Arizona State’s Hurley admits he needs to work on his sideline demeanor
Dec 21, 2016, 12:20 PM
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley reacts to an official's foul call in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Marquette in the Legends Classic championship, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in New York. Marquette defeated Arizona State 78-73. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Ever since Bobby Hurley played for the Duke Blue Devils in the early ’90s, he hasn’t been afraid to show his emotions on the court.
That didn’t change when he became a college basketball coach, and since he took the job at Arizona State, he’s seen his fair share of technical fouls.
Twice those technical fouls have led to ejections, including Saturday’s game vs. the New Mexico State Aggies.
A guest of Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Wednesday, Hurley admitted his demeanor is something he thinks about.
“It’s something I’m working on,” Hurley said. “I put a few messages in place [to the officials] last night. Was I perfect? No, but neither are the other coaches. So, I reviewed the film of course. In New Mexico State, there were a couple (times) where I was animated there and I have a valid reason to be. But I got to know where the line is and not push past the line.”
Both times Hurley was ejected the Sun Devils ended up losing, though to be fair, the Sun Devils were down by 15 points on Saturday when he was tossed and there was less than a minute left to play when he earned his first ejection as a Sun Devil against Arizona.
Although Hurley admitted he needs to work on his behavior towards the officials, he knows his reputation might be a reason for the calls when others act similarly.
“That being said, we sent some clips into the office just of the opposing coaches and what they do during games as well just so that everyone sees that the other coach at the other end of the sideline is also working the officials and protesting calls took,” Hurley said.
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