Shortly after joining Bobby Hurley's staff at Arizona State, Levi Watkins made a couple phone calls.
He called Dayton coach Archie Miller, a former teammate at North Carolina State who had served as an assistant at ASU. Watkins knew Miller understood the area, conference and recruiting landscape. He also knew Miller would tell him the truth.
Watkins also called his former college coach, Herb Sendek, the man he was helping replace in Tempe. On April 9, ASU hired Hurley to replace Sendek, fired after nine seasons with the Sun Devils. Among Hurley's first moves was to bring Watkins with him from Buffalo.