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TEMPE, Ariz. — When their basketball teams have been on normal schedules, which hasn’t been often, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley and Connecticut coach Danny Hurley have sent their daily practice videos to New Jersey for their father to watch.

Bob Hurley Sr. has spent most of his 73 years inside a gymnasium. The soundtrack of his life would be high-tops squeaking and an official’s whistle. But the past 11 months have been different for the retired coach. In a recent phone conversation, the elder Hurley said the last time he’s stepped inside a gym was just a few days after he returned from New Orleans to watch Connecticut play Tulane last season.

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Since then, he’s worked with 11-year-old grandson Gabe Ursic on an outdoor court. As long as the weather permits, he marks up the court with chalk and runs Gabe through drills maybe once a week. “But that’s all I got,” said Hurley Sr., who normally works summer clinics. “That’s all my live stuff right now.”

It’s not easy for the legendary St. Anthony High coach, one with residence in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but the Arizona State and Connecticut practice videos help. The elder Hurley connects the laptop to his living-room television, sacrificing picture size for clarity.

The old coach doesn’t take notes. Instead, he looks for themes. They’re not getting back on defense. They’re not stopping the ball. He doesn’t relay this to his sons unless they ask. Hurley Sr. knows how it is to coach. He knows that everybody has an opinion on what’s wrong and how it can be fixed. Especially this season, “the COVID season,” Hurley Sr. said.

Connecticut and Arizona State have been hit hard, by the virus and misfortune. Nine of the games from the Huskies’ original schedule have been canceled or postponed. Leading scorer James Bouknight, who in December put up 40 against Creighton, has missed seven games with an elbow injury. Meanwhile, Arizona State has had to pause program activities twice for COVID-19 issues. The Sun Devils took the court Thursday for the first time since Jan. 30. They did so down four scholarship players.

It’s well-documented locally. Nearly three months into the season, Bobby Hurley has yet to have his full roster available. Against Oregon, he was down freshman forward Marcus Bagley (ankle), junior forward Chris Osten (ankle), freshman big man Pavlo Dziuba (COVID-19 protocol) and junior forward Taeshon Cherry (personal issues). Coming off two wins, needing a run to salvage anything from this difficult season, Arizona State needed to make magic. Yet Hurley had one legit post player.

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Oregon coach Dana Altman had better luck. Guard Chris Duarte (ankle) and forward Eric Williams (COVID-19 protocol) returned after missing time last week. Duarte started quickly. The 6-foot-6 guard hit his first six shots, boosting Oregon to a 30-19 lead. Bobby Hurley called timeout.

“If we’re going to talk about anything, I would love to talk about UCLA and USC back-to-back earlier this season,” the elder Hurley said the previous day.

On Jan. 7, Arizona State had just come off its first COVID-19 pause. The Sun Devils had not played in 22 days, and they were severely short-handed for their return. Star point guard Remy Martin was not with the team after his grandfather’s death. Sophomore big man Jalen Graham had mono. Cherry and sophomore guard Jaelen House were out because of COVID-19 contact tracing.

And yet, Arizona State battled. It took then-conference leader UCLA to overtime before losing 81-75. Two days later, the Sun Devils challenged USC (this week No. 20 in the AP poll) before falling 73-64. Despite the outcomes, they were two of Arizona State’s better games.

“It happens sometimes,” Hurley Sr. said. “They were backed into the corner and they knew every little thing had to be done or they had no chance in those games. They really took care of the ball. They really helped each other on defense. They really did a good job. Sometimes you’ll be happier with a performance when you lose than perhaps you will be when you win. And with those games, that certainly happened there.”

Early in Thursday’s second half, Arizona State guard Josh Christopher, among the nation’s top freshmen, had to leave the game. Christopher had been questionable with a lower-leg bruise, but he tried to play through it. He wasn’t effective, going scoreless in 17 minutes. Hurley inserted Jaelen House.

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The energetic point guard responded with consecutive assists, first to Martin for 3 and then to Graham cutting to the basket off a pick-and-roll. Down 42-33, the Sun Devils tried to hang around.

Hurley Sr. loves Jaelen House. After House had six points and three steals in a Jan. 28 win over California, Hurley Sr. told Bobby the next day: “You couldn’t take House out of the game.”

Responded Bobby: “You really like him because he’s a St. Anthony guard.”

In the Hurley household, a greater compliment may not exist. House doesn’t start — he averages just 13 minutes — but perhaps no other Pac-12 player better maximizes his time. “He bleeds for the team,” Hurley Sr. said.

House reminds the elder Hurley of one of his former players, a do-everything guard named Juvaris Hayes, a key contributor to St. Anthony’s 2016 perfect season, After high school, Hayes attended Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass., where he set an NCAA record across all divisions with 457 steals.

“A typical game for him might be 12 points, four steals, six assists and five rebounds — and the guy he guarded on the other team would go home exhausted from playing against him,” Hurley Sr. said. “He played in the state final when he was a senior at St. Anthony, and he had two points. He was 2-for-2 at the foul line. But he also had eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals. He completely dominated the game scoring two points. … That’s what Jaelen House reminds me of.”

Just like it did against UCLA and USC, short-handed Arizona State scrapped against Oregon. Late in the second half, Graham scored at the rim and House hit a transition 3 to cut the Ducks’ lead to 65-58. After a timeout, however, the Ducks scored five consecutive points to pull away. The final: 75-64. Martin had 30 points but was the only Arizona State player to reach double figures. The Sun Devils dropped to 6-9 and 3-6 in the Pac-12.

This was supposed to be Arizona State’s best team in years. A Pac-12 contender capable of a deep NCAA Tournament run. Instead, the Sun Devils could finish with a losing record.

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With perhaps four future pros, the Sun Devils have offensive firepower, but the parts don’t always seem to fit. The easy thing to do is blame chemistry.

Watching from afar, Hurley Sr. looks at it differently.

“I don’t think they’re selfish players,” he said. “I think guys try too often to do too much individually, but I watch the chemistry, the chemistry on the bench, huddles, when I watch practices, the effort at practices, it’s there. It’s just been interrupted so many times and they’ve had so many kids in and out of the lineup.”

When a starter is out, the team adjusts. When the starter returns, the team re-adjusts. Losing multiple players at different times turns the season into something different than what it was meant to be. What it could be.

“You don’t play for a while,” Hurley Sr. said, “you have to keep re-starting and you never get in a rhythm. And sports is rhythm.”

(Photo: Matt York / Associated Press)

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