Bobby Hurley wastes no time in working to elevate ASU's profile

Published May. 21, 2015 6:06 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Bobby Hurley's first month and change as Arizona State's head basketball coach have been hectic, but the expectations he expressed Thursday offer evidence that he wouldn't want it any other way.

"I'm very hard on myself, and I expect a lot out of myself," Hurley said. "I'm happy that people are excited and expect great things from the program, and I understand it's a process, but I don't have great patience either. I want things to get off to a great start. I want to gain some momentum this year."

ASU has already gained three high-profile transfers in Shannon Evans, who will sit out a year after following Hurley from Buffalo, and junior college signees Maurice O'Field and Obinna Oleka.

The Sun Devils also revealed a challenging nonconference schedule on Thursday that's highlighted by a visit to Kentucky.

Those two items were at least peripherally related on Hurley's to-do list.

Hurley said he wouldn't have compiled a schedule with games at Creighton (Dec. 2), Kentucky (Dec. 12) and UNLV (Dec. 16) and against St. John's (Dec. 22) in Las Vegas had he not believed his team could handle it.

"That's how I felt," Hurley said. "My expectation is always to get the maximum for this team and this group and the seniors on this team. They tasted postseason last year in the NIT, and based on what we have coming back and what we're adding to the equation, to make a push to be an NCAA tournament team, that would be my expectation."

Hurley said he likes what returning starters Savon Goodman, Gerry Blakes, Eric Jacobsen and Tra Holder bring, considering his style of play -- fast and open. O'Field, who originally gave a verbal commitment to play for Hurley at Buffalo, and Oleka, a one-time Texas commit, could be immediate impact newcomers.

The one reservation about the Sun Devils heading into the summer is their lack of depth. As of now, only nine scholarships have been allotted for the 2015-16 team after guard Roosevelt Scott decided to leave the team, according to a report from The Arizona Republic's Doug Haller.

ASU non-conference basketbal schedule

Hurley said he will add more scholarship players only if he sees a good fit.

"I'm hoping that we could add a player or two that can increase our depth some," he said. "It's not an ideal situation from that standpoint, but I think we're working on addressing that."

Hurley has found a house in Arizona and moved his family in, making it easier as he settles into the new job while playing catch-up on the recruiting front.

Because of NCAA practice restrictions, the coach hasn't got in much work with the returning players already on campus. He has the program seemingly off to the right start, but there's still a lot of basketball to be taught.

"Gerry (Blakes) the other day (said), 'You're really laid-back, really chill, right?' " Hurley said. "That's my temperament, my personality away from the court. But when it's time to work, it's kind of flip-a-switch, I'm a different guy. They'll get a feel for that in July for sure."

-- Hurley said he's still working on building West Coast recruiting relationships. He mentioned California and Texas as targets and said he wouldn't be shy about using his existing connections in New York and New Jersey.

-- Of the three commitments Hurley has pulled, Evans is from Northern Virginia, Oleka is from the Washington, D.C., area and O'Field from Cleveland. "That's going to change. I need to build relationships with guys on the West Coast," Hurley said.

-- Hurley said he has been selling the obvious -- weather -- to recruits, but there's also a famous face he can use these days: "You know, James Harden is very relevant right now in what he's doing. He's a guy we'll mention from time to time with kids," Hurley said, understating the matter.

-- Hurley, a former Duke point guard, recently met with former Syracuse big man Billy Owens at a charity event, and the two recalled this memory from their nonconference schedules as players: "I remember off the tip I was protecting the rim. The ball got tipped to (Syracuse's) Stevie Thompson and he took one dribble and threw an alley-oop to Billy Owens, who dunked it right over me. That was my baptism to nonconference play as a freshman."

-- Hurley met his college coach, Mike Krzyzewski, for dinner last week, and the two spoke about the Blue Devils winning the title this year. "He's excited for me with this opportunity," Hurley said. "It was great seeing him and kind of reinforcing a lot of things that I believe in and hearing him talk about going through his season this year."

-- Returning point guard Kodi Justice, who fractured his foot in January, is expected to be on track for a July return to practice, Hurley said.

Follow Kevin Zimmerman on Twitter

share