‘We’re the Bad Guys,” Technical Foul Trouble exasperates Hurley

(Photo Credit: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)

While Arizona State men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley has been known for his fiery temper on the sidelines of every game, he is usually able to put a lid on his emotions when in the media room fielding questions after a game. Whatever wild, red-faced reaction Hurley has on the ASU bench, a reserved mask is donned when facing the press.

However, following the Sun Devils’ 68-66 loss at home to UCLA — in which four ASU players were assessed technical fouls and another a flagrant foul — Hurley stormed into his postgame press conference proclaiming,“I wish I could say how I really feel, but I’m not going to do that.”

It wasn’t difficult to guess what Hurley wanted to say. ASU held a 49-43 lead with just over ten minutes to go, and while their lead had dropped from a game-high 15, the Sun Devils still seemed to be in control. But then, after junior guard Adam Miller committed a fastbreak personal foul, a small shouting match followed between UCLA forward Adem Bona and ASU center Shawn Phillips Jr., which resulted in the pair of sophomores each receiving technicals.

As the skirmish began to break up, Phillips was walking out and was still talking to one of the referees, who immediately assessed Phillips a second technical foul in the span of 30 seconds.

Phillips was ejected, and Hurley was without his seven-foot center for the remaining 10 minutes of the game.

“No one wanted to explain anything to me,” Hurley said when asked what was the explanation for the Phillips ejection. “I had to ask to explain what happened, but I’m tired of the explanations.”

The personal foul and the double technical resulted in junior guard Lazar Stefanovic going to the line for four free throw attempts and the ball back for UCLA. The Serbian hit all four from the charity stripe, and the Bruins followed up the free throws with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Will McClendon. The Bruins began the possession down six points and ended with a seven-point possession and their first lead of the game.

Whatever control ASU had on the game to that point completely disappeared, and a very back-and-forth, scrappy game ensued. However, Hurley’s squad continued to shoot itself in the foot.

Following multiple warnings from the refs that no chatter from the players would be allowed, both junior guard Jamiya Neal and junior forward Bryant Selabangue were assessed technical fouls, gifting the Bruins four more free throws.

“I just haven’t really coached many teams that have a track record or history of getting a lot of technical fouls or anything like this,” Hurley noted. “So this breaks all statistical anomalies that there were that many technical fouls issued on my players tonight. There’ll be some measures that I’ll take internally with my group to address putting ourselves in those positions, and I’ll put a lot of thought into how to do that.”

The energy inside of Desert Financial Arena was the highest and most electric it had been all season, as fans answered Hurley’s calls to come out and support the team from earlier in the week. With the energy that high and the game as close as it was, trash-talking and talking back to the referees should be expected, but after the warning the players got, ASU needed to focus on toning it down, fair or not.

“Some responsibility certainly lies with our need to, in a heated game where I’m sure there’s just a lot of communication, and we’re the bad guys,” Hurley said, his exasperation building to a crescendo. “So say hello to the bad guys. You may never see a bad guy like us again, but that’s what we were tonight. We were the bad guys. So I’m sure no one else said anything except us all night.”

Hurley’s anger mostly stems from his eternal feud with referees, but all the technical fouls cover up what was a very solid game from the Sun Devils. They might have been the bad guys, but they certainly did not play badly.

Collins continued what has turned into a breakout season for the Sacramento native, scoring 16 points to go along with four rebounds and 2 assists. His lone steal of the game turned into a transition three-point bucket that gave the lead back to ASU with just over five minutes to play, sending DFA into hysteria.

“I think the fans were great,” Collins commented. “I think we let them down tonight just because we controlled the whole game, and they were there with us and cheering loudly. They were great. The energy was great, and I just think we gave away the game, and we let them down.”

The Sun Devils’ four-guard lineup continues to produce multiple consistent scorers a night for ASU. Collins’s 16-point performance was joined by double-digit performances of 16 points from Miller, 13 from Neal, and 12 from graduate guard Jose Perez.

Overall, it was one of ASU’s more consistent performances of the year, but too many technical fouls allowed UCLA to get back into the game, and a golden opportunity against a vulnerable foe at home went to waste.

“I am just going to start out by saying when you look at the stat sheet, I’m proud of my team’s shooting percentages, from three, from two against a very good defensive team that’s starting to find itself,” Hurley said. “Had six turnovers, as opposed to their 11, and that’s all I’m gonna say, really. I’m not going to say anything.”