Sun Devils look to build off good start with games against GCU and St. Thomas

(Photo: Sammi Maxwell/WCSN)

Optimism in the air when talking about Arizona State Men’s basketball team (2-1), despite the team coming off a loss against No. 6 Gonzaga. The team showed a surprising amount of grit and energy that Sun Devils fans may have not been expecting after a disappointing blowout loss against No. 7 Duke just two weeks prior.

Now that the team has put all that noise behind them, there is a chance to grow in the next set of games in ASU’s non-conference schedule. Two more opportunities this week will give the Sun Devils a shot at applying what they have learned from their Spokane experience.

Two players to lookout for the Sun Devils in this stretch are seniors forward Basheer Jihad and guard Alston Mason. Both had impressive showing on Sunday afternoon, and could look to string together a good stretch of games for ASU head coach Bobby Hurley. They both howed a different type of aggressiveness while driving to the paint, and these next two matchups should be favorable for that type of play.

Grand Canyon University

The first opportunity will be in the Footprint Center on Thursday night against Grand Canyon University (2-0). The Antelopes reside in the WAC (Western Atlantic Conference) and are led by fifth-year head coach Bryce Drew.

Drew has seen a lot of success while in Phoenix as he’s led GCU to three NCAA tournament appearances in his first four years. He’s accumulated an overall record of 96-32 in this time and is recently coming off a second-round loss last year to Alabama. There are high hopes that the GCU will make a fourth tournament appearance in five years this season.

GCU returns seven players from its reigning WAC championship squad. With attaining three of its top four scores from a season ago. One of those players collected some hardware, senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster. Foster is the reigning WAC player of the year with 20.1 points and six rebounds. He hasn’t played this year yet but will make his season debut against the Sun Devils.

Standing a 6-foot-7 he is a dynamic scorer with great length who can get easy mismatches on smaller guards to create easy buckets for himself. With that size as well, he can be disruptive on the defensive end as well, he avered 1.7 steals a season ago and entered the 2024 NBA draft but later removed himself to return to GCU.

Along with Foster senior guards Ray Harrison and Collin Moore return as well. The trio started last year, and expect to find the same success they did a year ago. Harrison was the second-highest scorer on the team averaging 13.5 points with 3.9 assists and Moore averaged 8.2 points and two assists respectively.

One of the two exciting transfers that the Antelopes acquired is sophomore guard Makaih WIlliams. Williams transferred in from UT Arlington and won the WAC Freshman of the Year award with 10.8 points and 2.9 rebounds. While only standing at 6-foot-2, Williams is a talented passer who isn’t scared to let it fly from deep. He shot 45.3% from behind the arc a year ago and will try to improve on that mark this season.

Senior forward JaKobe Coles, who transferred in from TCU, helped bolster the GCU roster as well. He currently leads the team in scoring this year with 21 points and tied for eighth in the nation in rebounding with 12.

ASU will have to prepare for a talented and deep backcourt that the Antelopes possess but could match with a depth of their own. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MST at the Footprint Center.

St. Thomas

Following the Hall of Fame series, the Sun Devils will take on the St. Thomas Tommies (2-1) on Sunday night in Desert Financial Arena.

The Tommies are led by Johnny Tauer who is in his 14th year as head coach for the program and holds an overall record of 267-97. Tauer built an elite division three program at St. Thomas then transitioned over to division one play in the 2021-22 college basketball season. The program has since gone 49-47 in its time in the Summit League. St. Thomas had its first 20-win season in division one play last year going 20-13.

The Tommies retained five players from their roster a season ago, including the third-leading scorer, junior guard Kendall Blue, who achieved 10.6 points a game and 1.6 assists. They also retained the best three-point shooter from a season ago, sophomore forward Carter Bjerke, who shot 45% from behind the arc.

While the Tommies may have lost many players in the offseason, that opened the doors to attaining new talent as well. The team will welcome eight new faces, five of whom are freshmen.

Junior guard Miles Barnstable, who transferred in from UW-Whitewater, is currently leading the team in points per game with 15. Barnstable was selected to the WIAC (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) All-Conference First team in both his seasons at Whitewater. Only standing at 6-foot-2, Barnstable has a balanced offensive attack, as he has shown the ability to be aggressive in the paint and shoot from a distance.

The highest-scoring freshman on the team is guard Nolan Minessale. Minessale has 11 points a game this season while averaging three assists. Another guard but standing at 6-foot-5 has shown a balanced game and ability to be able to block shots after recording three against Oklahoma State early in the season.

The Tommies are recently coming off a 20-turnover performance against Oklahoma State. With a performance like that, Tauer will surely be telling his team to take care of the basketball, the Sun Devils can look to take advantage of this by staying aggressive on the defensive side of the floor.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena.