Post by mhbruin on Jun 28, 2022 10:18:14 GMT -8
Next are the 8th place Arizona State Sun Devils. 8th place is an improvement from the previous season when they finished 9th.
Bobby Hurley can usually get talented players to come to Tempe. However, he has had a problem keeping the talent there. After the 2019-2020 season he lost TEN players who voluntarily left. Then he brought in TEN new players.
With that much roster churn, it should probably be no surprise that they didn't have a great season. They managed a couple of good wins including beating UCLA in triple OT and at Creighton. They also lost to UC Riverside and Cal.
Last season they were a very good defensive team, ranked at #27 in defensive efficiency by KenPom. However, their offense was a mess, ranked #207. Only Cal was worse in the Pac-12.
The big problems were shooting and PG play. Also, ASU was not a great rebounding team last season. Let's see if he managed to address those problems.
There is some pressure on Bobby Hurley to produce. Here is his ASU resume.
Bobby Hurley's tenure has been marked with pretty good talent and terrible team chemistry.
Is his job in danger? It's not clear. This is an athletic department that continues to employ Herm Edwards.
GRADUATING
They have both played 5 seasons.
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
TRANSFERRING OUT
Looking at graduation and transfers, ASU is losing 4 rotation players, including their top 3 rebounders, 3 of their top 5 scorers, and 4 of their top 5 assist men.
Rochelin, Williams, and Felton were all part of Hurley's 5-man recruiting class last year. They never saw the floor, and now they are transferring out. One year on the ASU bench was enough for them.
RETURNING
Note about classes: With the extra year of eligibility, there is no clear way to label players. If a player is in his 4th season, but will have another year of eligibility after this year, I am calling him "Jr 4".
For all they lose, the Sun Devils return some pretty good talent including 6 rotation players and 5 players who started at least one game..
Marcus Bagley only played 3 games last year before injuring his knee. They hope he will be a star. However, there are two problems:
1) Health: In two seasons with the Sun Devils, he has only played in 15 games.
2) Shooting: In those 15 games he has only shot 39% from the field. That's now what you want from a star.
They also return two starters in Horne and Gaffney, and a part-time starter in Muhammad.
Gaffney and Boakye are both intriguing prospects. They are both big and athletic with some skills. However, Gaffney is another player who needs to shoot better.
The offensive problems are pretty clear. Neither Horne nor Muhammad is a natural PG. ASU's best ball-handler seems to be 6-9 Alonzo Gaffney, and he is not Magic Johnson.
As for shooting, Boakye is the only good returning shooter inside the arc, and Gaffney is the only real outside threat. That's not enough.
Overall, I think ASU has some talented big guys, but I am not sold on the guards.
(#44 class, #4 in Pac-12)
With this class and the transfers, ASU brings in six new players. Nunez has some nice offers. Is he ready as a true freshman to be the answer at PG? That could be the deciding factor in the Sun Devils' season.
Brennan adds some much needed size. Arizona State hasn't been a great rebounding team. Maybe he can help.
With 6 returning players and 4 experienced transfers coming in, I don't see either of these guys getting much PT.
Hurley seems to have tried to address the team chemistry issues with his transfers. First he brings in the two Cambridge brothers, who ought to be comfortable playing together.
Also Warren Washington was Desmond's Cambridge's teammate and roommate from Nevada. They should also know each other well.
Desmond Cambridge was Steve Alford's second-leading scorer. He seems to have been a high-volume shooter.
His brother Devan played quite a bit for Auburn who won the SEC and went to the NCAA tournament. He started almost half their games. He is very athletic, but his shooting wasn't very good, and he wasn't much of a scorer.
Michigan expected a lot from Frankie Collins at Michigan, as part of a huge recruiting class. He never quite lived up to their hopes. With a 1.2 A/TO ratio, he doesn't seem like the answer at PG for the Sun Devils.
Washington was a good rebounder for Nevada. He seems very thin, not all great rebounder are bruisers. I am not sure if he will get a lot of PT this season.
CONCLUSION
Bobby Hurley can usually get talented players to come to Tempe. However, he has had a problem keeping the talent there. After the 2019-2020 season he lost TEN players who voluntarily left. Then he brought in TEN new players.
With that much roster churn, it should probably be no surprise that they didn't have a great season. They managed a couple of good wins including beating UCLA in triple OT and at Creighton. They also lost to UC Riverside and Cal.
Last season they were a very good defensive team, ranked at #27 in defensive efficiency by KenPom. However, their offense was a mess, ranked #207. Only Cal was worse in the Pac-12.
The big problems were shooting and PG play. Also, ASU was not a great rebounding team last season. Let's see if he managed to address those problems.
There is some pressure on Bobby Hurley to produce. Here is his ASU resume.
| Record | Conference Finish | Post Season | |
| 2015-16 | 15-17 | 11th | |
| 2016-17 | 15-18 | 8th | |
| 2017-18 | 20-12 | 8th | NCAA First Four |
| 2018-19 | 23-11 | 2nd | NCAA Round of 64 |
| 2019-20 | 20-11 | 3rd | |
| 2020-21 | 11-14 | 9th | |
| 2021-22 | 14-17 | 8th |
Bobby Hurley's tenure has been marked with pretty good talent and terrible team chemistry.
Is his job in danger? It's not clear. This is an athletic department that continues to employ Herm Edwards.
GRADUATING
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Marreon Jackson | 31 | 17 | 29 | 10 | 4 | 4 |
| Kimani Lawrence | 30 | 30 | 29 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
They have both played 5 seasons.
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Can Return? |
| None |
TRANSFERRING OUT
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
| Jalen Graham | 29 | 22 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 2 | Arkansas |
| Jay Heath | 28 | 17 | 28 | 11 | 3 | 2 | Georgetown |
| Justin Rochelin | 0 | ||||||
| Demari Williams | 0 | ||||||
| William Felton | 0 | North Carolina A&T |
Looking at graduation and transfers, ASU is losing 4 rotation players, including their top 3 rebounders, 3 of their top 5 scorers, and 4 of their top 5 assist men.
Rochelin, Williams, and Felton were all part of Hurley's 5-man recruiting class last year. They never saw the floor, and now they are transferring out. One year on the ASU bench was enough for them.
RETURNING
Note about classes: With the extra year of eligibility, there is no clear way to label players. If a player is in his 4th season, but will have another year of eligibility after this year, I am calling him "Jr 4".
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG% | 3Pt% | A/TO | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| DJ Horne | 30 | 28 | 30 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 39% | 36% | 1.2 | Jr 4 | Unranked | |
| Marcus Bagley | 3 | 3 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 39% | 39% | 0.7 | So 2 | 4 | 28 |
| Luther Muhammad | 30 | 11 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 31% | 19% | 1.4 | Jr 4 | 4 | 79 |
| Alonzo Gaffney | 30 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 43% | 31% | 1.9 | So 3 | 4 | 50 |
| Jamiya Neal | 30 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 24% | 22% | 0.7 | So | 3 | 219 |
| Enoch Boakye | 31 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 53% | 0.3 | So | 5 | 27 |
For all they lose, the Sun Devils return some pretty good talent including 6 rotation players and 5 players who started at least one game..
Marcus Bagley only played 3 games last year before injuring his knee. They hope he will be a star. However, there are two problems:
1) Health: In two seasons with the Sun Devils, he has only played in 15 games.
2) Shooting: In those 15 games he has only shot 39% from the field. That's now what you want from a star.
They also return two starters in Horne and Gaffney, and a part-time starter in Muhammad.
Gaffney and Boakye are both intriguing prospects. They are both big and athletic with some skills. However, Gaffney is another player who needs to shoot better.
The offensive problems are pretty clear. Neither Horne nor Muhammad is a natural PG. ASU's best ball-handler seems to be 6-9 Alonzo Gaffney, and he is not Magic Johnson.
As for shooting, Boakye is the only good returning shooter inside the arc, and Gaffney is the only real outside threat. That's not enough.
Overall, I think ASU has some talented big guys, but I am not sold on the guards.
RECRUITS
(#44 class, #4 in Pac-12)
| Player | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Austin Nunez | 6-2 170 | PG | 4 | 97 | Arkansas, Baylor, Oregon, Texas |
| Duke Brennan | 6-10 235 | C | 3 | 196 | Georgia, California, Oregon St, Wake Forest |
With this class and the transfers, ASU brings in six new players. Nunez has some nice offers. Is he ready as a true freshman to be the answer at PG? That could be the deciding factor in the Sun Devils' season.
Brennan adds some much needed size. Arizona State hasn't been a great rebounding team. Maybe he can help.
With 6 returning players and 4 experienced transfers coming in, I don't see either of these guys getting much PT.
TRANSFERRING IN
| Player | Size | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG % | 3-Pt % | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Devan Cambridge | 6-6 215 | 33 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 40% | 22% | Auburn | Jr 4 | 3 | 217 |
| Desmond Cambridge | 6-4 180 | 30 | 29 | 33 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 44% | 37% | Nevada | Sr 5 | Unranked | |
| Frankie Collins | 6-1 185 | 31 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 43% | 17% | Michigan | Fr 2 | 4 | 47 |
| Warren Washington | 7-0 215 | 22 | 20 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 61% | Nevada | Jr 4 | 3 | 359 |
Hurley seems to have tried to address the team chemistry issues with his transfers. First he brings in the two Cambridge brothers, who ought to be comfortable playing together.
Also Warren Washington was Desmond's Cambridge's teammate and roommate from Nevada. They should also know each other well.
Desmond Cambridge was Steve Alford's second-leading scorer. He seems to have been a high-volume shooter.
His brother Devan played quite a bit for Auburn who won the SEC and went to the NCAA tournament. He started almost half their games. He is very athletic, but his shooting wasn't very good, and he wasn't much of a scorer.
Michigan expected a lot from Frankie Collins at Michigan, as part of a huge recruiting class. He never quite lived up to their hopes. With a 1.2 A/TO ratio, he doesn't seem like the answer at PG for the Sun Devils.
Washington was a good rebounder for Nevada. He seems very thin, not all great rebounder are bruisers. I am not sure if he will get a lot of PT this season.
CONCLUSION
In previous reviews we were looking at teams with less the Pac-12 level talent. That isn't true of ASU. They have a 5-star and five 4-star players.
They will need all their talent to produce. They need to shoot and rebound better.
This team is an enigma to me. I like the front court. I have questions about the guards. I also question Hurley's coaching ability.
With all those reservations, I suspect this will be a pretty good team. Not great, but pretty good. If Bagley has a breakout season, and a couple of guys figure out how to shoot from the outside, they could finish in the top half of the league. They could even turn out to be a bubble team.
I am a bit more optimistic about their prospects than Wilner, who writes:
7. Arizona State (7): Another offseason of roster upheaval for the Sun Devils, who lost key players to the transfer portal and grabbed impact players from the transfer portal. Atop that list is Desmond Cambridge, who averaged 15+ points per game for four consecutive seasons at Nevada. (His brother, Devan, is arriving from Auburn.) We slotted the Sun Devils for the lower half of the conference but acknowledge their potential for an upside surprise. The downside risk from here, meanwhile, is limited.
They will need all their talent to produce. They need to shoot and rebound better.
This team is an enigma to me. I like the front court. I have questions about the guards. I also question Hurley's coaching ability.
With all those reservations, I suspect this will be a pretty good team. Not great, but pretty good. If Bagley has a breakout season, and a couple of guys figure out how to shoot from the outside, they could finish in the top half of the league. They could even turn out to be a bubble team.
I am a bit more optimistic about their prospects than Wilner, who writes:
7. Arizona State (7): Another offseason of roster upheaval for the Sun Devils, who lost key players to the transfer portal and grabbed impact players from the transfer portal. Atop that list is Desmond Cambridge, who averaged 15+ points per game for four consecutive seasons at Nevada. (His brother, Devan, is arriving from Auburn.) We slotted the Sun Devils for the lower half of the conference but acknowledge their potential for an upside surprise. The downside risk from here, meanwhile, is limited.