In a grey T-shirt, Bobby Hurley sat behind the dais of the Sun Devils’ media room with open eyes. That’s no small feat -- it took the ASU basketball coach a few days to get there.

Following the Sun Devils’ loss to Colorado in China, ASU flew back Saturday afternoon and, because of the time change, arrived back in the United States on Saturday morning.

On his weekly radio show, Hurley said he had to give his players two days off to get acclimated back to Arizona time. As to when he said he finally became adjusted in Shanghai to China’s time change?

“I think just when we were about to play the game,” Hurley said. “And then we’re getting back on the plane again.”

Perhaps the jet lag would have hit Hurley less if the Sun Devils traveled back to Tempe with a win in their pocket. Instead, they started the season 0-1 after a 10-point loss to Colorado.

Some may see Friday’s loss as a moral victory, though. ASU was playing in China. It came back from a 13-point halftime deficit to pull within a point on a few occasions in the second half. And it was playing without two of its best frontcourt players.

Romello White and Taeshon Cherry did not suit up for Hurley in China for a violation of team rules -- an incident that occurred before the Sun Devils left Tempe. On Wednesday, Hurley said the pair are still game-time decisions for Thursday’s game against Central Connecticut State.

“They’re really good kids,” Hurley said. “They made a mistake so we’re going to see when they’re available. But I do think they’re good people, but kids make poor judgments and that was the case with those two.”

The absences of White and Cherry left the door open for freshman forward Jalen Graham, a 6-9 product out of Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix. Graham, who was told before ASU left for China that he would start down low, had six points and three rebounds but made his mark defensively with five blocks.

“Right now, (my mentality is centered around) defense,” Graham said. “We don’t have a lot of shot blockers or size like we used to. With Melo out the last game, I really had to step up with rebounds.”

Added Hurley on Graham: “He wasn’t forecasted to be that guy. Like, if you look back a year ago, people weren’t thinking of him in that regard (as a defensive force). That’s how quickly he’s catching up.”

Hurley has tinkered with lineups in practice that have Graham and White playing side-by-side. Graham said he loves that configuration, adding that White is just a bigger version of him. “I’m a little more athletic, don’t tell him that,” Graham joked.

Graham led a group of six newcomers for the Sun Devils. Also amongst the crop were Alonzo Verge and Jaelen House. Verge had just four points on 11 shots, an offensive output that Hurley thinks will be an anomaly.

As for House, he was only 1-for-9 from the field. Yet, he seemed to be everywhere. He was a nuisance on defense. His speed helped ASU push the ball. And he picked up Colorado point guard McKinley Wright on a full-court press a few times.

“He’s a fierce competitor, just like his dad (former ASU great Eddie House) was,” Hurley said. “There are not many guys that don’t get tired like he does … We’re fortunate to have a guy whose unselfish and willing to do that.”

House was instrumental in pushing the Sun Devils pace, a pace that allowed the Sun Devils to disrupt Colorado’s offense and create quick scoring to get back in the game. It seems to be the style that the Sun Devils -- including point guard Remy Martin, who led ASU in every major category -- thrive in.

But, early on, Hurley admitted, it hampered the Sun Devils as a whole.

“I think we played a little bit too fast on offense in the first half, shot it a little too quick” Hurley admitted. “The chaos we were trying to create on defense carried over to the offensive end and, consequently, I think we put some pressure on our defense.”

In China, ASU may not have come away with a victory. But it did learn a bit about a few of its newest players, information that may be critical down the road. For now, though, it seems Hurley is just thankful he’s back in Arizona -- no 16-hour time changed on the docket.

“When we were in China, we were getting up at 4 a.m. and I’m up in the gym at like 5 a.m. And I’m not Herm (Edwards), so I’m not doing that (normally),” Hurley said. “I had no idea how to even handle it.”

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