For the first time in over a decade, Arizona State is looking for a new men's basketball coach.
On Wednesday, just a few hours after the Sun Devils were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament, it was announced that Bobby Hurley would be going on paid administrative leave until his coaching contract expires in June.
Now, athletics director Graham Rossini will be tasked with finding his replacement. Before we look at candidates, let's dive into the quality of job that Arizona State presents.
Recent history/tradition: D
Arizona State has never been a basketball school. They have just six tournament appearances this century and haven't advanced to the Sweet Sixteen since 1995. The Sun Devils haven't even won their conference since 1975, when they were WAC members; they never finished on top in their 45 years in the Pac 12.
Ned Wulk stands today as the most accomplished coach in program history, winning 406 career games and going to the Elite Eight three times. But Wulk was let go after a down season way back in 1982, and the program has never reached those heights since.
Herb Sendek presented what many considered to be the model for what Sun Devil basketball can most aspire to be. He finished with 20+ wins in five of his nine seasons and made the tournament twice, with four NIT appearances as well. He consistently brought in players that were all-conference level contributors, coaching the likes of Jeff Pendergraph, Trent Lockett, Carrick Felix, Ty Abbott, Jordan Bachynski, Jahii Carson, and of course the legendary James Harden.
Arizona State sought to aspire to greater heights when they moved on from Sendek, which led them to Hurley. Early on, he showed signs of being able to elevate the program. After rough finishes in his first two seasons, Hurley went to two straight NCAA Tournaments, and likely would've been a third if the tournament had not been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic that year.
The program cratered after that. Hurley continued to recruit at a high level, but the results did not follow. If his tenure taught us anything, it's that coaches can attract top-shelf talent to Tempe, but the track record for on-court success just isn't there right now.
On-court outlook: D+
Hurley is no longer the coach for a reason, and it's because his teams didn't win. While he did show an ability to attract legitimate talent, he showed just as much a struggle for keeping that talent in Tempe. That makes it very tricky to assess the on-court outlook.
The Sun Devils do have some appealing players. Point guard Moe Odum can be the centerpiece of an offense, and freshman big Massamba Diop is a star in the making. A few other role players would be valuable retentions for the new coach, though Hurley's transactional approach to recruiting makes it unlikely any of these players truly envision themselves sticking around, Hurley or not.
That means the new coach will likely have to rebuild this roster through the transfer portal, not unlike the job Molly Miller just pulled off right here in the same building. Miller's overnight success is proof it can be done, but she'd be the first to admit it took plenty of hard work.
There is also the conference outlook to consider.
A big reason that Hurley's teams got so much worse in the win column these last two years is the fact they joined the premier basketball conference. Arizona State wasn't exactly mowing down the opponent in the Pac 12, and they were fundamentally unprepared to compete in the Big 12.
It seems unlikely that the next coach will be able to build a roster that can genuinely compete for the Big 12 title any time soon, barring a down year across the board. The chance to play under that Big 12 spotlight is surely a boon for recruiting, but the next coach should be under no illusion that he'll be able to beat out the likes of Kansas or Houston for top prospects.
In that respect, there is a fairly low ceiling in how good this roster can be, at least in the short term. That will undoubtedly deter some candidates.
Available resources: C+
Basketball will never be the top priority at Arizona State. That's an inconvenient truth.
Graham Rossini has been upfront since his promotion that football is king. He's doubled down on that since, with multiple extensions for Kenny Dillingham and a huge expansion of funding for the program.
Baseball is also, historically, what Arizona State is known for. Rossini, a former baseball player himself, has signaled a belief in that by giving Willie Bloomquist an extension while also committing to the full 34 scholarships for the program this year.
Needless to say that the next coach will not be inheriting a large NIL warchest.
Hurley often bemoaned the lack of money in the program, though he rarely did much to grow the NIL dollars for basketball. He did eventually get involved, locking down a lucrative documentary deal that helped secure commitments for 5-stars Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance. However, when that deal fell through in the middle of the season, Arizona State was left to foot the bill.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. James Harden has become more active in NIL donations to the program in the last year, and he's indicated a willingness to increase those contributions. It's nothing program-altering, but Harden's money and status offers a solid baseline for the program moving forward.
We can also look, again, to the Molly Miller Effect in women's basketball. Her hire and subsequent success has resulted in a surge (relatively speaking) in NIL support for the program. That came pretty quickly after a very dormant Natasha Adair tenure.
Money won't be falling from the sky, but the right coach can garner enough support to get by.
There is also the fact that Desert Financial Arena will be getting a facelift soon. A $100 million renovation plan will begin in May of this year, unfolding in stages over the next four years, finally delivering on a badly needed upgrade for the venue.
Hurley often downplayed the significance of the arena's dilapidation, but these things matter, especially on the recruiting trail. It's also easier to get fans out to the games when the function and aesthetic of the game atmosphere is pleasant. The arena renovation will surely be a positive for prospective coaching candidates.
Program stability: B
This is, by far, the best aspect of the job.
Most Power 4 jobs are looking to hire proven winners that are expected to produce results fast. Look at Michigan, for example, where Juwan Howard was fired just three seasons after his team went to the Elite Eight. SMU moved on from Rob Lanier after just two years despite doubling his win total from 10 to 20.
That won't be the case at Arizona State. Whoever the next coach is, they'll have ample time to build the program the way they see fit.
Since 1989, the Sun Devils have had just four head coaches, and each of them lasted at least eight seasons. None had a career win percentage above .550, yet they were given time to build and recalibrate and rebuild.
Rossini, in particular, has proven to be a steady hand at the wheel. He held onto Hurley after last year, when most thought he was a goner; he also stood by Bloomquist despite an early exit from the tournament. He's shown he's unafraid to make changes, but Rossini is also not someone to pull the plug quickly.
That will work in Arizona State's favor. Not only will the new coach not be expected to contend for titles right out the gate, but they can earnestly believe Rossini when told they'll have a chance to set their program up without fear of getting canned.
Overall job grade: C+
In a vacuum, the Arizona State job is not great, but it's also not terrible.
There are legitimate building blocks here. The fans are hungry for a winner, and the gameday experience is about to get much better. The spotlight of playing on the Big 12 stage is an allure for recruits, as is Harden's involvement.
Yet there are challenges, too. The conference schedule will be a gauntlet every year, and finishing above .500 in the Big 12 is a Herculean feat in and of itself. The university also just isn't going to spend on basketball the way they will for football or baseball.
The quality of candidates for this job will greatly depend on what other jobs come open. In a crowded cycle, the Sun Devils won't get much traction. But if few blue bloods find themselves hiring, then it's entirely possible Arizona State lands a really strong coach.
After all, who wouldn't want to be the next Kenny Dillingham or Molly Miller?