Seven thoughts from Bobby Hurley ahead of year 7 in Tempe
Bobby Hurley spoke with a glow and a genuine reverence for a sense of normalcy. In his first meeting with the media in-person since a March 7 victory over Washington State, Hurley was overwhelmingly positive in his evaluation of his program and outlook heading into the year.
“I like the energy on the team,” Hurley remarked in his opening statement. “I know there’s a lot of work ahead of us, though. As positive as you take all the good things that you saw yesterday, there’s still a ton to work on between now and our first game.”
Here are seven thoughts from Hurley’s first press conference ahead of his seventh year as the head coach of the Sun Devils.
1. Chemistry and effort shining through early
Arizona State’s team buy-in wasn’t always on display during last year’s pandemic-riddled season. Whether it be lack of available bodies or lack of enthusiasm, the Sun Devils lacked the collective effort needed to win tight games and overcome adversity. With a new cast of characters available to Hurley after an off-season frequently spent perusing the transfer portal, Hurley feels like the chemistry is improved.
“I haven’t had to coach effort, which is really refreshing,” said Hurley, hinting at the disfunction of last year’s group and the improvements in mentality from this year’s roster. “To see how hard they are playing and competing, numerous guys diving on the floor for loose balls and taking charges. Not having to just constantly remind the guys that these things are important – they are doing it instinctively, that’s a real plus.”
Hurley told reporters he understands the propensity to be positive early in the year and that when adversity hits, that will serve as the true test of whether the chemistry has improved. Both Hurley and the three returning Sun Devils, who spoke to local media members Thursday, shared a belief that an ease in COVID restrictions will pay dividends in the cohesiveness of the group. Players have spent time at Hurley’s house and have visited TopGolf, where the coach says anyone’s claim of being pretty good is “far from the truth.”
All the off-court bonding Hurley says has created a trust within a group that has little experience together on-court.
“I really appreciate how hard these guys play, how they communicate in practice, and how they communicate,” Hurley said. “Our practices are not quiet, and it’s not only the coaches that are communicating, so that’s a real plus. I’m not sure we had any of that last year. They are going to go at each other for the whole practice, and then afterward, they are all talking about it, laughing about it, and enjoying post-practice.
“You don’t see guys just sprinting to the locker room. It’s a pretty good vibe right now in the gym. You hope that guys genuinely like each other… It’s good to see that you’re starting to see that about this group.”
2. Bagley set to play more minutes at the wing
One of the final pieces of the Arizona State roster to fit into the puzzle was sophomore forward Marcus Bagley. Injuries during his first season in Tempe limited Bagley to just 12 games of availability in which the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Even when he did play, Bagley was mostly used as a spot-up 3-point shooter.
“He’s an elite player,” Hurley said in evaluation of Bagley. As a freshman, Bagley attempted more than two-thirds of his field goal attempts per game from beyond the arc. “Everyone just views him as an offensive guy, and he’s got great skills on that end of the floor, but he can rebound, and he’s a very good positional defender for us.”
After the failure of last season, Hurley said he was excited to have the talented forward back in the fold for another go-around in 2021-22.
“Marcus has accepted the challenge. He wanted to be a part of the program, and it was exciting to get the news that he was coming back,” Hurley added. “He’s really starting to round into shape, and his game is getting there, so he’s gotta keep getting better over the next couple of weeks.”
Bagley’s skillset provides Hurley with some of the most flexible lineup possibilities.
“That was part of the reason that Marcus is back at Arizona State,” Hurley said of the 6-foot-8 forward’s chance to play more as a small forward. “He out of necessity, had to play the four-spot a lot last year. The vision for him is that he’s a big wing – but he’s very versatile, and he plays bigger than his height.
“I can steal some minutes with him at the four spot, but a majority of his minutes are going to be playing on the perimeter, and we want the ball in his hands. We want to get him in situations where he can make plays.”
3. Marreon Jackson is “easy to play with.”
Early in his time in Tempe, Hurley had success with an outstanding MAC-to-Pac-12 transfer. Hurley brought Shannon Evans along with him from Buffalo to Arizona State and helped guide the Second Team-All-MAC selection to an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 selection as a senior.
Now, Hurley brings in Toledo graduate transfer Marreon Jackson, who had even more success in the MAC than did Evans. Jackson arrives in Tempe following a season that saw him take home MAC Player of the Year honors.
“Marreon has that experience, he’s a communicator, and he’s a natural leader,” Hurley said of what he’s seen early on from the Cleveland native. “He’s a guy that is easy to like. I think the guys enjoy playing with him. He’s unselfish, but at the same time, he can make shots, and he’s proven in his career that he can make big shots.”
4. Interior size changes court spacing
It didn’t take much to make Arizona State bigger on the interior than the Sun Devils were last year. In the spring, Hurley told reporters he dreaded coming out for warm-ups to see the lack of size the Sun Devils had in comparison to Pac-12 opponents. Now, the Sun Devils have added five-star center Enoch Boakye and former Ohio State big man Alonzo Gaffney.
“Teams knew that they could really take advantage of us under the basket, and I think that will hopefully be different based on how we put together our roster,” Hurley said. “The court doesn’t look as wide open as it did last year. When you’re seeing a lot of little guys on the court, there seem to be big lanes that guys can drive into. Now you put 6-8 guys with 7-3 wingspans, and all of a sudden, it’s ‘where has the court gone?’ I think that’s where hopefully defensively we can be a lot better.”
To go along with added size inside, Hurley likes how the floor looks from a defensive spacing standpoint with competitive defenders at the guard spots.
“You’re going to have to rip their hearts out,” Hurley said of Jackson and Ohio State transfer guard Luther Muhammad. “They really embrace being aggressive, competing, getting after it defensively. I’m noticing that with our perimeter. We’ve got better size, better physicality on the perimeter than we did last year, and we’re really embracing guarding and getting stops.”
5. Nothing new in non-conference; Hurley testing ASU early
The toughest challenges in non-conference play for this year’s ASU schedule are almost all exclusively on the road. Aside from a city “rivalry” game against Grand Canyon, Arizona State matches up with San Diego State and Creighton on the road as headliners in the early season schedule.
“That’s been a part of what I like to do is challenge my team and see where you stand,” Hurley said. “We’ll find out pretty quick.”
During the week of Thanksgiving, Hurley’s team will travel to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis. There, Hurley eyes an ideal holiday celebration.
“Hoping for an Arizona State-UConn final,” Hurley said of the potential to play his brother Danny’s UConn squad. “A great way to spend Thanksgiving with my brother.”
6. Delayed start for Boakye and Heath
Boakye and Boston College transfer Jay Heath have both been limited early in their arrivals to ASU. The 7-foot-1 center arrived in May but was unavailable for the opening two practices Wednesday and Thursday.
“He had a minor knee issue, and we gave him some time with that, and he came back and had a good month with us,” Hurley said. “Then he had a minor lower leg issue, so he’s going to get cleared next week to go full. That’s going to be key for him. He’s going to need that month to maximize it and get ready.
“I’m tempering expectations a little bit, just trying to be patient with him. He’s an elite player, but he did miss a lot of time. He has a good core of players, so he doesn’t have to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
Heath, who averaged 14.5 points per game last year for Boston College, is also unavailable now with a minor lower leg issue. At Thursday’s practice, Heath rode a stationary bike on the side along with Boakye.
“He did not miss nearly as much time as Enoch did this summer,” Hurley told reporters. “He’s probably a week behind Enoch. Those are the two guys that are not a full-go at this point.”
7. Arizona State assistants and Hurley getting used to each other
Along with new faces on the court, Hurley is also getting acclimated to a new coaching staff. Former Kentucky assistant Joel Justus and former Loyola Chicago assistant Jermaine Kimbrough have joined the Sun Devil staff.
“It’s been good for me because I think I’m getting some new ideas,” Hurley said Thursday morning before ASU conducted its second practice of the year. “These guys have brought some fresh ideas. Jermaine’s work at Loyola Chicago and how good they were defensively has brought some good ideas to the table.
“I think Joel Justus just being under the microscope at Kentucky and being in those battles, I think he’s going to bring a lot of value.”
After years with John Calipari, Hurley said Justus complimented his practice set-up following Wednesday’s first session.
“Joel said to me after practice yesterday he didn’t know what to expect,” Hurley said. “He really appreciated and liked the intensity and how hard our guys played yesterday.”
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