Arizona State University basketball is hitting the road once again this season with its eyes set on improving its conference record to 5-0 for the first time since the 1979-80 season. Standing in their way is the University of Washington, which, much like ASU, has already had its own peaks and valleys this young season. Sun Devil head coach Bobby Hurley expects a fierce road opponent that bolsters a changed offensive mentality, which counteracts the usual defensive prowess Arizona State is used to facing.
In recent history, the Huskies’ defensive gameplan under head coach Mike Hopkins has been to play effective zone, a successful scheme he brought with him as a long-time assistant coach with Syracuse, forcing opponents to find high-percentage pocket shots or shoot the three-balls at a high clip. This season has seen a bit of a change as Washington is equipped with better offensive weapons, but that won’t hinder the defensive DNA of Hopkins’ squad.
“This year, they’ve played more man than zone,” Hurley emphasized. “It’s been kind of a change with coach Hopkins (Mike), but they certainly have that in their arsenal to go and play zone. I don’t know the exact breakdown, if its 90-10, I think they played a little more zone lately but, we’ve prepared for both options.
“They’re good on defense, great rim protection when meeting around the basket, but they are a potent offensive team.”
As the Huskies score an average of 81.7 points, which dwarfs the 69.2-point figure from last season. While Hurley knows that this proficiency is rooted in a collective effort, it has been Kentucky graduate transfer Keion Brooks Jr. Who averaged 19.9 points, has been the tip of the spear of the renewed offense.
“Brooks (Jr.) is a tough guard because he’s got great size, he’s physical,” Hurley noted. “He can shoot over the defense, he attacks the paint, and how they (UW) space their offense, they give him the middle of the floor quite a bit to operate.
“He’s definitely a tough matchup; it’s not going to be one guy. It’s going to be a collective effort to try and slow him down if we can.”
Although Brooks Jr. is the headliner, Hurley described a Washington team that features multiple significant contributors and an offensive structure that has shifted the focus of opponents from a sound defense to the creative offense on display.
“You know, Wheeler (Sahvir) is fantastic in the open court, and they got good complimentary players,” Hurley stated. “Mulcahy (Paul) is a really good player, played a lot of basketball, Wood (Moses) is a guy who can make shots.”
ASU hasn’t had rousing success against Washington, winning just six of 20 road games in the series between both schools and doing so only twice during Hurley’s tenure in Tempe. The Sun Devils’ improved defense as of late will be key for a potential rare victory in Seattle. Arizona State exhibited its prowess on that end of the court last season, and Hurley credits his associate head coach, Jermaine Kimbrough, for laying that foundation and implementing it with a high degree of efficiency.
“Coach (Jermaine) Kimbrough has done a fantastic job since he’s been here designing game plans for our defense,” Hurley described. “He knows it (defense) like the back of his hand. It’s the concepts and the switching and the peels and all the stuff that we do; the veers, things we do defensively are things that are taught by him to the players on the practice floor.”
One of the players executing that defense at a high level is a newcomer who was only first eligible to play less than a month ago. During the homestand versus the Mountain Schools, LSU transfer guard Adam Miller was tasked with guarding one of the opponent’s highest-scoring players and did so in an impressive fashion.
“It’s been great watching him versus Madsen (Gabe; Utah Guard), guarding that kid against Utah,” Hurley commented. “Then on different possessions, we could shift him to like a guy like (Colorado guard KJ) Simpson and give Frankie (Collins) a breather, so he doesn’t have to have that matchup the whole way through.
“Adam wants the challenge; he accepts the challenge of that. He’s physical, he’s athletic, he’s very smart, so it’s all the things that you hope for down on the floor for a guy.”
For Kimbrough, Miller, and the rest of the ASU team await a tall order in the form of a Husky offense that ranks in the top 50 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency and the top 75 in KenPom’s speed of play. Furthermore, the physicality and wits to get to the free throw line for an average of over 22 attempts per contest are notable traits of the Huskies.
“We’ve been very good at not fouling, using our aggression but still being smart about it,” Hurley commented. “Certainly, Wheeler (Sahvir), we’ve got to control him. He’s their engine, he pushes the ball, and they’re very good in transition. Brooks (Jr.) is a physical driver, very athletic, and he gets himself to the free throw line. They got great size around the basket.”
“All those things are reasons why they’re getting to the free throw line. We didn’t do a great job of not fouling versus Colorado, so we got to make sure we don’t get teams penalties; especially on the road, you can’t really give away free points.”
ASU is eager to continue its run to the top of the Pac-12 and outlast Oregon in the race for the last undefeated team in conference play. Nonetheless, Hurley is obviously aware that a road game in Seattle is not one to be reckoned with, as both teams are evenly matched.
“They are 1-3 in conference, but all of those games were very close games,” Hurley said, “and two of them were on the road in the mountains, which is not an easy place to play…They have a talented roster, so we expect to play a really tough game on Thursday night.”
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