By JOSH NEWMAN
The Pac-12 sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament last season and three of them — Arizona, UCLA and Utah — went to the Sweet 16.
The league is on the upswing even without mentioning Arizona State, but the fact that New Jersey schoolboy and Duke legend Bobby Hurley is now running things in Tempe means a lot of eyes are going to be on the Sun Devils this winter.
“It’s my objective as a coach, and with the statements I’ve made, I don’t back off from them,” Hurley told SNY.tv on the 4 Quarters Podcast Monday afternoon. “I want to build an elite program that is contending for Pac-12 championships as time progresses and have a chance to play in Final Fours.”
Arizona State hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since 1995, but can Hurley, who took Buffalo to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 after two decades of irrelevancy, be the guy to lead the Sun Devils into the upper tier of the Pac-12?
“There’s no reason Arizona State can’t contend and compete against the likes of Arizona and UCLA on a year-to-year basis,” Hurley said. “That’s my goal.”
If Arizona State is going to rise to power in the Pac-12, it will need to go through teams like Arizona, UCLA and Cal, which is getting a major shot in the arm next season thanks to five-star recruits Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown.
Hurley, the oldest son of Naismith Hall of Famer Bob Hurley, has become an ace recruiter in a relatively short period of time. His ties in New York and New Jersey run deep, but he has also made headway in recruiting the Midwest while he was at Buffalo the last two seasons.
All of those connections could come in handy out west, but making new connections in that part of the country will be crucial to any future success.
“I’m gonna exhaust my contacts and continue to explore possibilities with kids that make sense,” Hurley said. “I believe so much in what Arizona State has to offer for a lot of reasons. I just think there’s a lot to sell there and I’m gonna talk to people in the New Jersey, New York of course, and the Midwest and just getting more established on the West Coast.”
Hurley has a nice base going into next season, having succeeded in getting South Plains College star Andre Spight, who committed to former Sun Devils head coach Herb Sendek, to hold firm on his commitment. Additionally, Hurley got a commitment from Midland (TX) College standout Maurice O’Field, who committed to Buffalo and will follow Hurley to Tempe.
“The team is positioned to have a chance to take another step, so we focused on guys we think can contribute right away,” Hurley said. “We have some of those guys with Andre Spight, Obie Oleka and Maurice O’Field. They’re all older guys that have played two years and they’re ready to make the transition from junior college to the Pac-12.
Also noteworthy, Buffalo star Shannon Evans transferred to Arizona State two weeks after Hurley took the job, but he will have to sit out 2015-16 under NCAA transfer rules. He will be a redshirt junior in 2016-17.
“I think we have good momentum and we’ve gotten a really good response,” he said. “People are excited. I think our fan base is excited and I think we really have all the elements that I was looking for in a long-term situation. The Pac-12 is an elite conference and they’re competitive with any conference from a basketball standpoint, an exposure standpoint.”
