Post by mhbruin on Apr 21, 2021 8:42:13 GMT -8
Next are the 9th Place Arizona State Sun Devils, the biggest disappointment last season. They started the season ranked #17 in the country. They finished the season 11-14. Their best win was over Grand Canyon by 1 point. They lost to 9-12 UTEP by 13.
What went wrong? For a start they had no front line.
Also, I wrote this in my preview, "There is one other looming problem. Martin, Verge, and Josh Christopher all like to shoot the ball. They REALLY like to shoot the ball. And all of them will be auditioning for the NBA. Will this be one huge ego battle, or will they develop chemistry?"
Clearly it was an ego battle, but it was even worse than I anticipated. Bagley was also auditioning for the NBA. One basketball wasn't enough for this team. And NCAA rules don't let them use more than one basketball.
Now they lose a ton of talent. They are going to need some of the transfers to step up, but a couple could be ready to do that.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT
I expect Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge to join the party.
TRANSFERRING OUT
In addition to losing 2-4 players to the draft, they are losing 4 significant rotation players to the transfer portal.
House is a legacy, but he was also a 4-star recruit out of high school. He was playing well by the end of the season and he was their best 3-point shooter. He was a pest of a defender and led them in steals, even with only 16 minutes a game. He will be missed.
Cherry was a 4-star they expected big things from, but it never materialized. He was ranked #34 out of high school. He left the team in December for personal reasons. At least he won't have to travel far to get to Grand Canyon. It is in Phoenix.
Osten was the only real size on the roster.
Holland Woods is not a picnic area. He was a grad transfer who was a decent player for the Sun Devils.
Dziuba, 17, was seen as a raw recruit with the distinction of being the youngest player in Division I basketball. He was late in arriving to ASU in the fall because of international travel restrictions connected to the coronavirus pandemic. He also missed a chunk of games in the middle of the season due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. He was seen as one of the top international prospects after averaging 13.8 points and nine rebounds at the FIBA under-16 Division B European Championships in Podgorica, Montenegro.
Feit is a walk-on who put his name in the portal last season, only to return. Maybe the second time is the charm.
RETURNING
At this point Martin, Verge, and Kimani Lawrence haven't announced their plans for next season. Their decision will have a big impact on next season for the Sun Devils.
Jalen Graham was forced to play out of position, due to the lack of a center, and he didn't really get the chance to shine with all the "stars" on the team. He may be better than he has looked.
The same goes for Kimani Lawrence.
Bobby Hurley only recruited Caleb Christopher to get his younger brother to come to ASU.
Olmstead only played in 12 games. The fact that they desperately needed size and didn't use a 6-10 235 guy much tells you a lot about how good he is.
Their best case scenario is they return four players who can play. Their worst case is they return ONE.
(#49 class, #7 in Pac-12)
Don't let the class ranking fool you. 247 (who I use) doesn't seem to know that Enoch Boakye has reclassified and is part of this class.
There are two transfers here, who could contribute a lot: Heath and Muhammad. Hurley will need them to.
Bramah was a statistical monster as the star of the worst team in the Horizon League. He missed all the games against the only good teams in the Horizon, so it is hard to evaluate him. ESPN lists him as a guard, but he doesn't shoot the three.
Marreon Jackson was the MAC player of the year. He played 3 games against quality opponents, Michigan, Xavier and, in the NCAA Tournament, Richmond. He was terrible in each of them.
Hurley seems to have a unique transfer strategy. Find the best player on the worst team in a league. Bramah, Heath, and Horne fit that patters.
Jay Heath was the leading scorer on the worst team in the ACC and BC plays a very slow style. It remains to be seen how he adapts to Hurley's faster style. Heath had 10 games in which he scored 20 points or more with a season-high of 28 in a 93-64 loss to Florida State. He looks like he could contribute.
D.J. Horne (who is no relation to DJ Kahlid) was a 42% 3-point shooter on the worst team in the Missouri Valley Conference. He led the team in scoring and steals.
Luther Muhammad transferred a year ago, but had to sit out a year. He picked the Sun Devils over UCLA, Seton Hall, West Virginia, and New Mexico.
(Fortunately Jeriah Horne is leaving Colorado. Having D.J. Horne and Jeriah Horne in the Pac-12 is too many Hornes, even if Buffaloes and Devils both have horns. I'll have to deal with SC's Harrison Hornery.)
CONCLUSION
Javian Hamlet is leaving North Texas. Hamlet is coming to the NBA. And Birnam forest is coming come to Dunsinane.
Holland Woods is leaving ASU. Holland Woods is coming to Grand Canyon. No comment so far from Lady Macbeth.
The Sun Devils' next season could be a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. Could Bobby Hurley lose his job at the end of this season? Bobby should beware the Ides of March.
Bobby Hurley is bringing in TEN new players so far, and he doesn't seem to have a talented group coming back to build upon. He does have some talented kids coming in. Will this be enough?
While he has had some success in rebuilding quickly, this a going to be a really tough rebuild. He might find it hard to get to .500 in a pretty strong Pac-12 and his seat will be getting hot.
In his six seasons at ASU he has won 63% of his games. Although he has won 20 or more games three times, he has never made it past the Round of 64 in the NCAA tournament. 2021 was supposed to be his year. When you don't meet expectations, the natives get restless. He had better deliver in 2022.[/span]
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What went wrong? For a start they had no front line.
Also, I wrote this in my preview, "There is one other looming problem. Martin, Verge, and Josh Christopher all like to shoot the ball. They REALLY like to shoot the ball. And all of them will be auditioning for the NBA. Will this be one huge ego battle, or will they develop chemistry?"
Clearly it was an ego battle, but it was even worse than I anticipated. Bagley was also auditioning for the NBA. One basketball wasn't enough for this team. And NCAA rules don't let them use more than one basketball.
Now they lose a ton of talent. They are going to need some of the transfers to step up, but a couple could be ready to do that.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT
Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
Marcus Bagley | 29 | 11 | 6 | 1 |
Josh Christopher | 30 | 14 | 5 | 1 |
I expect Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge to join the party.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
Jaelen House | 19 | 5 | 2 | 2 | New Mexico |
Taeshon Cherry | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | Grand Canyon |
Chris Osten | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Northern Illinois |
Holland Woods | 26 | 7 | 2 | 2 | Grand Canyon |
Kyle Feit | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Pavlo Dziuba | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In addition to losing 2-4 players to the draft, they are losing 4 significant rotation players to the transfer portal.
House is a legacy, but he was also a 4-star recruit out of high school. He was playing well by the end of the season and he was their best 3-point shooter. He was a pest of a defender and led them in steals, even with only 16 minutes a game. He will be missed.
Cherry was a 4-star they expected big things from, but it never materialized. He was ranked #34 out of high school. He left the team in December for personal reasons. At least he won't have to travel far to get to Grand Canyon. It is in Phoenix.
Osten was the only real size on the roster.
Holland Woods is not a picnic area. He was a grad transfer who was a decent player for the Sun Devils.
Dziuba, 17, was seen as a raw recruit with the distinction of being the youngest player in Division I basketball. He was late in arriving to ASU in the fall because of international travel restrictions connected to the coronavirus pandemic. He also missed a chunk of games in the middle of the season due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. He was seen as one of the top international prospects after averaging 13.8 points and nine rebounds at the FIBA under-16 Division B European Championships in Podgorica, Montenegro.
Feit is a walk-on who put his name in the portal last season, only to return. Maybe the second time is the charm.
RETURNING
At this point Martin, Verge, and Kimani Lawrence haven't announced their plans for next season. Their decision will have a big impact on next season for the Sun Devils.
Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
Remy Martin | 34 | 19 | 2 | 4 | Sr 5 | 4 | 84 |
Alonzo Verge | 30 | 14 | 4 | 4 | Sr 5 | #5 JUCO | |
Jalen Graham | 24 | 8 | 5 | 0 | Jr | 4 | 109 |
Kimani Lawrence | 24 | 8 | 5 | 1 | Sr 5 | 4 | 55 |
Caleb Christopher | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Jr | 3 | 439 |
John Olmsted | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Jr | Unranked |
Jalen Graham was forced to play out of position, due to the lack of a center, and he didn't really get the chance to shine with all the "stars" on the team. He may be better than he has looked.
The same goes for Kimani Lawrence.
Bobby Hurley only recruited Caleb Christopher to get his younger brother to come to ASU.
Olmstead only played in 12 games. The fact that they desperately needed size and didn't use a 6-10 235 guy much tells you a lot about how good he is.
Their best case scenario is they return four players who can play. Their worst case is they return ONE.
RECRUITS
(#49 class, #7 in Pac-12)
Don't let the class ranking fool you. 247 (who I use) doesn't seem to know that Enoch Boakye has reclassified and is part of this class.
Player | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
Enoch Boakye | 6-10 240 | C | 4 | 32 | UCLA, Michigan State, Arizona, Texas Tech |
Demari Williams | 6-6 210 | SG | 3 | 175 | Baylor, Buffalo, Louisiana, Oral Roberts |
William Felton | 6-8 220 | PF | 3 | 177 | Appalachian State, College of Charleston, Elon |
Justin Rochelin | 6-4 175 | SF | 3 | 215 | California, Florida, Houston |
Jamiya Neal | 6-6 185 | SF | 3 | 263 | Grand Canyon, James Madison, Kent State |
Boakye is the star of this class and fills a desperate need for size. Boakye de-commited from Michigan State in February, apparently because he saw a lot of immediate playing time in Tempe. He re-classified from 2022 to 2021.
Justin Rochelin, is the son of Charles and is the best of the 3-stars. He is likely underrated by quite a bit. He should probably be a 4-star, though not a top 100 player.
The rest are probably going to get some PT this season, but won't be coming close to carrying this team.
Justin Rochelin, is the son of Charles and is the best of the 3-stars. He is likely underrated by quite a bit. He should probably be a 4-star, though not a top 100 player.
The rest are probably going to get some PT this season, but won't be coming close to carrying this team.
TRANSFERRING IN
Player | Size | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
A.J. Bramah | 6-7 210 | 34 | 21 | 10 | 2 | Robert Morris | Sr | Unranked | |
Marreon Jackson | 6-1 200 | 34 | 18 | 6 | 6 | Toledo | Sr | Unranked | |
Jay Heath | 6-3 175 | 34 | 15 | 3 | 2 | Boston College | Jr | 3 | 281 |
Luther Muhammad | 6-3 185 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 1 | Ohio State | Jr | 4 | 79 |
D.J. Horne | 6-1 175 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 3 | Illinois State | Jr | Unranked |
There are two transfers here, who could contribute a lot: Heath and Muhammad. Hurley will need them to.
Bramah was a statistical monster as the star of the worst team in the Horizon League. He missed all the games against the only good teams in the Horizon, so it is hard to evaluate him. ESPN lists him as a guard, but he doesn't shoot the three.
Marreon Jackson was the MAC player of the year. He played 3 games against quality opponents, Michigan, Xavier and, in the NCAA Tournament, Richmond. He was terrible in each of them.
Hurley seems to have a unique transfer strategy. Find the best player on the worst team in a league. Bramah, Heath, and Horne fit that patters.
Jay Heath was the leading scorer on the worst team in the ACC and BC plays a very slow style. It remains to be seen how he adapts to Hurley's faster style. Heath had 10 games in which he scored 20 points or more with a season-high of 28 in a 93-64 loss to Florida State. He looks like he could contribute.
D.J. Horne (who is no relation to DJ Kahlid) was a 42% 3-point shooter on the worst team in the Missouri Valley Conference. He led the team in scoring and steals.
Luther Muhammad transferred a year ago, but had to sit out a year. He picked the Sun Devils over UCLA, Seton Hall, West Virginia, and New Mexico.
(Fortunately Jeriah Horne is leaving Colorado. Having D.J. Horne and Jeriah Horne in the Pac-12 is too many Hornes, even if Buffaloes and Devils both have horns. I'll have to deal with SC's Harrison Hornery.)
CONCLUSION
Javian Hamlet is leaving North Texas. Hamlet is coming to the NBA. And Birnam forest is coming come to Dunsinane.
Holland Woods is leaving ASU. Holland Woods is coming to Grand Canyon. No comment so far from Lady Macbeth.
The Sun Devils' next season could be a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. Could Bobby Hurley lose his job at the end of this season? Bobby should beware the Ides of March.
Bobby Hurley is bringing in TEN new players so far, and he doesn't seem to have a talented group coming back to build upon. He does have some talented kids coming in. Will this be enough?
While he has had some success in rebuilding quickly, this a going to be a really tough rebuild. He might find it hard to get to .500 in a pretty strong Pac-12 and his seat will be getting hot.
In his six seasons at ASU he has won 63% of his games. Although he has won 20 or more games three times, he has never made it past the Round of 64 in the NCAA tournament. 2021 was supposed to be his year. When you don't meet expectations, the natives get restless. He had better deliver in 2022.
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