Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley admits NIL plays ‘a big role’ after key players enter transfer portal

TEMPE — Bobby Hurley has reaffirmed his position as the Arizona State men’s basketball coach after agreeing to a two-year contract extension that will keep him on the sidelines at Desert Financial Arena through the 2026 season. 

The former Duke legend led the team to his best season to date, reaching 23 wins and securing an NCAA Tournament appearance for the third time during his tenure.

For Hurley and his staff, the extension allows them to show potential transfer players interested in joining the maroon and gold that Hurley will be their guy.

In this ever-changing college basketball landscape, coaches are already on the phone and coordinating visits with transfer players with a weekend still remaining in the NCAA Tournament.

For college coaches, the new NIL and transfer rules make the next few weeks an essential stretch for roster reconfiguration to find guys that fit their model of basketball.

“I think there’s a variety of factors that go in and every person’s situations and reasons are different and their motivations are different,” Hurley said during the press conference announcing his contract extension.

“I would say that it [NIL] has an impact certainly, there’s guys all over the country that are in the portal and they’re trying to find out what they can do in NIL and stuff so it plays a big role, believe me.”

In recent years Arizona State has lost and gained dramatically because of the portal and opportunities offered elsewhere through NIL.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Remy Martin left and earned a Toyota Camry and a ring with Kansas. However, after a season where four of the five starters were transfer players, Hurley is confident that Arizona State is still a place where guys want to come.

“We’ve lost guys to NIL to places that have had a serious commitment to that. Things that we couldn’t compete with, but that doesn’t mean that they were not trying,” Hurley said. “Arizona State is trying with the Sun Angel Collective. So, we can’t pretend that it is not important, but I don’t think that’s the sole reason why anybody would specifically go in the portal.”

So far in the early weeks of the transfer season, Hurley’s roster has taken a hit with key contributors in DJ Horne, Jamiya Neal and Austin Nunez, all of whom entered the portal. According to Hurley, he is still actively recruiting his guys, but is also exploring outside options to build a roster that he believes can compete for championships.

While he noted that NIL wasn’t the only factor in their decision to leave, he recognized the significance of the transfer portal and how it can impact a program in a matter of an offseason.

“Every coach, even coaches right now that are taking over new programs can immediately change that program. That’s just how the transfer portal is built. The ways that you can instantly change a roster and put yourself in a position to win,” said Hurley.

“So I think every year there’s going to be change. There’s going to be guys that are going to explore their options for a variety of reasons. Then, there’s going to be guys that are knocking down the door and want to come here. So we’ll do the best we can to retain everybody that we can. And if that’s not the case, then we’re going to bring in someone that’s going to get the job done.”