First-year ASU men's basketball coach Bobby Hurley led the Sun Devils to some unexpected success during their non-conference schedule in November and December.
But it wasn't until the Devils' first Pac-12 game of the season, in a loss to archrival Arizona on Jan. 3, that Hurley began to earn a great deal of attention from Sun Devil Nation.
Hurley endeared himself to the Sun Devil fans in the stands and watching on TV by showing his passionate side when he was ejected late in the game for arguing with officials.
After the game, Hurley said he had no regrets about getting tossed. But heading into ASU's rematch with UA in Tucson on Wednesday night, Hurley said he sees the pros and cons of the incident.
"I'm not proud of it ... When things like that happen, it becomes a distraction to what's important," he said. "That being said, I think that people that watch me coach see that I have fire and that I coach with passion, and I hope my players can feed off that somewhat.
"I think that's where people might be OK with it, people that support us, because they see I'm fighting for my team."
After Hurley received his second technical and was ejected from the game, he made sure to get ASU fans fired up before he exited the court.
After all, Hurley had nothing to lose at that point.
"I think a lot of my reaction that you would see on the television is in response to me knowing that I received my second technical and that I was gone," he said.
"So, when you see me losing my mind, that is after the fact that I know I've been ejected."
Hurley knows Wednesday night's game in Tucson will be every bit as emotional for him and his players, if not more so, since the Devils will be the visitors in a hostile environment.
But in terms of tussling with the refs, Hurley doesn't expect a repeat performance.
"I have to try to manage my emotions, especially on the road when my players are going to be confronted with what they're confronting," he said.
"I have to have some poise, and hopefully my players will feed off that."
