‘Another way to say goodbye.’ Duke great Bobby Hurley back at Cameron to face Blue Devils

As Arizona State’s basketball players walked into Cameron Indoor Stadium for practice Saturday, many of their eyes glanced upward.

Somewhere, hanging the rafters above them among the banners honoring great Duke players and teams, a familiar name jumped out.

The head coach about to lead them through practice has a history in the building, such a great history that his name and jersey number hang above the court with the program’s retired numbers.

“It means a lot just to have my kids here, my granddaughter here,” Bobby Hurley, now in his 10th season coaching Arizona State, said while standing near the visitors’ bench area. “It’s not a lot of fun to be on this bench, though. I know that, just from all my experiences here.”

It’s a rare trip back to Cameron for Hurley, who will lead his Sun Devils against Duke in a charity exhibition game to benefit Duke Children’s Hospital on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

As a player, from 1989-93, he was an all-American point guard, part of Duke’s first two NCAA championship teams in 1991 and 1992. Duke retired his No. 11 in February 1993 as his senior season wound to a close.

But this will be only the second time he’s been in Cameron for a Duke game since then.

“I’ve seen one game here, and it was a couple years after I left,” Hurley said. “It felt weird being here and not being on the floor.”

How good was he on the floor? He had remarkable freedom while playing for coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“Really, as courageous a player as could be,” Krzyzewski said Saturday. “I absolutely loved coaching Bobby. I played point guard and I coached him, like. I wish I was him. He had the most freedom, because he was instinctively terrific. We hardly ran any plays or whatever. When he brought that ball down the damn court, something good was going to happen.”

Two years into his retirement from coaching, the 77-year-old Krzyzewski settled in to watch Hurley’s Sun Devils practice on the court that bears his name. He has followed Hurley’s coaching career, from stints as an assistant for his brother, Danny Hurley, at Wagner and Rhode Island to head coaching stops at Buffalo and Arizona State. He has advised him when asked.

“The main thing with him is to follow his heart and follow his instincts,” Krzyzewski said. “Are you kidding me? Just like as a player, incredible instincts. Kids should want to play for him, because he’s done it. None of them are as good as he was.”

The guy on the home bench Sunday night, Jon Scheyer, has a solid legacy as a Duke guard, as well. He led the Blue Devils to the 2010 NCAA championship and was an assistant under Krzyzewski for the 2015 NCAA title team before succeeding Krzyzewski as head coach in 2022.

Sunday night’s exhibition offers both teams an important measuring stick as they prepare to open the regular season the first week of November.

“I think it’s a great thing,” Hurley said. “It’s a worthy cause. It’s great for the Duke Children’s Hospital, and I think it’s great for our team to get a chance to see a team like Duke.”

Hurley said the memories didn’t hit him like a lightning bolt or anything when he walked on to the familiar court Saturday. But he said nostalgia is everywhere, like a slow burn all weekend.

“This means a lot,” Hurley said. “I appreciate Jon and the Duke program for doing this, because for me, it’s a way to…I didn’t need closure. I think the way I left, it was pretty good. But it’s just, like, a another taste, another way to kind of say goodbye.”