When ASU fired former coach Herb Sendek on March 24, many players were vocal in their concern for the future without their beloved coach. After meeting with new coach Bobby Hurley before his introductory press conference Friday, the players are excited about the direction of the program.
Hurley's success playing at the NCAA level is well-documented. He is a two-time national champion with Duke and won the 1992 Final Four Most Outstanding Player. He is also the NCAA's all-time leader in assists with 1,076, averaging 7.7 per game.
In his only two seasons as a head coach at Buffalo, he led the Bulls to a 42-20 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Junior guard Gerry Blakes said he was excited as soon as he heard the news based on Hurley's success playing for Duke and coaching at Buffalo.
"The name itself is something to get excited about," Blakes said. "Bobby Hurley is a great guy, a great player and definitely a great coach. To hear that he was coming here to be our coach was a great feeling and it was definite sudden excitement and it was something big for us."
Hurley said the way he coaches comes from his experience on the floor and on the sideline at all of his stops along the way.
"It's a combination of my experiences playing at Duke and also the influence of my brother at Rhode Island," Hurley said. "It's a very aggressive style of man defense. I want to put pressure on an opponent, but do it in a disciplined way. I'm not the kind of coach who typically runs around and traps and then gives up easy baskets. I want, defensively, our guys to lock down, to force difficult shots, to create some turnovers because teams are just tired of dealing with us on that end of the floor."
Offensively, Hurley expects his team to play fast and unselfish.
"You know, this year, we were in the Top‑25 in pace of play," Hurley said. "It's a style that our players enjoy playing. We led our conference in scoring in conference play this year, and that's because we are going to play fast. I think that style fits in very well in this league. We've got to be in great shape to do it and we've got to work on our games at a high level."
Freshman guard Tra Holder, who had previously said he was reconsidering his future with the program, said he will stay a Sun Devil under the new regime because of that track record.
"I always wanted to be a Sun Devil," Holder said. "It was such a quick shocking moment when coach Herb Sendek got fired. I just really wanted to take time off and see who the coach is and go from there."
Holder, who led ASU with 3.6 assists per game last season, said the fact that Hurley also played point guard will help him make his game more complete as he continues through college.
"I think he's going to make this transition even more easier for me," Holder said. "I spoke with him earlier today and he really has a lot to offer me and I'm really ready to see what he knows about the game and implement it into my playing style."
In the end, Blakes believes that Hurley and assistants Levi Watkins and Stan Johnson will be able to put a plan in place to make the most of this roster and make the program the best it can be.
"I feel like we have a lot of very talented players that can benefit from this style of play," Blakes said. "We have guys that can do different things, so with the great coaching staff that we have, I think they can put it all together and work a masterpiece."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
