Duke basketball: 5 Blue Devil greats who didn’t live up to the NBA hype

2. Duke basketball NBA busts: Bobby Hurley

Another all-time great Blue Devil, Bobby Hurley is one of the most notable players in Duke history. Although he doesn’t get quite the same accolades as teammates Laettner and Grant Hill, Hurley was one of the most accomplished Blue Devils ever.

After winning the MVP of the McDonalds All-American game in 1989, Hurley committed to Duke, where he served as Mike Krzyzewski’s starting point guard for the Blue Devils’ three Final Four teams. Duke won the national championship in Hurley’s last two seasons, with Hurley himself claiming the Most Outstanding Player honors at the 1992 Final Four.

Hurley was also a first-team All-American as a senior, where he cemented the NCAA’s all-time assists record, a mark Hurley still holds to this day. Those outstanding achievements helped Hurley get picked seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 1993 NBA Draft.

The trajectory of Hurley’s career changed in December of his rookie year when he was involved in a car accident. Hurley’s SUV got broadsided, sending him flying out of the vehicle since he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, resulting in life-threatening injuries.

The accident knocked Hurley out for the rest of the year and he was never the same after coming back, retiring in 1998. Hurley has had a successful second act as a collegiate head coach, but his pro career didn’t live up to its enormous potential thanks to the accident.