Life imitates art. If you so choose to walk through Desert Financial Arena, you'll see that this maxim takes no exceptions to the rule. The arena is uninspiring, dilapidated and years past its prime — an unfortunate reality mirrored in the state of ASU's men's basketball program. Comparing DFA with its neighbors in Mountain America Stadium and Mullett Arena, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
As Kenny Dillingham's team is coming off of a historical College Football Playoff campaign and Greg Powers' Sun Devils just wrapped up a strong season in the NCHC, head coach Bobby Hurley's program — concluding with a 13-19 debut in the Big 12 — is remaining stagnant at best.
Athletic Director Graham Rossini recently hinted toward a multi-year renovation of DFA in an interview with Arizona Sports, and it's become apparent that the need to clean house shouldn't solely lie in the physical realm. Although Hurley has had highlights, he is not the man needed at the helm if ASU wishes to match the successes seen over in Mountain America and Mullett.
Hurley assumed the head coach position around a decade ago, and he became the second-winningest coach by accumulating 168 program victories. Even so, the wins don't manifest where it counts: ASU has found its way into March Madness three times under Hurley's tenure, all scraping their way into the First Four. But the Sun Devils don't last past the first weekend, boasting a 2-3 tournament record.
As Hurley's crew is reeling from its fourth losing season in the past five years, the status quo is not indicative of the tournament expectations that ASU President Michael Crow has set for the program.
READ MORE: Michael Crow speaks on CRU at ASU, science funding, inclusivity, men's basketball
Nevertheless, Hurley's been able to stick around for one key reason: recruiting. In just Hurley's second year, he brought in three 4-star players. Recruits such as Remy Martin and Kimani Lawrence in the year after helped propel ASU to a No. 3 AP ranking. 5-stars such as Lu Dort and Josh Christopher have been able to carve spots for themselves at the next level.
As Hurley lost ten players to the portal and graduation after a 14-18 season last year, he pulled off a recruiting masterclass. Snagging 5-star defensive phenom Jayden Quaintance, getting 4-star microwave scorer Joson Sanon from the rival down south, and recruiting 4-star Amier Ali from an in-state high school.
This gave the Sun Devils the No. 9 spot in the 247Sports Composite — a recruiting class beating out blue bloods like Kansas and UConn. Pair that with promising transfers such as seniors Alston Mason (G), Basheer Jihad (F) and BJ Freeman (G), ASU was poised for a bounce-back season.
Then, things went wrong. After a strong 9-2 start in nonconference play with quality wins over Saint Mary's and New Mexico, the injuries and locker room issues proved too much to handle.
Quaintance was well on his way to proving himself as one of the best defenders in the country at just 17 years old, but injuries occasionally kept him off the court. Sanon battled various injuries that hampered his performance in conference play. For the final nail in the coffin, leading scorer Freeman was dismissed halfway through the season for disciplinary issues.
READ MORE: Breaking: BJ Freeman dismissed from men's basketball team amid conduct issues
ASU ended the season 4-14 in Quad 1 games, 3-4 in Quad 2 games, 4-16 in conference play and a first-round exit at the hands of Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament.
While it might be easy to write this season off as stricken by a malady of bad luck, the tale of strong recruiting classes failing to meet expectations is nothing new for Hurley. During that magical 2018 season where ASU peaked at No. 3, Hurley's roster finished at 49th in KenPom ratings but hasn't reached that number since.
ASU concluded at 70th this season, a poor indicator for things to come.
With Hurley on the hot seat and fans openly cheering for him to be fired at DFA, it seemed that this season would be Hurley's last. ASU's top brass didn't agree, choosing to keep him on staff to finish out the final year of his contract. Although this move may be seen by some as puzzling, it's important to note that the situation with Hurley and ASU basketball is far more nuanced than most think.
The politics surrounding the transfer portal make firing a head coach a logistical nightmare. Quaintance — a bright spot in an unfortunately dim program — is slated to be a lottery pick in the 2026 draft, but the firing of Hurley may incentivize his departure. The race for coveted prodigy Koa Peat isn't over, but ASU might lose its spot in the runnings with Hurley's departure.
However, recruiting prowess doesn't cut it to survive in college basketball anymore, even with the talent he brought on, the squad still found woes. The talent doesn't stay, either. Sanon is already planning on throwing his name in the transfer portal.
Recruits don't make a program. Coaches do.
READ MORE: Breaking: ASU men's basketball's Joson Sanon intends to enter the portal
While Hurley shouldn't be ASU's long-term solution at the coaching slot, he offers a lot of value to the program. He's a college ball legend — two-time national champ, 1992 Final Four Most Outstanding Player and the NCAA Division I all-time assist leader.
He's nothing if not passionate.
This passion and love for the game can help Hurley make a substantial impact in the front office, where he can focus on what he's best at — recruiting.
Although unconventional, universities have created a general manager role for their teams to run point on recruiting and NIL matters. Former ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski might just be the strongest example after recently turning down millions at ESPN to become St. Bonaventure's new GM.
Persuading Hurley to solely work his recruiting magic while someone else runs the X's and O's of Sun Devil hoops will be a tough task, but a necessary move in the long run.
As ASU writes their next chapter in the Big 12, their current modus operandi isn't enough to keep up with the conference's tougher schedule and the more physical play.
Necessity breeds innovation, and it's time for ASU to think outside the box if they want to survive in the new era.
Editor's note: The opinions presented in this column are the author's and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at stroeste@asu.edu and follow @samtroester on X.
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Sam is a sophomore studying political science with a minor in business. This is his first semester with The State Press.
