On returning to Australia he lectured at Wollongong Institute of Education and commenced coaching the
Illawarra Hawks in State and Australian Championships. He coached Illawarra to a number of State titles during this period. Hurley began his
National Basketball League coaching career with the Illawarra Hawks in
1980. In 1981 he moved to Canberra as the foundation basketball coach of the
Australian Institute of Sport. He served as Head Coach at the AIS from 1981 to 1992. From 1983 to 1992 he was a Vice-President of the World Coaches Association and President of the Oceania Region Coaching. During his time at the AIS he was assistant coach of the
Australia national basketball team to
Lindsay Gaze at the 1982
FIBA World Championships and the
1984 Olympic Games. He was appointed as the head coach of the Australian Men's team in 1985 and coached the Boomers at the
1988 and
1992 Summer Olympics and the 1986 and 1990
FIBA World Championships. In 1987 he coached the AIS women's team to the title at the Australian Women's Club Championships. At the 1988 Olympics he was the first Australian Men's team coach to take Australia to the medal round where Australia finished in 4th place. In 1992 he coached the Boomers to 6th place at the Barcelona Olympics the second highest finish for the Boomers at that stage. Hurley was a national men's team (Boomers) selector from 1976 to 1992 and a member of the Australian Coaching Council 1985–90. During this period he conducted and gave lectures at many basketball coaching clinics throughout Australia, the South Pacific and in Europe. He left the AIS in 1993 and was appointed
Perth Wildcats head coach where he coached from 1993 until 1997. As a result, he also gave up coaching the Boomers and was replaced by Barry Barnes. Hurley led the Wildcats to Grand Finals in 1993 and 1995, winning the latter. In 1995 his Perth Wildcats won the "triple crown" when they won the pre-season championship, the minor premiership and the title. This was the first time in NBL history that this feat had been achieved. In the same year he coached the Wildcats at the World Club Championship in London where the Wildcats played the NBA champions the Houston Rockets. The Wildcats finished third in the championship, the highest ever performance by an Australian team. In 1997 he resigned from the Wildcats. In March 2004, he was appointed the head coach of the
Hunter Pirates. In
2004–05 NBL season, he took the Pirates from last place the previous year (where they had 2 wins) to 15 wins and the playoffs. He was subsequently named the
NBL Coach of the Year. He coached the Pirates in 2005–06 and once again they made the playoffs. The Pirates were sold to Singapore for the next season and Hurley retired. In 2007 he was elected President of Basketball NSW, a position he held until the end of 2010. == Honours ==