by Parker Porrill, Cronkite News
March 18, 2026
PHOENIX – Ever since Bobby Hurley and the Arizona State men’s basketball program parted ways, the Sun Devils coaching vacancy has been linked to current head coaches, friends of James Harden and even former rap stars.
Add a Sun Devils legend to that growing list.
Byron Scott, a member of ASU’s Hall of Fame, has gained traction recently and has been vocally vying for the position at his alma mater. Part of the reason Scott said he has thrown his hat in the ring is to fulfill his wish to see ASU relive its glory days.
“I’m smiling from ear to ear just to be talking about the possibility of coaching at ASU … back to my alma mater,” Scott said Tuesday. “At one point in time when I was there with the great group of guys I had – Lafayette Lever and Sam Williams and Alton Lister and those guys – we got to number three in the nation.”
Brandon Duenas with Locked On Podcast Network said Scott has already interviewed for the job. Scott would neither confirm nor deny that assertion, but he would like to see the program achieve the level of success it had under coach Ned Wulk, who is the winningest Arizona State men’s basketball coach in program history.
Scott played for Wulk in the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons (redshirting in 1981-82). Scott played the 1982-83 season under coach Bob Weinhauer.
During the time Wulk and Scott were together the pair went to two NCAA tournaments, posting a record of 46-11. Scott hopes that he can continue to leave an impact on players the same way Wulk did with him.
“Coach Wulk was one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around and one of the best minds,” Scott said. “It would mean a great deal to be able to come back and play for our coach, our organization like ASU after having played for probably the greatest coach that they’ve ever seen.”
One of the biggest question marks when it comes to Scott as a candidate for the job is his time away from coaching and how much the game has changed since he patrolled the sidelines.
Scott has never coached in college and the last head coaching job he had was with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2014-16. In that time, the college transfer portal has opened far more dramatically, NIL has transformed the sport and the duties of college coaches have grown exponentially.
However, Scott believes that his time away from the college game and the emphasis on his professional background makes him the best candidate to coach a modern college basketball team at ASU.
“I look at the situation more like it’s almost professional basketball now,” Scott said. “It’s almost like treating it like the NBA and obviously, I coached in the NBA for 17 years so I have a pretty good lay of the land on how that’s run.”
Along with playing in the NBA for 14 seasons with three different teams, Scott coached in the NBA for 17 years with five different teams and even won the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year with the New Orleans Hornets.
During his time in the NBA, Scott coached several well-known players: Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Chris Paul, David West, Kyrie Irving, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and Kobe Bryant.
The most legendary player Scott coached was Bryant, and the pair also played together toward the tail end of Scott’s playing career. Their relationship is something that Scott cherishes to this day as some of his best basketball memories.
“It was amazing to me to watch this guy develop into not only a great basketball player, but he left (as) an icon,” Scott said. “He’s well-known everywhere in the world. There’s nowhere you can go and say Kobe Bryant’s name and somebody wouldn’t know about it.”
When it comes to ASU’s culture, Scott wants the program to have one similar to a professional basketball team. He said this can happen by putting an influence on the team as individuals and people.
“It’s very simple (when I was an NBA coach) I made it a family-oriented type atmosphere,” Scott said. “ I learned that from (former Lakers owner) Dr. Jerry Buss. I learned that from (coach) Pat Riley. It was all about making sure everybody felt like part of a family.”
Scott has the resume, the alumni background and the vision to become the next ASU men’s basketball coach. Only time will tell if this becomes a reality, but Scott’s name will be tied to the vacancy until a decision is made.
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