Meet the ASU basketball fans who roll out recruiting welcome wagon
Max and Bryce Dreager stood in the west tunnel of Desert Financial Arena in their respective maroon James Harden jersey and white pitchfork T-shirt. ASU’s players and coaches flowed by, trekking down the ramp to warm up for what would become a 74-73 win over Oregon State.
Eventually, the last few bodies trickled out of the locker room and turned the corner towards the bright lights. The final staff member recognized the pair, recognized the back of Max’s jersey. Just before exiting the tunnel, he motioned over to the brothers.
They both looked over. With his palms clenched together in front of his body, he bowed his head and mouthed the words, “Thank you.” Max and Bryce grinned. If nothing else, even if they weren’t ultimately making a difference, they were appreciated.
Earlier that Saturday, Max had downloaded the Arizona State font to his computer. He went into Microsoft Word and typed out one word. He sent it over to Staples for printing then Bryce picked it up on his way to the game. And, right before they arrived at the arena, Max used two safety pins and clenched the paper that read “Christopher” to the back of his jersey,
Christopher as in Josh Christopher, the No. 11 prospect in the country who has Arizona State in his Top 4 schools along with Michigan, Mizzou, and UCLA. He was also at the game Saturday, as he was Thursday and almost a half dozen times other this year. He’s there to both watch his brother, Caleb, who is currently a guard with the Sun Devils, but also on somewhat of an unofficial visit.
In other words, as the Dreagers thought, ASU did the hard part of getting Christopher in the building. Now it’s up to the fans to make him feel wanted, to make his experience stick out.
They first saw Christopher early in the season, making an unannounced appearance and sitting in the front row behind the Sun Devils bench. Max, knowing Christopher wore No. 13 in high school, thought it would be a great idea to cover up Harden’s name with Christopher’s.
Only problem, he didn’t have paper or a sharpie.
“So, (Max) tried and he came back and was like, ‘I couldn’t do it.’ I was like, ‘You didn’t try hard enough,’” Bryce remembers telling his brother. “I went and got one of the posters that has their (schedule) and then went from station-to-station until someone had a sharpie.”
At one point right before halftime, ASU went to the free-throw line. The arena fell silent. All except for Max, who screamed Christopher’s name from his seats behind the hoop on the west end of Desert Financial Arena. When Christopher looked over, Max turned around as Bryce held up the homemade sign above the No. 13.
“(After the game, someone on ASU’s staff) came up to us and was like, ‘That was really cool. His family liked it. I liked the creativity.’” Max said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. Someone (within the program) noticed.’
“After that, it was just like, ‘Why not do more?’ We’re just doing everything we can from a fan standpoint.”
After going in on a partial season-ticket plan during ASU’s ‘Guard U’ season of 2017-2018, the brothers have now been season ticket holders for arguably the two most prolific ASU basketball seasons of the last decade. Admittedly, the pair has seen the program through some tough times.
They grew up in Lake Havasu City, Arizona and both played basketball in high school, bragging that they had faced off against former Sun Devils Carrick Felix and Jahii Carson.
“When they were on the team, we were here all the time,” Bryce said. “That’s what really got us into it.”
The Sun Devils are expected to make the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season. That hasn’t happened in almost 60 years. Under coach Bobby Hurley’s watch, ASU has transformed into a solid program. Players like Christopher and Marcus Bagley, the 29th-ranked player in the nation who already signed with ASU, have the chance to elevate the Sun Devils into a different sphere.
“I know we don’t make a difference, really -- but (we want) to try and make a difference,” Max said. “Getting one of these players can really be a program changer.”
Added Bryce: “ASU basketball could be in a place it has never been.”
And so the brothers keep trying to make a difference. When Christopher announced he would be coming to Tempe on his official visit for the Utah game in mid-January, they came prepared with another homemade nameplate and written-out and taped to Max’s jersey.
If nothing else, it was noticed. They got on the big screen. People took pictures. A “We want Josh” chant broke out from the crowd. And, postgame, Max and Bryce bumped into Christopher and his dad.
“His dad came over and was like, ‘Was that you guys?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah,’” Max joked. “And he spoke to us for two or three minutes. We were like, ‘We’ll see you again. We know you’ll be here to watch your other son.”
About a month later, during ASU’s upset victory over then-No. 14 Oregon, Cliff Omoruyi -- the No. 39 recruit in the country from New Jersey -- made an official visit to Tempe. Another big-time opportunity to make an impression.
So from his desk at work, Max started making “Big Cliff” signs and DIY Fatheads -- which had to be printed on separate 17x11 pieces of paper, cut out and taped together -- of Omoruyi.
Venturing into the arena last Thursday, they trekked to the student section and tried to pass out their arts-and-craft projects. They 942-crew leaders wouldn’t accept, citing it as a possible recruiting violation since they’re funded by ASU.
So Max and Bryce just handed it out to random fans around the arena.
Max is a frequent on recruiting sites. He’s seen the videos of Rutgers’ entire arena chanting, “We want Cliff,” and knows Christopher has taken a number of visits to Michigan.
The Sun Devils are making headway on the court, he said, now it’s up to the fans to contribute to the environment. He knows that some schools may have better atmospheres and he’d like ASU to hold its own.
“I’m trying to make ASU as close to a basketball-school atmosphere as we can, Max said. “It’s the best we can do.”
