(Photo: Zac Pacleb/WCSN)
If there was a common theme at Arizona State men’s basketball media day, it was simple: new. New faces, new uniforms, and a renewed sense of urgency heading into the 2015-16 season filled the Weatherup Center.
The Sun Devils held their first media day under the direction of freshly minted head coach Bobby Hurley, and as you’d expect on a day like this, Hurley was upbeat and ready to get to work with his guys as practice begins on Friday, October 2.
“We’re healthy, and now it’s time to get the business-side in terms of developing our team principles,” Hurley said. “On offense and defense, we’ll start up with that practice on Friday.”
In his first season in Tempe, Hurley looks to recreate the success he had during his two season in Buffalo, and that starts with instilling his style of play into the program.
“On defense, you always win playing defense and how you rebound and how physical you are,” Hurley said. “So those are things that we’ll preach with the guys and not giving up anything easy. No easy points, and emphasizing that on a regular basis.
“On offense, some of it is memorizing what we do, and then feeling comfortable in our offense because you have a full understanding of it, and that will come with time over the next several weeks.”
The consensus around the Weatherup Center was that the vibe and transitional period in the offseason has been an all-around smooth experience, and that transition also means a new start for senior forward Willie Atwood.
“It feels real good with the new vibe and new coaches,” Atwood said. “They just bring a different motor to the game, new excitement.”
New conditioning methods showing results
Each player mentioned Hurley’s offseason conditioning philosophy, and they were in agreement that the new coach and staff is focused on them conditioning in basketball-centric ways, and with the likely increase in offensive tempo from the team this year, it only makes sense that several players have cut weight from a season ago.
“It’s not like straight running,” Atwood, who says he is now 213 pounds, said. “We do more drills to get our conditioning, and it feels good. I’m lean now, I can move quicker.”
CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein reported that senior center Eric Jacobsen cut 24 pounds, going from 261 pounds to 237, and that type of progress can be seen across the board as several players looked much leaner than last season. Several players echoed the renewed focus on conditioning and leaning out their frames.
Atwood and Goodman focusing on mid-range game
Atwood and junior forward Savon Goodman are generally seen as ‘tweener forwards, and Goodman particularly thrived inside, averaging 11.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2014-15. This season, however, both players are looking to expand their games and take advantage of their quickness and athleticism in the mid-range game.
“I just think the more versatile you are, the more dangerous you are,” Hurley said. “They’ve (Atwood and Goodman) been facing up and putting the ball on the floor.”
Goodman said he spent the majority of his summer honing a 15 to 18-foot jumper and developing ball handling skills as well with the mentality of taking advantage of bigger defenders that line up on him.
“I’m definitely going to take it (mid-range shots) a lot more,” Goodman said. “I’m a lot more comfortable, and I’m more confident knowing that I work so hard to perfect it. That’s all I’ve really been working on.”
For Atwood, leaning out and getting quicker should ideally help him see the floor more. In 2014-15, he averaged just 11.6 minutes per game as he struggled to find his footing at the forward positions. With a new coach, the former JUCO transfer is hoping to make the impact most thought he would have in his first season in Tempe.
“He (Hurley) knows how to use his versatile forwards,” Atwood said. “We’re just going to see how he use me when the season starts, but so far, it’s been so good.”
Holder honing his outside shot
Arguably, the most important moment in the direct aftermath of the Hurley-hiring was the decision for sophomore point guard Tra Holder to remain a Sun Devil. Once that was solidified, the match made all the sense in the world.
Holder is coming off a Pac-12 All-Freshman season, and Hurley’s pedigree as a hard-nosed point guard during his playing days at Duke and the NBA ideally means Holder will receive some of the most hands-on instruction as to how to make a jump in his sophomore season.
“Tra is doing great,” Hurley said. “He’s got a real good future. He’s doing everything I can ask from him.”
Part of that future depends on how Holder’s jump shooting improves this season. As a freshman, Holder shot 31.7 percent from the floor at 24 percent from beyond the three-point arc, clearly numbers ASU hopes to see rise in his second season.
“I think it (shooting) was more of a confidence thing for me,” Holder said. “I believe I could always shoot. It’s just that mental mindset to get over a missed shot or something like that.”
Holder’s development will be as important as any for the Sun Devils this season, and as they begin practice, Hurley will continue to establish how this team will play under his direction.
“It’s not going to be always smooth 100 percent (of the time),” Hurley said. “There will be bumps in the road. We have to get through that. We’ll work through it, be competitors, show up every night and compete, and if we do that and we build that as a habit, then I think we’ll be in good shape to attack the Pac-12 schedule.”
You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com
