From: trradrx@canctr.mc.duke.edu (R.CLOUGH)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.college
Subject: Re: Hurley
Date: 14 Dec 92 18:36:00 GMT
Reply-To: trradrx@canctr.mc.duke.edu
Organization: Duke U. Med. Ctr., Durham, NC

In article <Bz9FK6.5uG@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, jdt29225@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Jazzy J ) writes:

OK, you Hurley-hater, I've had enough! :-)
>	1)  Hurley plays on a great team.  He gets about 8 assists on a

This is a valid point.  We must also remember the rules on assists are now
different than in the distant past, so if Hurley gets the record, it really
only measures the last 12 or 15 years.  Still, Hurley has a high # of assists
per game, probably higher than Sherman Douglas, who also played a lot of games.
This just means that Hurley must maintain the high average for the award to
have meaning.


>	2)  Look at the surrounding cast.  Hurley's had the benefit of
>	    throwing to the likes of Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Thomas
>	    Hill, Phil Henderson, Alaa Abdelnaby, and Robert Brickey, all
>	    offensive forces.  Corchiani might have had Rodney Monroe, Tom
>	    Gugliotta (in his lower scoring days), and Chucky Brown, but
>	    Brian D'Amico?  Hardly the caliber of any of the Duke guys.

 If this is true, then why didn't Quin Snyder break the all-time assist
record, especially with a scoring machine like Danny Ferry to help him out?
Answer: he's not as good.  Not as good a passer, and his general feel for
the game and court vision was inferior to Hurley's.  CL, GHill, THill, Phil
(in his senior year, his best season), Alaa (his senior year was also his
best season) all greatly benefitted from Hurley's passes for countless easy
scores.  Think about how many transition baskets Duke scored on: all you have
to do is hold onto the ball and lay it in.  This is not to say any of the 
above are slouches, but Hurley's made their job easier.  The best way to judge
this is to see how G.Hill does next year without Hurley there.
  As for Corch, he had some good players on his team.  How bout Vinny Del 
Negro, Charles Shackleford, etc? And NC State played an up-tempo, run-and-gun
style with very little defense that led to the big numbers.  Corch could
really distribute though, weasel though he was. (he went to a rival high school
of mine).  Corch also had Bryant Feggins and Kevin Thompson, two more decent
players.  And Gugs scored quite a bit in his junior year.  Duke had better
talent, but not that much better.

>	    Jennings is even worse -- can't get too much out of the likes
>	    of Rodney English, Marty Story, Greg Dennis, and Alvin West
>	    (all were good players, but again, not like the Dookies).

Yes, but his competition was much worse.  The Southern Conference is no ACC,
and the above guys were superstars in that league.  And ETSU was another run
and gun team.
  I think Hurley's achievement is a meaningful one, considering he's been
playing high caliber competition his entire career, and that he has a high
number of assists every game.  He holds virtually every assist record at Duke
(game, career, season), and will probably blow away Corchiani's record.
I think a Hurley would improve any school.  He may not have led a Memphis State
to a title, but he would have certainly improved them.  Having skilled 
teammates, a good coach, and national exposure has definitely maximized his
opportunities.  But of course, the most meaningful record is his W-L record,
and that's not a problem, either!
	Robert Clough, DUMC (though still not speaking for them)
"Cherokee did a good job at being big."--Thomas Hill, on Duke's center vs Mich.