In case you missed it, the Sun Devils have been stuck in a downward spiral lately. They blew another close game, losing in double overtime against No. 12 Texas Tech thanks to some poorly timed turnovers, and are now on a four game losing streak.
For the first time all year, they do not have a winning record, falling to 12-12 with a dismal 3-10 conference record. Two of their three conference wins have come against Colorado, the only team below them in the Big 12 standings; to make matters even worse, the Buffaloes are winless in the conference.
All of this has led to a litany of questions around the job security of head coach Bobby Hurley, who now seems destined to finish his 10th season with the Sun Devils with a losing record; it would be the sixth time he has done so. As the pressure continues to mount for Hurley, new athletics director Graham Rossini was quite clear when asked about his coach's job status:
Graham Rossini addresses rumors of Bobby Hurley being on the hot seat:
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) February 13, 2025
"No rumors. He's our coach, and we're going to support him. We're going to keep pouring every bit of energy in to make sure that Sun Devil basketball, both men's and women's, competes at the highest level." pic.twitter.com/qkF3kkmiuA
Of course, it's never a good sign when your boss has to give you a vote of confidence. Rossini wasn't exactly ringing in his endorsement of Hurley either, not even mentioning Hurley by name or going beyond the platitude of "he's our coach and we're going to support him."
One thing that was seemingly made clear by these comments from Rossini is that he does not intend to make a coaching change before the season is over. That's not exactly a surprise, considering Arizona State has just seven games left before the conference tournament begins.
More over, the coach hiring timeline in college basketball is typically a longer one than football, where coaches often get fired early to give administrators a jump on the hiring process. Most of the time schools find themselves waiting to hire a coach until their team is eliminated from the tournament, a process that can often drag into late March.
Firing Hurley now wouldn't really create any advantage for Arizona State. Plus, a sudden run from Hurley could drastically alter the calculus, and nobody wants to be the next Long Beach State/Dan Monson.
So, for the time being, Hurley is the coach in Tempe and Rossini is going to continue to support his coach. However, it seems pretty clear that the new athletics director is ready to make big changes if things don't turn around fast.