(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
After a year in which head coach Bobby Hurley’s “Guard U” system took a back seat to the play of former Arizona State Sun Devils like Luguentz Dort and Zylan Cheatham, the system that made Hurley famous at ASU might just be back in style.
Never had this been more evident this year as it was on Sunday evening at Desert Financial Arena when the Sun Devils defeated the Rider Broncs 92-55.
Junior guard Remy Martin and senior guard Rob Edwards each got the start to make up the Sun Devil backcourt. Edwards entered the game in the spotlight as the Sun Devils leading scorer after shining in the first home game at Desert Financial Arena against Central Connecticut State on Thursday. The senior dropped 23 points in the 90-49 rout of the Blue Devils.
However, it would be the play of Martin, along with junior guard Alonzo Verge Jr. and freshman guard Jaelen House coming off the bench, that stole the show against the Broncs on and pumped life back into the “Guard U” system.
On Sunday, Martin picked up right where he had left off after scoring 23 against Colorado on Nov. 8 and 14 against CCSU on Thursday. The junior scored 20, sinking three of six three-point attempts. Martin also had three assists and was suffocating on defense with four of ASU’s 16 steals.
Nevertheless, the Sun Devils found themselves in the hole early, facing a 10-2 deficit and struggled to make their shots stick. House subbed in after four minutes and instantly provided a spark to the ASU offense.
“(The bench players) came in and gave us energy and gave us that jump,” Martin said. “It’s great having guys like Jaelen House that just pick you up if you’re down.”
House, a local product who played high school basketball at Shadow Mountain, would go on to match Martin, scoring 20 points in just 21 minutes on the floor. House’s points came every part of the court, as he converted all three of his free throws, scored driving to the basket and sank the long ball from three in three of his six attempts.
The freshman guard has drawn numerous comparisons to his junior counterpart, most notably in his role of being a spark off the bench, just as Martin was two years ago. With the success of House and Martin, Hurley noted how it felt familiar to years past.
“It’s kind of like two years ago with the guards we had,” Hurley said. “Remy was super efficient tonight and really made plays, playing at a good tempo. Jaelen is just electric. Those guys are a pretty strong combination.”
Along with the combination of Martin and House, Verge, the No. 5 ranked junior college player in the country coming into this season, also proved to be effective early in the contest. He scored 11 points, most coming by way of the mid-range jumper, and also distributed four assists across the span of the contest.
In contrast to the success of the three Sun Devil guards, Edwards struggled. The redshirt senior didn’t find the scoresheet until the end of the first half and only had five points on the night.
For Hurley, some dissension may come about when distributing playtime among the surplus of hotshot guards on the roster with talented young players like House scratching at the minutes of veterans like Edwards, however, it’s a good problem for the Sun Devil head coach to have.
“As much as I’m coaching the game and doing play calls, especially in the second half I’m trying to make sure I don’t forget about Rob Edwards over there because other guys are playing well and you have a lot of options,” Hurley said. “You’ve got to really manage that well if you’re playing that many guys. That will be on us to make sure we’re getting the right guys on the floor and getting everybody the minutes they need.”
Hurley’s revitalized Guard U approach will continue to be put to the test as the Sun Devils head northeast to start a four-game road trip against St. John’s on Nov. 23.
