TEMPE – In a scene that may have been disappointing to most Arizona State fans, Desert Financial Arena was barely half full in the minutes leading to tipoff of the ASU men’s college basketball season.
It was understandable. Coach Bobby Hurley’s teams have struggled in recent years. With a 27-38 record over the past two seasons, only one returning scholarship player and the Sun Devils projected to finish last in a star-studded Big 12 Conference, expectations were lower than the scorer’s table.
The pressure on Hurley to deliver in his 11th season at the helm, meanwhile, is at an all-time high.
The fans in attendance Tuesday night, however, were treated to a surprisingly refreshing brand of basketball, with an aggressive defense and fastbreak offense off turnovers that helped ASU capture an 81-64 win over Southern Utah.
And unselfishness.
“I felt like I could coach with a free mind,” Hurley said. “If I wanted to sub someone out, I wasn’t worried about the fallout.”
Not that he thought the Sun Devils were perfect.
“Yes, it’s a great win and I want them to be happy they won,” Hurley said. “But I also want to cautiously take them over the fact that the waters can get deeper and from the mistakes we made tonight, you know those are not going to be acceptable in some of those games in the future.”
One of ASU’s shining stats came in transition points, with the Sun Devils getting high quality shots from their best passers. Starting guard Maurice Odum was at the forefront, collecting nine points off three 3-pointers along with eight assists, a tribute to his unselfishness.
Ball movement and consistently finding the open man are a coach’s dream, and Hurley believes it came together against Southern Utah because of the communication and atmosphere his players create.
“Our pregame environment, I thought it was way better.” Hurley said. “Like my closest team of coaches was saying, these guys were talking, they were working hard and they were excited to play.
“So from that standpoint, I don’t have any issues with locking in. It’s mistakes on the floor. They’ll haunt us as the games get more difficult.”
The mistakes Hurley mentioned occurred mostly on the defensive side, where the Sun Devils gave up 44 points in the paint. However, this can also be credited to ASU’s defense on the perimeter and around the arc, with the Thunderbirds only able to muster a 37.1% field goal percentage. Taking away those outside shots forced them to go inside and fight for every point.
And they had to fight hard as the Sun Devils’ big men inside were not making it easy. Adding to a team total of eight blocks, Massamba Diop and Allen Mukeba came to play. What looked like an easy possession for the Thunderbirds often became fruitless, as ASU’s wingspan and length was too much to handle.
Diop in particular had a possession in the middle of the second half where he got two of his three blocks and was like the Royal Guard in the middle of the paint. It felt as if he was swatting away every shot that came his way, truly a man among boys. The 7-foot-1 Diop finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Anthony “Pig” Johnson, a nickname his mother gave him when he was a kid playing football, came in off the bench and led ASU in points with 17 in 22 minutes, effectively solidifying himself as the sixth man and possibly a starter. But all Johnson cares about is being on the floor when he can and giving ASU its best chance to win.
“I mean I would like to start but it doesn’t matter.” Johnson said. “Whenever I get in, I’m willing to play dog minutes. Whatever I’ve got to do to win.”
Hurley and the Sun Devils put on a good enough show that might help a half-packed arena become rocking again with Sun Devil fans as the season goes on.
Next up for ASU is Sunday’s home game against Utah Tech, which is coming off a win in its opener as well, a 81-79 overtime victory over South Dakota. The Sun Devils begin Big 12 play Jan. 3, and Hurley will need a strong string of games to prepare for a rigorous conference schedule that could determine his coaching future at ASU.
“We’re going to get back to the film, you know, keep pumping on the gas.” Hurley said. “We all want to be accountable and we want to try to set the bar at a certain level.”
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