The Arizona State Sun Devils men’s basketball team earned their eighth victory of the season Wednesday night, but even as they lead the Pac-12 Conference, head coach Bobby Hurley wasn’t pleased.
During a post-practice press conference on Thursday, Hurley aimed his displeasure at the Pac-12 Network. According to Michelle Gardner of the Arizona Republic, the game’s broadcasters were critical of both teams and the officials. Hurley watched the telecast to review the game and one of his takeaways was the negative commentary.
“I thought it was poorly done by the telecast. There was a lot of sheer negativity said about the game and I think two teams that were competing hard,” Hurley said.
Officials called 57 total fouls as the Sun Devils took 51 free throws, their most in a game since 2002, leading to criticism from the announcers. Longtime play-by-play voice Barry Tompkins and former UCLA forward and nine-year NBA vet Don MacLean were on the call for the Pac-12 Network.
Hurley believed his team played hard, as did the opposition, Prairie View. The head coach was also more than satisfied with the officiating.
“It was almost to the point where are you doing us a favor by doing the game or are young going to report what’s going on and not feel like you want to go have dinner or are we going to be here till breakfast,” Hurley said, believing some of the broadcast’s negativity was over the top. “Comments like that don’t sit well when you have teams that are fighting and competing as hard as we were.”
Hurley seemed most concerned about the announcers presenting negative vibes to fans. The head coach wants broadcasters to sell the product, not offer the notion of a game being difficult to watch.
“We have to make our fanbase want to show up,” Hurley added. “We have such a good impact. When we’re playing hard we’re entertaining. I hope Sun Devil fans show up against Georgia.”
The Sun Devils welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to Arizona Saturday night at 6pm for a game that will again be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here