Bobby Hurley’s hiring of son should not shock U of A followers
– Arizona State basketball coach Bobby Hurley was the topic of social media critiques final week when he employed his son, Bobby Jr., to be the Solar Devils’ director of analytics and technique.
Solar Devils head coach Bobby Hurley alerts for his crew to get off of the courtroom within the last moments of the sport in opposition to the Wildcats at Desert Monetary Area, Feb. 1, 2025.
If anybody ought to give Hurley a large berth to provide his son an opportunity, it will be Arizona followers, whose distinguished coaches usually made in-family hires by means of the years. Lute Olson’s son-in-law, Cal Wulfsberg, was a part of the UA’s staffs of the mid-Nineteen Eighties. Mike Candrea’s son, Mikel, was a part of the UA’s softball staffs within the late Nineties. UA swimming coach Frank Busch, winner of two NCAA titles in 2008, was joined by his son, Augie, as his prime assistant coach. When Arizona received the 2012 Faculty World Sequence, coach Andy Lopez’s two sons, David and Michael, had been on the crew. And Sean Miller employed two of his sons, Cam and Austin, to be a part of his staffs. Tommy Lloyd’s son, Liam, was additionally on final season’s roster.
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Hurley has struggled in 10 seasons at ASU partly due to constant employees turnover and an absence of high quality hires. Maybe hiring his son will assist flip issues round.
– Former Arizona head soccer coach Kevin Sumlin is out of teaching this season. He spent final season because the assistant head coach/tight ends coach at Maryland, however stepped down after three years on the employees. Nevertheless, his son, Jackson Sumlin, a former Salpointe Catholic soccer participant, has joined Maryland’s employees as an offensive analyst.
– When Cincinnati Reds supervisor Terry Francona turned the NCAA’s faculty baseball Participant of the 12 months at Arizona in 1980, his mentor was hitting coach Jerry Stitt. The 2 have stayed shut the final 45 years, together with Francona’s outstanding climb during which he has managed 2,000 MLB victories, the thirteenth man in historical past to take action. Final week, Stitt flew to New York to spend time with Francona in a weekend collection in opposition to the New York Mets. Stitt was joined by Arizona head coach Chip Hale, who additionally benefited from Stitt’s teaching throughout his UA days, 1984-87.
Stitt obtained extra excellent news final week when maybe his prime recruit of his days as Arizona’s head baseball coach, 1996-2001, pitcher/outfielder Ben Diggins, was elected to the UA’s 2025 Sports activities Corridor of Fame Class. Diggins, who was 10-4 as a pitcher and hit .340 with 9 dwelling runs as a UA sophomore in 2000, was a first-round draft choose of the Los Angeles Dodgers that season. His profession was primarily ended when he required arm surgical procedure in 2003.
Arizona designated hitter Ben Diggins (33) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a house run that drove in two runs in prime of the third inning at Sancet Area, April 22, 2000.
– Former Arizona soccer coach Wealthy Rodriguez final week lastly signed his contract at West Virginia. He’s to be paid $18.5 million over 5 years. RichRod is a survivor, if nothing else. After being fired by each Michigan and Arizona, RichRod, 62, has been paid roughly $55 million in his teaching profession, together with about $20 million at Arizona. RichRod final coached at West Virginia, his alma mater, in 2007.
– Tiger Christensen, the All-Pac-12 golfer who left the Wildcats midseason to show professional, has had finishes of eleventh, twelfth and fifteenth on the DP World Tour the previous few months, and is now ranked No. 222 in Europe. He has missed 9 cuts thus far on the European tour. Christensen has earned roughly $24,000 in his rookie season, during which he has performed in Germany, Czechoslovakia, Turkey and Denmark, amongst different nations.