Houston coach on Bobby Hurley's struggles: 'I hate to see it'
Kelvin Sampson can empathize with Bobby Hurley.
Houston's 69-year-old head coach has one of the best programs in college basketball, but he didn't start out that way. When he was the head coach at Washington State he once lost 18 consecutive games.
After Houston beat Arizona State on Tuesday night, sending the Sun Devils to their sixth straight loss — and 11th in 13 games — Sampson was asked about Arizona State's struggles. And Sampson had some wise and thoughtful words.
"I hate to see. I've been there. We all have," Sampson said. "I coached a team at Washington State that lost 18 in a row. I mean, it's not easy. It affects every part of your life. I don't know his wife, but it's gnawing at her. It's gnawing at his children."
"It's amazing how people use that as a game. It's not a game. It's not funny. It's not something to talk about. It's not something to make fun. He's spent his entire life to have this opportunity and he's going through a tough time right now. But so will you one day. So will all of you. You're going to all go through something tough. I hope you have the courage to keep working and keep fighting like he's doing right now."
Hurley, 53, did not start his coaching career until 2010 and has only been a head coach for 12 years. Compare that to Sampson, who started his coaching career in 1979 and has been a head coach for 35 years. Sampson is in charge of his fourth major college program, in addition to time spent as an assistant coach in the NBA.
Hurley was the head coach at Buffalo for two seasons before being hired by former Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson in 2015. In his tenth season at ASU, Hurley has compiled a record of 209-165 and has made the NCAA tournament three times.
After going 14-18 last season, it appears Hurley's team is headed for another disappointing season. The Sun Devils are 12-14 overall and 3-12 in the Big 12 with five games to play. There has been much speculation about Hurley's job status, and Arizona State AD Graham Rossini, who was hired in 2024, has been noncommittal in his public comments.
“He’s our coach and we want to support him as we’re in the middle of the season," Rossini told the Burns & Gambo radio show earlier this month. "We’re not in this for participation trophies, we’re in this to win championships. And we've gotta look hard at the reasons why we can’t be successful and look at those adjustments that need to be made ... there’s obviously a time and a place where we’re prepared to do that.”
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-66e6aeb5014b4c4eeac84ca997f034c9.jpg "Ben Sherman")
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.