For the first time this offseason, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley addressed the media, holding a press conference inside Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
Here are ten things to know from Hurley’s 30-minute news conference.
1: A NEW STANDARD
Hurley was straightforward when asked about last season’s successes and NCAA Tournament berth. Those are the new standards for his program.
“I just think that’s kinda the standard,” he said. “We set the tone, what we want to do, how we want to compete year in, year out, put ourselves in a position to play in the postseason, play in the NCAA Tournament.”
Though the Sun Devils squeaked into the field of 68 last spring after stumbling down the stretch and getting bounced in the First Four by Syracuse, Hurley saw the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014 as a giant step forward.
“It was a major success for me,” he added. “I think we really exceeded a lot of expectations early and just built a whole new set (of expectations).”
2: THIS IS THE YEAR
Entering last year, Hurley said he was optimistic his Sun Devils could become a pleasant surprise. Deep down though, he always looked at this coming 2018-19 season as the campaign the program could turn the corner.
“I looked at it like this was going to be the year,” he said.
There are several reasons why. For the first time in Hurley’s ASU tenure, he has a frontcourt with both size and experience, with sophomore Romello White and former-JUCO transfer De’Quon Lake each having a full year of Division I basketball under their belts.
The Sun Devils are bigger at all their other positions too. Forwards Zylan Cheatham (6-foot-8), Mickey Mitchell (6-foot-7), Kimani Lawrence (6-foot-7), Taeshon Cherry (6-foot-8) and Vitaliy Shibel (6-foot-9) provide length on the wings. Rob Edwards (6-foot-4) and Luguentz Dort (6-foot-4) give Hurley some added size in the backcourt too.
"I think we’re going to be a much better rebounding team. We have the potential to be, by far, the best defensive team that I’ve coached here, just with the types of athletes we have on that end of the floor," Hurley said.
ASU also signed one of its best recruiting classes in recent memory, inking the 22nd-best class in the country in Rivals’ rankings. It will also add Cheatham and Edwards, highly-regarded transfers who were forced to sit out last season.
"We lose three guys that were critical to what we did, very key players to what we’re building here with Tra (Holder), Shannon (Evans II) and Kodi (Justice)," Hurley said, "but we’re replacing them with six guys that I think are very capable.”
3: REMY’S READY
Hurley on Wednesday confirmed that rising sophomore guard Remy Martin is in line to become the team’s starting point guard in 2018-19.
“Remy, he gained my trust right away last year. Didn't play like a freshman,” Hurley said. “He’s ready for it. He’s been working hard. We’ve only had a short time with him this week but it looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.”
Coming off the bench last year, Martin registered 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He averaged 23.8 minutes per contest and was named co-Sixth Man of the Year in the Pac-12.
He projects as the team’s only true rotation point guard this year after the departures of seniors Holder, Evans II, and Justice -- all players who were capable of running the point.
“I think he knows,” Hurley said of Martin. “It’s pretty clear when you lose three guys who are very important at his position. We have some talented guys in the backcourt but Remy is a guy that I know is going to run the team and do a great job.”
4: FINDING NEW WAYS TO PLAY
For most of his first three years at ASU, personnel deficiencies forced Hurley forced to lean on guard-heavy lineups, usually putting three or four backcourt players on the floor at once.
But with a much more balanced roster this year, the fourth-year coach said he will evaluate his team this summer before deciding which system fits it best.
“I don’t have one set way that I force my players to play,” he said. “It’s determined by your roster and what that looks like and the makeup and how everyone mixes and we’ll come up with the best way we need to play this season.”
Hurley pointed out that in his first head coaching job at Buffalo, he played a more traditional two-guard set the majority of the time. He also sees all sorts of possibilities for his group this coming season.
“I think this year’s roster just gives me a ton of options to play a lot of different ways,” he said. “I can see scenarios where there are five guys out there who are 6-7 or bigger, which I’ve never had here.”
“There’s going to be a lot of responsibility on my part to manage (the rotation),” he added. “Just figure out what the best combinations are.”
5: ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE
ASU has lined up another challenging non-conference this season.
Headlining the Sun Devils’ non-league slate are matchups with potential top 10 teams Kansas (at home) and Nevada (in Los Angeles). The Sun Devils also play three true non-conference road games at San Francisco, Georgia, and Vanderbilt as well as home games against respectable mid-major programs Princeton and Cal State Fullerton. ASU will also face Mississippi State and either Utah State or Saint Mary’s in a neutral site tournament in Las Vegas.
“I love it. It’s always one of the highlights for me,” Hurley said of the schedule. “... It’s a lot of exciting things for sure.”
Hurley noted that there is only one non-conference left for the team to schedule (a home game on Saturday, December 1, according to a source).
6: COMPENSATING FOR PERIMETER SHOOTING
One potential trouble area for the Sun Devils this year could be their perimeter shooting, especially from beyond the arc. Of players that averaged at least nine minutes per game last year, three of ASU’s top four 3-point shooters (Justice, Evans, and Holder) are gone.
“We’re not going to be like we were last year,” Hurley said. “We’re not going to have to rely as much on the 3-point line.”
Martin stroked the ball well from deep, making 37 percent of his tries from downtown, but neither Dort nor Edwards are known as sharpshooters. Last year, ASU averaged nine made 3-pointers per game and shot 36 percent from downtown, good for 102nd in the country according to Sports Reference.
Hurley is hoping his offense this year isn’t so dependant on makes from deep. A more balanced roster should equate to a wider variety of ways for ASU to score.
“I do feel like we have guys that can make that shot but we have other guys who can do things that this past year’s team couldn’t do,” Hurley said. “So for what we might give up in some areas, I think we’re going to gain in others.”
7: HURLEY NOT OVER SYRACUSE LOSS
Three months later, Hurley is still getting over ASU’s 60-56 loss to the Orange in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.
“I think about the Syracuse game a lot,” Hurley said, adding he often thinks about how the Sun Devils squandered a 49-42 second-half lead.
“During that game, just the way the game was played and how much time was left, low scoring, I felt great about where we were,” he said. “We didn’t get the win there. I just would have loved to see what would have been next. That’s always the regret that you feel as a coach when your season ends.”
8: GETTING FRESHMEN TO BUY IN
With a great recruiting class comes a greater emphasis on managing personnel. Hurley admitted that with so many blue-chip prospects now on his roster, he’ll make a point of defining roles and getting team buy-in.
“A lot of freshmen now that are highly regarded like Taeshon or Luguentz, that have played against the top competition and have shown they can compete at the highest level against those types of players,” Hurley said. “They’re not going to be intimidated coming into college.
“But, it’s just getting everyone to buy into the team and to talk about role identification as you start to figure out how everything is going to come together. That’s the process throughout the whole summer.”
9: WHITE, MITCHELL BATTLED INJURIES LAST YEAR
ASU’s skid down the stretch last season coincided with lessened shooting, rebounding, and productivity from its frontcourt.
Hurley on Wednesday shed some light on that last issue, claiming forwards Romello White and Mickey Mitchell -- two players who in particular struggled late in the season after strong starts -- were battling injuries.
According to Hurley, White had a nagging toe ailment. He didn’t disclose Mitchell’s specific injury but said he expects him to run some “point forward” this year as a playmaker in the frontcourt.
10: ROSTER PRETTY MUCH SET
Though the Sun Devils still have an open roster spot for 2018-19, Hurley doesn’t anticipate the team filling it. As it stands right now, ASU will have 12 eligible players this season.
“Most likely we would keep it open -- can’t say 100 percent there but that’s most likely the situation,” Hurley said.
