Hurley announces Cherry out with concussion, discusses the problems UW’s zone presents

At his weekly press conference, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley was asked if the Sun Devils were an NCAA Tournament team, a notion that most bracket projections would agree with.

Hurley is a confident coach, just fine with laying out the expectations for his team at simply any time. At least in that situation, provide an answer with a lot of coach-speak that got the point across that ASU was a tournament team because of wins over Kansas, Mississippi State, and Arizona, but they have a lot of work to do.

Instead, he just didn’t answer the question.

“I feel good about how we’re playing right now in the last couple weeks and everything could change in a second if you don’t get better,” Hurley said. “We have to get other guys to step up this week.”

It was an interesting response from ASU’s head coach, one that seemed conservative from the fiery Hurley. He likely sees that the Sun Devils are in a similar spot they were last season -- struggling in the Pac-12 after a phenomenal non-conference slate.

“Do you think there might have been one or two out there that we didn’t get? Maybe one that we should have gotten,” Hurley said. “Overall, I’m pleased with where we’re heading and how we’re embracing some of the changes that we need to do to get better as a team.

But last season, Hurley was unafraid to say how good his team was and adamant through thick and thin that the Devils belonged in the Big Dance. It left him answering the questions right up until Selection Sunday, an anxious waiting period he probably doesn’t want relive.

Perhaps the resistance to answer is to keep the focus away from the tournament and back on the Pac-12 season, where anything can happen.

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Before the Sun Devils can play the conference-leading Washington Huskies on Saturday, they’ll take on Washington State at home on Thursday, one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the conference.

With no real threat from the Cougars -- they are 8-14 overall and just 1-8 in the conference -- the Devils just can’t sustain a letdown from their win over Arizona.

“Play like how we have been playing. Share the ball. Play defense,” ASU point guard Remy Martin said of Wazzu. “They’re a very good 3-point shooting team, so make sure we guard the line. We have to make sure when we are up in a game, don’t give them any confidence and let them get back into the game and that’s what we’ve been doing lately.

“That’s something we need to improve on. That’s one of the keys that I think we’ll need going into the game.”

But, the real test this weekend for ASU is Washington, which is 9-0 in the Pac-12 and on an 11-game win streak. Behind coach Mike Hopkins, who arrived in Seattle after a long tenure as a Syracuse assistant coach, the Huskies play a 2-3 zone defense that has given ASU problems before.

“It's Mike Hopkins and what he's learned over the years and coaching at Syracuse and teaching the zone and their rotations and where they need to be,” Hurley said. “And then it's also having the personnel to execute it. Having a guy like (Matisse) Thybulle that could steal the ball 10 times in a game, just his anticipation and his athleticism, a big-time defensive player.”

Behind Thybulle’s defensive prowess, Washington is led by guards David Crisp and Jaylen Nowell, as well as forward Noah Dickerson, all of whom are averaging over 12 points a game. The Huskies are 18-4 this season but don’t find themselves in the Top 25, something Hurley wasn’t too fond of.

He thinks people are penalizing Washington and ASU for the bad reputation the Pac-12 garnered in non-conference play.

“I think it's the whole narrative that the league isn't any good,” Hurley said. “Everyone's been saying. It just spreads like wildfire to everywhere and then everyone gets thrown into the same pool. (It's) not fair. I mean, their losses have been very close.”

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On Tuesday, Hurley confirmed that freshman forward Taeshon Cherry will be out this weekend and probably longer with a concussion. Cherry first suffered a concussion after getting hit in the face at USC, forcing him to miss the USC game, but returned in the Arizona game.

“He dove on a loose ball and re-aggravated his symptoms from the concussion,” Hurley said of Cherry’s injury in the Arizona game. “He’s now in a more extended concussion protocol and we’re taking all the necessary safety precautions with him to make sure that he is symptom-free.”

Cherry had started to find his spot in ASU’s rotation prior to the injury. On the season, he’s averaging just under seven points in 18.7 minutes of action a game. But, behind the arc, Cherry had nailed 10 3s in the three games before his injury.

Now, the Devils will have to rely on their other shooters to get, arguably, the most important home series of the year.

“We have to get other guys to step up this week, not having (Cherry) in the fold, especially a guy who can really shoot it versus zones,” Hurley said. “So we're going to have to get some other guys in there that could help us make shots.”