State of the spring: Hurley provides program updates, roster overhaul
As the dust settles on the 2020-21 college basketball season and the ensuing transfer portal activity and NBA Draft decisions, Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley participated in a Zoom call with members of the media Thursday to share his thoughts on the latest developments for the Sun Devil program.
Unconventional approach follows an unexpected season
Arizona State entered last season with high expectations following the return of guard Remy Martin and addition of young talent like guard Josh Christopher and forward Marcus Bagley. Yet a rash of injuries, COVID pauses, and roster issues led to a disappointing season for a team ranked in preseason polls. Following the struggles, Hurley returned home, opened the transfer portal, and got to work.
“I’ve done some things very unconventional that I haven’t done before,” said Hurley, following an 11-14 season for ASU. “I’m motivated and hungry based on the taste that last season left in my mouth. It took a couple of days because I felt exhausted by last season, felt drained. Got busy as kids announced they were going to the portal and just was very aggressive on the phone.”
Phone calls were aided by one of Hurley’s visual aids – a whiteboard that still sits in his living room.
“That had the roster on it. It had potential recruits that we were talking with. It had an assistant coaching pool,” Hurley explained. “It was a detailed board that even when I wasn’t in the office, I was staring at it, and I was making adjustments as things were changing. If you had a before and now of what that looked like, it would be a pretty unique situation.”
Even in departure, Hurley still aided by assistants
Hurley’s right-hand man throughout his time at Arizona State has been former associate head coach Rashon Burno, who was named the head coach at Northern Illinois on March 6. Just a week ago, assistant coach Anthony Coleman stepped down from his position to spend more time with his family. Even without Burno and Coleman on staff, Hurley said he held conversations with both about the state of things in the program.
“There were quite a few consultations I’ll call them with coach Burno,” a grinning Hurley told reporters. “And coach Coleman was terrific with me as well as he was sorting out the next step for him. So those guys, even though they departed, we were very much in touch with each other and communicating.”
As Hurley spent time navigating the portal without the same ordinary help from his assistant coaches, he said at times it felt like he was on an island.
“It did feel like maybe ‘Survivor,’” Hurley remarked of his work reconstructing ASU’s roster. “Like, was I going to be the last guy on the island at one point? But as kids started really believing in what we were doing and we were getting closer with some guys we felt great about, everything started to come into focus.”
With Burno and Coleman gone, Hurley’s added Loyola Chicago assistant Jermaine Kimbrough and Kentucky assistant Joel Justus. Devils Digest has confirmed reports of the hiring of Kimbrough and Justus, but Hurley was unable to comment on the topic as the hires have yet to be approved by ASU’s human resources department.
Justus’s addition gives ASU an elite recruiter on its staff, as well as a coach who was instrumental in the development of NBA talent such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyler Herro and Immanuel Quickley.
New transfer rules could change the landscape of college basketball
The NCAA’s approval of the one-time transfer rule – allowing players to transfer without needing to sit out – has increased player movement. Already the Sun Devils have seen the departure of guard Jaelen House to New Mexico, guard Holland Woods and forward Taeshon Cherry to Grand Canyon, and forward Chris Osten to Northern Illinois. Freshman forward Pavlo Dziuba and walk-on Kyle Feit are also in the portal.
Hurley replaced ASU’s departures with a slew of transfer additions, adding four transfers – Illinois State guard DJ Horne, Toledo guard Marreon Jackson, Boston College guard Jay Heath and Robert Morris forward AJ Bramah – who combined to average 68.7 points per game at their previous schools.
The roster movement throughout the country is something Hurley attributed to the new rule, but the Sun Devil head coach was unable to pinpoint whether or not the surge was due to issues with the pandemic or not.
“I think it’s going to be what college basketball is like moving forward,” said Hurley. An updated list via VerbalCommits.com said 1440 players have transferred in 2021, by far the most in the history of the sport. “This is now a new era. Student-athletes are going to have the same rights as everyone else to maneuver and have a chance to figure out what’s best for them.
“You’ve gotta be ready for the second season. You go through a season, and you’ve gotta bounce back and be prepared… It was a roller coaster ride these last six weeks, but it’s brought us to, I think, a pretty good place and put me in a really good frame of mind.”
Kimani Lawrence’s return builds on improved frontcourt depth
One senior who has chosen to utilize the extra year of eligibility provided by the NCAA is forward Kimani Lawrence, who announced his decision to return for a fifth year Wednesday night. Lawrence joins a frontcourt which includes sophomore Jalen Graham, transfer AJ Bramah and freshman Enoch Boakye.
“He’s going to work extremely hard on his shot throughout the spring and into the summer, and being comfortable on the perimeter,” said Hurley of Lawrence’s continuing development. “I want to utilize his versatility at multiple positions, and I know he’s on a mission to continue to develop and work on his shot.”
With Lawrence and Graham being the two of the three scholarship players to return from last year’s rotation, Hurley said he expects both to be leaders.
“I think (Graham)’s excited about the possibilities of doing more things and taking a leadership role,” said Hurley, who noted the development of the 6-foot-9 sophomore in free throw shooting, avoiding fouls and bulking up. “I like the things he said about our practice habits during the season and practicing harder. I think he was a good example of that during the second half of the year.
“He’s got a chance to take another step, and this is a big off-season for him.”
The lone forward ASU added via the transfer portal was Robert Morris’s AJ Bramah, who averaged 21 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in 2020-21.
Hurley optimistic with the addition of another Canadian product
After a year in which the Sun Devils struggled to rebound the ball consistently, Lawrence’s return – the senior forward averaged eight rebounds per game in the last nine games of the year – helps in that department. So too does the addition of four-star center Enoch Boakye, a former Michigan State pledge who signed with the Sun Devils on Monday.
“He was an important part in getting some momentum in recruiting,” said Hurley of the 6-foot-10, 255-pound center. “He’s a guy who’s a four or five star however you look at it, but someone that’s a physical specimen that really can rebound and defend the basket. Having that size, that girth is going to be important.”
Boakye is the latest Canadian to sign with the Sun Devils after Hurley had success with Luguentz Dort during the 2018-19 season. Dort spent one season in Tempe before leaving for the NBA, where he’s a starter for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hurley’s optimistic that he can have success with another product from North of the border.
“Enoch really has his act together for a high school kid that has the accolades that he has,” Hurley told reporters. “He doesn’t carry himself like that. He reminds me a lot of Lu Dort just talking about work ethic and earning everything and the humility that he has.
“I’m hoping this time around, Canada will be as good to me as it was with Lu Dort. He’s certainly a guy that we’re very excited about.”
High hopes for ASU’s new guards seeing first Sun Devil action
While Hurley expressed his excitement for Boakye and compared him to one former Sun Devil, he admitted that guard Luther Muhammad has traits similar to that of two former ASU transfers. Muhammad, who spent the 2020-21 season redshirting after transferring from Ohio State stood out to Hurley based on his hard work and personality.
“He was an active participant all year, just very vocal in practice even though he couldn’t participate,” said Hurley of Muhammad, who like Hurley is a native of New Jersey. “Just very enthusiastic about the game. That immediately got my attention.”
Spring workouts further cemented the impressiveness of Muhammad and what he could provide to the Sun Devils in the upcoming year.
“I couldn’t quite figure out if he reminded me more of Rob Edwards because Rob was a gym rat,” said Hurley, “or if it was Zylan Cheatham because he would light up the gym when he would walk in just being so enthusiastic about being there.”
As for the guards who will enter Tempe without having to sit out for a year, Hurley mentioned Toledo transfer Marreon Jackson – the reigning conference player of the year in the MAC – as a standout.
“It’s comforting for me to bring in a player like Marreon,” said Hurley, who came to ASU after being the head coach at Buffalo. “I coached in that league and know it’s a legit league.”
At Illinois State, Horne averaged more than 15 points per game and shot over 85 percent from the free-throw line.
ASU roster not set in stone yet
Hurley exuded optimism for much of Thursday’s half-hour session with local reporters but hinted that things weren’t quite done yet. Despite impressive moves to improve the state of the Sun Devil roster; Hurley said the white board remains in his living room until the work is done.
“You never feel truly comfortable or like everything is fine,” admitted Hurley. “The whiteboard is not going anywhere. I’m going to keep staring at it. There are still a few things in flux with the roster, and I’m not certainly saying it’s completely done, but it’s close to being completed.”
Freshman forward Marcus Bagley has publicly indicated that he’s open to all options, and in theory, a return to Tempe cannot completely ruled out after announcing his intention to enter the NBA Draft on April 6. The NBA draft withdrawal deadline for underclassmen to return to school is July 19th.
“There’s one or two things that potentially could happen with it in the future, but I feel really good about where it’s at today.”
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