It's probably not the news Arizona State men's basketball fans wanted to hear, but head coach Bobby Hurley is expected to return for the 2025-26 season, per a report from Arizona Sports' John Gambadoro on Tuesday.
If the news is confirmed by the university, it would be Hurley's 11th season at the helm. Fans were rightly concerned about the impending decision by athletic director Graham Rossini, who was reportedly considering the "financial implications" of firing Hurley after this season, per a source familiar.
The Sun Devils finished the regular season 13-18, the worst in program history since the 2011-12 season when the team went 10-21 under head coach Herb Sendek. They'll face 10-seed Kansas State on Tuesday as the 15-seed in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City.
Graham Rossini made the right decision keeping Bobby Hurley for one more season
Hurley has seen four winning seasons in his nine year tenure, reaching the NCAA Tournament three times (four if the 2020 edition wasn't cancelled for Covid-19).
His 168-149 record isn't ideal but Hurley has been able to recruit like no other over the past few years. ASU's rosters have been stacked but things just aren't translating into results on the court.
Letting Hurley try again isn't giving him a long leash like some fans may view it, in fact, his leash couldn't be shorter. He's on the final year of his contract in a major "prove it" moment for the program and his career.
The biggest question mark he'll have to address entering this offseason is that of the transfer portal. Can he keep his biggest pieces - freshmen phenoms Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon - from jumping ship next season? Quaintance is a projected NBA lottery pick and Sanon could certainly improve his NIL earnings at a bigger program with his talents.
If he can retain the bulk of his scholarship players on this year's roster and work his recruiting magic yet again, then the Sun Devils could be a legitimate threat in 2025-26. And for those who point to past as precedent, injuries and bad bounces have contributed heavily to the team's recent misfortunes.
It's going to be hard to forget all the pain, and fans shouldn't, but giving Hurley one last chance was the right decision. The unfortunate reality is that ASU probably can't draw in a bigger, better coaching hire than Hurley for the time being. This was ASU's best course of action whether we like it or not.