Bobby Hurley speaks about his Final Four connections

TEMPE, Ariz. — In just a couple of days the Final Four will tip off in Glendale, just miles away from the home of Bobby Hurley and Arizona State basketball. ASU is serving as the host school for the event, and Hurley has many connections to the Final Four this season.

ASU’s head coach spoke to the media ahead of Final Four weekend here in the valley.

Bobby Hurley holds multiple connections to Final Four programs

Alabama

Long before Hurley ever took the job at ASU he coached alongside now Alabama coach Nate Oats at Buffalo. Oats was a very successful high school in the Detroit area when he met Hurley during a recruiting visit. Hurley at the time was visiting Oats’ school to see EC Matthews, a player who would eventually commit to play for Bobby’s brother (Dan Hurley) at Rhode Island.

When Bobby first met Oats in Detroit he and his brother Dan got the chance to sit down with Oats and chat with him. From the word go, the Hurley brothers were very impressed with the way Oats could coach.

“I think it was the time that Dan and I spent with Nate just talking about basketball,” Bobby explained. “Instantly, you could see his passion for the game and knowledge of the game, how much he loved talking about basketball, and just watching how he conducted practices, and, and you could just tell, you know, he was a gifted coach.”

Soon after, Bobby brought on Oats to be an assistant for him at Buffalo. The two coached at Buffalo from 2013-2015, with Oats serving as Hurley’s top assistant and recruiting coordinator. In 2015 Hurley took the Arizona State job and Oats was named his successor at UB.

“I was just super impressed with where Nate was able to continue to take the Buffalo basketball program and (I’m) not surprised with the success he’s had at Alabama,” Hurley said.

Now Oats leads Alabama to its first-ever Final Four appearance and will look to hoist the title for the first time.

UConn

The Hurley family connection will be a tight one yet again at this year’s Final Four. UConn head coach Dan Hurley is the brother of ASU head coach Bobby Hurley.

The two spent a few years together at Wagner, and then one season together at Rhode Island. Over the years Bobby has been overly positive about his brother and where he has taken the UConn program. This year has been no different for Dan and the UConn Huskies as they roll into Phoenix as the presumptive favorites to win the title yet again.

Bobby has had a front-row seat to see his brother’s success.

“They’ve been competitive,” Hurley said. “They’ve been dominant, you know, to lose the players that he lost to the draft and then to be able to go out into the portal and through high school players and rebuild that team so quickly and put them in a position to be where they are now. I think (it) is a testament just to, his abilities as a coach, the commitment, and the standards that UConn basketball has.”

The challenge of repeating

With ASU not playing in the tournament this year it has given Bobby a chance to give his brother some advice. It is extremely difficult and rare for a team to repeat as champions in college basketball. Bobby is one of the few who’s done it as a player in his time at Duke. Now Dan is looking to do it as a coach.

“Well I think Dan really has tunnel vision,” Bobby said. “Like there’s going to be a lot of people pulling at him, there’s going to be media, there’s going to be a lot of ‘hoopla’ surrounding this event. But I think he stays in the moment and focuses on what’s important and that that’s getting his team ready to play this weekend. And you know once that game starts he’s gonna be ready to go and that’s what I know about him. He’s amazing about his preparation and getting his team ready.”

Bobby’s nephew, and Dan’s son, Andrew Hurley is also a walk-on with the Huskies.

NC State

Former Sun Devil standout DJ Horne is back in The Valley, but this time he’s playing for a new team. After last season Horne transferred to NC State to be closer to home for his final season of eligibility.

In a full circle moment, Horne will be playing his final collegiate game just miles from Tempe. Initially, Horne started at Illinois State and Hurley actively recruited him in the transfer portal.

Hurley noted that the more he watched Horne at Illinois State the more he saw the impact he could make.

“DJ, when we brought him in from Illinois State, we saw how productive he had been and I thought his game would translate moving up the level from the mid-majors and he didn’t disappoint,” Hurley explained. “DJ was a guy we never promised anything to when he came into our program and he fought for it. He was always kind of the underdog. And those are the type of guys I really relate well to.”

Horne has continued to be a major part of the run that NC State has gone on. In the ACC tournament just a month ago Horne scored at least 16 points in three of the four games that he played in. The former Sun Devil sat out the first game of the ACC tournament but has been on fire ever since then.

Hurley praises Horne

Hurley is not surprised at all with the leadership and play that Horne has sparked during the deep run.

“I’m not surprised that he’s taken another step,” Hurley said. “Particularly late in the season, how he’s come on. And he did that for us. In the TCU game (NCAA Tournament), I still remember him hitting a step-back three straight on to tie the game late… unfortunately, we lost late in that game, but he was great to me… (I’m) just excited for him to have this opportunity. I told him though that he was supposed to come back here and play in the state of Arizona, not for another team instead. That’s not how this was supposed to work out,” Hurley joked.

Coaching connections at NC State

Not only does Hurley share a connection with DJ Horne at NC State, but also two assistant coaches for the Wolfpack. Both Joel Justus and Levi Watkins spent time in Tempe under Hurley, and now are on staff at NC State.

Justus was in Tempe for the 2021-2022 season as an assistant coach for Hurley. Now for the past two seasons, he’s been an assistant coach at NC State.

Watkins served as an assistant coach at Arizona State from 2015-2018. Now he’s in his second season as an assistant coach at NC State, the same school he graduated from.

Arizona State basketball and head coach Bobby Hurley holds many connections with Final Four programs this year, which should make for an interesting weekend in the Valley.