Des, Devan and Neal, the “third Cambridge brother,” lead ASU over USC

(Photo: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)

LAS VEGAS — Family connections have been a common theme for the Arizona State men’s basketball team. The Cambridge brothers have been the heart and soul of this Sun Devil squad, and there might be a third in the maroon and gold.

After a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, ASU was looking to bolster its roster via the transfer portal. Sophomore forward/guard Jamiya Neal played a limited role in his freshman campaign, but he still recommended ASU when senior forward Devan Cambridge, who played at Hillcrest Prep, came calling.

“[Neal] went to Hillcrest, and he came the year after I left, and I’ve been talking to him since then,” Cambridge said. “When I was coming over here, transferring, I reached out to him about the school, and he told me some good things.”

Devan then turned around and started recruiting his brother, fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. Desmond was Nevada’s second-leading scorer but, for the second time in his career, entered the transfer portal looking for a new home. This time, the chance to play with his brother was too good to pass up.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Desmond said on Oct. 12. “Even in high school, we played against each other. I was gonna go pro, but when I heard that he wanted to leave Auburn. It wasn’t even a question.”

Playing together for the first time in their careers, the Cambridge brothers have been excellent as a duo. Desmond has become the Sun Devils’ leading scorer, and Devan has become a defensive anchor, occasionally giving the team an offensive boost.

On Jan. 8, in a conference game against Washington, Devan gave the team one of those offensive boosts, leading ASU with 18 points. Uncharastically, Desmond had an off night, only scoring six points on only 22.2% shooting.

Stepping up in his absence was Neal, recording a double-double with a season-high 14 points and 12 rebounds in the 73-65 over the Huskies. Neal believed his performance was good enough to add a third to the dangerous Cambridge duo.

“We got a connection,” Neal said after the Washington win. “I’m like the third Cambridge on the team.”

However, Desmond was slightly hesitant to welcome Neal into the Cambridge family.

“He’s been trying to get in the family for a little bit now,” Desmond said on Jan.10 with a slight smile. “His initiation is coming up soon. So we’ll see. We’ll see.”

What awaits Neal in that initiation?

“It depends,” Desmond said. “He’ll probably get roughed up, a little beat up. You gotta be tough to be a Cambridge.”

Fast forward to the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals, and the Cambridge toughness shined through once again in the Sun Devils (22-11) 77-72 victory over USC (22-10). Desmond was the highlight, dropping a season-high 27 points, going 6-of-12 from 3 with multiple high-effort plays.

“Obviously, Des had a big night, shooting the basketball and putting a big number out there,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “But, he was doing everything, diving on the floor and calling timeouts.”

The exclamation point on his night came with 34 seconds left in the game. Desmond caught a pass in transition, saw a wide-open lane, and slammed it down. The player who tallied the assist? Who else but Devan? That was the lone assist for Devan on Thursday, but his presence was felt elsewhere, tallying 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals. The final of his five rebounds displayed the aforementioned Cambridge toughness.

With 10 seconds remaining and USC making a desperate final push to cut ASU’s lead to five, redshirt junior guard DJ Horne split at the free throw line. As the ball bounced off of the rim, Devan sprang up over the USC defenders and caught the offensive rebound, immediately dumping it to Horne, who was fouled, giving ASU two more free throws. Horne made both of them to ice the game.

“The offensive rebound is just knowing your teammates,” Devan said. “If [Desmond] or DJ got the ball, I know it’s going up. I am always putting myself and others in position (…) It’s just knowing your teammates and putting yourself in the spots to grab those boards.”

On Thursday night, it wasn’t just the two Cambridge brothers making big impacts. The potential third brother also left his mark on ASU’s huge win.

With freshman guard Austin Nunez out the last five games with a concussion, Hurley has looked to Neal to be an impact player off of the bench. In 19 minutes against USC, Neal’s impact was felt everywhere. His nine points led all bench scorers while also adding three rebounds and three assists.

If Neal’s performance in January didn’t make him a Cambridge brother, his contributions on Thursday may have finally gotten him through initiation.

“Both of them and like little brothers to me,” Desmond said. “[Devan] and [Jamiya are] like best friends. If you have brothers or sisters or younger siblings, you got to fight together and build that relationship, build that chemistry. There’s gonna be bumps in the road. When y’all see us yelling on the court at each other, it is all out of love. And that’s because we all trust each other.”