(Photo: Emma Jeanson/WCSN)
TEMPE — After a made free throw to put the Washington back up two points with just over ten seconds remaining, Frankie Collins took the ball up the court with just one intention.
“I knew I was taking the shot,” the junior point guard said with a shy smile.
Collins drove past Washington graduate guard Sahvir Wheeler for one of the easier layups of his career to tie the game up at 84, completing the largest comeback in program history. However, in the extra period, the Sun Devils (13-14, 7-9 Pac-12) couldn’t quite finish the job, losing to Washington (15-12, 7-9 Pac-12) 84-82.
“I would say in terms of just as flat and as lifeless as we were across the board that I’ve watched for the first 23 minutes,” head coach Bobby Hurley said.
Collins spearheaded the Sun Devils’ miraculous comeback with 19 second-half points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. The California native delivered an extremely aggressive performance to even get ASU back in the game, but it could have been avoided if the team hadn’t delivered one of its worst first-half performances of the season, failing to score in the final five minutes of the half while simultaneously allowing the Huskies to go on a 16-0 run.
Coming off of a 45-point loss to rival Arizona, ASU might have been expected to come out a bit sluggish, but the team wasn’t just slow; it was uninspired and dull. The offense was at its worst under Bobby Hurley, as the team was completely disconnected and seemingly playing for their own shots.
“There was no unity to that group,” Hurley said of the starters. “We had no backbone for those few minutes. Once the game got away from us, we just allowed it to happen.”
Entering his postgame press conference looking defeated, Hurley spent the next 15 minutes in a state of confusion, clearly proud of his team’s ability to erase a 25-point deficit — a comeback that would have been the largest in the NCAA this season if completed — but also livid at how the team opened the game.
In the first half, ASU scored just 24 points, hitting just eight of their 24 shots, and on defense, the performance wasn’t much better as the Huskies scored 45 points, dominating the Sun Devils in the pain. Collins also was abysmal, hitting just one of his six shots and scoring just two points — a performance that was not satisfactory for the leader of the team.
“I think the world of Frankie,” Hurley said. “He’s in a very select company with me in regards to how I view him and what I think of him. But for us to win any games the rest of the way, he’s got to play better and he’s got to lead our team better. The first part of that game, he can’t allow what happened again.”
“It’s always challenging to be a leader,” Collins said. “It’s always challenging making sure everyone’s ready because you got to make sure yourself is ready too. I just think continuing to talk with the guys and try and put this behind us and help them understand how important these next four games are. That’d be huge moving forward.”
Hurley was forced to take his starters out early in the second half, disgusted with their effort through the first 23 minutes of the game. However, after reinserting the starters, they began to get a little bit of momentum back in the game, turning the crowd that booed them off the court in the first half into a roaring crowd of just over 7,000.
“Our crowd is not that demanding,” Hurley said. “They ask for you to give maximum effort, and if they see you giving maximum effort, then they’re not gonna have a problem with you. I think they noticed that that second unit was out there fighting and battling, and that was really the difference.”
Arguably, the moment that encapsulates the entire night is one that made history. With just under 30 seconds in half, Collins ripped the hands out of Washington graduate forward Keion Brooks Jr., setting the single-season steals record with 77 and passing ASU program legend Lafayette “Fat” Lever, whose jersey hangs in the rafters.
To make it even better, Collins was immediately fouled by Brooks and sent to the line with the chance to the game at 73. However, the one part of Collins’ game that you can point to as a clear weakness cost him, as he missed both free throws, forcing ASU to send the Huskies to the line.
It is an encapsulation of what a lot of this season has been for ASU. The high highs of a single-season record were immediately brought back down to earth by a couple of missed free throws. The high highs of a historic 25-point comeback were brought back down to earth by an overtime loss.
The low lows of the first half ruined the highs of the second half.
“I’ve never been as conflicted walking into this room because I feel like Jekyll and Hyde,” Hurley said. “There’s a side of me that is furious, and then there’s another side that has great admiration for what I saw. So I’m really torn right now about how to feel.”
