Tobacco Road Leads to Brooklyn

There will be a decided tobacco road flavor when the FanDuel Legends Classic returns to Barclays Center this November.

Not only will NC State be participating for the second time, but a couple of coaches with Duke roots will be pacing the sidelines in Brooklyn and if things go as they hope, they’ll be squaring off against each other for the Legends Classic crown.

Former Blue Devils point guard Steve Wojociechowski is entering his second season at Marquette while Bobby Hurley, perhaps the greatest point guard in college basketball history, is in his first season at Arizona State.

Hurley preceded Wojociechowski at Duke, starting his career in Durham during the 1989-90 season. As a sophomore and a junior, Hurley helped lead the Blue Devils to back-to-back National Championships before ending his career as a first-team All-American and with a NCAA record 1,076 career assists. Hurley was drafted with the seventh pick in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings and would go on to play five seasons in the NBA before entering private business.

Eventually, Hurley would enter the family business –coaching – when he was hired as an assistant to his brother Danny at Wagner in 2010. Bobby would stay two seasons at Wagner before heading to Rhode Island with his brother. A year later, Bobby would get his own team as he was named head coach at Buffalo.

At Buffalo, Hurley inherited a program that averaged 12.9 wins per season in 22 years at the Division I level. In two seasons, he led the Bulls to a 42-20 record and the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Now he looks to work his magic at Arizona State.

Wojociechowski enrolled at Duke two seasons after Hurley graduated. After going 31-31 in his first two seasons, the Blue Devils posted a 56-13 record and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight during his senior season. His 505 career assists rank among the top 10 in Duke history.

After graduation in 1998, Wojociechowski joined Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at the start of the 1999-2000 season. In 15 years on the Duke bench, the Blue Devils went 441-92 (.827), earning an NCAA Tournament berth every year and winning the 2001 and 2010 National Championships. After the 2013-14 season, Wojociechowski was hired at Marquette. He begins his second season in Milwaukee in November.

Hurley and Wojociechowski. They learned under the best. Now they will look to make their own marks on the sidelines.

Marquette will take on LSU and Arizona State will face NC State in the semifinals of the FanDuel Legends Classic on Nov. 23 at Barclays Center. The championship and consolation games will be played on Nov. 24. Tickets are available at: http://bit.ly/1Uyw6l2