The Way It Is: Despite imperfect season, ASU men’s basketball has life again

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

Lest a recent string of tough losses leave any doubt, Bobby Hurley has something worth watching brewing in Tempe.

Arizona State men’s basketball has always kept its head above water this season. However, victories over Xavier and Kansas and reaching No. 3 in the rankings at one point make “keeping its head above water” feel somewhat deflating. After a 12-0 start, the best in school history, 7-9 in a weaker than usual Pac-12 is not the storybook ending fans would hope for.

The team itself is undoubtedly responsible for the downswing in its record. The Sun Devils are tied for 10^th in the conference in shooting percentage and ninth in three-point percentage during the conference schedule. They’re also 11^th in defense during that span.

Bad luck, questionable officiating and other factors may influence individual moments, but taken as a whole, the picture is clear. The Sun Devils have not consistently played their best basketball against the Pac-12.

Just as importantly: In the end, it may not ultimately matter that much.

For years, basketball in Tempe struggled to maintain energy and interest. A program that was starting to be forgotten by both its own fans and the college basketball landscape beyond suddenly has life again.

That’s not just an empty compliment, a way to put a positive spin on a season that started great but might end with a whimper rather than a bang. ASU has seen its average attendance rise from about 6,500 last season to just over 10,000 this season. Hurley has once again brought in a strong recruiting class, with three four-star players already set to dawn the maroon and gold.

That kind of change really matters, because that’s how teams transform themselves. The consistently strong programs like Kansas, Duke and even ASU’s nemesis Arizona, did not come to be in one year. Even if ASU never reaches that level, this season has generated hope and excitement that has not been seen in a while.

All that being said, the season is not even over. ASU still has two games remaining against Cal and Stanford, with the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments also on the horizon. ASU will likely take a middle seed at the big dance. While they may not go far, it is March, where any team, especially one that can put up 95 points on a good night, has a chance to do something memorable.

As the Sun Devils gear up for these final home games, four players are preparing to take the hardwood of The Bank for the final time. Three of them, guards Tra Holder, Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, have been a driving part of this change at ASU.

Hurley and those players all attribute it to a common motivator. They wanted to win, and they wanted to show that the tough times weren’t going to beat them.

This group has undoubtedly overcome adversity to get to where it is. Justice and Holder had to go through a coaching change after their freshman year. Hurley and Evans had to establish themselves in a new place. Last season, hope that ASU might start to figure things out went unrewarded, as a string of injuries and transfers left the Devils without the depth necessary to compete.

Last season’s team could certainly be fun at times, but this team has both fun and the success necessary to make it mean something. That combination has helped generate buzz for the program, buzz it needed to establish itself.

ASU has remained consistently competitive, including in its two games against Arizona. The first signs of a culture that can endure beyond the time of an individual or class of players have begun to develop as well. These are important steps, and after already surpassing expectations, the Sun Devils can take pride in how this season has defined what Arizona State basketball can become.

ASU reached an important milestone earlier in the season, tearing down a wall in the upper deck to open up more seating. Just as important as that physical wall are the mental walls. The wall that says ASU just cannot compete with its southern rival. The wall that says the Sun Devils will not be a destination for high-level recruits. The wall that says Arizona State basketball just is not something worth paying attention to.

Just as their improved play led to the tearing down of the upper deck wall, ASU men’s basketball has begun to tear down those mental walls as well. Regardless of how it ends, that is a key fact of the 2017-18 season, one that should not be easily dismissed or forgotten.

Editor’s note: The Way It Is Column is a rotating column among WCSN reporters, writers and editors analyzing Arizona State athletics. Follow each new edition of the column at cronkitesports.com/category/columns.