Bobby Hurley was asked if he could believe that it was actually 20 years ago this weekend that he helped to shock the basketball world by beating the seemingly unbeatable and firmly placing himself and Jersey City on the college basketball map forever.
“A lot has happened in that time,” Hurley said. “My daughter [Cameron] is 15. I see the gray hairs coming in every day. So a lot has happened. But it’s still relatively fresh. It’s crazy how time flies, but when you have the greatest weekend of your life, it’s fairly easy to remember.”
It was the first weekend of April in 1991 that Hurley, the former St. Anthony standout, was a sophomore point guard at Duke University, a year removed from being destroyed by UNLV in the 1990 NCAA Tournament championship game in Denver.
The Blue Devils were getting set to face the Running Rebels again, this time in the NCAA Tourney semifinals in Indianapolis. UNLV, coached by Jerry Tarkanian, featured five players who were headed to the NBA. They hadn’t lost a single game all season, winning all 33 of their contests in seemingly easy fashion. The Rebels seemed destined to repeat as national champions, poised to accomplish a feat that only historic teams like UCLA, with John Wooden, Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton had been able to achieve.
“Everyone doubted that we could even stay in the game, never mind beat them,” Hurley recalled. “We were still carrying the baggage from the year before (losing by 30 in the championship game). But I just remember being ready to play the game. We were prepared all week. There’s a picture of us walking out onto the floor. You see the eyes on our faces, the focus we had. We were locked in and looked like we were ready to go to battle.”
Hurley was already entrenched as Duke’s standout point guard. He had started every game since he arrived as a freshman and was definitely the Blue Devils’ floor leader. He ran the show on a team that featured an All-American do-everything in Christian Laettner and a flashy, brilliant freshman named Grant Hill. But Hurley was the quarterback, the guy who got them going.
“It was really special to play with those guys,” Hurley said. “We started playing and you could sense the game was going our way. The crowd was initially surprised that we were hanging with them, then you could feel them jumping to your side, because they could sense the upset. It was a great environment to play in.”
Hurley said that he had a good feeling about the way the Blue Devils had been playing prior to arriving in Indianapolis. They had captured the Midwest Regional title in Detroit by winning lopsided games against UConn and St. John’s, punching their return ticket to the Final Four.
“I knew we were hitting our stride at the right time,” Hurley said. “Christian was emerging as one of the top players in the country and Grant was gaining confidence. Collectively, we had an amazing bunch of talented players. Personally, I was making good decisions with the ball. My assists-to-turnover ratio was incredible. I remember really feeling confident, feeling good about our chances. We all remembered what happened the year before, but this was a different group. We had a different feeling. Sure, they were a great team with a lot of weapons, but we felt good.”
Hurley said that he took a lot of the personality instilled in him by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“We were going to take the fighting mentality,” Hurley said. “That’s what Coach K wanted us to do. I brought my Jersey City into that game.”
The Blue Devils shocked the world in that semifinal. Hurley had a brilliant all-around game and Duke knocked UNLV from the ranks of the undefeated. There would be no repeat national title.
“For me personally, I wanted to make a statement, to say to them that we were not the team they saw the year before,” Hurley said. “It was not going to be another runaway. They were very talented with a bunch of NBA players. We all respected their talent. But if we were going to lose, it was not going to be because of a lack of effort or toughness. We focused on things we all needed to do. Coach K clearly identified our roles and the game plan worked to perfection.”
The Blue Devils had the big upset and two days later, they had their first of two straight NCAA national champions by defeating Kansas in the title game.
A year later, when Duke won their second straight NCAA title by defeating Michigan in Minneapolis, Hurley was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tourney, putting himself in the same class with people like Alcindor (better known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Walton, Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson, true basketball royalty.
“I remember walking off the floor in Indianapolis with Coach K and we were in the hallway when he said, ‘Can you believe we just did this?’ ” Hurley said. “I’m not sure even he completely believed it at that point. He should have, because he’s the one who made us believe, but I have to say after what happened the year before, I was very surprised. Even after I heard the horn and I had the ball, I was thinking, ‘This can’t be over. We couldn’t have just beaten UNLV. I really couldn’t believe it.
Added Hurley, “We knew what UNLV was trying to do. I knew they had future NBA All-Stars [like Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony]. And we beat a team with all that talent, a team that I respected. The next year, we were really good and lost only two games by a total of three points. We were the dominant team the next year and it put us in the position to do something historic.”
It was a weekend 20 years ago that set the tone for the rest of Bobby Hurley’s life. He was able to secure an NBA contract and watched his celebrity go through the roof.
“I remember as a kid watching Final Fours, like North Carolina in 1982 and Villanova in 1985,” Hurley said. “It was a big part of my life. And I accomplished something that I always dreamed of doing. I never imagined it could really happen. But it did. It’s crazy. My whole life in basketball, growing up in a gym, playing with my father since I was a little kid, prepared me for that weekend, for those moments.”
Now, Bobby Hurley is back in a gym. He serves as an assistant coach at Wagner College on Staten Island, working under his younger brother, Dan, who is the head coach there.
“It was looking like I missed the boat and wasn’t going to get into coaching like my father [St. Anthony Hall of Fame coach Bob] and my brother,” said Hurley, who first pursued a post-basketball career in the world of thoroughbred horse racing. “I enjoy developing the relationships with the players. Dan and I have a great friendship now, more than brothers. I watched him work for 10 years and gain the experience to become a head coach. I watch the passion he has and I love working for him.”
Bobby Hurley is back where he belongs, in a basketball gym, a place where he literally grew up. “I feel at home,” he said. “I feel like it’s my calling.”
A calling that all began on a national scale 20 years ago this weekend, when he and his Duke teammates shocked the college basketball world.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.