PITTSBURGH (AP) Mike Krzyzewski walked into the Hurley family’s living room in Jersey City three decades ago, all enthusiasm, respect and wit. There to put the finishing touches on Duke’s recruitment of relentless point guard Bobby Hurley, Krzyzewski’s earnest, honest and forthright approach resonated with Bobby’s little brother Danny, too.
The echoes can be heard 30 years later. The proof lies both on the court and in Krzyzewski’s words when he talks about the burgeoning power the younger Hurley brother has created at Rhode Island, one the second-seeded Blue Devils (27-7) will get an up-close look at on Saturday when they face the seventh-seeded Rams (26-7) in the second round of the Midwest Region.
”He hasn’t built a team, he’s built a program there,” Krzyzewski said. ”You know, that’s the difference. That’s what you want to do is build a program that develops teams year after year, and he’s done that at Rhode Island.”
And done it the way Krzyzewski used to do it at Duke. There are no one-and-dones at Rhode Island . The four senior starters that will take the floor for the Rams against the Blue Devils and their freshman-laden, soon-to-be NBA-bound roster have won a school-record 91 games together.
They did it by buying into what Hurley was selling during his early days at Rhode Island, a message that doesn’t sound all that different than the one Krzyzewski pitched to Bobby all those years ago. It’s not by accident.
”He’s the standard for what you like to be as a coach at this college level,” Hurley said of Krzyzewski. ”You know, he set the highest standards.”
One that, if Hurley is being sarcastically blunt – hardly unusual – he didn’t quite measure up to as a player. Asked if he had an opportunity to follow his older brother to Duke, Hurley played his answer for laughs.
”I begged, just didn’t quite play well enough,” he said. ”I think there was some token recruitment. I don’t even think I ever got a home visit, though.”
Then Hurley paused ever so briefly. Time to twist the knife in just a little.
”Let me change that,” said Hurley, who ended up playing at Seton Hall. ”I eliminated them from my list early on. So, I didn’t want that. Too successful.”
Not much has changed.
After a midseason funk, Duke and ACC Player of the Year Marvin Bagley III are flying. The Blue Devils sprinted by Iona in the opening round, pulling Krzyzewski into a tie with iconic women’s coach Pat Summitt for the most coaching wins in NCAA history.
If Krzyzewski wants to move into first by himself by picking up victory 1,099 and earn Duke’s 26th trip to the Sweet 16 in Omaha, Nebraska, next week he’ll have to do it at the expense of a friend who has morphed from the ”other” Hurley brother to one the hottest coaching commodities in the country.
”Win or lose, you can be sure I’ll hug him and wish him well if they beat us, and, you know, wish them well if we beat them,” Krzyzewski said. ”But we’ll go after each other hard, I know that.”
Hurley wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s one of the basic tenets of the family business, one that stretches from Bob Hurley Sr.’s Hall of Fame career as a high school coach at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, New Jersey to Bobby’s remarkable success as a player and now as a coach at Arizona State to the smallest state in the nation, the one where the flagship university’s men’s basketball program has rarely been better.
And Krzyzewski has a pretty good handle on why.
”The Hurley family epitomizes the dignity of work,” Krzyzewski said. ”And you know, we feel we do too.”
THE JAYHAWKS’ BIG HOPE: In Wichita, top-seeded Kansas expects to have 7-footer Udoka Azubuike for more meaningful minutes when the Jayhawks face No. 8 seed Seton Hall in the second round on Saturday.
Azubuike hurt a ligament in his left knee last week, ruling him out of the Big 12 Tournament, and played just three minutes in a first-round win over Penn. But coach Bill Self said the 280-pound forward practiced nearly the full hour on Friday and could play about 20 minutes against the Pirates.
”He looked pretty good. Timing may be off,” said Self, who can break a tie with Roy Williams for the most NCAA Tournament wins among Kansas coaches on Saturday. ”We should have him for some competitive minutes out there. That will definitely help our team.”
Turns out the Jayhawks aren’t the only ones that want Azubuike to play.
”I don’t like to play against guys that are soft,” Pirates forward Angel Delgado said. ”I’m really happy to play against a team like that, great players like that.”
The Pirates, who are trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000, have never beaten a No. 1 seed in four tries. All of those games were decided by 12 points or more.
”They’re extremely impressive,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said.
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