A former Blue Devil will be taking the reigns in the Valley of the Sun, but not the one originally expected.
ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported Thursday evening that Arizona State has hired former Duke point guard and Buffalo head coach Bobby Hurley to fill its head coaching vacancy. The report comes just two days after Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel—thought to be the Sun Devils' top candidate—removed himself from consideration for the position.
Hurley took Buffalo to its first-ever NCAA tournament this season after claiming the MAC tournament championship. Making their debut in the Big Dance, the 12th-seeded Bulls fell 68-62 to fifth-seeded West Virginia in the Round of 64.
In two seasons at Buffalo, Hurley compiled a 42-20 record and a 25-11 ledger in MAC action, finishing first or tied for the first in the conference's East division in both years. He will bring a championship pedigree to Tempe, Ariz., having won two national titles with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski as a player in 1991 and 1992.
Doug Haller—the Arizona State beat writer for The Arizona Republic—confirmed the hire via Twitter.
The Sun Devils fired head coach Herb Sendek after an 18-16 campaign that ended in a second-round NIT loss to Richmond. Arizona State made just two NCAA tournament appearances under Sendek in his nine seasons on campus.
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