KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley did not dismiss reports that his time with the Sun Devils is coming to a close.
In fact, he more or less acknowledged them.
But that doesn't mean Hurley or the Sun Devils are ready to give up on this season, and his career in Tempe. That was evident Tuesday during the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, where No. 12 seed Arizona State leaned on 19 points from Pig Johnson to earn an 83-79 victory
over No. 13 seed Baylor and a date with seventh-ranked Iowa State in the second round.
“Well, I mean, I talked to the team, and we saw the report on it. I didn't hide anything from them,” said Hurley, whose contract is due to expire after this season. “They're playing for each other. I'm coaching them to the best of my ability. I have not been told anything.
"The source is reputable, and a guy that I know. But I'm just doing my job and coaching this team and enjoying my moments.”
There were a lot of them to enjoy against Baylor on Tuesday.
The Sun Devils (17-15) jumped out to a big early lead, just as they have so many times this season; only they kept the pressure up in the second half, when a malaise tends to set in. They pushed their advantage to as many as 15 points before some poor foul shooting in the closing minutes allowed the Bears to make the final score look much more respectable.
“We've been playing really well in first halves of games, and that's something I talked to the guys about,” Hurley said. “We came very close to putting two halves together, minus the poor free-throw shooting down the stretch.”
Hurley, the 1992 Final Four MVP who led Duke to two national championships, was considered a home-run hire by Arizona State after he needed just two years to turn Buffalo into a winner. By his third season in the desert, Hurley had the Sun Devils in the NCAA Tournament; at one point that season, they were ranked third in the nation with a roster that was turning some heads.
Yet success has been hard to sustain.
Sure, there were back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the first for Arizona State since the 1980-81 seasons. But there have been only three tourney trips in all, and each time, Arizona State has been the No. 11 seed and failed to reach the second round.
This season has been in many ways an exercise in frustration.
Arizona State was 9-2 in early December with the only losses to Gonzaga and Southern California in competitive games. But then came four losses in a row, and after a win over Kansas State, three more defeats. By the time the Sun Devils lost to second-ranked Arizona on the final day of January, they had dropped 11 of 13 games, and it appeared that Hurley's time was running out.
His players never quit on him, though. They've continued to play hard, and none seems to want a coaching change, even if it could be for a popular choice such as Grand Canyon's Bryce Drew, Casey Alexander of Belmont or Eric Olen from New Mexico.
Moe Odum would not even discuss the idea on Tuesday, the star guard replying “next question” when asked about Hurley's future.
How long can the Sun Devils keep their season alive? They're playing perhaps their best basketball exactly at the right time, beating rival Utah and No. 14 Kansas in the last couple of weeks, and knocking off the Bears in the Big 12 Tournament.
But the No. 5 seed Cyclones are up next. More juggernauts await if Arizona State survives them.
“What we're trying to do is win five games in a row. It's harder to do what we're trying to do than maybe win a national championship,” Hurley said. “We're playing a team tomorrow that could be in an Elite Eight or Final Four game, and that's our second game, and then we're going to have more heavy hitters if we advance. But these guys, they're resilient. They're tough. They have responded, and they have all year.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
