Robert Hurley (born June 28, 1971) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

. He was previously the head coach at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

. As a college senior, he was a unanimous first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

, with whom he won consecutive national championships. He is the all-time leader in assists in NCAA basketball. He played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

and

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

from 1993 to 1999.

Early life

Hurley was born to Bob Hurley Sr. and Christine Hurley on June 28, 1971, in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, where he was raised with his siblings Dan and Melissa. Hurley attended Our Lady of Mercy grammar school in Jersey City.

Playing career

Hurley was a basketball star at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, where his father was the longtime coach. While at St. Anthony from 1985 to 1989, Hurley led the team to four consecutive Parochial B state titles. In his senior year he averaged 20 points, 8 assists and 3 steals, as St. Anthony racked up a 32–0 record, the school's first Tournament of champions crown, and the No. 1 ranking in the United States. In his high school career the team's overall record with Hurley as

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

was 115–5.

Duke

Hurley was a point guard for coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

team from 1989 to 1993. He was a first-team

in 1993, went to the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

three times, and helped lead the Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992 with All American teammates

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegi ...

and

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...

, earning Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors in 1992. Hurley remains the NCAA all-time assists leader with 1076 assists, and Duke's single game assist leader with 16 (against Florida State on February 24, 1993). His Duke jersey number 11 was

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 1993. In 2002, Hurley was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team as one of the fifty greatest players in

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

history. In 2006, Hurley, who is of Polish descent through his mother, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame. At Duke, Hurley was a member of the

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College, which is now the University of ...

fraternity. Coincidentally, Bobby Hurley played against his younger brother Dan in an NCAA Tournament game, when Duke squared off against Seton Hall. Hurley appeared in the 1994 feature film '' Blue Chips'', where he played for the Indiana team under coach Bobby Knight.

NBA

Hurley was selected by the

as the seventh pick in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993–94 NBA season, 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Pen ...

. He signed a shoe contract with a new shoe company ITZ (In The Zone), which was sold at Foot Locker exclusively. On December 12, 1993, while Hurley was returning home following a game in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season, he was involved in a car accident. His SUV was broadsided by a station wagon. Hurley was not wearing a

seat belt A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...

, was thrown from his vehicle, and suffered life-threatening injuries. Kings teammate Mike Peplowski was driving five minutes behind Hurley and was among the first on the scene to render immediate aid. Hurley returned to the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

for the 1994–95 season and played four more years beyond that. He was traded to the

on February 18, 1998, and played in 27 games for the Grizzlies. Hurley was waived by the Grizzlies on January 25, 1999.

Coaching

Hurley was hired as a scout by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in 2003. On April 13, 2010, Wagner College announced that Hurley was hired as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team. Hurley joined his younger brother Dan Hurley's coaching staff. Dan Hurley had been hired as Wagner's head coach on April 6, 2010. In 2012, the Hurleys took coaching positions at

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. On March 26, 2013, Hurley was named the head coach of the University at Buffalo (

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Ame ...

), replacing Reggie Witherspoon. Hurley coached the 2014–15 Bulls team to their first NCAA tournament appearance. On April 9, 2015, Hurley was hired as head coach at Arizona State. In his first conference game with the Sun Devils, he gained notoriety when he got ejected for 2 technical fouls in 15 seconds for arguing with the officials against the rival

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

. After he got ejected, he encouraged the crowd to continue to taunt the officials. Following a 15–17 first season at Arizona State, Hurley's contract was extended through 2021. The 2016–2017 season showed improvements and ASU improved its roster with transfers and a few recruits. In the 2017–2018 season Hurley would lead Arizona State to their first 12–0 start and sweep their non-conference schedule. Along the way, ASU beat Top-10 teams Kansas and Xavier and were ranked #3 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. Despite their early success, the Sun Devils struggled mightily in Pac-12 conference play, going only 8–10 and earning the 9th seed in the Pac-12 tournament, where they were defeated in the first round by the 8th seeded Colorado Buffaloes. Nevertheless, ASU still earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and faced Syracuse in a First Four matchup in Dayton. The Orange then beat the Sun Devils 60–56, thus ending their season. Hurley's squad finished 20–12. On December 22, 2018, Hurley led the Sun Devils to its first home win (and second win ever) against a #1 NCAA ranked team when they defeated the Kansas Jayhawks.

Horse racing

A fan of

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

, Hurley owned Songandaprayer who won the 2001 Fountain of Youth Stakes. He was also co-owner with breeder with Nik Visger. In December 2009 he was sued by PNC Bank for defaulting on a $1 million loan that was used to purchase Songandaprayer, who was trained by Eddie Plesa Jr. He owns Devil Eleven Stables, which went into foreclosure in 2010, and was sold in 2011.

Personal life

Hurley married Leslie Palceski on November 2, 1995. They have two daughters and a son: Cameron, Sydney, and Bobby. In May 1992, he was arrested and charged with

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

Durham County, North Carolina Durham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 324,833, making it the sixth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Durham, which is the only incorporate ...

. He pleaded guilty later that month to a lesser charge of careless and reckless driving and was given a six-month suspended sentence, a $500 fine and a 90-day suspension of his driver's license.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Buffalo Bulls bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Bobby 1971 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of Polish descent Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Buffalo Bulls men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Rhode Island Rams men's basketball coaches Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players St. Anthony High School (New Jersey) alumni FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Vancouver Grizzlies players Wagner Seahawks men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen