TEMPE, Ariz. -- To understand new ASU basketball coach Bobby Hurley and to understand why the Sun Devils hired him, is to understand his path here.
From his championship-studded amateur career, to a car crash that eventually ended his NBA dream, to financial losses in horse racing that led to his emergence in the college coaching ranks and the quick ascension therein, it's all a part of Hurley.
There was little tact in Hurley's delivery on Friday when ASU introduced him as the successor to Herb Sendek. The 43-year-old doesn't shy away from reciting his accolades as player and coach, because he knows what drove him then does so now.
"I have a blue-collar background with my upbringing and nothing has ever come easy to me," Hurley said. "People always doubted my career as a player. They never expected I'd take it as far as I took it. There were questions about my experience coming into Buffalo and in two years we won a conference title for the first time in school history, and that's with a team projected to finish fourth in its division last year."
The man is confident. Why wouldn't he be after amassing a 115-5 record as a high school player, winning the 1991 and 1992 NCAA titles with the Duke Blue Devils and still holding the NCAA career assists record of 1,076?
For ASU, his personality fits after the mild-mannered Sendek's nine-year tenure came to a close last month.
"Our charge was to go out and find the best and the right fit for this program," ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said, "and the personality qualities that were required was that we wanted integrity, we wanted passion, we wanted fire in the belly, we wanted an unwavering dedication to provide high-energy to every task necessary to bring ASU men's basketball to the elite level."
The key there is Hurley's "fire in the belly" drove him to this point. ASU fans might worry that with too much success, his time in Tempe could be short-lived.
But Hurley called ASU "a destination job," with the facilities and the potential to succeed. He didn't shy away from addressing the rivalry with the Arizona Wildcats, where a similarly fiery point guard-turned-coach has built one of the country's elite programs.
"It takes two to tango," Hurley said of Sean Miller's Wildcats. "I live for those kind of games, as a competitor. I think I'm a top competitor."
Bobby Hurley addresses the Arizona State basketball team on Friday.
Hurley developed that from his father, Bob Hurley, who since 1972 has coached at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. Afterward, Bobby lived college basketball's biggest rivalry: Duke-North Carolina.
Following the end of his NBA career and then his foray into the horse racing world, he dove head-first into the coaching ranks in 2010 at Wagner College, where his younger brother, Dan, gave him a seat on the bench. Bobby learned on the fly, moving with Dan to Rhode Island in 2012 before taking over at Buffalo. Hurley reportedly soured at returning to Buffalo when the school rubbed him the wrong way while making an offer on an extension, according to The Buffalo News.
The hurdles he must overcome at ASU begin with recruiting. On that front, he'll be joined by former Buffalo assistant and ex-North Carolina State player Levi Watkins. Hurley on Friday also announced he retained former Sendek assistant Stan Johnson, who could be a commodity as a West Coast recruiter.
And yes, Hurley is confident he can succeed despite facing the same questions as every other East Coast coach moving to Pac-12 country.
"My career as a player in college athletics and winning championships opens the doors for me," Hurley said. "I think my dad being a legendary high school coach that people know, I'd be able to pick up my phone and build and develop relationships with people I need to."
That will surely help when he knocks on high school coaches' doors. It's another matter for recruits, who at this point were born well after Hurley starred at Duke. Yet, the hire was sold on ASU freshman point guard Tra Holder, who admitted he only had seen Hurley on screen in the recent ESPN documentary, "I Hate Christian Laettner."
"We talked a little bit today and I'm really excited to see what he has to offer in terms of knowledge," Holder said. "I'm ready to learn."
In terms of style, Hurley promises tough man-to-man defense, emphasis on player development and a fast pace. He doesn't micro-manage the offense and wants his players to have the freedom to create.
The Sun Devils believe they can take on the personality of Hurley's chip-on-the-shoulder aggressiveness that feeds on any slights thrown his way.
"My expectations and other people's expectations are a little different," Hurley said.
When the season comes, it'll be time to see what Hurley can do in a bigger conference, with more resources and a team that should return talent from an 18-16 season. It's time to see what he can do with a life experience base that's truly unique amongst his peers.
"Everything I've seen has prepared me to provide these guys, I think, with a great structure to work and to develop as basketball players and people," Hurley said. "We want to bring in kids that are high character, that are going to work hard, that are going to develop in our program, that are going to get an education and that are going to compete for championships -- Pac-12 championships and we want to go to Final Fours."
Follow Kevin Zimmerman on Twitter
