(Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)
Arizona State men’s basketball is a fully revamped team, with only one returning starter from the previous season and a roster in desperate need of improvements following a underwhelming 14-18 season. If ASU wanted to compete in the new Big 12, it would have to go through the transfer portal, and that is exactly what head coach Bobby Hurley, reforming his entire roster for the third consecutive season.
With seven new transfers and a diverse group that includes highly ranked freshmen like forward Jayden Quaintance and guard Joson Sanon, as well as veterans like Adam Miller, the question is where do these new transfers fit in, and which of the bunch will step into leadership roles and fill the voids left by last season’s departures?
We might have some ideas after ASU’s first scrimmage against Duke to get a first look at how Hurley will mix these new guys into the rotation. The game itself did not go as planned, with ASU suffering a smothering 103-47 loss. Given that three teams placed higher than the Blue Devils in the AP top 25 poll within ASU’s own conference, it was a worrying loss.
“That was a big wake up call,” Hurley said. “It’s gonna come down to making the adjustments we need to make, learning about what your strengths are and trying to play to those strengths and try to minimize doing things that you shouldn’t be doing.”
Hurley distributed playing time fairly evenly around the roster, stating that “virtually all jobs are open this week” following the loss to Duke, but senior guard Alston Mason played the most minutes of any recently acquired transfer.
The Missouri State transfer has consistently improved across his collegiate career, averaging just one point per game his freshman year, 9.9 PPG his sophomore year, and 17.5 PPG his junior year. The numbers were impressive, but coming from the Missouri Valley conference, it is difficult to project how his play will translate in arguably’s college basketball’s strongest conference.
In his first action as a Sun Devil, they did not. Only two of his nine shots were good, and he committed three turnovers in 32 minutes against the Blue Devils.
Senior forward Basheer Jihad arguably stood out the most of the three. It’s difficult to say there were many, if any, standout performances in a game ASU lost by 56, but if you’re looking for a bright spot and a guy to monitor this season to pick up some of the scoring lost by ASU’s top scorer, Frankie Collins, look no further than Jihad.
The Ball State transfer may be the most exciting acquisition this offseason. He was able to fill up the stat sheet last season, averaging 18.6 PPG, 8 RPG, a block, and a steal, adding a potentially dynamic wing that the Sun Devils desperately needed. Jihad made numerous trips to the free throw line and earned seven shots from the charity stripe to score 11 points on just 2-for-6 shooting against Duke.
“(Jihad’s) a guy that I would have some confidence with,” Hurley said. “In that first half he was able to get to the free throw line. We could play through him some.”
On paper, senior guard/ forward BJ Freeman could account for a significant portion of the scoring this upcoming season. Freeman averaged 21.1 points per game on a Milwaukee Panther team that advanced all the way to the Horizon League Championship Final, losing to an Oakland team that went on to beat #3 seeded Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
In his first Sun Devil action, Freeman appeared to still be adjusting to the new threads and his place on the team, failing to find his stroke Sunday night. He finished just 2-for-9 from the field with two turnovers. Freeman, a starter in the opener against Duke, only played 21 minutes. And he wasn’t alone.
Against Duke, Hurley stayed true to his claim about the rotation being wide open. Seven players saw 19 or more minutes in the opener, so this can be anyone’s team. If there are players to help the Sun Devils make waves within the Big 12, these transfers, these veterans with proven experience to lead a team look to partner well with the strongest recruiting class in program history.
Improvements will be made, and playing against a top ten team in the country in your first organized game together does not reflect how the season will go for the newcomers; the way these seniors respond to adversity and learn from this forgettable moment will reveal who the leaders will be among this group and the role they will earn in the rotation.
“(The transfers) have to be impact players,” Hurley said. “They gotta impact winning. They’ve all had really good careers. They’re coming off statistically very good seasons, none of which translated into postseason for them at their other universities. We need them to provide leadership, to provide offensive production, to provide just a championship approach to what they’re doing.” Hurley said.
