TEMPE — Bobby Hurley was quick to admit after Arizona State’s 70-60 upset win over No. 14 Kansas that it was “an emotional game for a lot of reasons.”
It’s well-understood that Hurley was likely coaching in his last home game at Desert Financial Arena, and his players get that as much as anyone. Moe Odum said he was well aware of Hurley’s contract situation before he committed, but that didn’t turn him away.
But as the Sun Devils (16-14, 7-10 Big 12) clinched a winning record for the regular season in a year where the expectations were on the floor, Hurley said the fight seen on Tuesday was much more about the character of his group than any impact he had on it himself.
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“I don’t think it’s me, I really don’t,” Hurley said postgame. “I know it could be a nice, little storyline or something, but I really believe this is who they are. We lost our way for a few weeks … but we picked ourselves off the mat, and I think we’re playing as good as we were at any point in the season because of our defense.
“And I think these kids just want to win and players like Moe Odum still believes there’s hope, and I do as well until someone tells us otherwise and someone outplays us and puts an end to what we’re doing right now.”
Bobby Hurley says the upset win was not about players playing for him in likely his last home game at DFA and that it’s just “who they are.” pic.twitter.com/WJQ1ImolQJ
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It’s only fitting that the upset win came against Kansas (21-9, 11-6), which Hurley beat twice on the front end of his tenure. He moved to 3-1 against the blue-blood program.
Hurley’s group tried hard for loose balls, never gave up on plays and held the line against multiple scoring runs from the Jayhawks. The Sun Devils’ fortitude to hang in there against a vastly more talented roster spoke to how far they have come in recent weeks, as opposed to when they’d predictably collapse in clutch moments.
“I feel like I’m the one that’s got Hurley’s back, so it wasn’t nothing sentimental about this game. We felt like it was just another game,” Odum said. “I really don’t care what nobody say like if Hurley could be here extra years, I expect him to be here extra years.
“So it wasn’t like, ‘Oh no, this is coach’s last home game.’ Like no. I want to keep winning so coach don’t go nowhere ’cause that’s my coach.”
The senior point guard, who is one assist away from top five in program history for a single season at 176 with at least two more games to go, added if he had more eligibility, he would ideally stay at ASU with Hurley.
“I feel like without Hurley, there’s nothing. There’s no us,” Odum said.
Two top-15 upsets in a span of 15 days aren’t likely to save Hurley’s job, but given the last-place-in-conference expectations, this season is undoubtedly one of the better coaching jobs in his ASU tenure.
According to the coach, all conversations with players have remained about this team and this season, and he noted his greatest emotion from his 11th senior night in the Valley stemmed from seeing Odum pregame with his mom, who flew out from New Jersey.
“No one thought we could win any games basically, and they’ve, I think, proven a lot of people wrong,” Hurley said. “I think the people from Arizona State that showed up tonight — and it was a great crowd and thankful for that to the seniors — I think there’s a reason because they are kind of fun to watch.
“We’re not perfect. We’re far from perfect and we do some some crazy things sometimes and we don’t always get every rebound, but they’re going to lay it all out on the line and I think that’s what what sports is about.”
Hurley said he prioritized finding high-character players after having multiple recent in-season dismissals, and it’s been a big reason why he relates to so much of the current roster; he sees the underdog in them that he has long felt in himself.
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