By his own admission, Bobby Hurley isn't a patient man. ASU's first-year basketball head coach is fully cognizant of the various challenges that await him yet they hardly deter his enthusiasm and belief that the Sun Devils can show marked improvement in his inaugural season in Tempe.

Bobby Hurley was at the helm at the University of Buffalo for the last two seasons, leading the Bulls to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance this past March. One of his team's road games happened to be here locally at Grand Canyon University, which consequently had Hurley and his players practice at Arizona State's Weatherup center, a facility that made a strong first impression on Hurley.

A few months later Hurley would step on campus again, this time as the school's new head coach. The positive recollections of this past November naturally helped ASU's cause in landing Hurley.

"Seeing what the school had to offer - that memory immediately popped up into my head," Hurley said. "I was very impressed with the school. I got a chance to see the campus, knowing what's out here and being familiar with the league. It was all obviously something I was impressed with. I always loved Phoenix when I played in the NBA in Sacramento and have really good memories of the city."

Pleasant memories aside, Hurley obviously did his thorough research on Arizona State throughout the hiring process, taking in consideration all the benefits and challenges the program presented.

"I had two great years in Buffalo," Hurley stated, "and it was a hard decision for me to leave. Anytime you are looking at another opportunity there is an unknown with it. But I had confidence in the pluses outweighing any indecision I may have had about making a change."

Indeed, the list of positives for Hurley was somewhat extensive.

"The Pac-12 conference," Hurley noted, "the power in that name, the type of competition I will have a chance to be a part of, the school itself with 70,000 students having a great college experience, great weather, great city and having good facilities. All those things are important.

"There is an administration that is committed to winning that will give you the resources you need to win. It's happening with different sports here and that was attractive as well. I'm still kind of in awe at all the great things that are at our disposal here. The lifestyle here…it's just a tremendous place to go to school. Academically it offers anything a student-athlete is looking for."

On the other hand, Hurley knows that lack of a consistent success in ASU's basketball program is the biggest obstacle he has to overcome.

"You have schools that you are competing with that have more of an established tradition," Hurley commented, "having the Final Fours, the national championships and the name brand. We have to try and go after those types of programs. So we are going to work hard at it and try and sell our brand here."

***

In the four or so weeks Hurley has been on the job, most of his days were spent on the road recruiting. Thus, his evaluation of his returning players for now has been limited to viewing both of ASU's NIT games. Nonetheless, even with that small sample size ASU's coach has been pleased with what he had observed to date.

"It reminds me somewhat of my first year at Buffalo," Hurley commented. "although the record was better and there was a post-season. There were seniors that wanted to experience a post-season and went all in for that. I can draw some similarities with this group drawing some senior experience and players that have had success last year that want to get over the hump and play in an NCAA tournament."

As the NCAA's al-time record holder for career assists with 1,076, and one of the best college basketball point guards ever, Hurley unsurprisingly takes great notice of players playing this position. At ASU he will inherit sophomore to-be, Tra Holder , who made tremendous strides in the latter half of the 2014-15 season.

"I always play through my guards," Hurley explained. "I give my guards a lot of freedom to play within the structure and it depends on them making great decisions. It seems as he was a developing player which improved as the year went on which is exciting. I'm just getting a feel for Tra in the gym, but I like what I see.

"He certainly has a future in the program. He works with the ball screen real well and that kind of comes natural to him. He changes gears well which for a point guard is very important. I'm going to learn more throughout the summer which I think he will be even better with other guys on the court."

***

When it came to hiring his assistant coaches, Hurley retained Stan Johnson from the previous coaching regime and brought over Levi Watkins from his Buffalo staff. Hurley rounded out his staff with a unique hire in Brian Merritt who was the director of scouting and recruiting at John Lucas Enterprises, an organization which runs AAU clubs for various age groups. Merritt also previously served as an assistant coach at Hampton and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

"His contact and connections in the grassroots," Hurley said, "the work that he has put in with John Lucas the last five years, I think will pay dividends for us recruiting. Also with player development he has a great work ethic, is very passionate about basketball which was very apparent to me when I met him. People that I respect spoke highly of him and the job he would do here.

"For me it was a strategic hire, with Texas being a state I feel is important in recruiting with the proximity and the players that come out of that state. Brian is very connected in that area."

Recruiting wise Hurley has already been able to sign two players: guard Shannon Evans who followed him from Buffalo and will be eligible to play in 2016-17, as well as power forward junior college transfer Obinna Oleka .

"Shannon plays with a huge chip on his shoulder," Hurley described. "He has tremendous positive energy when he plays. He loves getting into the gym and working on his game and developing. He can beat you in a number of different ways on offense and he is as fierce of a competitor at the defensive end. He knows what I need out of him in all facets. He's a leader and a great student. He has all things I'm looking for in future Sun Devil players to watch how he goes about his business.

"Obi Oleka is a unique athlete. A very talented and versatile guy. He's going to bring an edginess to our team with his athletic ability, toughness and rebounding. I'm also excited about (2015 ASU signee) Andre Spight as well. I watched plenty of film on Andre and he is my kind of guard because of the way he creates and the way he scores. I think he will fit in great with how we play."

***

It is very conceivable that ASU could add at least one more player in the 2015 class, as the coaching staff's efforts are focused on that group as well as on the 2016 and 2017 prospects they have indentified.

"We have to upgrade in certain ways," Hurley said, "and with what we have right now in the program I will probably add another perimeter player just for additional depth. At this time of the year it's hard to find quality big guys for 2015, but we are still focusing on that as well and if the right opportunity comes then we will take a look at it.

"Otherwise we are moving to 2016 and 2017 and there are a number of positions that we are recruiting. Those will be the years that will define the next several years in the program."

ASU is still very much in the running for high caliber 2015 prospects such as Duke transfer guard Rasheed Sulaimon and five-star center Thon Maker, and has targeted several elite recruits in future classes. The program's preceding struggles of consistently recruiting at a high level have done nothing to affect the recruiting approach of Hurley and his staff.

"There was an excitement, in a humble way, with the hire," Hurley said, "with my career and my story, the success that I had in a very short period of time. That is something we can talk to recruits about. And then it's everything the school has to offer beyond that, the school experience, the practice facility, and the Pac-12 conference. Then it's having a great staff of assistant coaches that are going to work at it and try to get in the door with the players."

An outstanding pedigree aside, Hurley knows that whether it's in recruiting or trying to improve the program with his currents players, his stellar reputation can never be a substitute to the proverbial blue collar mentality he must employ to see this ASU program ascend to higher levels.

"I worked as an assistant for three years and as a head coach for two years in a mid-major," Hurley said. "So I've experienced a lot and came up through a unique path to get here. I had to work at it and that is what we do every day. You don't win conference championships or go to the tournament unless you're very hands on and work with your players throughout the summer.

"I don't sit on the sidelines. I'm pretty actively involved as a coach. We build the right connection and bonds with our players."

***

Not only have ASU's recruiting efforts excited the Sun Devil fan base in recent weeks, but also the team's non-conference scheduling. The Sun Devils will play two of the three following teams: NC State, Marquette and LSU in the Legends Classic, in addition to UNLV, Texas A&M, St. John's, Creighton and is very close to finalizing an agreement to play Kentucky .

"I have enough confidence in the players that are returning," Hurley explained. "If I didn't think it was the right time I wouldn't try that. But I think they are hungry to play these types of games. I know that if my players understand that this is what I'm laying out for them, then they will get in the gym saying 'I better get my game right.' So I think our guys will respond to that.

"I think it's all about trying to lift the profile of the school in playing bigger games and getting more exposure for the program."

***

Unselfishness is trait which defined Hurley's playing style while at Duke, and is an attribute that is certainly one of the cornerstones of his offensive scheme.

"I like my guys to be able to break down a defense," Hurley stated, "create a shot for themselves that is a quality shot or be able to drive the ball and kick it to a teammate. We want to showcase players' individual games, but we also want to play together and we will preach the combination of those things."

Much like any new head coach, Hurley is still in the process of determining what specific scheme will best fit his personnel and their abilities.

"With the players that we are bringing in" Hurley said, "in addition to the players that are in the program based on what I've seen, I don't see why we wouldn't play at the same pace and speed. Our defense is fairly aggressive and we will get after it with discipline. We'll challenge our opponent without gambling and taking on a ton of chances.

"On offense I'm going to encourage our players to change ends of the floor quickly and I expect us to be in great shape so that we'll be able to play that way. I don't confine my players if they are taking a quality shot within the first 8 to10 seconds of a possession, and they aren't going to look over their shoulder if it's in their capabilities to do that."

Hurley believes that various coaches' philosophies and experiences have caused the seemingly wide spread criticism over the current collective state of college basketball being too methodical and uninspiring. Under the tutelage of his Duke head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, Hurley was always given unlimited freedom on offense to become a playmaker, which has shaped his coaching philosophy.

"My experiences in the NBA were with the same type of game," Hurley commented. "Working with my brother at Rhode Island we encouraged our players to have fun on offense and worked hard on skill development. We wanted them to express themselves when they played. So that's what I gravitated to.

"I just prefer to not be in those kinds of games in the 50's (scoring wise). If I am I will figure it out. But my players enjoy playing a quicker style."

***

Hurley feels that clear and consistent lines of communication and building genuine strong relationship between coaches and players, are some of the core beliefs that he was exposed to at Duke that if implemented here at ASU, could support the program's efforts to better its stature and become a desirable destination for prospect players.

"This helps establish the identity of the players and how they conduct themselves on and off the court," Hurley said. "This makes the team feel like a family environment. The connection the players have with Coach K is very strong. So it starts with that relationship and grows from there.

"95 percent of a time where a coach is around players isn't in a public scope. You're on the practice court with them, watching them do strength and conditioning, they're up in your office, you might be checking on them and ensure that they are in class. So all these interactions build strong connections. That is what it's all about for me."

***

The hiring of Bobby Hurley undoubtedly moved the needle in a major way for the Sun Devil faithful. Expectations of instant success are the popular sentiment these days among ASU fans. Yet, that expectation can also be a dangerous proposition for a program that is still undergoing a period of transition under a new coaching regime.

Hurley's approach on this matter is a pragmatic one.

"I just go all in for that season," Hurley said. "This group of young men we have now won't be together again. There will be guys in this program that will be graduating and I will give them everything I have and try to shoot for the highest level of success we can have for that particular year, also with a long term perspective of growing young players in the program to continue and advance it.

"It's hard for me to say what success means right now. I think it's too early in that process. But I'm not a real patient guy and I expect to win."

Eric Menkhus and Erik Pierson contributed to this story

Click Here to view this Link.