The margin for error is gone in Tempe. After another loss that exposed the same season-long flaw, Bobby Hurley’s frustration stopped sounding temporary and started sounding final.

That tension boiled over Saturday night following Arizona State’s 78–70 loss to Colorado, their second defeat to the Buffaloes this season. In the postgame press conference on February 8, 2026, Bobby Hurley delivered a blunt response about rebounding that immediately reframed how the rest of the season is being viewed. With seven games left and Arizona State sitting at 12–12 overall and 3–8 in Big 12 play, the comments landed as less explanation and more admission.

When asked by Dominic Pasella how the Sun Devils planned to fix their rebounding issues, Hurley did not offer a plan. “Are you kidding me? We got seven games left, so if we can’t rebound now, then chances are we’re not going to be able to rebound,” Hurley said.

The answer spread quickly, not because of volume, but because of tone. For many, it sounded like a coach acknowledging a problem without believing it could still be solved.

Hurley’s irritation did not come out of nowhere. Arizona State ranks last in the Big 12 in total rebounds, rebounds per game, and rebounding margin. Opponents are averaging more than 12 offensive rebounds per game against the Sun Devils, a figure that has repeatedly flipped close contests.

Saturday was no exception. Colorado grabbed 13 offensive boards, turning them into 17 second-chance points. That eight-point swing matched the final margin in a game Arizona State trailed for 34 minutes. The Sun Devils won the first and fourth quarters, but the damage was done in between.

What makes the issue more glaring is personnel. ASU regularly plays frontcourt lineups featuring Massamba Diop, Santiago Trouet, and Andrija Grbovic, all standing over 6-foot-10. Size has not translated into control, and rebounding has remained the program’s most consistent weakness.

That context explains why Hurley’s words resonated the way they did. The question touched the most objective flaw on the roster, backed by numbers that have defined the season.

Bobby Hurley’s press conference response divides Arizona State fans

Bobby Hurley’s dismissive answer to Pasella’s question about rebounding got a lot of attention on social media right away. Some fans wanted him fired, while others defended his honest frustration.

“Get him outta here bro smh,” one fan said, which shows how frustrated a lot of ASU fans are with their team’s poor play. This response came directly from Hurley’s defeatist response, which didn’t offer any solutions with seven important games left to play. Fans wanted accountability and a plan, not resignation, after ASU shot only 40.4 percent against Colorado and gave up 42 points in the paint. The comment showed that more and more people think Hurley has run out of ideas for a program that is 12-12 overall and could finish worse than last year’s 13 wins.

Another fan got right to the point: “FIRE HURLEY.” This direct request came after years of disappointing results and Saturday’s game, when role players Bryce Ford and Noah Meeusen played for 39 minutes but didn’t score any points. The fan’s anger showed how Hurley’s teams always fail to build depth beyond their stars, which makes ASU weak when Odum and Diop can’t handle the whole offense. The Sun Devils are 3-8 in Big 12 play and near the bottom of the conference standings, so people have lost their patience.

Another response said, “He’s done. He will resign, or get fired at the end of this year,” which meant that Hurley’s time in office was basically over. This person knew that if a coach publicly admitted that he couldn’t fix rebounding problems, which were ASU’s biggest problem all season, it would mean that he had lost. The prediction became more believable because ASU still has to play seven teams that are ahead of them in the Big 12 standings and three teams that are ranked in the top 25.

A user had a different point of view: “I love stuff like this. Get robot answers out of my face.” This fan liked how honest Hurley was instead of using common coaching phrases about effort and execution. They preferred honesty over polish, and they saw his angry response as a refreshing sign of honesty rather than a sign of professional failure. But these few people who thought this way didn’t know that being honest without giving solutions doesn’t help a team that just gave up 13 offensive boards and 17 second-chance points to Colorado.

“Sorry, he’s treating you like that, Dom,” was another response that showed sympathy for reporter Dominic Pasella, who asked a good question about ASU’s worst statistical category. This person knew that Hurley’s response was unprofessional because he ignored a reporter doing his job. The conversation made Hurley look thin-skinned and combative instead of thoughtful, which is especially concerning because the rebounding question brought up an objective weakness: ASU is last in the Big 12 in every rebounding metric, even though they have several players over 6’10”.