Bobby Hurley hired at Arizona State

ByJEFF GOODMAN
April 9, 2015, 6:01 PM

— -- Arizona State has hired Bobby Hurley, the school announced Thursday.

Hurley, 43, had been the head coach at Buffalo the past two seasons. The former Duke star is 42-20 and helped lead the Bulls to the NCAA tournament last season.

"With Bobby at the helm, we will provide the necessary resources to compete within our state, our conference and across the nation," athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement. "We are intent on becoming an elite men's basketball program."

He was in the mix at DePaul before the school opted to rehire Dave Leitao. After Duke assistant Jeff Capel withdrew from Arizona State consideration, the Sun Devils focused on Hurley, and the two sides met in Tempe on Thursday.

Hurley was previously an assistant at Wagner and Rhode Island with his brother Dan before taking the Buffalo job.

"In Bobby Hurley, we have found a top flight coach who will take our basketball program to the next level," university president Michael Crow said in the statement.

Nate Oats, Hurley's top assistant and recruiting coordinator the past two seasons, will serve as Buffalo's interim head coach.

Hurley has an extensive basketball background, playing for father Bob Hurley Sr. in Jersey City, New Jersey, and four years at Duke. A point guard, he led the Blue Devils to national championships in 1991 and 1992 and was an All-American in 1993.

He spent five years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings but had his career cut short by life-threatening injuries suffered in a car accident.

Hurley will replace Herb Sendek, who was fired after nine seasons and a pair of NCAA tournament appearances with the Sun Devils.

Information from ESPN's Jeff Goodman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.