Wednesday’s First Four matchup between Arizona State and Nevada is intriguing in several ways.
First it’s a matchup between two legendary point guards who led their teams to NCAA championships. Steve Alford played for Bob Knight at Indiana before rage and bitterness destroyed his brilliant career and Bobby Hurley, of course, helped Duke to back-to-back titles in 1991-92.
The coaches are connected indirectly since Hurley’s coach, Mike Kryzewski, was a point guard for Knight at Army and was also on his staff in the early ‘70s.
The most intriguing connection though is this: two former Nevada stars transferred to Arizona State: Warren Washington, a 7-0 big man, and Desmond Cambridge, who you may remember hit a stunning buzzer beater to upset Arizona at the McKale Center recently, both left Nevada for Arizona State, which means that first, they’ll see their good friends and former teammates Wednesday night, and second, that they’ll run into their old coach Alford.