Arizona State University men’s basketball coach, Bobby Hurley, gazes out the window of his top-floor Vdara hotel room. Standing upright with a glass of pinot grigio in his hand, he digs his toes in and out of the carpet — a noticeable upgrade from pressed filth they called flooring at the team-issued Paris Hotel room at which he had stayed the last two nights.

But now he was on his own time. His 2023-2024 Sun Devil basketball campaign was over. Well, it was effectively over at halftime on Wednesday night after his squad failed to stop any of the Utah Ute’s 2-point shot attempts while scoring only 22 points of their own. Actually, the season may have been over four days before the game when Hurley’s number two scorer, mercenary guard Jose Perez, quit the team to join the professional club Plaza Valerio in the Dominican Republic’s Superior League. No matter, really — the season had ended with an embarrassing first-round loss in the last Pac-12 Tournament ever. Hurley had posted his worst record at ASU in nine seasons (14-18, 8-12). And, by far, with the blend of the transfer portal and the lack of leadership at the university, ’23-’24 was surely his most difficult season.

Good fucking riddance.

A sigh and then he stood in silence — feeling remarkably weightless. A knock was heard at his door before the visitor mutedly announced herself as guest services though the solid core double-doors. He called for a brief moment to collect himself then opened the door. A cute member of the hotel staff greeted him by “Coach” and rolled a dining cart into his room.

They chatted a bit while she set up his in-room dining. She was exceptional in that she knew he was in the industry yet did not bother him with questions about his interest in the still-going Pac-12 Conference Tournament. Yes – he was happy with his accommodations. He had, in fact, seen the downstairs dining options and would check them out when he left his room. He tipped her and she left.

Now he felt the loneliness — he had told his wife, Leslie¹, that he’d get the team on the plane home but was going to stay through the championship on Saturday. He just had to be alone last night but now that he was dining in front of the tv while the games continued next door at T-Mobile Arena, Bobby Hurley recognized he was in crisis. The anger flowed first and smoothly:

Fucking kids. Did I get paid until I earned it? No! My contract with Sacramento was six years, $16.5million. In ’93! Thirty fucking years ago! When I was 6′-0″, 168 pounds! Oh yeah, and had back-to-back national titles. On teams where I was the point guard! Which of these…these….these….quitters…dare say I don’t know how to be a part of a winning team. Who knows more than me?!

He began to pace in front of the window, paying no attention to spectacles hundreds of feet below.

Just saying, money fucking talks. Which of you shits will even be worth a fraction of my contract? Who will stand there even a draft pick? And will you be flanked by your parents and a story of your growth in college with a lifelong mentor in your college coach there, like I had? No! You want to bring the skills the coach just manages the line up? Fine. You kids want to be used? I’ll fucking use you. I built Guard U!

Having burnt off the fumes, he sat down and began to scribble on a napkin. Under the header, We Know, he wrote:

Contract Ends 6/30/24.
Can sign extension through ’26.
$2.7 Million
’24 Roster?
B12 Next Year

He tapped his pen a couple times then penned a second header, We Have:

No Athletic Director
Disinterested University President
Neutered Arizona Board of Regents
Girl Governor

He mulled over the points on his napkin while he ate. Still outspoken as he opined about the related bullet points, his solo conversations were less angry and more analytical now. Without picking up the pen a second time, Bobby Hurley seemed to have it all figured by the time his steak was gone. After he bussed his cart — first saving the chocolate cake on his nightstand — and pushed it to the hallway, a smiling Bobby Hurley dropped into the bed and clicked the remote. He navigated to movies and searched, “N-O-L-T-E.” After he had selected his title, Bobby Hurley drove a fork into his cake slice and inhaled a sinfully delicious bite as he enjoyed his first personal Film Study session of the 2024 – 2025 basketball season.

¹A Truly Good Woman Who Isn’t At All Part of All This