the past two seasons and had a hand in landing point guard Tra Holder, a Pac-12 All-Freshman honoree in 2015.

“Stan has great connections, great ties, great relationships with the players,” Hurley said. “Had several great conversations with him. I feel very comfortable with him. I think he’s going to do a great job for the program.”

Locally, the in-state high school talent has never been better with a freshman (6-10 Marvin Bagley, Corona del Sol) and two sophomores (5-11 Markus Howard, Perry and 6-2 Alex Barcello, Corona del Sol) who rank among the best in the nation.

Howard decommitted from the Sun Devils a week before Sendek’s firing.

“But we are going to recruit nationally, as well,” Hurley said. “We are not just going to limit ourselves to any areas of the country.”

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