Post by 01- PirateDave on Mar 20, 2015 8:38:23 GMT -6
After years of struggle, Bobby Hurley returns to NCAA tournament
Fast Breaks: (5) West Virginia vs. (12) Buffalo preview
The West Virginia Mountaineers will take on the Buffalo Bulls on Friday in a 5-12 matchup in the Midwest Region.
BY PETE THAMEL
Posted: Thu Mar. 19, 2015 Updated: Fri Mar. 20, 2015
COLUMBUS – With his hair cropped tight, lean sprinter’s physique and skin pale from the glint of gymnasium halogen, Bobby Hurley doesn’t look much different than his days as Duke’s precocious point guard. More than two decades after leading the Blue Devils to back-to-back national titles in 1991 and '92, Hurley makes a triumphant return to the NCAA tournament on Friday. It’s a moment we all could have imagined a generation ago, executed via a circuitous path no one could have fathomed. Hurley, 43, has basketball blood the finest hue of blue. He’s the son of Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, prized protégée of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his collegiate career is celebrated as the embodiment of every possible cerebral and selfless point guard cliché.
But when No. 12 Buffalo tips off against No. 5 West Virginia on Friday afternoon, the most fascinating part of Hurley’s return to the pinnacle of college basketball comes from what he’s overcome, rather than where he came from. Hurley’s circuitous route back to the NCAA tournament includes facing physical, mental and financial adversity that few could have imagined of a player with such a celebrated heritage. A car accident nearly killed him during his NBA rookie season in 1993, cutting short his career. Hurley became bitter and resentful toward the game when his career ended unceremoniously with a torn ACL in 1999. That drove him away from basketball for a decade and into horse racing, where Hurley found a competitive outlet owning horses but ultimately lost millions.
The physical torture that Bobby Hurley endured began a few months after the Sacramento Kings picked him with the No. 7 pick in the 1993 NBA draft. Hurley was averaging 7.4 points and 6.1 assists as a rookie when a 1970 Buick Station Wagon slammed into his Toyota 4Runner in December 1993 and thrust his body more than 100 feet out of his vehicle. He landed in a water-filled ditch by the road, as paramedics scrambled to save his life.
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